Daily Headlines: December 8, 2015

* Mexico: Coca-Cola has come under fire after airing a Christmas-themed ad depicting a “group of young, white Mexicans traveling to an indigenous town…to ‘help‘ wide-eyed locals by giving them bottles of Coke and a giant Christmas tree.”

* Venezuela: Nearly three out of four Venezuelans eligible to vote participated in Sunday’s legislative elections won by the opposition coalition with a potential “supermajority.”

* Colombia: Representatives of the FARC traveled to the Colombian town of Bojaya to ask for forgiveness for the massacre of some eighty residents in 2002.

* Cuba: The Cuban government is reportedly close to reaching a deal with the Paris Club of creditors to restructure a $16 billion debt.

YouTube Source – Diario de Mexico TV (Parody video poking fun at a Mexican Coca-Cola commercial criticized as racially insensitive and offensive against indigenous people).
 
Online Sources – Fusion, Xinhua, Colombia Reports, Voice of America

Daily Headlines: November 2, 2015

* Brazil: According to Brazilian daily O Estado de Sao Paulo, Volkswagen is negotiating settling a lawsuit claiming that the automaker turned a blind eye to the detention and torture of factory workers during the military dictatorship from the 1960s to 1980s.

* U.S.: Salvador Perez became the second Venezuelan to win the World Series Most Valuable Player award after the Kansas City Royals clinched the crown in five games.

* Argentina: U.S. federal judge Thomas Griesa ordered the Argentine government to pay an additional $6.1 billion to credit holders before paying off holdouts owed for the country’s historic 2001 debt default.

* Mexico: The Mexican Navy on Sunday rescued four fishermen who went missing after leaving the Ecuadoran port of Esmeraldas on September 24th and drifted 1200 miles away.

YouTube Source – NewsBeat Social (“A lawsuit filed September 22nd accuses German Automaker Volkswagen of condoning the torture of employees by the then-military government of Brazil in 1972.”)
 
Online Sources – Deutsche Welle, ESPN, Latin American Herald Tribune, GlobalPost

Daily Headlines: September 11, 2015

* Venezuela: Could the controversial prison sentence last night against opposition activist Leopoldo Lopez provide a boost to anti-government politicos in December's legislative election?

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla proposed a series of austerity measures in order to attempt to decrease most of Puerto Rico's $72 billion debt.

* Cuba: Cuban authorities will pardon more than 3500 prisoners ahead of Pope Francis’ visit next week though jailed political dissidents might not be released.

* Argentina: The Argentine government welcomed a U.N. General Assembly resolution for “creating a new global framework for sovereign debt restructuring”.

YouTube Source – euronews (“Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has been sentenced to nearly 14 years in jail. The court found him guilty of inciting violence during anti-government street protests in 2014 in which more than 40 people were killed.”)    

Online Sources – NBC News, Reuters, BBC News, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: October 7, 2014

* Ecuador: As many as 2500 “micro-traffickers” of drugs could be freed from prisons in Ecuador as part of a new crime law that took effect in August.

* Argentina: U.S. federal judge Thomas Griesa continues to put pressure on the Argentine government in its legal battle against paying millions of dollars to bondholders.

* Colombia: At least eleven residents of a Colombian indigenous village died due to a lighting strike yesterday.

* Haiti: Researchers examining a shipwreck near Cap-Haitien, Haiti concluded that it did not belong to the Santa Maria, one of the three vessels used by Christopher Columbus in his 1492 voyage to the Americas.

Video Source – The Washington Office on Latin America via YouTube

Online Sources – NBC News; CNN; MercoPress; The Latin Americanist; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: September 19, 2014

* Brazil: A new poll published this morning found that President Dilma Rousseff and main opposition rival Marina Silva are statistical tied in a likely runoff to decide Brazil’s next president in October.

* Argentina: An attorney for Citibank called for the suspension of a U.S. court decision that pushed Argentina into default and claimed that the Argentine government has placed a metaphorical “gun to our head.”

* Ecuador: Environmentalists, indigenous activists and others joined Ecuador’s largest labor union in anti-government protests in Quito yesterday.

* Latin America: Argentina (2nd) and Colombia (3rd) are the top South American countries in the latest FIFA soccer rankings while Costa Rica (15th) was the highest-placed entry from CONCACAF.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube
 
Online Sources – Blooomberg; LAHT; Businessweek; The Latin Americanist; Goal.com

Daily Headlines: August 22, 2014

* Venezuela: Is President Nicolás Maduro’s plan to implement a mandatory fingerprinting system in supermarkets a useful tool to combat food shortages and smuggling or a desperate attempt to reverse his tumbling approval rating?

* Argentina: In the latest chapter of the legal tug-of-war between Argentina and holdout creditors, the U.S. judge overseeing the dispute declared as “illegal” a debt swap plan proposed by President Cristina Fernandez.

* Chile: Police in Santiago clashed with a handful of the tens of thousands of protesters calling on President Michelle Bachelet to accelerate education reforms.

* Bolivia: Bolivian officials claimed that the country’s main state oil firm was Latin America's second most profitable oil company ahead of the likes of PDVSA, Petrobras and YPF.

Video Source – NTDTV via YouTube
 
Online Sources – BBC News; Bloomberg; Globalpost; Reuters; The State

Daily Headlines: August 20, 2014

* El Salvador: “For me Romero is a man of God,” declared Pope Francis who eased the process for a possible beatification of assassinated Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.

* Argentina: President Cristina Fernandez proposed legislation for a debt swap that would prevent a U.S. court ruling forcing Argentina into default.

* Venezuela: Police in Venezuela arrested at least thirteen people accused of smuggling goods across the closed border into Colombia.

* Puerto Rico: A recent Pew Research Center report found that Puerto Rico’s population fell between 2010 and 2013 with most residents leaving the island in order to “search for economic opportunity.”

Video Source – YouTube user interestmedia (“Oscar Romero became Archbishop of San Salvador in 1977. He was assassinated on 24 March 1980 while celebrating the Eucharist” during the Salvadoran civil war.)

Online Sources – USA TODAY; El Universal; The Independent; BBC News

Daily Headlines: August 14, 2014

* Argentina: In the latest chapter of Argentina’s legal battle with holdout creditors, cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich defied a contempt of court threat and claimed, “The proper conditions do not exist to negotiate.”

* Latin America: A International Labor Organization report found that approximately 35 million young Latin Americans are affected by the region’s unemployment crisis including some 27 million who “work in the underground economy with no rights or benefits.”

* Venezuela: Colombia’s foreign minister contradicted claims made by the neighboring Venezuelan government regarding the nightly closing of their 1400-mile border in order to prevent smuggling of gasoline and food.

* Chile: Will a major earthquake more powerful than an 8.2-magnitude tremor that occurred in April soon strike in Chile?

Video Source – Bloomberg News via YouTube
 
Online Sources – The Latin Americanist; Reuters; Xinhua; Smithsonian; Xinhua

Daily Headlines: August 11, 2014

* Cuba: A letter from 300 U.S. rabbis sent to President Barack Obama last week urged the White House to push more strongly for the “immediate release” of U.S. government subcontractor Alan Gross from a Cuban prison.

* Argentina: Judge Thomas Griesa, the U.S. magistrate overseeing the legal tug-of-war between the Argentine government and holdout creditors, threatened the South American country’s representatives with contempt of court.
 
* Brazil: A poll conducted roughly ten weeks before Brazil’s presidential election found that incumbent Dilma Rousseff’s strong lead over her rivals remains unchanged and she would win a possible run-off over her closest opponents.

* Bolivia: Researchers concluded that a recently discovered yellow bat in Bolivia is its own species and will receive the scientific name of Myotis midastactus.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube (“Former U.S. Agency for International Development subcontractor Alan Gross has said goodbye to his family after being held in Cuban prison for the past five years.”)

Online Sources – ABC News; Bloomberg; CNN; National Geographic; The Latin Americanist

Judge Blasts Argentina Over Debt Default

The U.S. justice overseeing Argentina's legal battle with holdout creditors blasted the South American country's government for defaulting on its debt.

“What occurred this week did not extinguish or reduce the obligations of the Republic of Argentina,” said District Judge Thomas Griesa at a court hearing on Friday.

"I'm counting on the Republic of Argentina to take steps in order to stop spreading deceitful information," added the magistrate who was reportedly in a very "stern" mood at the hearing.

Griesa ordered the Argentine government in June to pay holdouts some $1.5 billion in unpaid debts related to the country's $100 billion default in 2001. He barred Argentina from paying bondholders who participated in prior exchanges unless it pays holdouts at the same time.

On Wednesday Argentina defaulted for a second time in twelve years after the government and creditors could not reach a last minute agreement. This action could lead bondholders to claim an amount equal to Argentina’s foreign currency reserves (about $29 billion).

Griesa also ordered at Friday's hearing that both sides in the debate continue talks with a mediator he appoined, Daniel Pollack. That might still occur but within a climate of great mistrust after Jonathan Blackman, Argentina's lead lawyer, said a statement released by Pollack on Wednesday was "harmful and prejudiced to the republic and the impact on the market."

Griesa's actions have been criticized by Argentine officials as excessive, and consider the holdouts as "vulture funds" that purchased bonds at a low price and are eagerly looking to cash in.

“We can’t hold any positive expectations because (Griesa) has always held the view of someone who is partial,” Cabinet chief Jorge Capitanich told reporters in Buenos Aires prior to today's hearing.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez said in a televised speech on Thursday, “the world keeps moving and Argentina too” yet the markets earlier that day did not seem to agree with her. The Argentine peso fell 2.6% on the black market in early afternoon trading while the Merval stock index tumbled by 8.4%.

The default comes at an inopportune time for an Argentine economy that officially slipped into recession in June. Fernandez might also suffer negative consequences as opposition politicos have blamed her administration for "lying" during talks with the holdouts.

The repercussions of a default on the global economy ld a group of more than 100 economists including Nobel laureate Robert Solow to urge the U.S. Congress to "act now and seek legislative solutions to mitigate the harmful impact of the court’s ruling."

Online Spurces - The Globe and Mail; Reuters; Diario La Nacion; Bloomberg; LAHT; MercoPress; LaNacion.ar

Today's Video - Slamming the Brakes

Argentina will likely fall into default after last-minute talks between government officials and creditors failed to reach in agreement.  But will a potential default doom the Argentine government and lead to a major economic crisis in the country? Or is the pessimism misplaced and an overreaction?  Perhaps the following video on Buenos Aires car dealerships can provide us with some clues:

Video Source - Bloomberg News via YouTube

Online Sources - Reuters; The Guardian; Quartz

Argentina on the Edge of Massive Debt Default (Updated)

Argentina is very close to defaulting on its debt to foreign creditors unless a deal is reached some time today.
Representatives for the Argentine government and creditors are currently meeting in New York City in the hope of averting what would be the country’s second default in 13 years. The envoys are together with a mediator assigned by Thomas Griesa, a U.S. judge who ordered that the Argentine government pay holdouts some $1.5 billion in unpaid debts including interest.  The purchased Argentine bonds for a low price and rejected the government's restructuring offers after its record $100 billion default in 2001.

Up until today, negotiations between both sides have been sporadic and yielded very little progress. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez is at the Mercosur trading bloc summit in Venezuela trying to gain support against the creditors that she deemed as “vulture funds” for spending years litigating for payment in full.  Fernandez and at least one of the holdouts have separately pushed for a delay on the repayment but Griesa has so far refused.

Update (July 30, 2014): Despite hours of last-minute negotiations on Tuesday between creditors and the Argentine government, the country will likely fall into default.  

"There was a frank exchange of views and concerns," said appointed mediator Daniel A. Pollack though he admitted that it was unclear if both sides will meet again on Wednesday.

Daily Headlines: July 23, 2014

* Haiti: A "grand, dreamlike" rebuilding of areas of Port-au-Prince still in ruins from a 2010 earthquake has run into stiff opposition from survivors forced to relocate to tent camps.

* Argentina: "Life goes on for Argentina", claimed Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich hours after a U.S. court ordered the Argentine government to negotiate with holdout hedge funds and prevent a massive debt default.

* U.S.: A recent poll of 500 Latino voters found that most respondents are worried about the economy and this could factor into the upcoming midterm elections.

* Brazil: Heavy rains in southeastern Brazil could diminish the quality and reduce the quantity of the country's vital sugar and coffee harvests.

Online Sources - Businessweek; Reuters; Buenos Aires Herald; Business Insider; Latin Post 

Video Source - The Guardian via YouTube (Video recorded days after a major earthquake hit Haiti and caused the deaths of at least 100,000 people).

Daily Headlines: July 18, 2014

* Central America: Can animated shorts, TV ads and cumbia music help deter Central American youth from joining the recent influx of undocumented minors migrating to the U.S.?

* Argentina: Argentina could fall into a massive debt default in less than two weeks unless the government can hammer out a deal with holdout capital funds.

* Brazil: According to a new poll, support for Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has dropped and she’s in a near tie in a hypothetical runoff against opposition candidate Aécio Neves.

* Uruguay: U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel sent a letter to congressional leaders confirming that six detainees from the Guantanamo Bay military prison will be transferred to Uruguay.

Video Source – El Salvador Foreign Ministry via YouTube

Online Sources – Voice of America; Bloomberg; NBC News; Christian Science Monitor

Daily Headlines: July 16, 2014

* Argentina: “Lobbyists” acting on behalf of investment funds seeking repayment of debts from Argentina paid for a newspaper ad today claiming “Time is running out for Argentina.”

* Venezuela: President Nicolás Maduro announced that he would soon provide details of a “fiscal revolution” though it remains to be seen if that will fix problems like Venezuela’s high inflation, overvalued currency and food shortages.

* Haiti: U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon met with Haitian victims of a cholera outbreak that may have been caused by visiting peacekeepers.

* Central America: Costa Rica’s government has urged neighboring Nicaragua to conduct environmental impact studies on a planned interoceanic canal project.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube
 
Online Sources – Tico Times; Reuters; ABC News; Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: July 15, 2014

* Cuba: Cuban authorities arrested at least ninety members of the Ladies in White protest movement over the weekend who were commemorating the deaths of thirty-seven migrants who died a sea in 1994.
 
* U.S.: Germany’s World Cup final win over Argentina was the most watched soccer match in U.S. television history with an estimated 26.5 million people viewing ABC and Univision.

* Mexico: President Enrique Peña Nieto signed into law a major telecommunications reform that he claimed, “will promote greater competition, more and better conditions, better coverage and service quality, as well as lower prices and costs.”

* Argentina: Argentine companies and provinces are reportedly hopeful that an agreement can be reached between debtors and the government before the end of the month.

Video Source – Reuters via YouTube (Cuba’s Ladies in White protesters participating in a 2010 march).

Online Sources – UPI; Fox News Latino; The Latin Americanist; Businessweek; Reuters

Daily Headlines: July 9, 2014

* Mexico: Mexican legislators passed a major telecommunications reform package that could diminish the control of America Movil and Televisa over the phone and TV industries, respectively.

* Brazil: A record 35.6 million tweets on Twitter were sent during the humiliating elimination of Brazil from the World Cup by Germany on Tuesday.

* Argentina: Former Finance Minister Domingo Cavallo claimed that Argentina’s current debt repayment crisis could be worse than the country’s economic collapse that he presided over in 2001.

* Puerto Rico: Will the U.S. Congress provide a lifeline to the financially troubled Puerto Rican island?

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube
 
Online Sources – Bloomberg; LatinFinance; USA TODAY; Reuters; The Latin Americanist

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: June 24, 2014

* Argentina: “I am moving as rapidly as possible to be of assistance to the parties,” said Daniel Pollack, the attorney assigned to oversee negotiations between the Argentine government and hedge fund investors seeking a court-ordered payment of $1.3 billion in debt.

* Mexico: Luis Fernando Sanchez Arellano, the head of the Tijuana drug gang, was captured by authorities shortly after Mexico’s crucial World Cup win over Croatia yesterday.

* Brazil: Six Latin American countries, and potentially two more, have qualified to the round of 16 stage of the World Cup in Brazil.

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala made three ministerial changes to his cabinet as his popularity slipped to an all-time low of 21%.

Video Source – Democracy Now via YouTube

Online Sources – Bloomberg; Newsweek; The Huffington Post; euronews

Daily Headlines: June 19, 2014

* Argentina: The Argentine government is in a race against time in order to repay billions of dollars of debt to creditors and avoid default before the end of this month.

* Venezuela: Outspoken opposition politico María Corina Machado has been barred from leaving Venezuela as authorities investigate her role in unrest following an anti-government march over four months ago.

* Mexico: A mass grave with at least twenty-eight bodies was found the Mexican Gulf state of Veracruz on Tuesday.

* Colombia: The U.S. Treasury Department removed economic sanctions on more than three hundred people and firms with ties to the formerly active Cali Cartel.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube

Online Sources – Reuters; El Universal; The Latin Americanist; Fox News Latino; NBC News