Daily Headlines: February 14, 2011

* Puerto Rico: University of Puerto Rico Jose Ramon de la Torre resigned on Friday amid ongoing student protests against a government-imposed $800 yearly fee.

* Argentina: Defending Olympic men’s soccer Argentina will not defend their gold medal in the London 2012 games.

* U.S.: A Latino activist in Utah urged the Mexican government to bar granting visas to Mormon missionaries until the LDS church takes a stance against an “enforcement-only” immigration bill.

* Ecuador: A judge ordered the release of the indigenous leaders who were jailed on February 1st and charged with “terrorism and sabotage”.

Image – AP Photo/El Nuevo Dia, Carlos Giusti via NJ.com (“University students are detained by police during a protest inside the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Monday Dec. 20, 2010. Students are on indefinite strike to protest an $800 yearly fee that takes effect next year to help reduce the system's budget deficit. Students already pay $49 per credit.”)
Online Sources- UPI, LAHT, Goal.com, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist

Argentina: Gay Mormons peeved over Church’s politics (Updated)

Argentina will be the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages after it was approved earlier this month by the country's legislature. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (CLDS) took no official position on the proposal though some of its officials publicly opposed it.

Carlos Aguero, the church's public-affairs director for Argentina, was reported to have attended a meeting with other conservative organizations mobilized against the proposal. Furthermore, the church's First Presidency published a letter that was read at CLDS churches throughout Argentina on July 6th that claimed, “marriage is between a man and a woman and is ordained of God." That communiqué fell short of calling for outright political activism similar to actions by the CLDS two years ago in favor of California’s Proposition 8. According to a Mormon historian interviewed by USA TODAY, however, the letter represented a major step for CLDS political activism outside of the U.S.

The actions by the CLDS in Argentina have reportedly been condemned by some of its parishioners such as the Church’s support group for gays:

Affirmation, a support group for gay and lesbian Mormons, is criticizing the LDS Church for its efforts to thwart the legalization of same-sex marriage in Argentina. Last week, Argentina became the first Latin American nation to allow gay marriage. Mexico City also sanctions such unions…

"This is another appalling example of the LDS trying to dominate government decisions being made by democratically elected officials," David Melson, executive director of Affirmation, said in a statement.

In the end the actions by the CLDS may be insufficient to stem the gradual expansion of rights for homosexuals throughout Latin America.

Update: With a stroke of the pen from President Cristina Fernandez on Wednesday, Argentina officially become the first Latin American state to legalize same-sex marriages.

Image- The Guardian (“A couple kisses outside Argentina's congress during a rally supporting a bill to legalize same-sex marriage.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, CBS5.com, USA TODAY, LAHT