Daily Headlines: January 27, 2009

* Puerto Rico: Aníbal Acevedo Vila may be gone from the governorship but that hasn’t stopped federal authorities from continuing their corruption investigation on him.

* U.S.: According to this article from the AFP, thieves are increasingly targeting Latino illegal immigrants in the U.S. who are afraid they’ll be deported if they seek the police.

* Costa Rica: A new program funded by the World Bank will teach AIDS prevention strategies to nearly two dozen Costa Rican prostitutes.

* Chile: Could former President Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle become Chile’s version of Grover Cleveland?

Image- daylife.com (“Puerto Rican Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila gestures during an interview at his residence, in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Jan. 4, 2008.”)
Online Sources- LAHT, Wikipedia, UPI, AFP, Caribbean Net News, The Latin Americanist

Judge drops most charges vs. P.R. governor

The legal load on the back of Puerto Rican governor Aníbal Acevedo Vilá just got a whole lot lighter:

A U.S. judge on Monday threw out most of the federal corruption charges against Puerto Rico's governor, who faces trial in February for alleged campaign finance violations.

The judge dismissed 15 of the 24 charges against Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila. All but two were dismissed with prejudice and cannot be filed again.

Acevedo Vilá was indicted in March on charges related to campaign fraud and electoral wrongdoing during his 2004 gubernatorial campaign. But according to Judge Paul Barbadoro some of the charges were based on a misinterpretation of Puerto Rican electoral law.

Acevedo Vilá is still supposed to stand for trial in February. By then he will not be the governor anymore after his electoral loss last month to Luis Fortuño. Acevedo Vila’s loss was partially as a result of his legal problems.

Image- BBC News
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Caribbean Net News, IHT

Puerto Rican governor loses reelection

Puerto Rico’s embattled governor lost his reelection bid as he’s been caught in the middle of scandal.

Just a short moment ago, Governor Aníbal Acevedo Vila conceded and congratulated the New Progressive Party’s (PNP) Luis Fortuño for winning today. Though a recent poll indicated a tight race between Vila and Fortuño, the latest official figures have Fortuño winning by nearly 10%.

Acevedo Vilá’s term has been hurt be a federal investigation into alleged election fraud and corruption. Yet it also appears that the weakening economy on the island may have been the main factor in Fortuño’s win:

At least 60,000 people have lost manufacturing jobs in recent years on the island, an unprecedented sales tax hit wallets hard, murders are on the rise and the island never quite recovered economically from a fiscal crisis two years ago that furloughed state workers…

''These are hard times in Puerto Rico. Aníbal hasn't done a thing for [Puerto Rico],'' said single mother Wanda Hernandez, 45, of Bayamón. ``There's little work, and the price of everything has gone up.''

Acevedo Vila is allied to the Democratic Party and he backed Barack Obama’s presidential bid. Conversely, Fortuño is a member of the Republicans and a supporter of John McCain’s campaign.

Fortuño’s victory could be vital in terms of Puerto Rico’s future political status; Acevedo Vilá’s party backed commonwealth status for the island while the PNP prefers statehood.

Image- Univision
Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, miamiherald.com, Wikipedia, seattlepi.com, Angus Reid Consultants
Sources (Spanish)- Union Radio, El Caribe