Daily Headlines: October 24, 2016

* Brazil: A new poll found that a plurality of Brazilians back former leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to return to the presidency in the 2018 elections, assuming he does not get jailed over corruption charges related to the “Lava Jato” probe.

* Mexico: Lawyers for imprisoned Sinaloa drug gang leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman might be using his purportedly worsening health in order to prevent his extradition to the United States.

* Uruguay: A supporters group advocating for ex-Guantanamo prison detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab claimed he ended his 68-day-long hunger strike and will reportedly travel from Uruguay to another country.

* Central America: According to Médecins Sans Frontières, around two out of three Central American migrants journeying through Mexico has been the victim of at least one “violent attack.”

YouTube Source – euronews (From september 2016: “Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is to stand trial for allegedly accepting over one million dollars (800,000 euros) in bribes in connection with the corruption scandal at the state-run oil firm Petrobras.”)
 
Online Sources – Fox News Latino, Sputnik International, The Washington Post, Deutsche Welle, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: October 11, 2016

* Latin America: A new report alleges that surveillance laws in twelve Latin American states are outdated and can be easily exploited by authoritarian regimes.

* United States: The Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments today on the secrecy of jury deliberations based on the case of a Latino man convicted after some jurors used ethnic slurs.

* Brazil: New corruption charges were raised against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who along with ten other suspects were believed to have allowed some $9.3 million in kickbacks for a construction projects in Angola.

* Mexico: The World Health Organization called for strict measures against consumption of sugary drinks such as those taken in Mexico where a tax was levied against those types of beverages.

YouTube Source – BBC News (A Brazilian judge last May suspended access to WhatsApp for 72 hours over the messaging service’s owner, Facebook, not handing over information requested in a criminal probe).

Online Sources – The Intercept, Fox News Latino, Latin American Herald Tribune, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: September 21, 2016 (Updated)

* Brazil: A Brazilian judge determined ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will need to stand trial over allegedly accepting some $1.1 in bribes in connection to the Lava Jato corruption scandal.

Update (September 22nd): Guido Mantega, the former Finance Minister under Lula, was detained for several hours and then released on Thursday as part of the Lava Jato probe.  

* Latin America: Outgoing United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he felt “tremendous regret” over a cholera outbreak that hit Haiti, while the Venezuelan government is upset with critical remarks made by Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski at the UN General Assembly.

* United States: A new study found that the number of undocumented migrants from Mexico to the United States has dropped from a high of 6.9 million in 2007 to 5.8 million in 2014, and those from Central America have sharply increased in recent years.

* Honduras: Authorities began the transfer of thirty-seven “high-risk prisoners” including former gang leaders to a new maximum-security facility as part of planned reforms to the corrections system.

YouTube Source – AFP 

Online Sources including Update – ABC News, The Miami Herald, Reuters, InSight Crime, BBC News, Reuters

Daily Headlines: September 15, 2016

* Latin America: Former Guantanamo detainee Abu Wa'el Dhiab woke up from a coma following the effects of a hunger strike, while Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas said he was duped by a fake website into halting his fast.

* Mexico: Extradition hearings against imprisoned drug capo Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman are expected to start on September 26th though the process could take years to carry out.

* Venezuela: The Vatican confirmed its mediation in the tense and deep political division in Venezuela between the government and the opposition.

* Brazil: Ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva claimed he was a “victim of extremely serious illegalities” after prosecutors charged him with corruption as part of the “Lava Jato” probe.

YouTube Source – Marti Noticias (Guillermo Fariñas halted his latest hunger strike, the twenty-fifth such protest by the Cuban dissident, on Monday after more than two months).

Online Sources – ABC News, Fox News Latino, El Pais, BBC News, CNN

Daily Headlines: July 29, 2016 (Updated)

* El Salvador: Amid the mass arrest of 120 suspected Mara Salvatrucha gang members, ombudsman David Morales warned of the emergence of death squads and extrajudicial killings “for purposes of social cleansing.”

* Brazil: The federal judge overseeing the “Lava Jato” investigation should be removed from the case, according to a petition from a lawyer on behalf ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the United Nations.

Update: Lula will be forced to stand trial on obstruction charges related to his alleged role in the "Lava Jato" corruption probe.

* Costa Rica: Nearly 2300 metric tons of cocaine was seized by Costa Rican authorities from a fishing ship off the Pacific coast.

* Venezuela: Several firms from the United States operating in Venezuela are reportedly using an accounting maneuver known as deconsolidation in order to protect themselves from the severely weakened economy in the South American country.

YouTube Source – AFP

Online Sources including Update – Xinhua, Fox News Latino, Voice of America, Bloomberg, Reuters, BBC News

Daily Headlines: May 20, 2016

* Brazil: Jose Dirceu, a former aid to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was among ten people sentenced to prison for their role in the “Lava Jato” corruption scandal.

* Colombia: Will drug maker Novartis accede to a Colombian government request to lower the price of imatinib in order to keep its monopoly on the cancer medication in the South American country?

* Chile: Chile’s Supreme Court urged that the U.S. extradite three former security agents believed to have been involved in the 1976 kidnapping, torture and murder of a U.N. official.

* Argentina: Argentina’s opposition-led legislature handed President Mauricio Macri a defeat by approving a proposal to prevent mass layoffs.

YouTube Source – France 24 (Then-President Dilma Rousseff last March failed in her attempt to install her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as her chief of staff.)
 
Online Sources – Deutsche Welle, Vice News, Reuters, Nasdaq

Everybody Hates Michel

As shown in the above video, Brazilians reacting to the lower chamber vote in April to continue the impeachment process against President Dilma Rousseff were either jubilant or heartbroken. Yet despite this sharp division, polls last month showed that those for and against the process are united in at least one aspect: disgust against Vice President Michel Temer.

According to a mid-April poll of street protesters in Sao Paulo both for and against Rousseff’s impeachment, 79% of her supporters would like to see Temer out of office. 88% of these demonstrators gathered in the downtown Vale do Anhangabaú area also feel either neutral or pessimistic towards a Temer regime. Among Rousseff detractors on the Avenida Paulista, meanwhile, only 32% favorably viewed an administration led by the potential successor to Rousseff. Compared to anti-impeachment activists, a slimmer majority (54%) would favor the ouster of the former ally to Rousseff.

Another survey published last week, meanwhile, noted that 62% of Brazilians want Rousseff and Temer to resign from their respective posts though that option is unconstitutional. One out of four respondents to the Ibope poll favored Rousseff to stay in power on the remote possibility that she can form a coalition with the opposition eager to see her gone. Even then it’s a bit over triple the support compared to the 8% who feel that a Temer presidency would resolve the country’s deep political mess. 

The negativity towards a Temer regime even extends itself to a hypothetical race for the presidency in 2018.  Respondents to a Datafolha poll conducted from April 7-8 were “deeply divided” on backing Rousseff’s predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, though he received a plurality of support. Temer was only able to muster a microscopic 1-2% in favor of him winning in two years time.

Brazil’s Rousseff Assails “Treacherous” Vice President

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” says an old adage. In the case of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, however, former allies have turned into adversaries that are a little to close to her as she faces an impeachment process that could see her deposed from the country’s top political office.

“We are living in strange and worrying times, times of a coup and pretending and treachery…(On Monday) they used the pretense of a leak to give the order for the conspiracy,” declared Rousseff in reference to legislative leader Eduardo Cunha but also Vice President Michel Temer. She accused both men of organizing a coup to “destabilize a legitimately elected president.”

Rousseff did not directly name Temer, but her comments came following a recording purportedly leaked accidently where the person who would succeed her should she get ousted. On the tape he gives what would be his welcoming speech to Brazilians if he were to become president. Though he claimed that the message was only to be heard by advisors and doesn’t wish to “generate false expectations,” Rousseff was certainly not to pleased with the development.

“Like many Brazilians, it came to my knowledge and I confess I was shocked with the shamelessness of the farce of the ‘leak’…trying to disguise the announcement of a premature inauguration, underestimating the intelligence of Brazilians,” an irate Rousseff mentioned.

Both Temer and Cunha belong to the PMDB political party that recently dropped out of the ruling coalition led by Rousseff. They have also been implicated in the corruption scandals that have shaken Brazil’s political elite and could sink the Rousseff regime. (In fact, a Supreme Court judge on April 5th ordered impeachment proceedings to start against Temer).

Ex-Minister Marina Silva Leads Poll for Brazilian President

It may be presumptuous to discuss the 2018 Brazilian presidential race amidst the current political crisis shaking up the South American state. But the growing distrust by Brazilians against their leaders seems to be reflected in the results of a recent poll.

According to a Datafolha survey conducted from March 17 to 18, a plurality of respondents opted for Marina Silva, a former senator and presidential candidate. Silva, who ran as an outsider for the Socialist Party (PSB) in 2014, received 21% backing in the poll if she were to run as an independent. Accounting for the margin of error, she would be in a statistical dead heat with 2014 presidential election runner up Aécio Neves and embattled ex-president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Yet her support climbs to 24% if she were to run as representative of the conservative opposition PDSB, while backing of Lula has plummeted in light of his suspected role in the “Lava Jato” corruption scandal.  

Silva was allied to the ruling Workers Party and served as an environmental minister under Lula from 2003 to 2008. The long-time environmental activist resigned, however, amid disgust over his lack of strong conservation policies. She unsuccessfully ran for president twice including four years ago when she was succeeded Eduardo Campos after he died in a plane crash. She became among the favorites in the polls to make it to the runoff and was backed mainly by social conservatives, middle class Brazilians upset at the government led by Dilma Rousseff, and young voters people turned off by the traditional political establishment. Battling against the existing political machinery along with doubts among some in the PSB seemed to have worked against her, however, and she was trounced in the first round by Neves and eventual victor Rousseff.

Daily Headlines: March 9, 2016 (Updated)

* Mexico: An editorial in a Mexican Catholic Church publication questioned Pope Francis’ comments during his visit to Mexico last month admonishing some clergy for their opulence and not connecting with their parishioners.

* Brazil: Will convicted former construction tycoon Marcelo Odebrecht collaborate with Brazilian authorities as part of the “Lava Jato” corruption investigation?

Update: Prosecutors are expected to announce on Thursday that money laundering charges will be raised against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

* Latin America: The Ecuadoran government claimed that envoys from Latin American oil producing states will reportedly meet in Quito this Friday to discuss the low price of crude.

* Venezuela: Street protests, a constitutional amendment and a recall vote are part of the Venezuelan opposition’s strategy to oust President Nicolás Maduro before his term is scheduled to end.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources including Update – BBC News, Fortune, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, Catholic News Service

Daily Headlines: March 8, 2016

* Honduras: The recent murder of Honduran indigenous leader Berta Caceres has shined a light on the threats made against environmental activists throughout Latin America.

* Chile: The Chilean economy grew last January at its slowest pace in ten years due to decreased production in the manufacturing and mining sectors.

* Venezuela: At least twenty-eight Venezuelan miners have gone missing and may have been massacred as part of a struggle to control a “disputed gold claim.”

* Brazil: The “Lava Jato” corruption probe could sink Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s possible candidacy to return to the Brazilian presidency.

YouTube Source – ODN

Online Sources – Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, ABC News, BBC News

Daily Headlines: March 4, 2016 (Updated)

* Haiti: Haiti’s prison system is stretched to its limits by overcrowding as inmates reside in squalid conditions, according to “independent U.N. expert on human rights” Gustavo Gallon.

* Brazil: A court ordered House Speaker Eduardo Cunha to face trial as part of the “Lava Jato” corruption scandal that has implicated figures of Brazil’s political and economic elite.

Update: Speaking of figures implicated in the "Lava Jato" probe, Lula has some explaining to do.
 
* Venezuela: U.S. President Barack Obama issued a one-year extension to an executive order presented in March 2015 deeming the deep political unrest in Venezuela as a national security threat.

* Guatemala: Two ex-military men recently convicted of torturing and raping eleven indigenous women during the civil war three decades ago have been ordered to pay a $1 million restitution to their victims.

YouTube Source – The New York Times (Video uploaded in May 2010).

Online Sources including Update – Yahoo News, ABC News, Fox News Latino, Reuters, BBC News

Daily Headlines: February 29, 2016

* Guatemala: Two former military officials were sentenced to over one century in prison for the enslavement and systemic raping of indigenous women during the Guatemalan civil war.

* Argentina: The Argentine government reached a $4.65 billion deal to repay four holdout creditor funds as part of a settlement to repay debt from the country’s $100 billion default in 2001.

* Brazil: Ex-Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is reportedly considering running for another term in 2018 despite being investigated under the “Lava Jato” corruption scandal.

* Venezuela: A new $5 billion loan and gold mining venture could save Venezuela from falling into default.

YouTube Source – AFP
 
Online Sources – Christian Science Monitor, Reuters, The Guardian, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: February 22, 2016

* Bolivia: President Evo Morales said that he would respect the results of a constitutional referendum where most voters reportedly rejected allowing him to run for an unprecedented fourth presidential term.

* Brazil: In the latest chapter of the “Lava Jato” bribery affair Brazilian police ordered the arrest of Joao Santana, a “political marketing expert” who helped the last three presidents win their respective elections.

* Panama: Panamanian immigration officials will allegedly grant travel permits to 145 Cuban migrants seeking to travel northbound to the U.S.

* Latin America: The Copa America Centenario group draw was held amid the “FIFA-gate” corruption scandal involving former regional and national soccer confederation figures from the Americas.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – ESPN FC, Fox News Latino, The New York Times, Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: October 5, 2015

* Brazil: The Supreme Court gave police permission to question ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as a witness regarding a major bribery scandal at Petrobras that has implicated members of the Brazil’s political and business elite.

* Colombia: In a span of less than a week, Colombian law enforcement killed two of the country's most dangerous drug capos known by the aliases of Pijarvey and Megateo.

* Nicaragua: Could delays arise in the construction of a new interoceanic canal after one of the project's main investors, Chinese telecom magnate Wang Jing, lost 85% of his assets so far this year?

* Argentina: Several candidates assailed poll frontrunner and ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli for skipping out on Argentina’s first-ever televised presidential debate.

YouTube Source – AFP (Video uploaded on August 2015).

Online Sources – Fox News Latino, Colombia Reports, The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg, Reuters

Daily Headlines: August 3, 2015 (Updated)

* Brazil: Jose Dirceu, the former chief of staff to then-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has become the latest political figure arrested over the Petrobras bribery and corruption scandal.

* Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico will most likely fall into default on its $72 billion pubic debt by the end of today if officials cannot make a $58 million payment to creditors.

Update: It's official - Puerto Rico has fallen into default for the first time in the commonwealth's history.

* Cuba: Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton publicly proposed eliminating the decades-long U.S. trade embargo against Cuba though it remains to be seen if Congress will be amenable to her suggestion.

* Colombia: Representatives of Colombia’s FARC rebels proposed meeting with Pope Francis during the pontiff’s visit to Cuba next month.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (Video uploaded in April 2015).

Online Sources including Update – Bloomberg, Financial Times, NDTV, Reuters, Voice of America

Brazil: Ex-Petrobras Exec “Remains Silent” at Corruption Hearing

Mum was the word for a former leading executive of Brazilian state-owned energy firm Petrobras at a legislative hearing related to the latest major scandal to rock the South American country.

“I think it should be an open session but because it isn’t I have nothing to declare,” said Paulo Roberto Costa during testimony he provided to congressional investigators on Wednesday afternoon.

The ex-head of Petrobras' refining and supply unit also reportedly uttered the phrase “I reserve the right to remain silent” (or similar wording) dozens of times from questions by parliamentarians related to his allegations against numerous senior politicians who received bribes in exchange for votes favoring Petrobras.  Costa, who has been imprisoned since March and accused of money laundering, was allowed by the Supreme Court to provide evasive responses to the questions during the three hours of testimony.

In an interview given earlier this month to Brazilian newsmagazine Veja, Costa accused Energy Minister Edison Lobão, both heads of Congress, and some thirty legislators mostly from the ruling Workers Party (PT) for supposedly participating in the kickback scheme.  

Costa’s silence on Thursday did not sit well several legislators during the closed-door session, especially those opposed to President Dilma Rousseff and her attempt to win reelection next month.

"We have not had any progress here, absolutely nothing," said Vanessa Grazziotin while Mendonça Filho decried that “the state is being robbed.”  Yet PT Sen. Humberto Costa accused his opposition colleagues of engaging in “radical speeches for political use".

Daily Headlines: November 18, 2013

* Mexico: Mexican legislators are expected to renew the debate this week over the proposed privatization of parts of the country's state-run oil industry.

* Colombia: Representatives for the Colombian government and FARC rebels postponed the next round of negotiations though progress has been made in the year-long peace talks between both sides.

* Brazil: The former chief of staff of ex-president Luis Inácio Lula da Silva and the former chairman of the ruling Workers' Party were both sent to prison for their roles in the "mensalao" vote-buying scandal.

* Latin America: A strong storm is expected to hit southern Brazil and Argentina today and, thus, increases the risk of mudslides and flooding in those areas.

Online Sources - MercoPress; GlobalPost; Reuters; USA TODAY; AccuWeather.com

Video Source - YouTube via The Economist (Video uploaded in August 2013).

Daily Headlines: April 8, 2013

* Brazil: A Brazilian federal prosecutor will look into allegations that former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was involved in a vote-buying scheme known locally as the mensalao scandal.

* Chile: The body of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda is scheduled to be exhumed today and will be examined to determine if he died due to cancer or if he was murdered.

* Panama: Expansion of the Panama Canal has neared the halfway point though the major construction project is running eight months behind schedule.

* Argentina: Argentina advanced to the Davis Cup semifinals where they will face defending champion Czech Republic.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Miami Herald, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera English, SI.com

Daily Headlines: November 13, 2012

* Brazil: A former top aide of ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was sentenced to ten years in prison for his role in the Mensalao corruption scandal.

* Nicaragua: Government officials and representatives with the International Monetary Fund began a "process of dialogue" for a new financial aid deal.

* Latin America: A new study from the Inter-American Development Bank concluded that despite gender parity in education most working women in Latin America are underpaid.
 
* Chile: An estimated 50,000 people took to the streets of Santiago as part of a gay rights rally.

Online Sources: Reuters, Christian Science Monitor, BBC News, AP

Video Source: YouTube via user ExclussiveBBC