Daily Headlines: July 1, 2014

* Argentina: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is trying to survive being rocked by two major scandals involving an indictment against Vice President Amado Boudou and Argentina potentially falling into debt default.

* U.S.: Can President Barack Obama use executive orders to make more progress on major immigration reform than a deadlocked and divided Congress? 

* Mexico: Mexico’s painful elimination from the World Cup proved to be a big ratings gain for Univision and ESPN as 17 million people watched the match on Sunday between El Tri and the Netherlands.

* Guatemala: Authorities in Texas believe that a dead eleven-year-old boy recently found near the U.S.-Mexico border was an undocumented Guatemalan migrant who got lost during his trip.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube

Online Sources – CNN; ABC News; MSNBC; USA TODAY

Daily Headlines: October 3, 2013

* Brazil: Brazilian “industry executives and analysts” are supposedly worried over the government’s plans to protect Internet privacy in the wake of spying allegations by the U.S. National Security Agency.

* U.S.: A U.S. appeals court found that the an unknown number of people eligible for citizenship have been denied due to a nonexistent article of the Mexican constitution.

* Latin America:  Will a Colombian-made version of “Breaking Bad” that will air on Univision be as successful as the recently finished original version?

* Venezuela: The U.S. ordered the expulsion of three Venezuelan diplomats as a retaliatory move that has heightened tensions between the governments of both countries.

Video Source – YouTube via user NewsyWorld

Online Sources- USA Today; Voice of America; The A.V. Club; NPR; The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: July 24, 2013

* Argentina: Gerardo "Tata" Martino will officially be named as the new coach of the famed Barcelona soccer team weeks after guiding Argentine side Newell's Old Boys to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores.

* U.S.: The Univision TV network will surpass its English-language counterparts to top the Nielson ratings in two key age groups for the month of July.

* South America: Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro met with Colombian leader Juan Manuel Santos and pledged to continue supporting peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC guerillas.
 
* Mexico: A U.S. federal judge threw out a lawsuit against ex-Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo that accused him of crimes against humanity related to the 1997 Acteal massacre.

Video Source – YouTube via user sntv

Online Sources- The Guardian; USA TODAY; Huffington Post; Reuters

Daily Headlines: July 27, 2012

* Puerto Rico: Univision apologized yesterday after accidentally running an ad congratulating Puerto Rico’s "independence". (The corrected ad is seen above).

* Venezuela: The U.N. blasted the Venezuelan government’s move to withdraw from two regional human rights courts.

* Cuba: A State Department spokesman said that the U.S. would not negotiate with the Cuban government unless several conditions are met.

* Argentina: The image of former first lady Evita Peron will appear on 100 peso notes to mark the 60th anniversary of her premature death.

Video Source – YouTube via brightspeak

Online Sources- Huffington Post, Fox News Latino, The Australian, Bernama

Daily Headlines: October 5, 2011

* Haiti: Over 700,000 children will reportedly attend school for free as part of a new national education fund partially subsidized by fees on phone calls and remittances to Haiti.

* Nicaragua: Dole settled a multibillion-dollar lawsuit from Nicaraguan farm laborers who claimed that they were injured from working with poisoned chemicals.

* U.S.: A statement from Univision denied allegations of blackmail against Rep. Marco Rubio though it remains to be seen if three Republican presidential hopefuls will rescind plans to boycott an upcoming televised debate.

* Argentina: The country’s top court rejected a French extradition request for an ex-navy captain convicted in absentia for two “Dirty War” era murders.

Image – Al Jazeera English via YouTube

Online Sources- AP, Reuters, CBS News

World Cup Review: Brazil, boobs, and the tube

On Thursday we’ll look back at several of the World Cup round of sixteen matches as well as a preview of the four South American teams that progressed to the quarterfinals. Today, however, we wish to highlight three odd World Cup-related news stories.

* Brazil: Fans of the five-time champs hope that an error in a newspaper ad does not jinx their team. "The team exited the World Cup, but not our hearts…Thanks Brazil, we'll see you in 2014," read the ad placed in the Folha de Sao Paulo one day after the team beat Chile 3-0 to reach the quartrfinals.

* U.S.: Sunday’s Mexico-Argentina match, which was won by the albicelestes 3-1, became the highest-rated program in Univision’s history. According to Nielsen figures 9.4 million people viewed the vital match, compared to 9 million for the final episode of a telenovela in 2007.

* Paraguay: Landlocked Paraguay is a dark horse to capture the World Cup title and the underdog to beat Spain in the quarters. Yet that hasn’t stopped one of the country’s most curvaceous fans from motivating the team (so to speak):

Larissa Riquelme, a curvy lingerie model who loves her national team, has been cheering the Paraguay squad on from Asuncion, clad in revealing outfits. The 24-year-old beauty has pledged to run naked through the streets "with my body painted with the colors of Paraguay" if Paraguay wins the World Cup.

No further comment.

Image – New York Times (“Gilberto Silva and Brazil breezed past Chile, 3-0, on Monday.”)
Online Sources- NBC Sports, Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Reuters

Daily Headlines: June 2, 2010

* Mexico: Cancun mayor Gregorio Sanchez has been barred from running for governor of Quintana Roo after a judge charged him with ties to powerful drug gangs.

* U.S.: Univision emitted a public apology after airing a racially insensitive skit supposedly meant to promote the upcoming World Cup.

* Venezuela: For the fourth year in a row the Department of State has placed Venezuela on its list of countries “which do not fully cooperate with US anti-terrorist efforts.”

* Cuba: Officials have started to move some political prisoners to jails closer to their homes though dissident groups still continue to campaign for their prompt liberation.

Image –BBC News (“Gregorio Sanchez denies the charges against him.”)
Online Sources – BBC News, MSNBC, El Universal, Los Angeles Times

Weekend Headlines: July 19, 2009

* U.S.: Univision won its federal court case over Mexican media conglomerate Televisa regarding Internet rights to broadcasts.

* Peru: During his corruption trial, ex-President Alberto Fujimori said that he did pay off $15 million to former right-hand man Vladimiro Montesinos but only to avoid being ousted in a possible military coup.

* Nicaragua: Speaking of coups, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega claimed that the U.S. is cooking up a scheme to overthrow him.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez is none too pleased at a State Department report that claims that Venezuela could turn into a “narcostate.”

Image- New York Times
Online Sources- AP, LAHT, Reuters, Bloomberg

Today’s Video: Obama en español

U.S. President Barack Obama taped a brief message that aired on Univision Thursday night. He dabbled in a little Spanish and overall didn’t sound too much like a fish out of water. Oddly enough, however, his remarks didn’t air on a news program but instead on the chintzy, made-for-TV "Premio lo Nuestro":

Said the AP:

He wished the viewers good evening in Spanish and he celebrated the diversity of Latin music. The president closed by offering another line in Spanish. Translated into English, the president said, "And for all those nominees wondering if tonight is their night, let me just say, yes, you can!"

Obama could've picked a better scenario to appear on Univision:

• Pretending to be the annoying “Chacal de la trompeta” alongside the more annoying Don Francisco on “Sabado Gigante.”
• Analyzing the Mexican soccer league while flanked by the booby-tastic “senadoras” on “Republica Deportiva.”
• Making a guest appearance on hit telenovela “Las Tontas No Van al Cielo” as Candy’s secret gringo lover.
• It’s too late for this but I would’ve loved to have seen Obama smack the smug, nauseating look off Enrique Gratas’ face on “Ultima Hora”.
  

Online Sources- YouTube, AP, truveo.com, Google Video, Wikipedia

Univision, Televisa settle lawsuit

U.S. Spanish-language network Univision and Mexican media conglomerate Televisa reached a settlement in a lawsuit over royalties.

According to the $600 million agreement between the two firms, Univision will pay Televisa $25 million in back royalties and provide Televisa with $65 million in free ad space on Univision channels. In exchange, Televisa promised to keep its current contract with Univision which lasts until 2017.

Attorneys for Televisa claimed that Univision breached its contract by withholding the payment of over $100 million in royalties. Due to its role as content provider the Mexican firm had more leverage and thus was able to reach a deal that favored them more than Univision:

The amended programming pact should allow Univision to continue as the dominant Spanish-language broadcaster in the United States. Univision commands about 75% of the Spanish-language audience, and its Los Angeles television outlet, KMEX-TV Channel 34, ranks as the nation's No. 1 television station, beating established ABC, NBC and CBS stations…

Televisa's telenovelas generate about $750 million a year in advertising revenue for Univision. Univision is struggling amid a slowdown in advertising at a time it faces looming payments on its $10-billion debt that came from a highly leveraged buyout two years ago.

All is not entirely rosy between Televisa and Univision despite the deal; the two companies are preparing for a March trial to decide over Univision’s Internet rights to Televisa's programming.

Image- New York Times (“Spanish-language soap operas, or telenovelas, are popular shows on Univision. Televisa is Univision’s main provider of programming.”)
Online Sources- Bloomberg, IHT, Los Angeles Times, Reuters, BBC News

Daily Headlines: January 7, 2009

* U.S.: Univision could lose millions of dollars in ad revenue from programs like prime-time telenovelas should it be defeated in a royalties trial with Mexican media giant Televisa.

* Guatemala: Rescue workers have called off their search efforts for victims of a large landslide that killed at least 35 people.

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez stopped a three-year program that supplied cheap heating oil to underprivileged U.S. neighborhoods.

* U.S.: Ex-Florida governor Jeb Bush has declined running in 2010 for the Senate seat vacated by Mel Martinez.

Image- Los Angeles Times (“A Televisa crew shoots an episode of the telenovela "Un Gancho al Corazon" ("A Hook to the Heart") in Mexico City. Ads from Televisa programming generate a significant chunk of Univision's TV revenue.”)
Online Sources- Voice of America, Bloomberg, Reuters, New York Times, The Latin Americanist

Daily Headlines: November 30, 2007

* Wealthy nations ought to pay underdeveloped countries for environmentally friendly policies, argued Brazil’s government on Wednesday.

* Japanese whale hunting is similar to Nazi medical experiments on humans, declared a Chilean senator.

* The state of New York earns over $229 billion from its immigrant population, according to a Fiscal Policy Institute study.

* The foreign ministers of Brazil and Mexico expressed their support for reforming the U.N. Security Council.

* Follow-up: Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney will be two of the presidential hopefuls attending Univision’s Spanish-language Republican debate on December 9^th.

Sources (English)- UPI, The Latin Americanist, ABC Online, news.com.au

Sources (Spanish)- RCN, El Diario/La Prensa

Image- Mongabay.com (Portion of the Amazonian rainforest located in Peru)

Watch tonight's Democratic presdential debate!

If you're a politics wonk like me then you'll probably be tuned in to Univision tonight for their Democratic presidential debate. This debate will start at 7pm EST from Miami and will include the participation of all the Democratic presidential hopefuls (except Joe Biden).

The debate is also available as live streaming video online, and can be accessed here.

We'll be back a little later to provide our own observations and comments.

Univision’s GOP debate postponed

Most of the news has focused on Fred Thompson’s absence from last night’s Republican debate in order to announce his presidential candidacy on “The Tonight Show.” However, there’s a potentially more embarrassing debate absence affecting most of the GOP’s presidential hopefuls.

Last week U.S. television network Univision postponed a Spanish-language Republican debate that was supposed to take place on September 16^th. An Univision spokesperson blamed “scheduling conflicts” for the change despite the network having announced the date nearly three months ago. As we mentioned last month, Senator John McCain was the lone GOP candidate to accept his invitation to what would’ve been a key forum to address the burgeoning Latino voting bloc.

In an op/ed piece admonishing the Democrats for their stance on free trade, Andres Oppenheimer rightly took the Republicans to task for their lack of enthusiasm at the Univision debate:

“Top Republican presidential hopefuls have turned their backs on U.S. Hispanics even more than the Democrats by embracing anti-immigration stands championed by their party's most extremist -- and xenophobic -- wing.

The immigration stands of Republican hopefuls Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney have put them at such odds with the Hispanic community that they declined the Univision network's invitation to participate at a Republican candidates debate. It had to be canceled after only one candidate -- Sen. John McCain -- agreed to participate.”

Univision’s Democratic debate will still be held this Sunday and will include all the candidates including Hillary Clinton who initially denied her invitation.

Image- mediachannel.org

Sources- Los Angeles Times, MSNBC, Washington Post – The Trail, The Latin Americanist, HispanicBusiness.com, New York Times – The Caucus, MySA.com

Univision proposes presidential debates en español

While Democrats and Republicans debated this week on CNN, Univision proposed moderating Spanish-language debates for each of the major political parties. The debates would have English-language translation available, occur in September and would be held in Miami- home of Univision‘s headquarters and an immigrant-rich area.

Political blog Daily Kos wonders about the “quandary” that the debates would have on Republican candidates but also observes that South Floridians of Cuban descent make up a strong voting bloc for the GOP.

Image- Univision – Foros (Univision news anchor Maria Elena Salinas prepares to co-moderate one of the 2004 Democratic presidential debates)

Sources- International Herald Tribune, BBC News, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Daily Kos