What Greece Can Learn from Argentina
Given the similarities between millennium-era Argentina and today’s Greece, some wonder if a Greek default and currency exit might not be the worst option for Athens. However, Argentina’s “recovery” would not easily be replicated and the Argentine model should not be considered a blueprint for Greece. Europe has much to learn from the Argentine default … Read more
Monday Memo: IACHR Reforms—Lima Mayor—Immigration—Ríos Montt—Brazilian Oil Royalties
Top stories this week are likely to include: Lima Mayor Susana Villarán survives recall election; the OAS votes on IACHR reforms in an extraordinary session; the “gang of eight” considers providing a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants; former Guatemalan dictator Efraín Ríos Montt will stand trial for genocide; Rio de Janeiro and Espírito Santo … Read more
The New Argentine Pope
News that Argentina’s Jorge Bergoglio was elected pope yesterday set off wild celebrations in Argentina and give further support to the oft-cited sentiment that God is Argentine. How could He be otherwise? Having come from seemingly out of the mix, new Pope Francis was not unknown but neither was he apparently a front-runner in the … Read more
A Historic Vote in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands
Far south of the South American continent and east of Argentina and Chile is an archipelago known as the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas in Spanish. With a thriving economy and unparalleled natural views and sea life, what some consider inhospitable land is actually home to hundreds of families who live in one of the … Read more
Argentine Bergoglio will be the Next Pope
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio will be the 266th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church after the 115 cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel elected him in a fourth round of voting on Wednesday. He is the first-ever Latin American pope. Bergoglio, 76, who will take the name Francis I, was the second most-voted papal … Read more
By an Overwhelming Vote, Falklands/Malvinas Choose to Remain British
As widely anticipated, 99.8 percent of the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands’ population voted “Yes” in a referendum on March 10 and 11, expressing their willingness to maintain the current political status as a British Overseas Territory. Of the 1,517 votes cast in the two-day electoral process, only three “No” votes were cast. The results were announced … Read more
Monday Memo: Venezuela to Hold Elections – Falkland Islands/Malvinas Referendum – Meeting on IACHR Reforms Convenes in Ecuador – Papal Conclave Begins – Lima’s Mayor Faces Recall
Top stories this week are likely to include: Venezuela announces new presidential elections; Falkland Islands/Malvinas inhabitants vote on political status; Signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights meet to discuss IACHR reforms; the papal conclave begins Tuesday; Lima Mayor Susana Villarán faces a recall vote on Sunday. Venezuelan Elections to be Held on April … Read more
International Women’s Day and Gender Equality in Brazil
Last month, leaders of Brazil’s rural women’s movement met with their country’s first female president, Dilma Rousseff, in Brasilia to press for new national policies addressing domestic violence in Brazil. The Primeiro Encontro Nacional do Movimento de Mulheres Camponesas (First National Encounter of the Rural Women’s Movement) brought together approximately 3,000 activists from 22 Brazilian … Read more
Argentine Lower House Approves Agreement With Iran
After a 14-hour session and with 131 votes in favor, Argentine legislators approved on Thursday a bill that authorizes a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran to investigate the 1994 bombing to the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina—AMIA) in Buenos Aires. The government-sponsored agreement signed in January will set up an … Read more
Monday Memo: Raúl Castro to Retire in 2018 – Venezuela Awaits News on Chávez – Bolivian Soldiers Face Hearing in Chile – Oscar Arias visits Paraguay – Mining Strike Continues in Colombia
Top stories this week are likely to include: Cuba prepares for political successors in 2018; Venezuela’s opposition protests lack of information on Chávez; Tensions between Chile and Bolivia rise over Bolivian soldiers’ arrest; Oscar Arias visits Paraguay for OAS elections observations; and Cerrejón strike continues after explosives destroy trucks. Raúl Castro Says he’ll Step Down … Read more
Yoani Sanchez Goes to Brazil…and Oddly, It Feels Like Home
Raúl Castro’s government faces a number of critical issues, including the deteriorating health of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the potential loss of his oil and Cubans’ impatience with the government’s timid economic reforms. Who would have thought that a slight, humble woman of 37 years figured among them? Yet the actions of the Cuban government and … Read more
Rise of Ethanol in Brazil?
Earlier this week in Brazil, the price of ethanol rose above the price of sugar for the first time in nearly two years. What does this mean? Sugar mills, which dot Brazil’s landscape, will now opt to produce ethanol rather than sugar. This is a key development in a country that has been a leader … Read more
The Rights of Chile’s Mapuche Population
Chile’s Mapuche population has long struggled for greater rights. So many warmly greeted President Sebastián Piñera’s recent promise to give “top priority and urgency” to finding a constitutional solution that will recognize Chile’s Indigenous Mapuche people, a 700,000-person strong minority group that constitutes 6 percent of Chile’s population. His reaction comes after a month of … Read more
Argentina and the IMF
Last Friday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Board of Governors voted to censure Argentina for failing to revise its widely-disputed inflation data. Censure by the IMF is historic for a G20 member—having never occurred previously—and will likely harm Argentina’s already-limited access to foreign capital. If Argentina does not provide new inflation data and implement “remedial … Read more
Nightclub Fire in Brazil Prompts New Inspections Ahead of Carnaval
Brazilian authorities inspected and closed doors on nightclubs throughout the country yesterday as part of an agreement between São Paulo’s governor, Geraldo Alckmin, and Mayor Fernando Haddad in response to Sunday’s deadly nightclub fire that claimed 235 lives and injured 143 in the southern city of Santa Maria. Alckmin stated that the joint response from the … Read more
