The English-language forum for all things Latin American, covering business, politics, and culture.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Daily Headlines: May 22, 2015
* El Salvador: Salvadoran ombudsman David Morales called for reopening the investigation into the 1980 murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero and the prosecution of “some of the people who participated in the crime.”
* South America: Chile’s ex-intelligence chief during the Pinochet regime, Manuel Contreras, was sentenced to 505 years in prison while thousands of Uruguayans marched to commemorate victims of the former military dictatorship.
* Mexico: The Mexican government cut its economic growth forecast for 2015 even though first quarter growth increased at the rate predicted by financial analysts.
* Bolivia: President Evo Morales is reportedly facing mounting opposition from his own indigenous political base.
YouTube Source – Rome Reports
Online Sources – Fox News Latino, SBS teleSUR English, Bloomberg, USA TODAY
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Daily Headlines: May 21, 2015
* Paraguay: A judge refused to conditionally release the mother of her pregnant and sexually abused 10-year-old daughter who is the subject of an intense abortion debate in Paraguay.
* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla pushed for tax increases and cuts to programs as part of his proposed $9.8 billion budget for the cash-strapped commonwealth.
* Colombia: An eleven-month-old child was found yesterday buried under the rubble caused by a massive landslide on Monday that killed at least eighty-three people.
* Cuba: U.S. and Cuban government representatives are meeting today in the latest round of discussions that could soon lead to the reestablishing of full diplomatic relations.
YouTube Source – ODN
Online Sources – ABC News, The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, BBC News, The New York Times
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Daily Headlines: May 20, 2015
* Uruguay: Four former Guantanamo detainees relocated to Uruguay agreed to end their almost month-long protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo.
* Brazil: Visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed numerous deals worth tens of billions of dollars.
* Mexico: U.S. lawmakers introduced a bill they claimed will help prevent a “continental trade war” against Canada and Mexico.
* Chile: A Chilean court ordered reopening the investigation into the mysterious death of Eduardo Frei Montalva, an ex-president and staunch critic of strongman Augusto Pinochet, in 1982.
YouTube Source – AFP
Online Sources – ABC News, CTV, Reuters, news.com.au
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Daily Headlines: May 19, 2015
* Colombia: A state of emergency was declared for areas of northwest Colombia ravaged by a landslide that killed at least sixty-two villagers and wiped out several rural communities.
* Argentina: Ex-Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati strongly rejected his country’s alleged role in the 1994 bombing of an Argentine Jewish cultural center that left eighty-five people dead.
* Puerto Rico: Several hundred protesters marched in opposition to an estimated $249 million in budget cuts to education and a proposed new value added tax.
* Venezuela: The U.S. is reportedly probing senior Venezuelan government officials including congressional chief Diosdado Cabello over possible drug trafficking and money laundering.
YouTube Source – euronews
Online Sources – Yahoo News, The Guardian, Fox News Latino, Reuters
Monday, May 18, 2015
Daily Headlines: May 18, 2015
* Venezuela: Venezuela’s main opposition coalition held legislative primaries with the hope that they can take advantage of growing discontent against the government and capture the National Assembly later this year.
* Cuba: Several Caribbean countries are being hit with very dry weather conditions including Cuba where more than 1 million people are reportedly affected by “an intense drought.”
* Latin America: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is expected to announce a series of major investment projects in Latin America during his official visit to Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile this week.
* Vatican: Argentine-born Pope Francis canonized two Arab nuns from Palestine days after the Vatican formally recognized the state of Palestine.
YouTube Source – Al Jazeera English
Online Sources – Miami Herald, Fox News Latino, USA TODAY, teleSUR English