Bloggers of the World Unite!

• One of the perks of being an MLS futbolista: preseason games in Cancun. (See the above image).
• An interesting coincidence: the same laws which caught ex-Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet money laundering in 2002 were also used to link Eliot Spitzer to a prostitution ring.
• Has the Vatican’s new seven deadly sins redeemed liberation theology?
• Chef/author Anthony Bourdain really liked Uruguayan cuisine during a trip there for his show “No Reservations.”
• Latino food vendors received the green light to continue selling near the soccer fields in Red Hook, Brooklyn. (Contrast that with what’s happened around the pitches in Prince William County, Virginia).
• Venezuela’s exportation of oil to the U.S. may save its government from being place on a U.S. list of terrorist-sponsoring countries.
• Spring breakers may be increasingly worried over partying south of the border, but that hasn’t stopped some students from heading to El Salvador to work on social projects.
• Paramilitaries, NGOs, and Venezuela were some of the information gathered from the laptops of recently killed FARC guerilla commander Raul Reyes.
• Are moderates to blame for the “restrictionist” position by some Republicans on immigration?
• The battle of the beefcakes: Saul Lisazo vs. George Clooney.

Sources- A Year in Uruguay, The Daily Dish, The Offside Rules, The Latin Americanist, kottke.org, Foreign Policy Passport, Chile From Within, Two Weeks Notice, Guanabee, Tim’s El Salvador Blog, Plan Colombia and Beyond, holamun2,

Images- boston.com

Will the next New York governor help Latinos?

Earlier today New York governor Eliot Spitzer resigned from his post due to his involvement in an illegal prostitution ring. Spitzer’s replacement will be Lt. Gov. David Paterson, a visually impaired African-American who is experienced and well-respected by his peers.

What can the state’s Latino population expect from Paterson whose term is set to begin on Monday? According to LoHud.com’s blog on immigration, Paterson “has certainly spoken up for immigrants’ rights” during his time as lieutenant governor. Nevertheless, he will have to tread lightly on the issue of immigration; Spitzer’s plan for providing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants was dropped last year amidst controversy.

Meanwhile, an article in one of New York City’s main Spanish-language dailies- El Diario/La Prensa- said experts feel that Paterson will do more for the Latino community than Spitzer:

Under Paterson’s mandate, the number of Hispanics in high office could increase…according to experts.

“Well, at first nothing will change. If (Paterson) names new people then I have no doubt that he will take Latinos into account,” opined Rodolfo de la Garza, political science professor at Columbia University.

Though Hispanics currently represent 16% of the state’s population only 4% of them work for the state government. -[ed. personal translation]

Paterson will become the first African-American governor in New York history and the state’s first physically disabled one since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Sources (English)- Christian Science Monitor, AFP, Huffington Post, LoHud.com, Gothamist

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- TIME