Daily Headlines: August 2, 2016

* Cuba: The Cuban government accused the U.S. State Department of attempting to rush to settle billions of dollars of claims between both countries.

* Venezuela: Electoral officials have approved the first step in a possible recall vote against President Nicolas Maduro, while Amnesty International blasted a decree that is reportedly shifting more power to the military.

* Argentina: Could the appointment of Edgardo Bauza as new coach of the Argentine men’s national soccer team lure Lionel Messi back into the fold for los albicelestes?

* Mexico: The mayor of a town in Michoacán state and four police officers were arrested and charged with the massacre of ten people purportedly in relation to the local drugs trade.

YouTube Source – Associated Press (From March 2015: “Nearly 60 years after Fidel Castro took over Cuba, American families and companies who have claims on billions worth of confiscated property are wondering if the communist government will pay up as the U.S. and Cuba restore diplomatic ties.”)

Online Sources – ESPN FC, Reuters, The Guardian, BBC News, CNN Money

"Los Caballeros Las Prefieren Brutas"

"Gentlemen prefer them dumb." It's the title of a Colombian telenovela, a less famous book, and if you like generalizations based on academic sociological surveys, it's apparently true.

According to a study from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government reported on by BBC Mundo, educated women in Latin America are less likely to marry than their less educated counterparts.

The report, titled “‛Schooling Can’t Buy Me Love’: Marriage, Work, and the Gender Education Gap in Latin America,” also shows that educated women (those having a secondary education or higher) were also more likely, when they did marry, to marry less educated men. 40% of Colombian and Brazilian educated women fell into this category, compared to 16% of American women.

From the study:

“The simplest explanation is that skilled men in the US and Latin America differ in their valuation of the returns to having a stay-home wife versus a working wife,” the authors explain. “US skilled men prefer a working skilled wife to a stay-home wife, while Latin American men do not. Latin American women prefer a skilled husband who supports her desire to work, but Latin American men would prefer a lower-skilled wife who stays home."

Image Source: Coroflot.com

Online Sources: BBC Mundo, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Wikipedia

Unasur Meets to Discuss Regional Issues

The Union of South American Nations, known as Unasur, held a meeting on Monday to discuss regional concerns.

Rafael Correa, who was sworn in for a second term as president of Ecuador on Monday, also assumed the rotating role of president of Unasur. During the meeting, Correa called for a regional monetary agreement, as well as the establishment of a new multilateral lending agency.

Two other important issues that were discussed were the crisis in Honduras and the US military bases in Colombia. President Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing Unasur president, called on the group to support the General Secretary of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, in his efforts to bring stability to Honduras. “(We have to) renew our support for Insulza as he has been working constantly to guarantee the possibility of restoring democratic and constitutional order in Honduras. The crisis in Honduras has been the most recent reminder that democracy has still not been completely consolidated in the region," Bachelet remarked.

Regarding the US bases in Colombia, Unasur's leaders agreed to hold a summit in Buenos Aires later this month to address their concerns. President Hugo Chavez stated, "I don't want to sabotage your ceremony Rafael ... (but) we are very worried. This could provoke a war in South America." Later President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said, "As president of Brazil, this climate of unease disturbs me. I think we should directly discuss our discontent with the American government — directly with them."

Online sources-Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, CNN, Santiago Times
Image-hacer.org

HRW: Withhold Security Aid to Mexico

In a letter sent yesterday to Secretary Clinton, Human Rights Watch called on the State Department to withhold tens of millions of dollars in security aid to Mexico unless it agrees to allow recent human rights abuse allegations to be tried in civilian courts.

Human Rights Watch states in the letter a finding from its recent report on Mexican military abuses that, "Mexican military courts-which routinely take over the investigation of military abuses against civilians-have not produced over the past 10 years a single conviction against a member of the military accused of committing a serious human rights violation."

Under the $1.4 billion aid package that is known as the Mérida Initiative, the US must withhold a 15% portion of the funds until the secretary of State reports that Mexico is meeting specific human rights conditions. Those conditions include prosecuting human rights abuses in accordance with Mexican and international law.

Online sources-Los Angeles Times, Human Rights Watch

Image-MSNBC

Bolivia and Venezuela send US diplomats packing; US returns the favor

On Thursday, diplomatic envoys from the US in Bolivia and Venezeula were ordered to return to the US, and the US followed suit in the case of Bolivia, though has yet to return the favor in the case of the Venezuelan ambassador to the US.

Among other comments, Hugo Chavez, late Thursday evening, said:

"When there's a new government in the United States--a government that respects Latin America--we'll send an ambassador."

While the declaration on Thursday of the Bolivan ambassador to the US as "persona non grata" may seem like a reactionary response to the equally short-sighted explulson of the US ambassador in Bolivia, it was evidently in accordance with the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations. It remains to be seen when and how this particulary escalated case of diplomatic bullying will be resolved by cooler heads, but one would hope that it will be de-escalated and and that the ambassodors will be returned as soon as possible.

By my own view, two "wrongs" tend not to make a "right" -- but in this case, it appears that two lefts have made a wrong that they will shortly need to make right again.

Source: AFP, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Wikipedia (deal with it)

Weekly Debate: Copa America 2007

Tuesday night will be the start of this year’s Copa America- the top regional soccer tournament for South American states. For the first time, Venezuela will host the 42^nd edition of the tourney and the Chavez administration has spent about $1 billion on construction and infrastructural improvements in an effort to showcase the country. (Hopefully, neither government plans to “to neutralize any effort aimed at disrupting the Copa America” nor any political protests will get out of hand.)

When all is said and done, the important factor is not politics but the game itself. The ten members of South America’s futbol confederation plus two invitees will play with the hope of becoming champion on July 15^th. Of the twelve teams vying for the title who has the best chance of winning? Here’s my very brief, not-so-expert analysis:

Crème de la Crème

• Argentina – By far the team to beat with a very strong squad that would usually be more appropriate for a World Cup match. Juan Roman Riquelme’s Copa Libertadores resurgence should compliment up-and-coming star Lionel Messi who’s been working wonders with world giants FC Barcelona.
• Brazil – The defending champions will look to keep the title that they captured after beating Argentina in penalties. Despite the loss of four key players from last year’s World Cup team (Ronaldo, Adriano, Ronaldinho, Kaka), players like Robinho and Wagner Love are expected to guide the team at least to a finals appearance.

Strong Contenders

• Mexico - Simply put, if “el Tri” performs as well as they did in their Gold Cup finals loss then they can definitely reach the semifinals. Several holdovers from that Gold Cup squad- such as Andres Guardado and Nery Castillo- will appear in a difficult yet manageable Group B.
• United States – The other invited team from CONCACAF is coming off a thrilling comeback win in the Gold Cup finals on Sunday. Nine players from that team along with a roster full of domestic players will be in the very difficult Group C. The team could crash and burn after playing the Gold Cup, but they have the talent to repeat their best Copa America performance (1995- fourth place).
• Uruguay - Despite losing star striker Diego Forlan for the opener against Peru, Uruguay should have no problems in making it to the quarters. Their team is very well-balanced throughout all positions and they definitely have the potential to repeat, if not surpass, their 3^rd place finish in the previous Copa America.

Dark Horses

• Chile – Stuck in a tricky group, Chile could easily end up either winless or in second place behind Brazil. The attack is bolstered by speedy ex-Colo Colo star Matias Fernandez, but their spotty defense may be their undoing.
• Colombia- Colombia would ideally like to return to the finals after winning the tournament at home in 2001. The team consists of a good mix of foreign-based veterans and youngsters, but making it past Brazil or Mexico into the semis could be very difficult.
• Ecuador – It’s been a year since Ecuador was eliminated from the World Cup. Since then, their record has been a lackluster 3-2-4 and they are perennial underachievers in the Copa America.
• Paraguay – Though one of the best teams in South America, their lack of offensive power (aside from Roque Santa Cruz) may do them in. They are stuck in the tourney’s “group of death” and may have to rely on goal difference to make it past the group stage.

No Chance Whatsoever

• Bolivia – Aside from leading the South American contingent against FIFA’s asinine high altitude ban, Bolivia tends to have a poor record away from La Paz. The team will rely mostly on players from established domestic clubs.
• Peru – It’s been a quarter-century since Peru made it to the World Cup and since then it has not gone very well for them. The speedy Jefferson Farfan may be the lone reason to watch this team.
• Venezuela – The host country has improved somewhat since being South America’s perennial doormat and they could make it out of a very weak Group A. In an interesting political twist, they could meet the U.S. in the quarterfinals.

So what are your thoughts on this year’s Copa America? Who do you feel are the main teams to watch? Could an upset winner occur? How much will politics influence the tournament? Will the tournament be a success not only for Venezuela but for the res of South America?

Give us your opinion via commenting to this post and/or voting on the poll located at the sidebar.