Daily Headlines: May 6, 2011

* Brazil: In a decision one Brazilian gay rights activist described as "a historic achievement," the country’s Supreme Court almost unanimously ruled in favor of recognizing same-sex unions.

* U.S.: Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Arturo Valenzuela will supposedly leave his post.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez said that he would seek additional investors to boost the country’s gold mining industry.

* Dominican Republic: University of Kentucky men's basketball coach John Calipari has reportedly accepted coaching the Dominican Republic’s squad.

Image – Nelson Antoine/Associated Press via CBC News (“Revelers hold a giant flag during the 2009 Gay Pride Parade in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Millions of people took to the streets of South America's biggest city for its 13th annual gay pride parade.”)
Online Sources- CNN, AFP, Bloomberg, Canadian Press

Daily Headlines: February 18, 2011

* Haiti: Ex-first lady Mirlande Manigat and musician Michel Martelly officially began their presidential campaigns yesterday in an anticipation of a decisive runoff on March 20.

* Venezuela: Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela claimed at a Senate hearing on Thursday that Venezuelan influence in Latin America is “in marked decline.”

* Honduras: Fifteen Cuban migrants were detained after traveling by sea over twelve days and then landing on a Honduran beach.

* Peru: Peruvian farmers will send samples of 1500 potato types to Norway’s “doomsday” seed vault for safeguarding.

Image – Eduardo Munoz/Reuters via CBC News (“Presidential candidates Michel Martelly, left, and Mirlande Manigat, right, attend a ceremony in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 13. The two will contest a run-off election on March 20.”)
Online Sources- AFP, MSNBC, LAHT, BBC News

Brazil, U.S. envoys discuss Mahmoud, military, Mel

Senior Brazilian and U.S. diplomats met on Monday to discuss a wide range of topics pertaining to the Western Hemisphere.

According to Brazil's presidential foreign affairs advisor Marco Aurelio Garcia, his meeting in Brasilia today with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela was meant to “clear the air” over disagreements and sensitive points between both countries. Garcia criticized the White House’s controversial deal to expand U.S. military presence in Colombia by claiming that it "is not a positive factor in the region". Garcia also defended the recent visit of Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Brazil and asserted his country’s backing of Iran’s nuclear program solely under International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines. (Last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that it was a "really bad idea" for Latin American states to engage with Iran).

Garcia also said that he and Valenzuela found common ground regarding the Honduran political crisis:

"We coincide in something: for the Brazilian and the U.S. governments the election is insufficient to normalize democracy," Garcia said, adding that they still had a "small difference" over the results of the election…

"We really agree on some of the fundamental aspects of our relationship, and we have a similar view of many of the issues in the hemisphere," Valenzuela said when asked about the differences with Brazil over Honduras.

Valenzuela’s trip to the Americas will continue with stops in the other Mercosur full member countries of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

Image- The Telegraph (The current presidents of Brazil and the U.S. met at the White House last March).
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, AFP, JTA, Reuters, Mercopress

Valenzuela confirmed, Shannon waits

Yesterday the Senate confirmed Arturo Valenzuela as Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere affairs. The confirmation comes months after the nomination of Valenzuela to replace current Asst. Secretary Thomas Shannon, whose appointment by President Obama as Ambassador to Brazil had also been blocked by Senator Jim Demint.

Demint had voiced concerns over the administration's policy toward the coup in Honduras, and ironically decided to make the nominees wait until this policy could be clarified. Demint told press yesterday that he believed the administration had "changed course," and quoted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as having committed to him that the US would recognize the upcoming elections in Honduras "regardless of whether former President Manuel Zelaya is returned to office."

This strikes me as a curious moment for reversal, given how up-in-the-air the Honduran situation remains. To me, this suggests that Demint was looking for an face-saving excuse to back down from his blockade of the nominees, and / or to finally divest himself of the slippery Honduran issue which he had taken up as a cause celebre, to little avail.

According to the Latin American Advisor on Friday, Shannon had still not been approved in his new post "due to a new block put on his confirmation." Shannon had graciously accepted an invitation by President Obama to stay on in his current post until Valenzuela could be confirmed.

Either way, congratulations to Dr. Valenzuela on his new post as the top administration official for the region, and don't worry, Dr. Shannon -- you'll be be negotiating clean energy agreements and sipping caipirinhas soon enough.

Sources: Miami Herald, Washington Post, Latin American Advisor