The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: January 27, 2012

2012-01-27T12:00:00.002-05:00

* Guatemala: A judge ruled that there is enough evidence to try ex-dictator Efrain Rios Montt on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity during his rule thirty years ago.

* South America: A Brazilian prosecutor will reportedly file criminal charges against Chevron regarding a November 2011 oil spill while a U.S. federal appeals court threw out an injunction seeking to block enforcement of an $18 billion ruling against the oil giant in Ecuador.

* Cuba: Construction could begin as early as this weekend of a deep-sea oil drilling rig off the Cuban coast that has raised concerns among some U.S. politicos.

* Paraguay: According to a Paraguayan environmental group deforestation in the Chaco region increased by 23% last year compared to 2010.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg, Sun-Sentinel.com, Latinamerican Press

Today’s Video: Turn on the News (Revisited)

2012-01-26T19:30:00.001-05:00

Note: For the next few days our daily “Today’s Video” posts will examine the freedom of the press in several Latin American and Caribbean countries.

On Tuesday media watchdog group Reporters Without Borders (or RSF based on its French initials) published their tenth annual press freedom index. Unfortunately the rankings decreased for most Latin American and Caribbean states including several countries whose position plummeted in 2011 compared to the previous year.

Chile nosedived by 47 spots and was ranked 80 out of 179 countries on the RSF index. Numerous factors accounted for such a sleep decline according to RSF:

In Chile, where student protesters questioned the over-concentration of media ownership, violence against journalists included beatings, cyber-attacks and attacks on editorial staffs. Many of these assaults, often accompanied by heavy-handed arrests and destruction of equipment, were carried out by abusive armed police who were rarely called to account.

Last week the Chilean government dropped their support of a controversial measure that would’ve permitted police to seize media images without a court order. Dubbed the “Hinzpeter Law” after the Chilean Interior Minister, the plan was decried by media groups and free speech advocates. Mauricio Weibel, president of Chilean Foreign Press Association, reportedly warned that the measure could damage Chile’s image and might be factored in to the RSF’s rankings.

In September 2011 we highlighted the case of an Argentine TV news crew who claimed unknown assailants while covering protests in Santiago attacked them. Less than a month after that, police arrested Chilevision journalist Luis Narváez after his cameraman was bumped into and possibly assaulted by an officer. As the following video shows, Narváez was detained seemingly for no reason despite him showing officers his press card and claiming his innocence:

Unfortunately Narváez wasn’t the only media member apparently targeted by the authorities while covering student protests in early October.

In our next "Today's Video" installment we’ll examine another South American state that plummeted in the latest RSF press freedom index.

Video Source – YouTube via hersome

Online Sources- Reporters Without Borders, IFEX, Washington Post, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: January 26, 2012

2012-01-26T08:00:00.002-05:00

* Ecuador: The government might shut down “underground clinics” that allegedly abuse their clients in order to “cure” their homosexuality.

* Argentina: In the latest war of words over the sovereignty of the Falklands/Malvinas, Argentine President Cristina Kirchner blasted British Prime Minister David Cameron for “trying to paint us as bad guys.”

* Nicaragua: A statement from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Nicaragua's recent elections were “a setback to democracy” and added that President Daniel Ortega must be held accountable.

* Venezuela: With just over two weeks until the opposition presidential primary election, Miranda governor Henrique Capriles got a major endorsement from former candidate Leopoldo Lopez.

Video Source – CNN

Online Sources- MSNBC, BBC News, Voice of America, Reuters

Daily Headlines: January 25, 2012

2012-01-25T08:00:00.005-05:00

* Ecuador: A court suspended yesterday’s appeals hearing into the controversial libel case pitting President Rafael Correa against the former opinion editor of Ecuador’s El Universo newspaper.

* U.S.: Four New Haven, Connecticut police officers including the president of the police union were arrested and charged with harassment and excessive force against members of the Latino community.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos issued an apology for the massacre of approximately fifty villagers by paramilitaries in 1999.

* Guatemala: Thousands of people climbed to the top of the dormant Volcan de Agua as part of an anti-domestic violence protest.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR (The directors and former opinion editor of El Universo are seeking that an appeals court overturn a July 2011 decision that sentenced them to prison and awarded President Rafael Correa $40 million).

Online Sources- CNN, ABC News, BBC News, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: January 24, 2012

2012-01-24T09:45:00.000-05:00

* Haiti: Four months after Uruguayan peacekeepers where accused of raping a Haitian man, investigations have been launched into two new cases of alleged “sexual exploitation of children” by U.N. staff.

* U.S.: Media giant News Corp. and Colombian broadcaster RCN will reportedly cooperate in order to create a new Spanish-language broadcast network to rival Univision and Telemundo.

* Brazil: The computer hacker group Anonymous attacked websites of Brazil's federal district as part of its protest against the closure of the Megaupload website.

* Mexico: Police killed in a gunfight Luis Alberto Cabrera Sarabia, a “high-ranking aide” to waned Sinaloa drug gang leader Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

Image Source – Flickr via Embajada de EEUU en Paraguay (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- BBC News, Reuters, Times of India, NPR

Daily Headlines: January 23, 2012

2012-01-23T10:15:00.003-05:00

* U.S.: The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a lower court decision that would’ve allowed for the redrawing of Texas Congressional districts based on the state’s growing Latino population.

* Cuba: Berta Soler, the head of the Ladies in White dissident group, accused the government of “murdering” prisoner Wilman Villar Mendoza who died last week after going on a hunger strike.

* Brazil: Authorities allowed families in Sao Paulo’s Pinheiros favela to return and pick up their belongings after police raided the “sprawling settlement of landless workers” yesterday.

* Chile: In a unanimous decision the Chilean Supreme Court convicted a pair of retired military generals of illegally selling weapons to Croatia in 1992.

Image Source – Flickr via jasleen_kaur (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – Reuters, Al Jazeera English, ABC News, Chicago Tribune

World Watch: Etta and Johnny

2012-01-20T16:30:00.000-05:00

* U.S.: The world of music is in mourning after the deaths this week of critically acclaimed singer/songwriter Etta James and “godfather of rhythm and blues” Johnny Otis.

* Italy: While the captain of the capsized Costa Concordia continues to face intense scrutiny over his role in the accident, the ship’s owners may soon face a class-action lawsuit in the U.S.

* Nigeria: At least seven people are dead in the northern city of Kano reportedly due to sectarian attacks.

* Afghanistan: France halted its military operations in Afghanistan and threatened to pull out its troops after four French soldiers were killed in combat on Friday.

Video Source– YouTube via rovingeye2

Online Sources – CNN, The Telegraph, BBC News, Voice of America, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: January 20, 2012

2012-01-20T09:30:00.002-05:00

* Cuba: Political dissident Wilman Villar Mendoza, seen in the above video leading a small protest last November in Cuba, died after a fifty day hunger strike.

* Dominican Republic: Major League pitcher Fausto Carmona was arrested by Dominican authorities who accused him of using a false identity to try to obtain a U.S. visa.

* Venezuela: According to the Venezuelan Prisons Observatory the number of prison deaths spiked last year to 560 while nearly 1500 inmates were injured due to violence in correctional facilities.
* Peru: Archeologists working on sites on Peru's northern coast concluded that people ate popcorn up to 6700 years ago, more than 2000 years earlier than thought.

Video Source– YouTube via FHRCuba

Online Sources – Monsters and Critics, National Geographic, ESPN, ABC News

Daily Headlines: January 19, 2012

2012-01-19T09:30:00.002-05:00

* Latin America: According to a Guttmacher Institute report 95% of abortions in Latin America are considered “unsafe” and the region has one of the world’s highest abortion rates.

* Guatemala: Despite promising an "iron fist" against traffickers, recently inaugurated president Otto Perez Molina suggested that drug decriminalization should be debated "as soon as possible."

* Paraguay: President Fernando Lugo signed a decree declaring a ninety-day “food emergency” due to a drought that has affected the country for nearly two months.

* Panama: Work on expanding the Panama Canal was halted after employees seeking higher wages went on strike.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR English (Last month the Uruguayan Senate passed a bill designed to decriminalize some forms of abortion. Most Latin American countries have laws that ban either a majority or all forms of abortion.)

Online Sources – UPI, Hispanically Speaking News, InSight Crime, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: January 18, 2012

2012-01-18T10:45:00.000-05:00

* El Salvador: President Mauricio Funes issued a formal apology for the state’s role in 1981’s El Mozote massacre, which claimed the lives of over 1000 civilians.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez defended incoming defense minister Henry Rangel Silva against allegations that he helped drug traffickers and Colombian guerillas.

* Honduras: Over 150 U.S. Peace Corps volunteers left Honduras due to concerns over violence and security.

* Brazil: Police will reportedly continue to look into allegations that a contestant on the Brazilian version of "Big Brother" raped one of his housemates.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – NACLA, CNN, Reuters, BusinessWeek

Mexican TV Clown Apologizes for Jokes Against Dead Kids

2012-01-17T15:00:00.002-05:00

Mexican comedian Sergio Verduzco, better known as Platanito the Clown, apologized after joking about a fire that killed nearly fifty children in 2009.

“I am a clown that wants to create laughter rather than cause pain,” said Verduzco in a video statement via YouTube. He added “It was not my intention nor that of my show to hurt the memory of the children” either killed or injured as a result of the deadly Guardería ABC (ABC Nursery) blaze in Sonora state.

Despite his apparent contrition Verduzco nonetheless claimed that his TV show is for adults and that jokes shown came from his live and unedited stage show. “Making negative comments about me…will not solve the nation’s problems,” said Verduzco in response to the fierce backlash against his insensitive humor.

The controversy emerged after a video clip of was posted on YouTube from one of his stage performances. (Translated text below):

“Do you know why Michael Jackson died? Out of desperation because they torched a nursery up in Sonora…Besides, now there is no nursery. They opened a joint called ‘Kentucky Fried Children’”.

Verduzco has faced a mountain of criticisms since the video was posted on Monday. “As a father it made me cry,” said Julio César Márquez, head of a group representing victims’ families. Twitter users using the #FueraDelAirePlatanitoShow called on people to boycott Platanito’s stage show and TV program. Sonora governor Guillermo Padrés Elías said that he would do “whatever is at my reach so that (TV network) Televisa can feel our indignation.”

The June 2009 Guarderia ABC fire killed forty-nine children and left over one hundred injured. A subsequent investigation concluded that numerous safety faults led to such a high death toll including “poor infrastructure of the daycare…and a lack of employees to carry out an appropriate emergency response.”

President Felipe Calderon signed into law last October a measure aimed at preventing tragedies like the Guarderia ABC blaze. The “Ley de Guarderías” (Nursery Law) establishes new safety regulations for all day care centers and provides additional federal oversight of these facilities.

Video Source – YouTube via SinEmbargoMX

Online Sources – Univision.com, El Universal, El Colombiano, The Latin Americanist, Latin American News Dispatch, Global Voices Online

Daily Headlines: January 17, 2012

2012-01-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

* South America: Frenchmen Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Depres won in the car and motorcycle categories, respectively, of the Dakar Rally that wound through Argentina, Chile and Peru.

* Argentina: A federal judge opened an investigation into possible human rights abuses committed in Spain during the 20th-century dictatorship of Francisco Franco.

* Cuba: The family of imprisoned Cuban dissident Wilman Villar reportedly said that he “is in a coma and dying with pneumonia, and breathing only with a machine.”

* Venezuela: Oil minister Rafael Ramirez said that Venezuela will opt out of settling disputes with the World Bank’s international arbitration body days after the panel ordered Venezuela to pay $255 million to Exxon Mobil.

Image Source – Flickr via edowoo (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – Motorsport.com, GlobalPost, Miami Herald, New York Times

Daily Headlines: January 16, 2012

2012-01-16T10:30:00.002-05:00

* Guatemala: Former general Otto Perez Molina, who was sworn-in as president on Saturday, ordered the army to combat drug cartels and "neutralize organized crime".

* Venezuela: The foreign ministry confirmed the closing of the Venezuelan consulate in Miami days after the U.S. expelled the office’s consul general due to allegations of a “possible cyber-attack”.

* Chile: Will student protest leader Camila Vallejo run for the Chilean congress next year?

* U.S.: Daimler AG issued an apology over the use of an image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara to promote Mercedes-Benz autos.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press (Gunmen killed congressman Oscar Valentin Leal Caal on the eve of the presidential inauguration of Otto Perez Molina).

Online Sources- Reuters, CBS News, Toronto Star, Mercopress

Daily Headlines: January 12, 2012

2012-01-12T08:00:00.002-05:00

* Cuba: Hundreds of demonstrators marched in front of the White House yesterday in one of several protests held worldwide on the tenth anniversary of the first detainees being brought to the military prison at Guantanamo.

* Venezuela: Livia Acosta Noguera, Venezuela’s consul general in Miami, reportedly returned to her homeland this week after U.S. officials expelled her.

* Brazil: Authorities introduced policy changes designed to control the growing influx of Haitian migrants.

* Honduras: Eight people, including four children, were murdered in an area on Honduras' Atlantic coast known for its dispute between workers and landowners.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- CNN, Washington Post, BBC News, ABC News

Today’s Video: Injustice in Chile

2012-01-11T19:31:00.001-05:00

The Chilean government and indigenous Mapuche activists have had an uneasy relationship in recent years. Tensions worsened over the past week after authorities accused the Mapuche of setting off major wildfires followed by the suspected arson of an indigenous leader's house over the weekend.

In the latest incident a magistrate on Wednesday ordered an investigation into a suspected case of brutality by the military police (or Carabineros) against a Mapuche woman and her one-year-old son. Judge Federico Gutiérrez also called on the Carabineros to "respect the law through their actions" after permitting as evidence amateur video showing the alleged aggression by police.

Gutiérrez ordered the release of two women from custody who where arrested yesterday after being accused of disturbing the peace by supposedly participating in an attempted highway blockade.

Gen. Iván Bezmalinovic, the Carabineros chief in the region where the occurrence took place, claimed that one of the Mapuche apparently lunged at the officers but he also admitted that he will examine the video "frame by frame" to see if there was abuse by the police. See for yourself the video of the incident that took place in the presence of several seemingly traumatized children:

Online Sources - Univision.com, La Tercera, NPR, BBC News,The Latin Americanist

Video Source - YouTube via ELHERALDOINTERNET

Daily Headlines: January 11, 2012

2012-01-11T08:00:00.002-05:00

* South America: British Foreign Secretary William Hague issued a stern warning to South American states backing Argentina’s attempt to claim the Falkland Islands.

* Mexico: According to a recent poll, popularity for front running presidential candidate Enrique Pena Nieto dropped slightly while rivals gained support.

* U.S.: Over 200,000 undocumented Salvadoran immigrants could avoid deportation due to the extension of temporary protected status benefits until September 2013.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos said that the FARC rebels “can forget” any possibility of resuming peace talks that were broken off ten years ago.

Image Source – Flickr via wallygrom (Falklands War memorial in Ushuaia, Argentina.) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- PRESS TV, Reuters, Hispanically Speaking News

Nicaraguan president to be sworn in for a third time

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

This afternoon Daniel Ortega will be sworn in for a third term as president of Nicaragua.

Several thousand people are expected to attend the ceremony including leaders from the Americas and, most controversially, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Yet it's worth noting that members of Nicaragua's second-biggest political party and representatives of the U.S. government will skip the event.

Ortega easily won reelection to the presidency last year amidst controversial circumstances. Detractors to the former Sandinista leader claimed that his bid to remain in the presidency was unconstitutional and a sham. In the following video via teleSUR, hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Managua last month to reject Ortega and call for new elections to take place:

Ortega reportedly pledged that he will be a "profile of moderation" and will not push for constitutional reforms that would consolidate his power. It remains to be seen if he goes through with his promises during his third term in the presidency.

Online Sources - CBS News, Mercopress, BBC News

Video Source - YouTube via teleSUR

Daily Headlines: January 10, 2012

2012-01-10T07:30:00.000-05:00

* Haiti: Uruguayan prosecutors might drop the case against six U.N. troops accused of raping a young man in Haiti last year.

* Colombia: The chief of the FARC rebels, known by the alias of “Timochenko”, said that he would be willing to reopen negotiations with the government.

* U.S.: The ABC television network is facing heat from Puerto Ricans a character on the debut episode of “Work It” said "I'm Puerto Rican... I'd be great at selling drugs."

* Brazil: At least eight people died in Rio de Janeiro state as a result of a landslide caused by torrential rain.

Image Source – Flickr via Embajada de EEUU en Paraguay. (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- CNN, BBC News, MSNBC, Huffington Post

Today’s Video: Avoiding Dengue

2012-01-09T19:45:00.003-05:00

We'll return tomorrow with analysis of news stories from around the Americas. In the meantime we leave you with the below video via teleSUR on actions being taken in order to avoid a dengue outbreak. (Though it's a little too late for retired Brazilian soccer star Ronaldo).

Video Source - YouTube via teleSUR

Online Source - The Guardian

#TwitterFail

2012-01-09T16:45:00.002-05:00

Politicians have increasingly turned to social networking sites in order to advice their agendas or to reach out to prospective voters during the election season. At times, however, sites like Twitter and Facebook have hurt politicos such as the cases of the following four Latin American figures:

Andrés Chadwick

The Chilean government spokesman adamantly denied that one of his daughters used her Facebook account to insult student protest leaders. He claimed that none of his daughters has the name of Ignacia Carolina Chadwick after a recent post under that account referred to protesters as “filthy shits.”

Giorgio Jackson, the head of the student protest movement, Tweeted in response to the Facebook message that “it seems like the majority in Chile are #MugrientosDeMierda due to our concern over education or not?” Meanwhile, the ex-senator was very upset in a TV interview this morning when he was asked about the allegedly false Facebook account.

Gustavo Petro

Police have offered to provide additional protection to the recently inaugurated mayor of Bogota after he received numerous threats via Twitter. “We completely guarantee the security” of Petro, declared Bogota police chief Luis Eduardo Martinez.

“You will not live past this year guerilla” and “your actions reflect the passion…of a guerilla” were just two of the Tweets sent to Petro’s Twitter account. “Your words reflect the quality of your mind and heart,” replied Petro who used to be a member of the M-19 rebel army before laying down his arms and entering politics.

Fidel Castro

The former Cuban leader published a lengthy column on nuclear war and climate change days after rumors of his death spread across the web. The 3,121-word piece entitled “The march toward the abyss,” was published in Cuban media outlets last Thursday and reportedly took almost thirty minutes by a TV news anchor.

Cuban state media blamed Twitter users for spreading the hoax of Castro’s death including “necrophilia counter-revolutionaries, aided by some media, (who) immediately started to party”. Yet the Spanish Twitter user who was accused of starting the death rumor rejected that claim and said that the Cuban press “should double-check their 'information' before blaming someone for no reason.”

Carlos Talavera Leal

The ex-official at Mexico’s social development agency was let go from his post after making a series of offensive comments last month on his Facebook page. “Wow they stink,” said Talavera in reference to a meeting he previously had with a group of indigenous women. After several commenters disagreed with him Talavera added, “The poor things smell shockingly bad. Theirs is not a case of hygiene.”

Talavera took to Twitter and gave his “deepest apologies” though that will not prevent Mexico’s National Council Against Discrimination from opening an investigation against him.

Image Source – Flickr via michperu

Online Sources – Milenio, Univision, CNN, Sydney Morning Herald, Miami Herald, RCN Radio, El Espectador, CBS News, Terra Chile, La Nacion

Daily Headlines: January 9, 2012 (Updated)

2012-01-09T09:45:00.003-05:00

* Haiti: A bipartisan Congressional coalition called for the White House to “fast-track” thousands of visas for the relatives of Haitian-Americans seeking to legally immigrate to the U.S.

* Argentina: Lionel Messi could be awarded later today with the Ballon d’Or trophy as the world’s top soccer player. (Update:Messi won his third consecutive Ballon d'Or and thus becomes the first South American player to win the honor three times).

* Guatemala: At least 19 people were murdered during a 24 hour-period over the weekend according to the authorities.

* Mexico: Former men’s national soccer team goalkeeper Omar Ortiz was arrested and accused of planning the kidnappings of two individuals.

Video Source – YouTube via swissinfo.ch (“It's two years since a 7.0-magnitude earthquake leveled Haiti's capital, leaving more than 300,000 dead and many more injured and homeless.”)

Online Sources- CBC News, Sydney Morning Herald, LAHT, The Telegraph

Weekend Headlines: January 7-8, 2012

2012-01-07T16:00:00.003-05:00

* Chile: Is the government correct or scapegoating Mapuche indigenous activists who are accused of intentionally setting off wildfires in central Chile?

* Argentina: According to a team of doctors President Cristina Kirchner did not have thyroid cancer as was originally diagnosed yet the “surgical treatment performed (last Wednesday) is sufficient.”

* Mexico: Authorities captured the supposed mastermind behind last year’s Casino Royale arson in Monterrey that killed fifty-people.

* U.S.: The Labor Department revealed yesterday that the unemployment rate for Latinos dropped by 0.4% last month to 11.0%.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR English

Online Sources- Bloomberg, NPR, Voice of America, Hispanically Speaking News

Today’s Video: Dessert Fit for "Kings"

2012-01-06T21:00:00.002-05:00

We hope to be back over the weekend to check out headlines and news stories from around the Americas.

For now we'll leave you with a unique celebration in Mexico City in honor of Three Kings Day that was observed on January 6th:

Video Source - YouTube via NDTV

Daily Headlines: January 6, 2012

2012-01-06T07:15:00.002-05:00

* Brazil: Heavy rains have hit parts of Brazil including the town of Campos dos Goytacazes whose 20,000 residents were evacuated due to a dam burst.

* U.S.: The Justice Department gave Congressional investigators documents relating to the failed Operation Fast and Furious gun smuggling program to Mexico as well as a similar plan run under the Bush administration.

* Colombia: Officials vowed to continue their offensive against the Urabeños crime gang in response to the group imposing a “shut-down of northern Colombia” yesterday.

* Peru: Lori Berenson returned to Peru on Thursday after spending seventeen days in a legally approved visit to the U.S.

Video Source – YouTube via Associated Press

Online Sources- TVNZ, CNN, Colombia Reports, Reuters AlertNet

World Watch: Mubarak on Trial

2012-01-05T17:45:00.002-05:00

* Egypt: Prosecutors in the case of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak requested that he be sentenced to death via hanging.

* Japan: A 593-pound bluefin tuna was sold at Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market for a whopping $736,000.

* Iraq: At least sixty-eight people were killed as a result of a series of bombings reportedly targeting Shia Muslims.

* Middle East: A U.S. State Department spokesperson said that the next round of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will take place on Monday.

Video Source– YouTube via euronews

Online Sources – CNN, CBS News, Al Jazeera English, Reuters

Daily Headlines: January 5, 2012

2012-01-05T08:30:00.002-05:00

* Argentina: President Cristina Kirchner's thyroid cancer surgery yesterday was successful and her full recovery is expected according to a statement from her team of doctors.

* Latin America: At least thirty-one inmates died after fighting broke out in a Mexican prison, while over nine hundred family members of detainees upset at the Venezuelan judicial system occupied a prison near Caracas.

* Paraguay: Health officials declared a state of emergency in the northern province of San Pedro after detecting a second foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in less than a year.

* U.S.: Gabion Zavala, an auxiliary bishop in the Los Angeles Archdiocese who reportedly worked close with the local Latino community, resigned after admitting that he fathered two children.

Image Source – Flickr via elad abraham (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- CNN, The Australian, The Guardian, CBS News, BusinessWeek

World Watch: From the Music Stage to the Political Stage

2012-01-04T16:30:00.002-05:00

* Senegal: Will Youssou N'Dour follow the lead of Haiti’s Michel Martelly and become the next musician turned president?

* Europe: The Spanish government recently launched a set of anti-piracy laws opposed to by “bloggers, journalists and tech professionals” while Internet users in Belarus will soon face stiff fines if they access foreign-based websites not using the country’s .by domain name.

* Egypt: Prosecutors in the Hosni Mubarak trial claimed that the ex-president and his closest aides are responsible for the deaths of about 850 protesters by the military last year.

* Iran: The E.U. agreed to implement an embargo on Iranian oil imports even though the bloc is “one of Iran's biggest markets for oil.”

Image Source – Flickr via erinc salor (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – news24, UPI, BBC News, Reuters, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: January 4, 2012

2012-01-04T07:45:00.003-05:00

* South America: Venezuela's PDVSA said that it will only need to pay $255 million of the $907 million recently awarded to ExxonMobil by an international arbitration panel, while an Ecuadorian appeals court upheld an $18 billion dollar ruling against Chevron.

* Argentina: In a statement emitted on the 179th anniversary of the British occupation of the Falklands, the Argentine government renewed its claims of a “legitimate right” over the disputed islands.

* Cuba: According to the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation a prisoner died on Sunday after suffering a heart attack during a hunger strike.

* Mexico: French President Nicolas Sarkozy selected actress Salma Hayek as one of the upcoming recipients of the Legion of Honor.

Image Source – Flickr via Steve Snodgrass (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- BusinessWeek, Mercopress, CNN, New York Daily News, BBC News

Today’s Video: It's (Not) the End of the World as We Know It

2011-12-31T18:00:00.000-05:00

We're going to usher in the New Year by taking a few days off but we will definitely return this Wednesday (January 4th) with posts on news stories around the Americas.

In the meantime, we urge you to please vote in our Headline of 2011 poll and also please fell free to contact us via e-mail at ourlatinamerica@yahoo.com with your feedback.

It has certainly been an eventful year here at The Latin Americanist, which included an appearance on Al Jazeera English's Listening Post program. We cannot thank you enough, our esteemed readers, for your attention and opinions throughout 2011.

We will strive to do a better job in the upcoming months by providing you timely and thorough reporting on news throughout the region. Plans are in the works to improve both the quality and appearance of this blog so please stay tuned!

For now we'll leave you with the following video of what will likely be one of the most overhyped stories of 2012: the supposed end of the world based on an inaccurate interpretation of the Mayan calendar.

Video Source - YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources - Space.com, Al Jazeera English

Weekend Headlines: December 31, 2011 – January 1, 2012

2011-12-31T15:45:00.000-05:00

* Chile: Officials announced the arrest of a tourist suspected of starting a wildfire that has consumed at least 27,000 acres of forest land in the Torres del Paine National Park.

* Latin America: The Venezuelan and Bolivian governments offered to remove for free defective breast implants made by a now-defunct French firm.

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala told a local radio station that he “can't help but show my annoyance” at a judge who allowed paroled activist Lori Berenson to return to the U.S. during the holidays.

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa pledged to extend the deadline for protecting the Yasuni rainforest reserve from oil companies.

* Brazil: Brazilian firm Embraer won a U.S. defense contract that would allow it to sell twenty fighter jets for use by the Air Force in Afghanistan.

* South America: The 2012 Dakar Rally will begin on Sunday in Mar de Plata, Argentina and will be held during fifteen days in that country along with Chile and Peru.

Video Source – YouTube via cnnchile

Online Sources- CNN, ABC News, Expatica France, NPR, Reuters, TSN

World Watch: An Early Jump on the New Year

2011-12-30T20:30:00.002-05:00

* World: While New Year’s Eve preparations continue in areas like New York City’s Times Square, residents on the Pacific island nation of Samoa were among the first to usher in 2012.

* Syria: Despite the presence of Arab League monitors Syrian forces continued their crackdown on anti-government protesters with security forces reportedly killing over thirty people.

* Spain: The new government announced a series of tax hikes to go along with over $11 billion in planned public spending cuts.

* India: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare urged his supporters to march nationwide after legislators in the upper house of parliament ignored voting on a proposal to control graft.

Video Source - YouTube via Euronews

Online Sources- CBS News, ABC News, Christian Science Monitor, BBC News

Daily Headlines: December 30, 2011

2011-12-30T11:00:00.002-05:00

* Mexico: A court ordered that five Mexico City policemen stand trial after amateur video footage caught them torturing a suspect last month.

* Argentina: Former Dirty War-era dictator Reynaldo Bignone was sentenced to another fifteen years in prison for rights abuses committed under his repressive rule.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Luis Fortuño gave his approval to a nonbinding referendum that will be held next year on Puerto Rico’s political status.

* Chile: Universidad de Chile’s annus mirabilis included capturing the Copa Sudamericana last month and winning the Chilean soccer championship yesterday.

Video Source – YouTube user MYUH10 (The alleged abuse occurred after a shootout between police and suspects last November 19th).

Online Sources- MSNBC, Monsters and Critics, New America Media, Yahoo! Eurosport

World Watch: Fatal Error

2011-12-29T20:30:00.003-05:00

* Turkey: Turkish officials admitted that the military killed thirty-five civilians after mistaking them for Kurdish militants.

* North Korea: Kim Jong Un was declared as North Korea’s new “supreme leader” at a massive public memorial for his recently deceased father, Kim Jong Il.

* Egypt: Egyptian authorities raided the offices of seventeen “pro-democracy and human rights groups” including several U.S.-based organizations.

* Saudi Arabia: The U.S. government signed an agreement to sell nearly $30 billion worth of fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – CNN, Christian Monitor, Reuters, Time

Daily Headlines: December 29, 2011

2011-12-29T10:45:00.002-05:00

* U.S.: According to a new Pew Hispanic Center poll most Latinos disapprove of the Obama administration's deportation policies but would back the president in a hypothetical matchup against possible election rivals Mitt Romney or Rick Perry.

* Latin America: According to the Venezuela Violence Observatory “2011 will end as the most violent year in the nation's history” while the El Salvador murder rate spiked by an estimated 9.3% from 2009 through 2011.

* Mexico: Police captured suspected narcotics trafficker Luis Rodriguez Olivera, "El Guero", who is said to be a close associate to Sinaloa drug gang boss Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman.

* Guatemala: Prosecutors are reportedly moving to drop genocide charges against ex-dictator Oscar Mejia since the 80-year-old is “not fit to stand trial”.

Image Source – Flickr via DVIDSHUB (U.S. President Barack Obama visiting El Paso, Texas last May.) (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- AFP, BBC News, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor, Newser

Nuestro Cine: “Fruits” of Their Labor

2011-12-28T17:00:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday the U.S. Library of Congress (LOC) announced this year’s list of films added to the National Film Registry. Works by Latino directors Robert Rodriguez (“El Mariachi”) and Ramón Menéndez (“Stand and Deliver”) where recognized by the LOC for their historical and cultural significance.

Among the twenty-five selections made by the LOC is “Fake Fruit Factory”, a documentary on focused on Mexican laborers constructing paper mache fruits and vegetables. According to the LOC, the 1986 film directed by Chick Strand deftly combined “documentary, avant-garde and ethnographic techniques.” Furthermore:

In "Fake Fruit Factory," Strand employs a moving camera at close range to create colorfully vivid images often verging on abstraction, while her soundtrack picks up snatches of conversation to evoke, in her words, "the spirit of the people." "I want to know," Strand wrote, "really what it is like to be a breathing, talking, moving, emotional, relating individual in the society."

See for yourself why “Fake Fruit Factory” was deservedly added to the National Film Registry:

Video Source - YouTube via mdfdoyle

Online Sources- Reuters, Library of Congress

Daily Headlines: December 28, 2011

2011-12-28T10:45:00.002-05:00

* Argentina: President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is scheduled to undergo surgery on January 4th in order to treat a thyroid cancer detected by doctors last week.

* Latin America: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans to visit four Latin American countries next month including Venezuela and Cuba.

* Colombia: The FARC will reportedly release six hostages including three police officers kidnapped since 1999.

* Uruguay: The Uruguayan Senate approved a bill that would decriminalize abortions in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.

Image Source – Flickr via Dilma Rousseff (Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (second from left) received the visit of her Brazilian counterpart, President Dilma Rousseff, in Buenos Aires last October). (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- AFP, CNN, BBC News, Bloomberg

Today’s Video: Up and Down

2011-12-27T18:45:00.003-05:00

We'll be back on Wednesday with our daily headlines from the Americas and the world, and the posting of our headline of 2011 poll.

For the time being we'll leave you with the following video of a novel escalator project that was inaugurated this week and designed to help the residents of one of the poorest neighborhoods in Medellin, Colombia:

Video Source - YouTube via ITN News

Daily Headlines: December 27, 2011

2011-12-27T11:30:00.002-05:00

* Mexico: Mexican actor Pedro Armendariz Jr., who appeared in over 180 films and several telenovelas, died on Monday at the age of 71.

* South America: Bolivian President Evo Morales said that he and his Peruvian counterpart, President Ollanta Humala, discussed the possibility of building a railroad that would link landlocked Bolivia to a Peruvian port.

* Colombia: Authorities released over two hundred members of a criminal gang that voluntarily turned themselves in to police.

* Latin America: One person died in Argentina after being burned by fireworks on Christmas Eve, while fireworks in El Salvador injured at least 16 children on that day.

Video Source – YouTube via oncenoticiasipn

Online Sources- Monsters and Critics, Huffington Post, CBS News, Buenos Aires Herald, LAHT

World Watch: The Start of Reconciliation?

2011-12-26T20:00:00.002-05:00

* North Korea: A pair of South Korean delegation were allowed to visit their northern neighbor in order to pay condolences for the death of Kim Jong Il.

* Nigeria: Hundreds of mourners attended a memorial service outside a Catholic church where at least 39 people were killed by a bomb attack on Sunday.

* Egypt: Egyptian authorities charged three people with smuggling “a machine gun and ammunition” from Israel.

* Yemen: U.S. officials could allow Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh to enter the country for medical treatment.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – CNN, Reuters, CBS News, Xinhua

Daily Headlines: December 26, 2011

2011-12-26T14:30:00.002-05:00

* Mexico: Police arrested the head of security for Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the fugitive leader of the Sinaloa drug gang.

* Caribbean: Forty Haitian migrants died over the weekend when the ship they were traveling in sunk off the Cuban coast.

* South America: Bolivian authorities arrested and will extradite to Argentina a former military officer accused of human rights violations during the “Dirty War” period.

* Brazil: According to the Center for Economics and Business Research, Brazil has overtaken Britain in order to become the world’s sixth-largest economy.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- AFP, BBC News, UPI, Xinhua

Weekend World Watch: Holiday Spirit

2011-12-24T17:30:00.002-05:00

* Israel: Over 120,000 pilgrims and tourists are estimated to have gathered in Bethlehem in order to celebrate Christmas.

* Libya: For the first time since 1969 Libya will publicly celebrate its day of independence, which was sixty years ago on this date.

* Russia: Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in several Russian cities calling for new parliamentary elections and the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

* North Korea: Kim Jong Un was named as the "supreme leader of the revolutionary armed forces" days after the death of his father, former ruler Kim Jong Il.

* India: A court ordered that 22 Internet companies, including Google and Facebook, remove “objectionable content” from their websites.

* Nigeria: At least 68 people were killed as a result of clashes between police and “Islamic militant group Boko Haram.”

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources – Voice of America, BBC News, ABC Online, USA TODAY, PC World, The Guardian

Weekend Headlines: December 24-25, 2011

2011-12-24T16:00:00.003-05:00

* Cuba: The U.S. State Department is “deeply disappointed” that jailed contractor Alan Gross will not be among the 2900 prisoners to be reportedly released by the Cuban government.

* Central America: Nicaragua filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice against plans by neighboring Costa Rica to build a road along the banks of the San Juan River.

* U.S.: A federal judge ruled in favor of expanding a class action lawsuit against Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio to include every Latino questioned or detained by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office since January 2007.

* Brazil: Brazilian officials placed an additional $5.4 million fine on Chevron as a result of environmental damage from an offshore oil spill last month.

* Mexico: Authorities at the port of Lazaro Cardenas seized over 229 metric tons of chemicals that are used to make methamphetamine.

* South America: Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said that he would deploy 10,000 troops along the border with Colombia due to security concerns.

Video Source –YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Reuters, Voice of America, Huffington Post, Xinhua, MSNBC, AFP

Today’s Video: Tamales 101

2011-12-23T19:00:00.002-05:00

We'll be back on the weekend with headlines from around the Americas and the world as well as posting our final poll of 2011.

For now we'll leave you with the following video from YouTube user xcookage on how to make Christmas tamales, a traditional holiday dish in several Latin American countries.

Buen provecho y felices fiestas!

Video Source - YouTube via xcookage

World Watch: The Mind is Sharper than the Beak

2011-12-23T17:45:00.004-05:00

* World: According to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Science pigeons posses basic math knowledge on par with certain primates like rhesus monkeys.

* Czech Republic: Mourners gathered at Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral for the state funeral of recently deceased playwright, activist, and ex-president Vaclav Havel.

* Syria: The U.S. State Department condemned a series of car bombings in Syria that left over forty people dead and dozens injured.

* Europe: Turkey froze political and military ties with France in response to the French parliament's approval of a bill criminalizing denials of the Turkish genocide against Armenians over a century ago.

Image Source – Flickr via Aurelijus Valeiša (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – Discovery News, New York Times, Voice of America, CNN

Daily Headlines: December 23, 2011

2011-12-23T14:45:00.002-05:00

* Peru: Defeated presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori admitted that her family is seeking a pardon for her father, disgraced and imprisoned ex-president Alberto Fujimori.

* U.S.: A judge blocked several provisions of South Carolina’s staunch anti-immigration law that had been opposed to be over a dozen Latin American governments.

* Cuba: Over 180,00 Cubans could obtain Spanish citizenship via a “grandchildren’s law” though that number could spike ahead of the December 27th deadline to apply for benefits.

* Brazil: The country’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.2% in November; thus making it the lowest mark since records began in 2002.

* Central America: Citing “security concerns” the U.S. Peace Corps program will pull out of Honduras and have cancelled training classes for El Salvador and Guatemala.

Image Source – Flickr via Pedro Rivas Ugaz (“The headlines of Lima-based newspapers one day after ex-president Alberto Fujimori was sentenced to 25 years in prison” in 2009.) (CC BY 2.0).

Online Sources- MSNBC, Peru this Week, Bloomberg, LAHT, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: December 22, 2011

2011-12-22T10:45:00.002-05:00

* Ecuador: A statement from oil giant Chevron called for Ecuadorian authorities to investigate a judge that handed down a multibillion-dollar verdict against the oil giant last February.

* Latin America: The U.N.'s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said that the region’s economic growth is expected to slow down to 3.7% in 2012.

* U.S.: Attorneys representing fourteen Latin American countries filed an amicus brief criticizing a Utah anti-immigration law that “dangerously contributes to a patchwork of laws that impede effective and consistent diplomatic relations.”

* Haiti: The number of cholera cases reportedly continues to decline one year after an outbreak of the disease killed over 7000 people.

Image Source – Flickr via Steve Snodgrass (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- NPR, The Latin Americanist, Monsters & Critics, Deseret News, Huffington Post

Ads Nauseam: Toy Soldiers

2011-12-21T16:45:00.003-05:00

Toys: innocent, fun and entertaining. Yet they are sometimes used in ads in order to effectively make a serious political statement. For instance, a 1972 ad for the campaign to reelect U.S. President Richard Nixon used toy warships and troops in order to attack rival candidate George McGovern's pledge to cut defense spending.

The following video was commissioned by the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) in order to call attention to human rights violations caused by Colombia's armed conflict. The use of toys along with jarring piano music and a twist in the end creates a very moving ad that highlights the horrors of war:

(Hat tip: Copyranter).

Online Sources - The Museum of the Moving Image, Copyranter

Video Source - YouTube via TheAdvertisingFan

Daily Headlines: December 21, 2011

2011-12-21T10:45:00.002-05:00

* Uruguay: The English Football Association suspended striker Luis Suarez over alleged racial abuse against an opposing player during a match last October.

* Peru: Julio Galindo, Peru’s “anti-terrorist attorney general”, was none too pleased that paroled activist Lori Berenson was allowed to leave the country in order to spend the holidays with her family.

* U.S.: The number of National Guard troops along the U.S.-Mexico will be reduced starting next month in order to put a greater emphasis on “aerial surveillance missions.”

* Argentina: The political tensions between the government and the Clarin media group are expected to worsen after police raided the offices of a Clarin-owned cable TV firm.

Image Source – Flickr via jikatu (#9 Luis Suarez celebrates with his teammates after scoring all four goals in Uruguay’s victory over Chile in World Cup qualifiers last month). (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- USA TODAY, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor

Daily Headlines: December 20, 2011

2011-12-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

* Puerto Rico: Though the murder rate this year will top a record 1100 homicides, the local government rejected a newspaper report claiming that Puerto Rico shows signs of being a ”narco-state.”

* Brazil: A judge ordered Joe Sharkey, the New York Times' business-travel columnist, to pay a fine of over $26,000 regarding a blog post he wrote on a 2006 plane crash.

* Honduras: The Committee to Protect Journalists issued a letter to Honduran President Porfirio Lobo expressing “deep concern” over violence against members of the media.

* South America: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is expected to attend the Mercosur summit today in Uruguay and back his country’s full membership in the bloc.

Image Source – Flickr via Jason Sturner 72 (Torn poster in San Juan, Puerto Rico reading “Violence – coming to a corner near you.”)

Online Sources- The Committee to Protect Journalists, Fox News Latin, Brazzil Magazine, Mercopress

World Watch: Death

2011-12-19T18:45:00.002-05:00

* North Korea: Could the death of Kim Jong-Il lead to the resumption of international nuclear negotiations that have been suspended since 2009?

* Czech Republic: Thousands of mourners in Prague paid their final respects to former president and activist Vaclav Havel who died on Sunday.

* Cape Verde: Grammy-award winning singer Cesária Évora passed away on Saturday at the age of 70.

* Philippines: Over 900 people have died in the Philippines as a result of flooding and heavy rains from tropical storm Washi.

Image Source – Flickr via jdxyw (“North Korean lawmakers, army and state officials attended a national meeting in 2010) at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium to honor North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – Sky News Australia, Huffington Post, CBC News, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: December 19, 2011

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000-05:00

* Peru: Federal authorities have yet to explain why Lori Berenson was barred from leaving Peru despite a court allowing her to spend the holidays with her family in the U.S.

* Mexico: Senior officials issued an apology to an indigenous woman who was raped and tortured by the military in 2002.

* Cuba: Restrictions on travel and remittances from the U.S. to Cuba were dropped by Congress from a $1 trillion spending bill.

* Brazil: The environmental secretary for Rio de Janeiro state claimed that thousands of barrels of oil from a leak reached the shore.

Video Source – YouTube via larepublicaweb1 (The above video from Peruvian TV claimed that paroled activist Lori Berenson arrived late to the airport and subsequently missed her flight to the U.S. But according to Gothamist “witnesses claim that Berenson was ‘at the airport hours before the flight was to leave.’”)

Online Sources- Gothamist, Houston Chronicle, UPI, MSNBC, ABC News

Daily Headlines: December 16, 2011

2011-12-16T10:30:00.002-05:00

* Argentina: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights gave an Argentine judge more than 100 photos with images of alleged victims during the Dirty War regime.

* Mexico: Three officials in the Mexican state of Guerrero were dismissed over the deaths of two student protesters during clashes with police.

* Honduras: Honduran police have come under fire after firing tear gas and swinging batons at anti-violence demonstrators.

* Venezuela: A French court sentenced Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, better known as Carlos the Jackal, to life in prison for a second time.

Image Source – Flickr via longhorndave (Art installation with pictures of “disappeared” Argentines placed in front of the infamous Navy Mechanics School). (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – ABC News, LAHT, Fox News Latino, Huffington Post

Daily Headlines: December 15, 2011

2011-12-15T12:00:00.005-05:00

* Chile: Student protest leader Camila Vallejo was named by a nationwide poll as Chile’s Person of the Year.

* Brazil: Federal prosecutors in Brazil are seeking the suspension of operations of Transocean and Chevron as well as $10.6 billion in environmental and social damages.

* Cuba: The National Endowment for Democracy gave their annual humanitarian award to the late Cuban dissident Laura Pollan.

* Colombia: According to the Vatican Radio, Pope Benedict XVI called for the freeing of all the hostages held against their will by Colombian guerillas.

Image Source – Flickr via gpoo

Online Sources – Santiago Times, MSNBC, UPI, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: December 14, 2011

2011-12-14T11:30:00.000-05:00

* Central America: Are pesticides and herbicides causing a “major epidemic” of chronic kidney disease throughout Central America?

* Haiti: Politicians and human rights activists in Brazil expressed their concern over a possible “humanitarian crisis” due to an influx of Haitian migrants.

* Venezuela: Citgo, which is owned by the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuela’s PDVSA, will resume a program providing heating oil to low-income U.S. families.

* Argentina: Prosecutors in the U.S. accused eight former Siemens executives of paying over $100 million in bribes to the Argentine government during a ten-year period.

Image Source – Flickr via JoePhoto (“Taken on the outskirts of Chichicastenango” in Guatemala.) (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – PRI’s The World, El Universal, Sydney Morning Herald, Reuters

World Watch: Cameron’s Crow?

2011-12-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

* Europe: British Prime Minister David Cameron defended his decision to veto an E.U. treaty aimed at preventing a worsening of the region's debt crisis.

* Canada: The country’s immigration minister announced the prohibition of the wearing of the burka during the citizenship ceremony.

* Syria: According to U.N. estimates nearly 5000 people including about 300 children have been killed as part of a brutal crackdown by the state.

* Democratic Republic of Congo: Electoral observers and opposition figures accused the government of vote rigging during recent elections.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources – The Guardian, CNN, BBC News

Daily Headlines: December 13, 2011

2011-12-13T09:00:00.000-05:00

* Mexico: According to the Mexican archdiocese over 5.6 million people visited the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City this year.

* U.S.: The Supreme Court agreed to listen to a case next year involving Arizona's controversial anti-immigration S.B. 1070 law.

* Colombia: Human Rights Watch blasted a proposed judicial reform that could “virtually guarantee impunity for human rights violations committed by the security forces.”

* Caribbean: Representatives of several countries including the U.S. and Cuba reportedly met last week in order to discuss potential problems with increased Cuban offshore oil drilling.

Image Source – Flickr via Joaquin Martinez (Mexicans domestically and worldwide commemorated the annual celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe yesterday).

Online Sources – Miami Herald, MSNBC, Bloomberg, AFP

Today’s Video: The Minor Fall, The Major Lift

2011-12-12T18:30:00.002-05:00

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities celebrated earlier this month, some of our some of our daily video segments this week will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

In November the legislature in the Argentine province of Mendoza backed an initiative to comply with national law on the disabled. The measure protects the rights of the disabled in Mendoza and also expands public health coverage for disabled individuals. (For example, disabled individuals where previously excluded from the local public health system once they reached the age of twenty-one years regardless of the seriousness of their condition).

For over a decade the families of disabled individuals attempted to push through the plan though they were unable to gain much headway. Their efforts received a much-needed boost from “Caiga Quien Caiga” (“Whoever May Fall” in English), an Argentine TV news show that is presented in an irrelevant manner.

The following video from “Caiga Quien Caiga” shows how Mendoza’s disabled community, with help from the program, helped bring about necessary and long overdue changes:

Video Source – YouTube via LATVARG

Online Sources – United Nations Enable, Diario Uno, Wikipedia

Daily Headlines: December 12, 2011

2011-12-12T10:15:00.000-05:00

* Panama: Former dictator Manuel Noriega was extradited to Panama and is expected to start serving a twenty-year prison sentence for crimes committed during his rule.

* El Salvador: The government issued a formal apology for the over 1000 people killed at the El Mozote massacre of 1981.

* Mexico: At least two people were killed after a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck in the state of Guerrero.

* Cuba: Dissidents claimed that “some 200 detentions for political motives” were made by police in the days leading up to Human Rights Day this past Saturday.

Video Source – YouTube via BBC News

Online Sources – Voice of America, Reuters, The Guardian, BBC News

Daily Headlines: December 9, 2011

2011-12-09T10:45:00.002-05:00

* Cuba: A senior Cuban Catholic Church official said that Pope Benedict XVI will visit the island in early 2012.

* Mexico: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was grilled by some members of the House Judiciary Committee over “Operation Fast and Furious”, a gun trafficking sting that led to weapons being obtained by Mexican drug gangs.

* Brazil: The government proposed a $2.2 billion initiative aimed at putting a stop to the country’s “crack epidemic.”

* Dominican Republic: Protesters demonstrated in Santo Domingo against government polices that allegedly discriminate against residents of Haitian descent.

Image Source – Flickr user mickou (The Cathedral of Havana). (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – BBC News, ABC News, Reuters

Today’s Video: Rolling for Peace

2011-12-08T20:30:00.000-05:00

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which was held on December 3rd, this week's daily video segment will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

On December 6th tens of thousands of people marched in a series of rallies against Colombia’s FARC guerillas. The demonstrations took place in Colombia as well as several major international cities and sought to call for an end to violence perpetrated by one of the world’s oldest existing rebel groups.

One of the organizations that helped organize the anti-FARC march in Bogota was the Fraternity of Disabled Police Officers (Fraternidad de Policías Discapacitados in Spanish or FRAPON). Members of the FRAPON include policemen injured in combat who have marched in numerous occasions across Colombia calling for the liberation of kidnap victims. “We will continue rolling through the country until all the hostages are freed,” said FRAPON president Luis Alberto Ninco Sanchez.

The following video comes from a FRAPON march in 2009 during a stop in the Colombian town of Cajica. Several local politicos gave their recognition to the FRAPON’s efforts for peace and a prompt end to the country’s decades-old armed conflict.

Video Source – YouTube via Nocitcentrocolombia

Online Sources – BBC News, El Colombiano, Colombia Soy Yo

Daily Headlines: December 8, 2011

2011-12-08T11:30:00.004-05:00

* Peru: The head of Peru’s Shining Path rebels, known by the nickname of “Comrade Artemio”, admitted defeat and said he was willing to negotiate with the government.

* U.S.: Three-time Most Valuable Player and free agent Albert Pujols will reportedly sign a 10-year, $250 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.

* Panama: Ex-strongman Manuel Noriega could arrive in the Central American country on Sunday after being extradited from France.

* Argentina: British plans to create a nature preserve on one of the Falkland Islands could lead to increased diplomatic tensions with Argentina.

Video Source – The Guardian (Peru’s Shining Path is classified as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and E.U.)

Online Sources – CNN, Voice of America, SI.com, The Telegraph

Daily Headlines: December 7, 2011

2011-12-07T08:30:00.002-05:00

* Brazil: According to Brazil’s National Institute of Space Research deforestation in the Amazon rainforest dropped to its lowest level since record-keeping began in 1988.

* Honduras: Luz Marina Paz became the seventeenth Honduran journalist killed since 2010 after she was gunned down and murdered yesterday.

* Venezuela: Plans for a government-backed housing initiative have slowed down due to labor unrest at Venezuela’s largest steelmaker.

* Chile: Colo Colo, one of Chile’s most popular soccer teams, was the fifth-most popular sports topic on Twitter in 2011 according to the social networking service.

Image Source – Flickr via CIAT International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – MarketWatch, Fox News Latino, Twitter, CNN

World Watch: #2011

2011-12-06T20:00:00.002-05:00

* World: #egypt, #japan, and #superbowl were some of the top Twitter hashtags of 2011 according to data from the social networking service.

* Afghanistan: At least fifty-nine people were killed by two bomb attacks aimed at Shi'ite Muslim followers.

* Russia: Moscow police arrested hundreds of protesters denouncing possible fraud by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his ruling United Russia party in recent parliamentary elections.

* Democratic Republic of the Congo: Officials announced that “technical difficulties” would delay the results of the country’s tense-filled presidential elections.

Image Source – Flickr via shawncampbell (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – CBS News, PC Magazine, Voice of America, BBC News

Today’s Video: Empowerment Through Employment

2011-12-06T15:45:00.001-05:00

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which was held on December 3rd, this week's daily video segment will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

Telethons were recently held in several Latin American countries including Chile where over $40 million was raised for the medical treatment and rehabilitation of thousands of disabled children.

The 27–hour event was presented by "Sabado Gigante" host Don Francisco and included appearances by musicians such as Diego Torres and Juanes as well as President Sebastián Piñera. (Piñera’s speech was briefly interrupted by a group of student protesters calling for educational reforms and a greater role by the state in caring for the disabled).

It’s up for debate whether the “Teletón” serves a useful purpose or is degrading towards the disabled. Yet an appearance by the head of one Chile’s National Disabled Service called much-needed attention to a problem facing millions of disabled individuals throughout the Americas: the lack of employment opportunities.

According to María Ximena Rivas, over two-thirds of employable disabled Chileans (nearly 1.4 million people) are without work. Rivas urged the government to make changes to existing labor laws in order to prevent discrimination and mistreatment against disabled individuals.

The following video shows the benefits that come from giving disabled individuals the opportunity to work. This 2006 clip from a report on Chile’s TVN shows how a blind impresario hired 25 mentally disabled individuals to work at his small factory:

Video Source – YouTube via jfvslice

Online Sources – El Mundo, Univision.com, La Republica

Daily Headlines: December 6, 2011

2011-12-06T10:45:00.004-05:00

* Argentina: Members of the newly formed Community of Latin American and Caribbean States unanimously approved a resolution supporting Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands.

* Mexico: The number of migrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico reportedly dropped to its lowest point in decades possibly due to fewer people attempting such a crossing.

* Brazil: Rest in peace Socrates; the captain of one of the greatest teams never to win the World Cup (Brazil in 1982) died over the weekend.

* Uruguay: The Uruguayan army chief pledged that he will not "tolerate nor cover for" any crimes committed by the military during its rule from 1975 to 1983.

Image Source – Flickr via magical-world (Graffiti in Cordoba, Argentina reading that the Falklands “was, is and will always be Argentine.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – Mercopress, BBC News, ESPN, UPI

World Watch: Fickle Finger-pointing

2011-12-05T18:30:00.003-05:00

* Cambodia: Nuon Chea, a deputy to the late despot Pol Pot, alleged that the Vietnamese and not the brutal Khmer Rouge regime committed “crimes against humanity” in Cambodia.

* Space: Researchers at NASA discovered Kepler-22b, a planet 600 light years away and a “possible Earth twin” that could support life.

* Ivory Coast: At his first appearance in front of the International Criminal Court, ex-President Laurent Gbagbo claimed that he would “challenge” the evidence against him.

* World: According to a new study published in the journal “Nature Climate Change” global carbon dioxide emissions spiked in 2010 and reached a record 9.1 billion tons.

Image Source – Flickr via Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia. (“Nuon Chea during a Trial Chamber hearing on 31 Jan 2011.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – BBC News, National Geographic, CBC News, UPI

Today’s Video: Protesting for Disabled Rights in Bolivia

2011-12-05T10:30:00.001-05:00

Note: In honor of the International Day for Persons with Disabilities, which was held on December 3rd, this week's daily video segment will focus on the disabled community throughout Latin America.

The theme of this year's International Day for Persons with Disabilities, was “Together for a better world for all: Including persons with disabilities in development.” Across the world disabled individuals strive for inclusion within society including promoting mainstreaming and accessibility for all.

Last month a group of 55 disabled Bolivians and their caretakers marched along roads in order to call attention to discrimination and the lack of opportunities in the disabled community. Despite laws made to protect the rights of the disabled the protesters claimed that they are marginalized and treated like second-class citizens. Some marchers, like the one in the video below, blamed President Evo Morales for failing to follow through with his pledges to help disabled Bolivians.

Daily Headlines: December 5, 2011

2011-12-05T09:00:00.003-05:00

* Mexico: President Felipe Calderon defended his anti-crime policies despite an estimated 43,000 deaths related to drug violence since he took office.

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala declared a state of emergency in areas of northern Peru where police have clashed with protesters opposed to a controversial mining project.

* Haiti: Rest in peace Sonia Pierre; the human rights activist who defended the rights of Dominican-born Haitians died yesterday at the age of 48.

* Brazil: Brazil’s chief ambassador at global climate talks in South Africa defended a government-backed proposal that would overhaul the country’s forest laws.

* Nicaragua: Thousands of people marched in Managua on Saturday to call attention to alleged “massive electoral fraud” in the reelection of President Daniel Ortega.

* Argentina: For the third time since 2006, Argentina lost in the finals of the Davis Cup tennis competition.

Image Source – Flickr via Knight Foundation (“Hundreds of Mexican journalists silently marched in downtown Mexico City (last year) in protest of the kidnappings, murder and violence against their peers throughout the country.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources - Bloomberg, Miami Herald, Reuters, insidecostarica.com, ABC News, BBC Sport

Weekend Headlines: December 3-4, 2011

2011-12-03T17:30:00.002-05:00

* Latin America: The global economy and drug trafficking where some of the topics focused on during this weekend’s summit of the newly formed Community of Latin American and Caribbean States bloc.

* Argentina: The duo of David Nalbandian and Eduardo Schwank kept alive Argentina’s chances against Spain in the Davis Cup finals.

* Mexico: Women’s rights activist Norma Andrade is in stable condition after she was shot twice outside her home in Ciudad Juarez.

* El Salvador: According to police data the murder rate is expected to increase this year by 8% in comparison to 2010.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- InSight, Fox News Latino, CNN, BBC News

Today’s Video: Labor of Love

2011-12-02T16:30:00.003-05:00

We hope to be back over the weekend with a few posts on topics that may include the latest honor to Chile’s rich literary tradition and an unusual “memorial” commemorating the late Argentine president Nestor Kirchner.

In Thursday’s World Watch we looked at several news stories on HIV/AIDS in order to observe World AIDS Day. The following video via The Pulitzer Center shows the work of Joel Sainton, a Haitian preacher who helps AIDS victims in his homeland. Sainton founded a grassroots agency for people with AIDS shortly after he found out that he was infected with the disease. His work has been valuable for the nearly 400 people helped by his agency including survivors of 2010’s major earthquake.

Video Source – YouTube via The Pulitzer Center

Online Sources – The Latin Americanist

World Watch: Syrian Nightmare

2011-12-02T15:00:00.002-05:00

* Syria: The U.N.’s human rights body overwhelming passed a resolution blasting Syria’s government for a myriad of human rights abuses including “crimes against humanity.”

* World: A boost from the private sector helped the U.S. unemployment rate drop to its lowest point in over two years, while unemployment in Spain hit its highest mark since 1996.

* Egypt: Electoral officials claimed that 62% of eligible voters participated in parliamentary elections that are expected to be won by Islamist political groups.

* Europe: According to the World Health Organization there has been a spike in new measles cases across Europe this year and this could spread across the Atlantic.

Image Source – Flickr via watchsmart (“Typical propaganda poster featuring Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. His image is all over the country.”) (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- CBS News, BBC News, AFP, The Telegraph, CNN

Daily Headlines: December 2, 2011

2011-12-02T09:00:00.003-05:00

* Nicaragua: The White House may soon provide an official reaction discussing suspected voting irregularities in the Nicaragua’s presidential election held last month.

* Mexico: Controversial Peruvian talk show host Laura Bozzo has come fire after calling a guest a “little bitch” who should be “in jail as a prostitute.”

* Cuba: The wife of imprisoned contractor Alan Gross urged U.S. and Cuban authorities to "work something out" for his prompt release.

* Uruguay: Officials identified a corpse found at a military base in October as that of a labor union activist missing since 1977.

Image Source – Flickr via jorgemejia (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Miami Herald, LAHT, Voice of America, BBC News

World Watch: Commemorating World AIDS Day

2011-12-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

* World: A United Nations report released on the eve of World AIDS Day concluded that the world is "finally in a position to end the epidemic" but more funding is needed from global donors.

* U.S.: The results of a new HIV treatment on lab mice could be key in developing a vaccine against the disease.

* South Africa: President Jacob Zuma launched a National Strategic Plan to promote AIDS prevention and slash the number of new HIV infections at least by half.

* China: According to the state press, about 780,000 people in China will be infected by AIDS by the end of 2011 including approximately 48,000 new cases in this year alone.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Voice of America, CBS News, Reuters, NPR

Today’s Video: Milk, Eggs, Blood

2011-12-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

What would happen if you where shopping at your local grocery store and suddenly stumbled upon several rows of blood bags placed in one of the refrigerators? The following ad created for Hospital Albert Einstein captures the reactions of shoppers at several Sao Paulo convenience stores.

See for yourself how the video was part of a campaign to raise awareness for blood donations:

(Hat tip: MetaFilter).

Video Source - YouTube via bloguerilla

Online Source - MetaFilter

Chilean Student Protesters Vow to Continue Marches

2011-12-01T11:00:00.004-05:00

Note: This post originally appeared in the Latin American News Dispatch on November 30, 2011.

The leaders of Chile’s main student protest group promised that they will continue their campaign despite the approval of the country’s controversial education budget.

At a press conference held on Tuesday, student leaders of Chile’s student protest group (known by the Spanish-language acronym CONFECH) vowed that they would hold a mass demonstration this Thursday in the coastal city of Valparaiso. “We will go out in order to inform the citizens of the treason committed by the ruling political class,” declared CONFECH spokesman Alexis González in response to the federal education budget passed last Friday by the Chilean legislature.

Education Minister Felipe Bulnes claimed that the new budget improves high education in several ways, including offering more scholarships to poorer Chileans. Yet CONFECH president Camila Vallejo noted that the state “needs to take charge to regulate the private higher education system and that is not contemplated in the approved budget.”

For over six months Chilean students have campaigned for educational reforms including free tuition and an increased state role in the area of education. At times the protests became tense and violent though the students have earned the support of several sectors such as the country’s labor unions.

Student protests leaders also suffered another setback on Tuesday when Congress on Tuesday approved the federal budget but left out the establishing of a public education fund. Thus, one of CONFECH’s key demands will have to be debated in a bill separate from the approved budget plans.

Several student protest movements through Latin America have emerged from the original protesters from Chile. In Colombia, for instance, over ten thousand people participated in marches held last Thursday in several major cities. One student protester in Bogota claimed, “We’re here to defend a just and high quality education.”

Earlier this month Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos backed away from a proposed reform to the educational system that would’ve included increased privatization. This concession to one of the main demands by the main student protest movement (known by the Spanish-language acronym MANE) helped facilitate the return of thousands of striking university students to their classes. Nevertheless, MANE chief Paola Galindo observed that last Thursday’s “successful” protests helped “back the sovereignty and autonomy of the Colombian populace.”

Last week young people throughout the region participated in solidarity marches with student protesters in Chile and Colombia. In Montevideo, hundreds of university students marched from the campus of the Universidad de la República to the Colombian embassy. Protesters in Buenos Aires demonstrated through the streets and held banners with insignias such as “the student struggle is walking through Latin America.’’

Not all of the recent student marches in the Americas have had to do with seeking a quality education. On November 18, a few hundred demonstrators in Caracas participated in protests against rising crime rates.

Image Source – Flickr via Simenon (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources - Correo del Orinoco, noticias.123.cl, La Tercera, EFE, teleSur, Europa Press, El Pais, Boston.com, ABC.es, Latin America News Dispatch

Daily Headlines: December 1, 2011

2011-12-01T09:15:00.003-05:00

* Honduras: The Honduran legislature voted in favor of deploying troops in order to combat organized crime and drug traffickers.

* Latin America: Haiti and Venezuela are among the world’s most corrupt countries according to a report released by Transparency International.

* Mexico: The Interior Department reprimanded officials in Sonora for publicly discussing the criminal record of a recently killed anti-crime activist.

* Chile: A Chilean court convicted a police officer and sentenced him to five years in prison for the shooting death of an indigenous Mapuche man.

Image Source – Flickr via madmack66 (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources - Reuters, MSNBC, The Guardian, UNPO

World Watch: The Long Arm of the Law

2011-11-30T20:00:00.002-05:00

* Ivory Coast: Ex-president Laurent Gbagbo was arrested and flown to the Netherlands where he awaits trial in front of the International Criminal Court.

* Britain: Hundreds of thousands of public employees took to the streets to protest against government-backed austerity measures.

* Pakistan: The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff “publicly and categorically” rejected accusations that NATO purposely killed 24 Pakistani soldiers over the weekend.

* Palestine: Iceland became the first western European country to recognize Palestine as an independent state.

Image Source – Flickr via Alkan de Beaumont Chaglar (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- Reuters, USA TODAY, MSNBC, Herald Sun

International condemnation against Colombian hostage killings

2011-11-30T16:00:00.001-05:00

On Friday four hostages held against their will by Colombia’s FARC rebels for over ten years were gunned down during a failed rescue attempt. Over the past few days, members Colombians blasted the guerillas for their cruel and senseless actions, while families of the victims grieve and lament their loss.

Numerous public figures from around the world also expressed their condemnation of the massacre by the FARC. Pope Benedict XVI said that he was in “pain” over the deaths of the hostages and urged for an end to violence in Colombia. "The Holy Father received this tragic news with sorrow and sends his prayers to the families of the victims and the beloved people of Colombia at this time of suffering," read a letter from the Pontiff.

Organization for American States chief José Miguel Insulza claimed that the deaths were a “crime against humanity” and a serious violation of “international humanitarian rights.” Insulza also called for the immediate release of all prisoners held by the FARC and said that freeing them is a “necessary precondition for peace (talks).”

The United Nations human rights representative in Colombia, Christian Salazar, said that “the
atrocious assassinations reflect a terrible lack of humanity and complete disrespect for life.”

José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, labeled the deaths as a “war crime,” while a statement from the U.S. embassy in Colombia deemed the incident as a “terrorist act.”

Catherine Ashton, the head of the European Union’s diplomatic division, said on Tuesday that the FARC should “lay down their arms” and join the “process of political reform and modernization in Colombia.” That doesn’t seem like it will be the case according to Andrés Mejía Vergnaud in the Americas Quarterly blog:

Peace with a group that commits such acts will be hard to swallow in Colombia and abroad, especially if, as FARC leaders have made it clear, they will not accept convictions or prison terms. Growing international demands for the prosecution of crimes against humanity and war crimes make blanket pardons impossible; something that Colombians would hardly accept, in any case.

A police sergeant held by the FARC for nearly twelve years narrowly escaped being executed by the rebels on Friday. “I felt the impact on my face and neck, the shots were at me, the only thing I could do was run,” said Luis Erazo to the local press over the weekend.

Image Source – Flickr user equinoXio (“Every life is sacred” reads this banner at a 2008 anti-FARC protest in Medellin, Colombia). (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – AFP, Colombia Reports, Noticias Caracol, Radio Santa Fe, EFE, Human Rights Watch, Voz de America, Reuters, Americas Quarterly blog

Today’s Video: No Way Out

2011-11-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Eighteen-year-old high school senior Joaquin Luna had stellar grades, spoke fluent English and dreamed of going to university. Yet his frustration over his illegal immigrant status where to much to bear and he committed suicide last Friday:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/29/us/dream-act-suicide/index.html

As seen in the above video, Luna claimed in his suicide note that his undocumented status would prevent him from completing his career ambitions in the field of computer graphics. Furthermore, he allegedly feared being deported to Mexico, a country he left from when he was only six months old.

According to his older brother, Carlos Mendoza, Luna became “angry” at the passing of strong anti-immigration laws in several states and also upset over repeated Congressional rejection of the DREAM Act.

Though Luna was reportedly accepted into several postsecondary schools including Rice University and Texas A & M, he apparently felt like there was no way out:

“He thought that even if he was going to go to college he was probably still not going to be able to get a job,” Mendoza, Luna’s brother, says. “To him everything that he was doing was just going to be for nothing because at the end of the road he was never going to be given the chance to work."

Luna’s funeral is taking place today until 9:00 pm. His family is accepting donations to pay for the funeral and his burial.

Video Source - CNN

Online Sources – Fox News Latino, The Guardian, CNN, TheMonitor.com

Daily Headlines: November 30, 2011

2011-11-30T08:30:00.001-05:00

* Latin America: At a global climate conference in South Africa, a representative of the ALBA bloc called for developed countries to take more action against increased greenhouse gas emissions.

* Guatemala: Guatemalan officials urged Canada to prosecute suspected war criminal Jorge Sosa rather than extradite him to the U.S. where he’s accused of immigration fraud.

* Peru: Construction at the proposed Conga gold mine was suspended in response to a six-day protest against the plan.

* Chile: A Chilean judge requested the extradition of a “former U.S. military attaché” suspected in the murder of a journalist days after the 1973 coup.

Image Source – Flickr user UNclimatechange (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Bloomberg, Reuters, BBC News, CTV News, The Latin Americanist

World Watch: Persona Non Grata

2011-11-29T15:30:00.002-05:00

* Sudan: Kenya’s ambassador to Sudan was expelled as a possible retaliation for a Kenyan high court decision ordering the arrest of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.

* Africa: Thousands of Egyptians peacefully participated in parliamentary elections on Tuesday while opposition presidential candidates in Congo called for the annulment of Monday’s elections.

* Iran: Protestors allegedly “ransacked offices” at the British embassy in Tehran as part of their opposition to additional financial sanctions placed on Iran by the U.K.

* U.S.: The owner of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus agreed to pay a $270,000 fine as part of a settlement in an animal rights case.

Image Source – Flickr user Al Jazeera English (Sudanese president Omar al Bashir, seen here in this January 2011 photo, is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for alleged war crimes in Darfur). (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- CNN, Reuters, Los Angeles Times, BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 29, 2011

2011-11-29T10:30:00.002-05:00

* Ecuador: Residents of four villages were ordered to evacuate as a result of increased ash and super-hot gas coming from the Tungurahua volcano.

* Mexico: A “vocal member” of the anti-violence Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity was shot and killed on Monday.

* South America: Venezuelan police arrested Maximiliano Bonilla, one of Colombia’s most wanted drug traffickers, and are getting ready to extradite him to the U.S.

* Chile: Workers at one of the world’s top copper mines, Collahuasi in Chile, are entering the second day of a strike on Tuesday.

Image Source – Via Flickr user marriedwithluggage (Photo of the Tungurahua volcano erupting in November 2010). (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – Sydney Morning Herald, Christian Science Monitor, Huffington Post, Reuters

Today’s Video: Ladies in Black

2011-11-28T19:30:00.002-05:00

The Ladies in White are a female group of Cuban government dissenters who have called for the freeing of their relatives who have been imprisoned since 2003. The ladies dressed in black in the video below are an estimated one thousand women in Montevideo, Uruguay who participated in a silent protest on November 25th:

Similar protests where held last Friday throughout Latin America and the Caribbean in order to commemorate the International Day Against Gender-Based Violence.

Video Source - YouTube via AFP

Online Sources - Milenio, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: November 28, 2011

2011-11-28T09:30:00.002-05:00

* Venezuela: Officials on Friday commenced the repatriating of gold reserves from European banks to Venezuela.

* Brazil: Amnesty International blasted Brazilian authorities for “failing to resolve outstanding land claims” that endanger indigenous communities.

* Guyana: Parliamentary elections are being held today with the possibility that the Alliance for Change group could break Guyana’s traditional two-party hegemony.

* Latin America: International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned that Latin America should prepare for “possible turbulence” as a result of the European debt crisis.

Image Source – Via Flickr user digitalmoneyworld (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Voice of America, NASDAQ, Mercopress, BBC News

World Watch: Egypt’s continued call for democracy

2011-11-25T16:00:00.002-05:00

* Egypt: Thousands of protesters jammed into Cairo’s Tahrir Square today and continued to urge the military-led government to accelerate a transition to civilian rule.

* U.S.: Rather than focus on the consumerism and sporadic scuffles on Black Friday why not celebrate Evacuation Day instead?

* South Korea: In what sounds like the premise behind an episode of “The Twilight Zone” robotic prison guards may be used to monitor inmates at a South Korean prison.

* Africa: Ethiopia could be the latest African country to send troops to Somalia in order to combat insurgents reportedly linked to Al-Qaeda.

Image Source – Via Flickr user Lillian Wagdy. (“Tahrir Square on November 22nd” of this year).

Online Sources- Reuters, CBS News, The Daily Show, Voice of America, BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 25, 2011

2011-11-25T11:00:00.002-05:00

* Peru: Activity in the Cajamarca region is slowly returning to normal after thousands of demonstrators marched in protest against the proposed Conga gold mine.

* Mexico: A group of Mexican human rights lawyers have filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court against several senior officials including President Felipe Calderon.

* Uruguay: World Health Organization chief Margaret Chan blasted tobacco firms that "harass" countries that have strong anti-smoking laws like Uruguay.

* Venezuela: China and Venezuela signed a series of pacts this week in areas such as energy, telecommunications and agriculture.

Image Source – Flickr user Participatory Learning (The Yanacocha gold mine seen here is owned by the same firm that is behind the proposed Conga mine in Peru’s Cajamarca region). (CC BY 2.0).

Online Sources- Fox News, BBC News, MSNBC, BusinessWeek

Today’s Video: Thanks

2011-11-24T20:00:00.002-05:00

On a day of reflction that is Thanksgiving, Mercedes Sosa's touching version of "Gracias a la vida" ("Thanks to Life") is certainly worth listening to:

Video Source - YouTube user Soror

Daily Headlines: November 24, 2011

2011-11-24T13:00:00.002-05:00

* Colombia: According to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Colombia has the world’s second-highest number of casualties due to landmines with over 500 victims in 2010.

* Brazil: The country's National Petroleum Agency barred Chevron from oil drilling activities days after the company accepted responsibility for an oil leak off the Brazilian coast.

* Panama: French officials gave permission for the extradition of ex-Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega back to his homeland.

* Mexico: Police in Guadalajara found at least twenty bodies located in three abandoned cars reportedly along with “a message from an alleged gang.”

Image Source – Via Flickr user Luis Perez (Possible landmine found in the Colombian state of Antioquia). (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Colombia Reports, Voice of America, The Guardian, BBC News

Today’s Video: Battling impunity

2011-11-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

As Lille Langtry mentioned in the Memory in Latin America blog, November 23rd is the International Day to End Impunity. Langtry observed that the date highlights crimes against journalists "who have been killed for exercising their right to freedom of expression."

Last week human rights organization Amnesty International (AI) blasted the Mexican government for not doing enough to protect members of the press from violence. "Mexican authorities have to show that they do not tolerate threats and violence against the media by putting in effective preventative measures, leading impartial investigations on these attacks and assuring those responsible are brought to justice," noted AI special advisor Javier Zuniga.

As we mentioned one year ago, several local newspapers decreased their reporting on organized crime in order to prevent being targeted by drug gangs and other criminal groups. Meanwhile journalists under constant harassment and death threats like Emilio Gutierrez Soto have sought political asylum in the neighboring U.S.

The below video from the International Center for Journalists provides testimony from Rocío Idalia Gallegos Rodríguez and Sandra Rodríguez Nieto, a pair of reporters who work at El Diario de Juárez. Despite the great dangers of their investigative work, both of these muckraking reporters have written about drug violence, government corruption and impunity in the northern Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez.

Video Source - YouTube via the International Center for Journalists

Online Sources - Memory in Latin America, GlobalPost, The Latin Americanist, Reuters

Daily Headlines: November 23, 2011

2011-11-23T10:00:00.002-05:00

* Venezuela: In order to combat high inflation the government introduced additional price controls on eighteen products.

* Mexico: Troops confiscated over $15 million suspected of belonging to Sinaloa drug gang leader Joaquin Guzman.

* Guatemala: Investigators identified the remains of two people suspected of being kidnapped, tortured and murdered by the military nearly thirty years ago.

* Chile: PolitiFact.com labeled as “False” U.S. presidential candidate Newt Gingrich’s claim that Chile has a 72% national savings rate.

Image Source – Via Flickr user blmurch (market stall in Merida, Venezuela), (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources – Bloomberg, PolitiFact, BBC News, Reuters

World Watch: Plateau

2011-11-22T16:45:00.003-05:00

* World: According to a U.N. report AIDS-related deaths worldwide have fallen by 21% since the 2005 “peak” while the number of new cases has leveled off.

* Cambodia: One of the three former Khmer Rouge leaders accused of the genocide of 2.2 million people claimed that he defended Cambodia from invasion by Vietnam.

* Egypt: In response to mounting protests across Egypt the head of the country’s ruling military council promised to hold presidential elections by the end of June 2012.

* Syria: The U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee backed a resolution to “strongly condemn” the Syrian government’s crackdown on dissenters.

Image Source – Via Flickr user IIP State (“Huge HIV/AIDS ribbons illuminate the US Embassy South Africa building each night leading up to World Aids Day 2009.”) (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- Voice of America, BusinessWeek, Reuters, BBC News

Daily Headlines: November 22, 2011

2011-11-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

* Latin America: Brazil’s government fined Chevron $27 million for causing a leak off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, while a pair of U.S. senators introduced a bill targeting foreign oil drilling in Cuban waters.

* Colombia: The price of a cup of coffee could increase after output from Colombia decreased due to inclement weather.

* El Salvador: Mari Carmen Aponte’s confirmation to become permanent U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador could be held up due to concerns over her alleged “pro-gay agenda.”

* Paraguay: Some lawmakers in Paraguay are upset over supposed “military intimidation” by neighboring Brazil near their border.

Image Source – Via Flickr user Josh Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources – Miami Herald, Al Jazeera English, Bloomberg, MercoPress, Advocate.com

Daily Headlines: November 21, 2011

2011-11-21T09:30:00.002-05:00

* Mexico: Authorities are on alert after the Popocatepetl volcano spewed ash and steam from its crater.

* U.S.: A Dominican-born, U.S. citizen was accused of planning to detonate several bombs in the New York City area.

* Brazil: Chevron was forced to accept “full responsibility” for an oil spill several miles off the Brazilian coast.

* Colombia: A lawsuit was filed in a U.S. federal court accusing an extradited paramilitary commander of “committing violent acts” in Colombia.

Image – Via Flickr user platibolo (CC BY 2.0)

Online Sources- Herald Sun, Reuters, Miami Herald, CNN

World Watch: Renewed protesting in Tahrir Square (Updated)

2011-11-18T17:30:00.003-05:00

* Egypt: Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in Cairo's Tahrir Square to call for a quicker transfer of power to civilian rule. (Update: Over the weekend at least four people died amid clashes between protesters and police attempting to clear Tahrir Square).

* U.S.: Will the need to move some operations indoors due to the winter have a major impact on Occupy movements across the country?

* Iran: The U.N.'s “nuclear watchdog” approved a resolution that blasted Iran’ s nuclear plans but refrained from referring the country to the U.N. Security Council.

* Italy: Recently named Prime Minister Mario Monti easily won a vote of confidence from parliament, which will likely boost his plans to combat Italy’s debt crisis.

Video Source – YouTube user euronews

Online Sources- BBC News, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: November 18, 2011

2011-11-18T11:00:00.003-05:00

* Venezuela: Thousands of troops under a new command known as the People's Guard will be deployed throughout the country in order to combat a spike in violent crimes.

* Haiti: Vaccinations will soon be administered in order to stop a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly 7000 people since October 2010.

* Puerto Rico: The yearly record for murders is expected to be surpassed in the next few days with the 1000th murder.

* Nicaragua: Recently reelected President Daniel Ortega will surely be seeking to take advantage of a two-thirds majority of his political party in the Nicaraguan legislature.

Video Source – YouTube user teleSUR

Online Sources – BBC News, Voice of America, Fox News Latino, Reuters

Today’s Video: Another migration wave to Argentina?

2011-11-17T19:30:00.001-05:00

In the early 20th century millions of Europeans seeking better economic opportunities migrated to Argentina. This wave of migration died down and in the last few decades Argentina has become the target of visitors from Latin American countries. But could the financial crisis currently hitting Europe lead to a resurgence of immigration to Argentina from that continent?

The following Spanish-language video via Russia Today examined the recent boost in Spanish migrants traveling to Argentina. Over 24,000 Spaniards migrated to Argentina in 2010, with most of them young adults seeking jobs that they have had trouble obtaining in their homeland.

Will these new migrants from Spain have as profound an effect on Argentine culture as some of their ancestors roughly a century ago? See for yourself:

(Hat tip: El Espectador).

Video Source - YouTube user ActualidadRT

Online Sources - Global Voices Online, Migration Information Source, El Espectador