Daily Headlines: October 30, 2014

* U.S.: According to a new Pew Research Center poll, Latino voter support of the Democratic Party has diminished slightly while more respondents believe that there is no difference between the Democrats and the rival Republican Party.

* Brazil: The Brazilian central bank rose interest rates as a possible sign that President Dilma Rousseff is seeking too woo investors spooked by her recent reelection.

* Dominican Republic: At least one person was killed during protests where demonstrators called for improvements to social services.

* Chile: 850 marijuana seeds were planted as part of a pilot program in a Santiago municipality to grow medical marijuana for cancer patients.

Video Source – AFP via YouTube 

Online Sources – Pew Hispanic Center; ABC News; BBC News; GlobalPost; The Latin Amercanist

Daily Headlines: May 15, 2014

* Honduras: Military police clashed with supporters of ex-president Manuel Zelaya outside of the Honduran legislative chambers as political tensions related to the controversial 2009 ouster of Zelaya remain high.
    
* Caribbean: Researchers have reportedly located the “looted” remains of the Santa Maria, one of the three ships used by Christopher Columbus in his first voyage to the Americas, off the coast of Haiti.

* Brazil: Cruzeiro’s elimination from the quarterfinals of the Copa Libertadores meant that for the first time since 1991 no Brazilian teams would be among the final four of South America’s top soccer club tournament.

* U.S.: Is the Eva Longoria-led Latino Victory Project a front for the Democrats or is the Republican National Committee guilty of sour grapes?

Video Source– YouTube user latribunatvhn

Online Sources – ABC News; The Latin Americanist; The Wire; The Huffington Post; Soccrway

Poll: Latinos unhappy with Dems, GOP on immigration

President Barack Obama earlier today vowed to continue pushing for a "comprehensive approach" to immigration reform. But the results of a recent poll showed that Latinos are peeved with the president as well as the Republicans over their approaches towards the immigration debate.

According to an NBC/Telemundo poll released yesterday Latinos harbor mistrust against both of the major parties; a slim majority favor the Democrats while roughly one in five have a positive impression of the GOP. Furthermore, most Latinos (55%) polled disapproved of Obama’s job on immigration. In addition, the push by some Republicans for stronger immigration measures has helped them gain support with two groups who generally lean Democratic: women over fifty years of age and suburban women.

Despite what could be short-term electoral gains the poll revealed that the GOP risks alienating Latino voters. Latinos under forty- who could help boost voter registration numbers- mostly tend to support Obama (73%) and have a greater opposition to Arizona’s controversial immigration law (75%) compared to older Latinos. Also, most of those polled back Democrats over Republicans in handling issues such as dealing with immigration and protecting the interests of minorities. The GOP faces a double-edged sword in some states according to one pollster interviewed by the Wall Street Journal:

While a majority of voters tell pollsters they support the law, and tough stances on illegal immigration are likely to resonate this fall in such states as Nevada and Florida, Republican candidates in California might face a potential backlash from the state's more liberal electorate

In California, "they risk alienating…independent voters who don't support deportations," said Mark Baldassare, chief executive of the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.

An AP/Univision poll published earlier this month found that most Latinos view illegal immigration favorably and see immigration as a whole as being beneficial to society.

Image- ABC News
Online Sources- CBS News, MSNBC, Newser, Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News

Immigration rallies held over weekend

It may not have been the tens of thousands who rallied at the National Mall last month yet advocates for immigration reform still made their voices heard over the weekend.

On Saturday crowds gathered in several U.S. cities in order to voice their demands for changes to federal immigration policy. In Seattle a teen explained how despite spending most of his life in the U.S. he’s worried that “immigration could come one day to pick me up.” Several Democratic congressmen appeared at a Chicago rally though other speakers blasted President Obama for delaying immigration reform. “There are no excuses. This is something America needs,” proclaimed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in support of reform at a Las Vegas event.

The drive for reform is a difficult one a both Democrats and Republicans waffle on the issue. for instance, some Democrats concede that reform may need to be delayed even more. Yet as the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein noted now may be the most politically expedient time for some politicos to push for reform:

The fear in 2010, however, is that Hispanics won't show up to vote. If Democrats actually pursue immigration reform, their participation becomes likelier. And if Republicans -- or tea partyers, or conservative talk radio -- overreact to the prospect of immigration reform, their participation becomes virtually assured…

But grass-roots conservatives tend to be very, very opposed to immigration reform. Remember that it was conservatives -- led by talk radio -- who killed the immigration reform effort. So what do Republican politicians do when their base goes into anti-immigration overdrive but their consultants beg them to tread carefully? It looks like Harry Reid, for one, would like to find out.

One immigrant’s rights coalition has called for Congress to have a reform bill passed by the end of the summer. Whether politicians take up the cause or continue with their heads in the sand remains to be seen.

Image- Las Vegas Sun (“Activists gather outside the Lloyd George Federal Building in a protest for immigration reform Saturday, April 10, 2010.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, MWCN, Chicago Tribune, Las Vegas Sun, New York Daily News, Washington Post, Seattle Times

Rangel’s Dominican ties may cost him

What does the Dominican Republic have to do with Rep. Charles Rangel? The connection may cost the veteran legislator plenty.

The longtime Democrat has come under fire over a litany of ethics violations including dubious rental arrangements and failure to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets. Republicans have tried to paint him as “a national symbol of Democratic misconduct” and have tried to strip him of his chair of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Their latest effort failed though Rangel has also faced increased scrutiny from some of his fellow Democrats.

In the latest chapter of the Rangel affair, the House Ethics Committee voted unanimously Thursday to widen its probe of the Harlem legislator. The investigation will examine in more detail Rangel’s Dominican ties:

(Rangel) disclosed that he owed more than $10,000 in back taxes because he had failed to report more than $70,000 in rental income from a villa in the Dominican Republic.

The ethics committee eventually expanded its inquiry to include the unreported income and unpaid taxes from his home in the Dominican Republic and questions about whether he improperly used his office to raise money for a charity — the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York — from donors with business before his panel.

It appears as if Rangel will run again for Congress though it remains to be seen if the voters will stick by him once again.

Image- Washington Post
Online Sources- AP, New York Daily News, Rangel for Congress, New York Times, CNN

Bill Richardson for VP?

With the Democratic presidential race all but over speculation has run rampant on who will join Barack Obama as the party’s vice prudential candidate. Some pundits have hypothesized that Obama should pick defeated candidate Hillary Clinton and run on a so-called “dream ticket.” However, there are other experienced and qualified Democrats who could be a good fit as V.P.

One of the frontrunners to be on an Obama ticket is New Mexico governor Bill Richardson. Richardson- who is the head of a border state and failed in his long-shot attempt to run for the White House- endorsed Obama’s presidential bid last March. Though Richardson tried not to emphasize his Mexican heritage, analysts believe that his Hispanic background could sway the Latino electorate towards the Democrats. While one of the main critiques of Obama is his lack of experience in office, Richardson is a seasoned diplomat with an extensive foreign policy background. Richardson is also slightly younger than other top V.P. candidates like Joe Biden and Jim Webb though he is of the same age as a pair of leading female names. (Clinton and Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius).

Richardson does have some disadvantages, however. As we noted in 2007, the American public doesn’t know very much about him (and still don’t) and the Wen Ho Lee scandal could serve as fodder against him. During his bid for presidency he had trouble during the debates and his call for an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq could serve as a liability with voters on the right.

British oddsmakers William Hill have given Richardson 7/1 odds in being picked to run with Obama. Those are pretty good odds though ultimately the decision rests with Obama himself.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Crooks and Liars, Fact Checker, Monsters and Critics, boston.com, BBC News, Globe and Mail, Foreign Policy Passport, Casino Beacon

Image- TIME

Democrats Spend Dinero on Spanish Language Ads

The Democrats know that it takes money to win votes, and they are putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to the Latino vote.

Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have spent more than $4 million targeting Spanish-speaking primary voters and likely will blanket swing states such as Ohio, New Mexico and Pennsylvania for November’s general election, according to the Hispanic Voter Project at Johns Hopkins University. Republican Sen. John McCain, meanwhile, isn’t conceding the airwaves on the way to his party’s nomination and aired a Spanish-language ad last week in New Mexico aimed at the general election

Of course the money spent says nothing about the quality of the ads but it's better than nothing, right?

Source : Hispanic Tips

Daily Headlines: February 21, 2008

* Barack Obama’s primary winning streak continues as reports claim that he won the Democrats Abroad primary. (Democrats Abroad is the official organization representing Democratic Party members outside of the U.S. in countries such as Guatemala, Panama, and Mexico.)

* Venezuela’s government wants ExxonMobil to drop its legal cases and negotiate while the price of a barrel of oil crossed the $100 threshold on Wednesday.

* Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa promoted conservation as he toured a new wind-energy park on the Galapagos Islands.

* Police and peasants clashed in Colombia over a plan to manually eradicate coca plants.

Sources- Reuters, Houston Chronicle, AFP, Guardian UK, Wikipedia

Image- Economist.com