Daily Headlines: August 10, 2016

* Brazil: Amid the fervor of the Rio Games, Brazil’s Senate voted in favor of holding an impeachment trial against suspended President Dilma Rousseff.

* Puerto Rico: Tourism in Puerto Rico has weakened over the past few months reportedly as a result of the Zika virus outbreak that has affected most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

* Chile: President Michelle Bachelet in a televised address proposed reforming the private pension system created under the rule of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

* Venezuela: Opposition politicos are none too pleased with the Venezuelan electoral commission’s decision to likely hold a possible recall referendum against President Nicolas Maduro in 2017 instead of later this year.

YouTube Source – AFP

Online Sources – euronews, Travel Weekly, Deutsche Welle, Yahoo News

Daily Headlines: June 28, 2016

* Brazil: Rio 2016 Committee CEO Sidney Levy tried to downplay worries over the Zika virus and economic problems in Brazil as top ranked men’s golfer Jason Day became the latest high-profile athlete to skip the upcoming Olympics.

* Chile: Former Chilean military soldier Pedro Barrientos could be extradited to his homeland and face a criminal trial after a U.S. court found him liable for the torture and death of folk singer Victor Jara in 1973.

* Puerto Rico: Time is running short for the U.S. Congress to approve a debt relief package for Puerto Rico before a July 1st deadline to pay $2 billion of its $70 billion debt.

* Venezuela: The opposition coalition claimed to have sufficient signatures to commence a recall referendum process against President Nicolás Maduro.

YouTube Source – CCTV News (From May 31, 2016: “Despite scientists' calls for the Games to be moved or postponed over fears of the Zika virus, the World Health Organization insists that the Olympics and Paralympics ‘will take place during Brazil's wintertime when there are fewer active mosquitoes and the risk of being bitten is lower.’”)
 
Online Sources – ABC News, Reuters, BBC News, Latin American Herald Tribune, The Age

Today’s Video: James Carville’s Bolivian adventure

All the talk about violence regarding Bolivia’s recall referendum and division over president Evo Morales reminds me of a wonderful 2006 documentary entitled “Our Brand is Crisis”. In short, the film analyzes how James Carville and other U.S.-based consultants worked behind the scenes for the 2002 campaign of ex-president Gonzalo “Goni” Sanchez de Lozada. Though Carville and company’s sleazy tactics helped Goni win, he would soon resign in disgrace amid widespread protests.

What does Goni have to do with Morales? His failure coincided with the rise of Morales as a key opposition figure and subsequently the presidency. Furthermore, the exiled Goni is wanted by the Morales administration for alleged genocide.

Without further ado, here’s the trailer for “Our Brand is Crisis”:

Sources- YouTube, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, BBC News, imdb.com

Exit polls: Bolivians back Morales on recall vote

Unofficial, partial exit polls have indicated that Bolivian President Evo Morales survived a recall referendum yesterday. Figures cited by local television network ATB claimed that Morales got nearly 57% of the vote; about 10% above the 46.3% threshold he needs to beat in order to keep his job. An earlier “quick count” of roughly 1/3 of the votes that gave Morales almost 61% of voters’ support.

According to the exit polls some local governors didn’t seem to receive Morales’ good fortunate. Three of the eight provincial prefects whose jobs were also on the line appeared to have been ousted including two representing anti-Morales factions. Yet the opposition also seemed to have made some gains in that governors of four states backing increased autonomy appeared to have won.

International observers from the OAS and EU said that there were supposedly “reports of minor irregularities.” Yet the run-up to the referendum was punctuated by protests and violence. Sadly, analysts believe that Bolivians will not set aside their political differences any time soon:

"It won't change things much either way," said Kathryn Ledebur, director of Andean Information Network, a private research institution. Ledebur said she expected Morales to win, but the deadlock would remain, she said, and "each side will use it to become more deeply entrenched in their positions"…

"He's one of us. He has brought about such change, like nationalization," said Rolando Cenabire, 42, a builder from El Alto. "If he loses, we lose our rights"…

"The government is a satellite of Hugo Chavez and wants to impose a Constitution that centralizes, destroys institutions and the economy," said former President Jorge Quiroga, who heads the rightist opposition party Podemos.

Image- BBC News

Sources- AFP, CNN, Monsters & Critics, McClatchy, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, Guardian UK, IHT