Daily Headlines: April 1, 2011

* Argentina: An ex-army general and three former intelligence officers were sentenced to varying prison sentences for running a secret “Dirty War” detention center in Buenos Aires.

* Peru: Approximately 46,000 pieces of Inca-era artifacts taken over a century ago from Machu Picchu were finally returned to Peru.

* Guatemala: A joint operation between U.S. and Guatemalan authorities led to the capture of the Central American country’s most wanted suspected drug capo.

* Brazil: The group representing Brazilian sugarcane producers predicted that biofuel exports will decrease and that demand in the growing domestic market is outpacing supply.

Image – AP via MSNBC (“Former army intelligence operative Raul Guglielminetti, center, and former agent of Argentina's intelligence agency SIDE, Honorio Ruiz, sit in court before their sentencing in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday March 31, 2011. Guglielminetti was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Ruiz was sentenced to 25 years in prison, as they were charged for the illegal imprisonment and torture of 65 prisoners during the Dirty war in the Orletti garage, a tactical operations center for Operation Condor, a coordinated effort by South America's dictatorships to eliminate dissidents who sought refuge in neighboring countries.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, LAHT, CSMonitor.com, The Independent

LatAm-E.U. summit begins in Peru

A summit of European and Latin American leaders started today in Lima, Peru with the focus on several topics. Representatives from both sides of the Atlantic are meeting to tackle issues like rising food prices, discussions over free trade, biofuel usage, and regional poverty.

The summit has already been hampered in that several heads of government have not made the trip including those from Italy, Cuba, France, and the U.K. Worse could be that the summit could fall apart over differences between countries; chiefly, the diplomatic conflict between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador over relations with Colombian guerillas. Yet Peruvian president Alan Garcia emphasized unity between countries and that participants should seek real solutions:

“I request as host that we need to write down and sign on to concrete goals…We cannot allow ourselves to carry the shame of not doing anything concrete and reasoned in order to avoid the hell that hovers under millions of people.” – [ed. personal translation]

Sources (English)- Guardian UK, BBC News, AFP, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo

Image- Diario La Republica

How much are those tortillas in the window?

The price of tortillas in Mexico could jump by as much as 40% according to the country’s “tortilla chamber”. The price of the Mexican food staple could spike next month to 12 pesos ($1.14) per kilo compared to the current 8.5 pesos per kilo according to the president of the National Association of the Dough and Corn Tortilla Industry:

Mexico's annual inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in almost three years last month, led by costs for housing and food…

Higher costs from rising gasoline prices and the hoarding of corn by producers are also behind the expected surge in tortilla prices, Milenio cited Martinez as saying. Tortillas need to be more costly to keep 10,000 tortilla shops open and prevent 50,000 job losses, said Martinez, according to Milenio.

The Mexican government has tried to downplay worries over a spike in tortilla prices by emphasizing that any increase will “not (be) by the exaggerated sums mentioned.”

Anxiety over increased tortilla prices last year led to government intervention including the capping of prices. Nevertheless, thousands took to the streets in protest as more Mexican corn is being used for biofuels.

Sources- Reuters, Bloomberg, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News

Daily Headlines: April 23, 2008

* Peru: “We believe there are alternative energies that do not put the world's food in danger," said President Alan Garcia regarding the debate over biofuels.

* Colombia: A cousin of President Alvaro Uribe wanted on suspicions of ties to paramilitaries turned himself in yesterday.

* Chile: A group of 25 Palestinian refugees arrived in Chile as part of a special U.N. program.

*Dominican Republic: A series of tornadoes over the weekend led roughly 700 people to seek temporary shelter.

Sources- USA TODAY, Reuters UK, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, AFP

Image- ABC News

Brazil: Lula defends biofuels

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended the use of biofuels and rejected claims that they were responsible for the rise in global food prices. During a conference of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization in Brasilia, Lula warned that unfair trade policies, not biofuel consumption, are to blame:

Food riots also underlined the need for an agreement in the so-called Doha round of global trade negotiations, Lula said. Rich countries need to reduce farms subsidies and trade barriers to allow poor countries to generate income with food exports, Lula said on Wednesday…

Either the world solves the unfair trade system, or "every time there's unrest like in Haiti, we adopt emergency measures and send a little bit of food to temporarily ease hunger."

If Europe doesn't open its market to farm imports, "someone will have to assume the historic responsibility," Lula warned.

Brazil’s emphasis on increased biofuel usage has gotten its share of critics; for instance, the U.N. special rapporteur for the right to food called biofuels a “crime against humanity.”

Sources- BBC News, Reuters UK, MSNBC

Image- BBC News

Daily Headlines: September 12, 2007

* In retaliation for strict U.S. visa rules, Bolivia’s government will obligate U.S. tourists visiting the Andean country to obtain visas.

* U.S. government to illegal immigrant: “Thanks for volunteering to the 9/11 rescue efforts. Now get ready to be deported.”

* Spanish authorities arrested a con man who duped dozens of Cuban exiles into buying false plane tickets to the island.

* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is promoting biofuels in Sweden as he continues a tour of Scandinavia.

* Opposition politicos in Mexico are increasing the pressure against a tax reform bill pushed by President Felipe Calderon.

Sources (English)- Monsters & Critics, CNN, Bloomberg

Source (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- Jobs and Visas

Daily Headlines: August 20, 2007

* Follow-up #1: Puerto Rican reggaeton musicians Calle 13 (image) and Voltio released a song last week condemning the death of an unarmed man at the hands of police on the island.

* Follow-up #2: New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg refused to comment on ex-mayor Rudy Giuliani’s recent remarks to “end illegal immigration” if elected president.

* Which is the better form of ethanol: that which is derived from sugar or corn?

* Trade, sovereignty claims, and drugs are some of the main topics that will be discussed during a two-day mini-summit starting today between the heads of state of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

* Financial difficulties have led to the shutdown of Puerto Rico’s prestigious winter baseball league.

* Delegates at an Amnesty International conference in Mexico support changing the human rights group’s neutral stance on abortion.

* Chinese officials confirmed that a summit between business leaders from China and Latin America will take place this November in Chile.

Sources (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Sources (English)- The Latin Americanist, SI.com, BBC News, SignOnSanDiego.com, International Herald Tribune, People’s Daily Online, Newsweek

Image- Batanga

Daily Headlines: August 8, 2007

* Biofuel production has caused an increase in the prices of wheat and bread according to a Peruvian industry official.

* Bolivia’s envoy to Chile was forced to return home after he claimed that both countries were close to renewing diplomatic relations for the first time in 29 years.

* In a country where frequent blackouts are a part of life, the president of the Dominican Republic just signed a law criminalizing electricity theft.

* Salvadoran president Tony Saca confirmed that his country will send a reduced contingent of 280 troops to Iraq.

* Follow-up: In the aftermath of the near-deportation of a mother and daughter from Belgium, Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa criticized Belgian immigration policy.

Sources- Dominican Today, The Latin Americanist, Expatica Belgium, Prensa Latina, Reuters AlertNet, CNN

Image- The Age (Wheat field in an unknown locale)

Daily Headlines: July 11, 2007

* The multiple facets of race in Brazil, according to a commentary in today’s Guardian UK.

* Scandal in Ecuador as the parents of a pair of recently reunited identical twins is suing the doctors who separated them fifteen years ago.

* The lawyer for ex-Panamanian ruler Manuel Noriega said that his client must return to Panama upon release from a U.S. jail in September.

* Canada and Brazil may come together for biofuel production in Haiti.

* Follow-up: Several factories owned by multinational groups in western Mexico shutdown yesterday after another pipeline explosion supposedly by a small guerilla faction.

Sources- Guardian UK, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, CNN, CTV.ca, BBC News

Image- latinamericanstudies.org (Brazilian high school students in a classroom)

Daily Headlines: April 27, 2007

* Will Brazil build a bullet train line? So far, feasibility studies will start to see if a line between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro is viable.

* First it was San Francisco, now it’s Oakland city officials who've declared their city as a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants.

* Ecuador’s government expelled the World Bank’s representative to that country, according to an anonymous source from the financial institution.

* Police arrested a suspect in the murder of Venezuelan telenovela actor Yanis Chimaras during a robbery attempt.

* Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a biofuel agreement with Chile during his visit to Santiago.

Links- International Herald Tribune, Hispanic Tips, SignOnSanDiego.com, Houston Chronicle, BBC News

Image- UrbanRail.net (Sao Paulo metro train)

El Salvador’s Saca backs Brazil biofuel push

Salvadoran president Tony Saca publicly supported Brazil’s emphasis on biofuel production. Perhaps Saca’s defense was an altruistic opinion or a jab against Fidel Castro, but it most probably had to do with the decision by the U.S. and Brazil to choose El Salvador as the site for a “biofuels feasibility study.”

Brazil’s desire to expand biofuel production is not limited just to partnerships with the U.S.; Brazil signed an ethanol alliance with Ecuador last week.

Links- People’s Daily Online, The Latin Americanist, Forbes, BBC News

Image- edie.net (Brazilian sugarcane)