Daily Headlines: December 10, 2012

* Mexico: Acclaimed Mexican-American singer and songwriter Jenni Rivera is presumed dead after authorities located the remains of the crashed plane she was traveling in.

* Puerto Rico: Outgoing Governor Luis Fortuno will hold an extraordinary session to push for approval of a resolution urging the U.S. government to honor the results of a recent referendum on statehood for the island.

* Argentina: The U.S. and E.U. increased the pressure against supposedly unfair trade practices by Argentina. 

* U.S.: It took four tries but Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Márquez finally beat Philippine pugilist Manny Pacquiao.

Puerto Ricans Vote in Vital Elections (Updated)

All eyes have been placed on the U.S. presidential election that is projected to be won by incumbent Barack Obama over Mitt Romney.  Off the mainland, however, Puerto Ricans participate in a pair of crucial votes on Tuesday.

Hundreds of thousands of boricuas voted in a two-part plebiscite to help decide the political status of the island.  The first part of the referendum asked voters if they prefer the island’s political status as a commonwealth.  The second part of the plebiscite allowed voters to chose what type of political status they would like for Puerto Rico:  become the fifty-first U.S. state, become an independent country or remain as a commonwealth? (The island has been a commonwealth since the U.S. took control of the territory in 1898).

The results of the plebiscite are reportedly too close to call with exit polls indicating a 48%-48% tie over the first question on the island’s “status quo”.  Preliminary results for the second part of the plebiscite have indicated 50% for statehood, 32% for “enhanced commonwealth status” and 4% for independence. 

The referendum is non-binding and details of the island’s upcoming political status would have to be agreed upon by the governments of the U.S. and Puerto Rico.  The role of Puerto Rican governor thus gains more importance yet it’s unknown who will hold that seat for those critical negotiations.

The future of Gov. Luis Fortuño, who is representing the pro-statehood party, is in the balance with results of the gubernatorial election far too close to call.  With half of the votes tabulated in a recount Fortuño is behind by less than 1.0% to pro-commonwealth candidate Alejandro García Padilla.


Obama has said that he would “respect the people's will if there is a clear majority”.   The negotiations over Puerto Rico’s future political status could be made easier if Padilla wins his race since the political party he’s with is allied with the Democrats.

Update below the page break:

Daily Headlines: August 20, 2012

* Venezuela: At least twenty people died in a prison riot on Sunday night and which occurred over a week after a local rights group warned about an increase in prison violence.

* Mexico: Authorities have replaced all 348 policemen working as security at the Mexico City International Airport roughly two months after three officers were killed in a shootout.

* Puerto Rico: A majority of voters rejected a pair of proposed constitutional changes that Gov. Luis Fortuño claimed would’ve been “great tools to fight crime.”

* Argentina: The government will reportedly file a complaint with the World Trade Organization against E.U. restrictions on biodiesel imports.

Video Source – YouTube via user Noticias Internacionales (Excerpt from a July 2012 Venezuelan TV news report highlighting the problems with the country’s prison system.)

Online Sources- Bloomberg, The Australian, Huffington Post, CNN, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: December 30, 2011

* 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

Daily Headlines: October 11, 2011

* Brazil: Sugar mills in Sao Paulo state shutdown roughly a month early as national domestic output is expected to fall for the first time in six years.

* Chile: An estimated ten thousand people marched in solidarity with the indigenous Mapuche community in a protest held on Columbus Day.

* Haiti: According to Doctors Without Borders the number of cholera cases in Port-au-Prince has nearly tripled over the past few weeks.

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala fired two-thirds of the generals in the country's national police force as part of a reported push to combat corruption.

* Puerto Rico: A former Puerto Rican health secretary could face Gov. Luis Fortuño in a gubernatorial primary.

* Uruguay: Is the small South American nation of Uruguay on the verge of becoming a “major exporter of natural gas”?

Image – Via Flickr user cliff1066

Online Sources- Bloomberg, BBC News, Mercopress, MSNBC, LAHT, UPI

Daily Headlines: October 6, 2011

* Peru: The Nazca lines in the desert of southern Peru are under risk due to “poorly managed tourism” according to a report released yesterday.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Luis Fortuno submitted a proposal outlining a two-part referendum that could help decide the island’s political status.

* Britain: British Home Secretary Theresa May has come under fire after mistakenly claiming that a Bolivian man avoided deportation from England due to his pet cat.

* El Salvador: Archeologists found an ancient Mayan road in El Salvador similar to those previously uncovered on Mexico’s Yucatan area.

Image – Flickr via user ikerender

Online Sources- Reuters, ABC News, BBC News, UPI

Today’s Video: JFK in P.R.

On Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama will travel to Puerto Rico as part of an official visit to the commonwealth. Obama is scheduled to arrive in San Juan at around noon and he is expected to give a speech, travel to the governor's mansion and attend a fundraiser in the five hours he will be on the island.

The White House has published few additional details on the president's visit including who will be among the estimated 1000 attendees to welcome Obama at Muniz air force base. It's also unknown what topics he may discuss with Gov. Luis Fortuno such as Puerto Rico's future political status or the island's stagnating economy.

As Roque Planes of the Americas Society wrote, the timing of Obama's visit may have more to do with voting Boricuas residing on the mainland than those living on the island:

Obama may have other reasons for timing the trip this month. The Latino vote proved key for Obama during his 2008 campaign, but he has moved slowly to address immigration reform—one of the constituency’s highest priorities. Shortly after formally announcing his reelection bid in April, Obama began aggressively reaching out to the Hispanic leadership. He held well publicized meetings within weeks with high-profile stakeholders including media mogul and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actress Eva Longoria, and journalist José Díaz-Balart. He renewed his call for the DREAM Act during a commencement speech at Miami Dade Community College on April 29 and he called for comprehensive immigration reform at El Paso on May 10.

Obama last visited Puerto Rico as a presidential candidate in 2008 though his trip tomorrow will mark the first by a sitting U.S. president in fifty years. President John F. Kennedy traveled to the island in 1961 and in the video snippet below he received a warm welcome from Gov. Luis Munoz Marin:

Video Source - YouTube
Online Sources - primerahora.com, NY1, Politico.com, AS/COA Online

Calle 13 vs. Fortuño and HidroAysen

Note: This post was originally published on Thursday, May 12th. It was erased as a result of a Blogger outage that also prevented us from posting on Friday. Hence, we’re reposting this article today.

Puerto Rican hip-hop/reggaeton duo Calle 13 are not shy when speaking out against actions that they feel are unfair. Their politically charged music has met with its share of detractors from Colombian politicos to Puerto Rican policemen. Vocalist Rene “Residente” Perez reportedly admitted recently that he has “received threats” multiple times but he refuses to quell his outspokenness.

Calle 13 appeared on ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Tuesday where they performed two of their songs including “Baile de los Pobres” (“Dance of the Poor”). See if you can spot the sociopolitical messages aside from those mentioned in his song:

Printed on his shirt was the phrase “To hell with the fees”, which targeted the controversial move by Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño to obligate public university students to pay an $800 fee. Upon removing his shirt, the phrase “No pipeline” was written on his chest representing his opposition to a Fortuño-backed plan for contracting a 92-mile natural gas pipeline.

The Via Verde initiative wasn’t the only energy project Perez protested against; written on his back was the phrase “Patagonia without dams.” This message alluded to Chile’s HidroAysen plan that involves erecting five large hydroelectric dams in the southern Patagonia region. As we mentioned on Wednesday, HidroAysen is strongly backed by Chilean President Sebastián Piñera as a viable source of energy. Yet the project has run into staunch opposition including from Patagonia residents who are against the flooding of approximately 15,000 acres of land.

Even though Perez helped bring attention to the tensions caused by the HidroAysen plan, ABC allegedly cut him off as he gave an impromptu speech “alluding” to the project’s controversy. “Chile cut off my message but my back had the message,” wrote Perez via Twitter after the show.

In the meantime, tens of thousands of Chileans took to the streets on Thursday and called for the government to enact educational reforms.

Video Source - Jimmy Kimmel Live via YouTube
Online Sources- El Nuevo Dia, The Latin Americanist, Terra Chile, LAHT, noticias123.cl

Puerto Rico, adultery, and Ley 54

Puerto Rico’s Law for the Prevention and Intervention of Domestic Violence (also known as Ley 54) has been in the books since 1989. A recent court decision pertaining to Ley 54 has led to a firestorm of controversy and reignited the debate on domestic violence on the island.

Puerto Rico’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that found that Ley 54 does not apply to couples in an adulterous relationship. Judge Erick Kolthoff Caraballo acknowledged that domestic violence is a “serious problem” yet in his verdict claimed that the law’s intent was to protect family unity and relationships out of marriage fall outside of this aim. For instance, the commonwealth’s high court concluded that Ley 54’s use of the term “consensual relationships” excludes adulterous couples.

Global Voices mentioned the harsh criticism to Kolthoff’s decision in an article first published yesterday. One blogger opined that the ruling “betrays the intention of the law and sends an incorrect and twisted message about its applicability” while another believes that the decision s an affront to female victims of domestic violence. (It’s worth noting that a third blogger is cited for trying to “dispel” several conclusions reached by critics of the ruling).

The verdict has caused some legislators to scramble and try to pass a bill that would amend Ley 54 to include couples regardless of their civil status. Victims of domestic violence “should feel like they have the right to aspire for a life of peace, respect, and protection from the state” irrespective of their civil status, said Puerto Rican House of Representatives chief Jenniffer González yesterday. Nevertheless, she rejected a push from groups like Puerto Rico Para Todos (Puerto Rico for All) to include same-sex couples in the changes to Ley 54.

Gov. Luis Fortuño reportedly nominated Kolthoff to the Puerto Rican high court though Fortuño said that he would support modifying Ley 54 to include protection for adulterous couples. Yet Fortuño’s support for the amendment has not extended to legalizing adultery, which is a crime under the Puerto Rican Penal Code.

Image- terra.com
Online Sources- Global Voices, El Nuevo Dia, Primera Hora, derechoalderecho.org, Ley Juris

Report: Most Puerto Rican kids in poverty

A majority of Puerto Rican children are in poverty and face dwindling prospects for the future according to a report by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR).

The NCLR study found that 56% of children on the island live below the poverty line, triple the figure or the U.S. as a whole. The “2010 KIDS COUNT - Puerto Rico Data Book” also noted that the commonwealth has one of the highest teen birth rates in the U.S. and leads all U.S. states and territories in the proportion of youth who neither work or go to school (14.6%).

What factors contribute to this problematic data on Puerto Rico’s youth? According to the report’s main author, Nayde Rivera-Hernández, one of the main factors is the prevalence of single-parent households. (Children live in 49% of them said Rivera-Hernández). In a press conference yesterday she detailed that the average household income in Puerto Rico in 2006-2008 was $20,795, over $1000 less than the poverty level for a family of four ($21,834).

While protests continue against government plans to impose a university fee, Rivera-Hernández called for officials to do more in order to combat “low educational levels” hurting the island’s youth.

Earlier today a White House task force on Puerto Rico advocated that a two-stage plebiscite take place to help determine the island’s political status. Gov. Luis Fortuño, a Republican who has called for Puerto Rican statehood, praised the White House report as one that “breaks the myths” of backing commonwealth status. Yet the NCLR could provide ammunition to anti-statehood activists who claim that Puerto Rico is too poor to become the 51st state.

Image- Prensa Latina
Online Sources- Terra.com, primerahora.com, The Latin Americanist, FOX News Latino, America Quarterly Blog, MSNBC, Huffington Post, National Council of La Raza

Civil disobedience against Puerto Rico university fees

At least seventy student demonstrators upset at the imposition of new student fees at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) were arrested this morning. The protesters were detained at one of the entrances to the UPR campus in Rio Piedras, a location not designated by authorities as an official protest zone. Allegedly among those arrested due to the act of civil disobedience was student protest leader Adriana Mulero as well as the head of Puerto Rico’s teachers union.

Other civil disobedience actions have also taken place throughout the day including, as of the time of this post, sit-ins by students in the streets around the UPR. The following video from the website of Puerto Rican daily El Nuevo Dia shows some of those detained during today’s protests in San Juan:

It’s no coincidence that today’s actions come on the same day of a deadline for UPR students to pay the $800 fee or lose their enrollment. Strike leaders have allegedly advised students to only pay the first installment of the controversial fee in order to maintain enrollment or to write "Payment Under Protest" on check payments in case a class action lawsuit is filed.

Today’s protests are just the latest incidents in the opposition to Gov. Luis Fortuño’s austerity measures. The UPR network of eleven universities was paralyzed for two months last year in protests against Fortuño’s plans to impose fees that would’ve doubled tuition. As written in Global Voices, last week “hooded protesters” vandalized and intimidated students at the Rio Piedras campus.

Video Source – El Nuevo Dia
Online Sources- El Diario/La Prensa, The Latin Americanist, Global Voices, primerahora.com, Huffington Post

Puerto Rico: Students approve strike pact

After over two months of striking and paralyzing the University of Puerto Rico over 3000 students approved a deal to reopen campuses.

The agreement was hailed by protest leaders as a victory against harsh education reforms backed by the commonwealth’s government. Indeed, the deal avoids punishing hundreds of students involved in the strike and cancels a proposed fee increase that would’ve doubled school tuition. “The fact that a student movement was able to force the administration and the government to sit down at the negotiating table and concede to nearly all their demands is a very important precedent,” admitted one professor to the New York Times.

The strike had gained support from other sectors upset with Gov. Luis Fortuño’s austerity measures such as his laying off of 17,000 public sector employees last year. Increased support of strikers along with a reported $305 million loss in government revenue from the strike seemed to have forced negotiations in favor of the student protesters.

Image- New York Daily News (“Student strikers sleep in tents in the gardens of the University of Puerto Rico and its iconic tower.”)
Online Sources- Monthly Review, Global Voices Online, MSNBC, Democracy Now, New York Times

Weekend Headlines: May 22-23, 2010

* Colombia: With one week to go until Election Day polls show that the Colombian president race will likely head to a runoff between former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos and ex-Bogota mayor Antanas Mockus.

* Puerto Rico: Tensions between protesters and police flared up as students and labor unions continue to spearhead demonstrations against Gov. Luis Fortuno.

* Ecuador: A U.S. judge temporarily blocked Chevron from receiving raw footage of a documentary on the oil giant’s alleged pollution in the Ecuadorian rainforest.

* U.S.: Bernardo and Chaska where the names chosen for a pair of Andean bear cubs residing in Washington’s National Zoo.

Image – Reuters (“Presidential candidate for the ''U'' Party Juan Manuel Santos (L) speaks during a TV debate in Bogota May 18, 2010.” Fellow frontrunner Antanas Mockus is located at the fair right in the background.)
Online Sources- Reuters, Global Voices Online, WTOP, AP

Daily Headlines: May 19, 2010

* Puerto Rico: On Tuesday the island entered a second day of a general strike against Gov. Luis Fortuño’s budget cuts including firing public workers and raising university tuition.

* Haiti: Days after about 2000 people in Port-au-Prince protested against President Rene Preval’s supposed abuse of power the leader vowed that he would step down at the end of his term in February 2011.

* Chile: A Pakistani man who was detained for five days after traces amounts of explosives were found on him claimed that his case results from "a big misunderstanding stemming from a mistaken identity."

* Latin America: Auto manufacturer General Motors posted its first profit in three years partly due to strong sales from Latin America.

Image – EPA (“Labor unions activists and students are united in an anti-government strike”.)
Online Sources- The Telegraph, AFP, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, Global Voices Online

Congress to vote on Puerto Rican status referendum

The House of Representatives is expected to vote today on whether to pass a non-binding act establishing a referendum for Puerto Rico’s legal status.

The Puerto Rico Democracy Act would establishes a two-tiered vote wherein eligible voters would decide if they were satisfied with the island’s current commonwealth status. That could subsequently lead to a second vote where Puerto Ricans would select to have the island either remain as a commonwealth or move towards becoming a state or an independent country.

The possibility of Puerto Rico becoming the 51st state to the U.S. has alarmed some on the right. The Lexington Institute think tank issued a report in March warned of economic issues that “would need to be addressed” if statehood were to be achieved. On a more extreme level Glenn Beck declared that the act was part of a conspiracy by “the progressives” to rig the vote, ensure statehood, and increase their political power.

The bill has received some support from Republicans, however. "Congress has never asked those American citizens residing in Puerto Rico to express their opinion on the territory's political status," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Republican political consultant Alex Castellanos urged GOP legislators to pass the act and not fall into the trap of “mischaracterizing” it as a statehood bill. Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño (who is allied to the Republicans) advocated for the act last year:

“The reality is that the island’s current status does not enable the people of Puerto Rico to fulfill their potential for social, economic and political development,” the island’s governor said on Wednesday in a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources…

He said the measure presented by Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative to Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, provides for a “just and impartial” process, without taking a position in favor of or against the options on the table.

Though the measure has received mostly Democratic support, one congressman is upset with the “shady” proceedings surrounding it. Rep. Luis Gutierrez wrote that he was disappointed with the alleged lack of debate and he will vote against the measure.

Image- Mental Floss
Online Sources- HULIQ, Indyposted.com, Lexington Institute, FOX News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, National Review Online, LAHT, Huffington Post

Calle 13 under fire over MTV outburst

Paulina Rubio, Zoe, and Wisin & Yandel were all winners at last week’s Premios MTV Latin America yet it was the outspokenness of Calle 13 which has received the most attention.

Thee lead singer of the Puerto Rican group – Rene “Residente” Perez - has come under fire after making harsh remarks against the island’s governor. Perez called Gov. Luis Fortuno a “son of a massive bitch” and blasted him for breaking his campaign promise by laying off over 16,000 government workers. “Latin America is incomplete without a free Puerto Rico” added Perez who also praised a massive strike that crippled the island’s capital city of San Juan.

Less than 48 hours after Perez’ remarks, San Juan mayor Jorge A. Santini Padilla pulled the plug on a Calle 13 Halloween gig. Padilla said that the concert was canceled due to a lack for use of the city's Roberto Clemente Coliseum, yet said that Perez wouldn’t be interested in staging the event in “a facility administered by government personnel for whom he has no respect".

Calle 13 has been shutout of another concert due to a separate political gesture by Perez:

A Colombian mayor canceled a Calle 13 concert on Monday after the lead singer for the Puerto Rican rappers wore a T-shirt appearing to link President Alvaro Uribe to illegal paramilitaries…

"It is an insult to Colombians that someone of talent would use this to attack Colombians and especially our president," (Manizales Mayor Juan Manuel) Llano told local radio. "Manizales has decided under no circumstances or for any reason can this group take part."

Calle 13’s been no stranger to controversy due to the candor of their music; in 2007, the duo came under fire over an anti-police brutality song cheekily named “Tribute to the Police.”

Image- Washington Post
Online Sources- LAHT, YouTube, CNN, CBC, ABC News, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: September 29, 2009

* Puerto Rico: Call it a Boricua bailout - days after announcing the layoffs of over 16,000 public workers Gov. Luis Fortuño will reportedly ask the White House for millions of dollars in federal aid.

* Panama: Rest in peace Guillermo Endara; the presidential successor to Manuel Noriega after Noriega was ousted by a U.S. military invasion died at 73.

* Cuba: The U.S. government has cleared 75 Guantanamo prisoners for release ether to be put on trial or for repatriation.

* Ecuador: Hundreds of indigenous Ecuadorians blocked part of the Pan American highway to protest new water, mining and oil laws.

Image- ABC News (“Steel workers work at a construction site in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. (In March) Gov. Luis Fortuno says thousands of layoffs, along with new taxes, will be needed to shore up Puerto Rico's ailing economy, which is in its third year of recession.”)
Online Sources- FT.com, MSNB, Guardian UK, Reuters, Orlando Sentinel

Daily Headlines: August 26, 2009

* Cuba: A Maine woman a $21 million default judgment against the Cuban government for the death of her dad during a 1963 “covert mission.”

* Brazil: Have you seen presumably missing Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Gomes Belchior?

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Luis G. Fortuño publicly backed New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s bid for a third straight term.

* Bolivia: Sergio Jauregui faces a maximum ban of up to three years after walloping an opponent with a Bruce Lee-style flying kick at a Bolivian league soccer match:

Online Sources- Guardian UK, AP, New York Daily News, YouTube, Canadian Press

Daily Headlines: July 16, 2009

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Luis Fortuño- who’s allied to the Republican Party- has urged the GOP to stop “going in the wrong direction” especially on immigration.

* Colombia: Amnesty International has called on Colombia’s government to do more to help the country’s roughly 380,000 displaced people.

* Brazil: Auto giant General Motors may be going through a hard time but that hasn’t stopped the firm from investing $1 billion to develop two car models in Brazil.

* Chile: The country’s government workers' union is continuing its two-day strike seeking better job security and work conditions.

Image- Politico.com
Online Sources- WSJ.com, Reuters, BBC News, The Hill

Congress to examine Puerto Rican status vote

Puerto Rican politicos traveled to Capitol Hill yesterday and argued for and against a congressionally ordered referendum to decide the island’s political status.

The Puerto Rico Democracy Act of 2009 was recently introduced to the House of Representatives for debate. If approved, Puerto Ricans on the island would get a two-tiered vote on whether to keep the island as a commonwealth or change the political status to an independent country or the 51st U.S. state. It’s vital to note the double-edged nature of the vote since Congress, not the Puerto Rican electorate, would have the final say on the island’s future. (Some vote, huh?)

Opponents of the proposal like Puerto Rico's House Minority Speaker Héctor Ferrer and other pro-commonwealth advocates argued that the bill unfairly favors a path to statehood. On the other hand, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño (representing the pro-statehood PNP) claimed that a referendum is beneficial:

“The reality is that the island’s current status does not enable the people of Puerto Rico to fulfill their potential for social, economic and political development,” the island’s governor said Wednesday in a hearing of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Fortuño said that despite the inflow of some $20 billion in U.S. federal assistance each year, Puerto Rico continues to suffer from a chronic problem of low economic performance.

He said the measure presented by Puerto Rico’s non-voting representative to Congress, Pedro Pierluisi, provides for a “just and impartial” process, without taking a position in favor of or against the options on the table.

Puerto Rico was established as a commonwealth in 1952 and since then Puerto Ricans have voted in three plebiscites to continue with that status.

Image- LAHT (Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuño favors a congressionally ordered referendum for the island).
Online Sources- LAHT, etaiwannews.com, Miami Herald