Daily Headlines: May 13, 2016

* Chile: A “red tide” outbreak of toxic algae off the Chilean coast has led to the deaths of thousands of marine animals and paralyzed the local fishing industry.

* Colombia: Representatives of the Colombian government and FARC rebels agreed to a plan to judicially shield an anticipated peace deal, while prosecutors charged ELN guerilla commanders with nearly 16,000 crimes.

* Brazil: Should the Rio Olympics scheduled for this August be suspended or moved in light of Brazil’s political crisis and worry over the Zika virus epidemic?

* Mexico: Mexico's deputy secretary for finance warned that possible plans of a new U.S. president to use remittances to pay for a border wall could hinder bilateral efforts to prevent money laundering by criminals and drug cartels.

YouTube Source – CCTV America

Online Sources – Voice of America, Colombia Reports, InSight Crime, CTV News, Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: April 5, 2016

* Brazil: Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff declared that none of her cabinet would be reshuffled prior to an upcoming impeachment vote that she has referred to as a “coup.”

* U.S.: Care to guess which U.S. presidential hopeful proposed preventing all remittances to Mexico in exchange for paying for the boondoggle that is a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border?

* Cuba: According to the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and National Reconciliation, 1416 arbitrary arrests took place last month in Cuba with roughly one-third of them occurring during U.S. President Barack Obama’s historic trip to the island.

* Puerto Rico: The Puerto Rican Senate approved a “sweeping” moratorium that would allow the government to prevent making payments on the island’s massive debt until January 2017.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Reuters, Fox News Latino, BBC News, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: May 6, 2015

* Peru: At least two protesters opposed to the $1.4 billion Tia Maria copper project in the Arequipa region of Peru have been killed over the past two weeks.

* Cuba: The Treasury Department approved ferry service between Florida and Cuba for the first time in over fifty years, while JetBlue announced plans to begin a weekly New York-Havana route this July.

* Colombia: A new White House report found that the amount of Colombian land used for coca cultivation increased by 39% between 2013 and 2014.

* Mexico: About $5.7 billion in remittances were sent from Mexicans living abroad back to their home in the first three months this year, which represents the most transferred since 2008.

YouTube Source – CCTV Americas Now (Video published in December 2013).
 
Online Sources – Reuters, Sun Sentinel, TIME, Voice of America, Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: July 3, 2014

* Mexico: Approximately $9.5 billion in remittances were sent to Mexico from January to May of this year and representing nearly 8% more than the same period in 2013.

* Brazil: Authorities arrested eleven people accused of illegally selling tickets to the World Cup while a “massive cybercrime ring” may have stolen billions of dollars in Brazil.

* U.S.: The unemployment rate among Latinos rose slightly in June to 7.8%, which is 2.3% less than the rate in June 2013 yet 1.7% higher than the overall unemployment rate for last month.

* Central America: Senior Nicaraguan ruling party legislator Edwin Castro claimed that the planned interoceanic canal in that country will not “compete” with an expanded Panama Canal.

Video Source – YouTube via ExcélsiorTv

Online Sources – NBC News; La Prensa; BBC News; Fox News Latino; LAHT

Daily Headlines: April 2, 2014

* Chile: At least five people died and more than 900,000 residents of Chile’s coastal area were evacuated due to a magnitude-8.2 earthquake that occurred Tuesday night near the northern part of the country.

* U.S.: The White House claimed that over seven million people signed on for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act though it has yet to be revealed how many of them were Latinos.

* Puerto Rico: The acting head of Puerto Rico’s beleaguered police department resigned reportedly so that he can attend to personal issues.

* Mexico: Remittances to Mexico, which serve as the country’s second-largest source of foreign exchange, increased by 7.15% in January and February of this year compared to the same period in 2013.

Video Source – euronews via YouTube (Chilean President Michelle Bachelet declared a state of emergency for the Tarapaca, Arica and Parinacota regions following last night's tremor that was also felt in Peru and Bolivia.)

Online Sources- GlobalPost; The Guardian; Voice of America; LAHT; NBC News

Daily Headlines: March 4, 2014

* Uruguay: The U.N.’s International Narcotics Control Board blasted “misguided initiatives” to legalize marijuana use in areas like the U.S. state of Colorado and the South American nation of Uruguay.

* Colombia: Why are German guns in Colombia despite a prohibition on their export from the European country?

* Mexico: Police in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas found six Somali migrants who were lost after having been left behind by smugglers.

* Peru: Remittances to Peru have dropped by 2.9% in the fourth quarter of 2013 compared to the previous year even though remittances via money-transfer companies increased 3.1%.
 
Video Source – CNN via YouTube

Online Sources- Deutsche Welle; The Guardian; GlobalPost; LAHT

Daily Headlines: November 15, 2013

* Latin America: A Pew Research Center concluded that remittances to Latin America has more than doubled since 2000 despite a decrease in money orders to Mexico.

* Brazil: The Brazilian government reported a 28% increase in Amazon rainforest deforestation after four years of declining rates.

* Bolivia: A new study found that three in ten Bolivians nsume coca leaves for traditional and medicinal purposes.

* El Salvador: Armed men reportedly tried to destroy the records of a non-profit group investigating the disappearances of thousands of children missing during the Salvadoran civil war.

Daily Headlines: April 2, 2013

* Cuba: An attorney for one of the detainees at the Guantanamo military base claimed that 130 of the 166 prisoners are on a hunger strike but will their actions work?

* Venezuela: Interim leader Nicolás Maduro maintains a double-digit lead in the opinion polls ahead of opposition presidential rival Henrique Capriles.

* Mexico: For the eighth straight month remittances to Mexico decreased and dropped by 11% in February 2013 compared to the same month in 2012.

* Brazil: Newly released documents showed that soccer legend Pele and singer Roberto Carlos were among the celebrities secretly investigated by the military from 1964-1985.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- The Atlantic, Xinhua, LAHT, BBC News

Daily Headlines: February 6, 2013

* Haiti: An International Crisis Group report warned that “Haiti is in a race against time to convince its own people, donors and potential investors that progress and stability are achievable”.
 
* South America: Is a controversial under-20 soccer match between Bolivia and Argentina and played in 2010 under the scrutiny of European gambling investigators?

* Nicaragua: Money transfers to Nicaragua reached a record high of over $1 billion in 2012 according to the country’s Central Bank.

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa claimed that an attack against supporters at a pro-government rally on Monday was not politically motivated.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews (Dozens of protests like the one seen here could sink the presidency of Michel Martelly and hamper Haitian progress according to the International Crisis Group).

Online Sources- Miami Herald, NBC Sports, Prensa Latina, Chicago Tribune

Remittances to Mexico Keep Dropping

Remittances sent to Mexico dropped for the fourth month in row according to new data revealed by that country’s central bank. 

The Banco de México revealed yesterday that money transfers into Mexico totaled almost $1.78 billion in October, which was a decrease of 7.1% in comparison to the same month in 2011.  $19.04 billion in remittances were sent between January 2012 and last October and this represents a 0.9% decline compared to the first ten months of 2011. 

The new figures also revealed that the average amount of money sent per remittance in October 2012 ($299.78) is 5.8% less than in October 2011.

The decline in remittances can best be explained the old adage “when the U.S. sneezes, Mexico catches a cold”:

Daily Headlines: October 2, 2012

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos announced that he would undergo surgery on Wednesday in order to treat a “non-aggressive prostate cancer.”
 
* Caribbean: A “Border of Lights” commemoration will be held in the Dominican Republic this week in memory of the thousands of Haitians killed in the "parsley massacre" seventy-five years ago.
 
* Mexico: Remittances to Mexico fell by 11.6% in August according to new central bank figures.

* Cuba: A lawyer for Alan Gross claimed that the imprisoned contractor might have a “potentially life-threatening” cancerous growth on his shoulder.

Video Source – YouTube via user telesurenglish

Online Sources- Reuters, NPR, LAHT

Daily Headlines: September 4, 2012

* Colombia: Griselda Blanco, an infamous Colombian drug trafficker nicknamed the “Godmother of Cocaine” and “The Black Widow”, was gunned down in Medellin yesterday.

* Mexico: Money transfers to Mexico, which are the country’s third-biggest source of foreign currency, decreased slightly in July compared to the same month in 2011.

* Guatemala: Several human rights groups are opposed to the U.S. military cooperating with the Guatemalan army in a series of counternarcotics operations.

* Brazil: The population of humpback whales that migrate to the Brazilian coasts is reportedly 10,000, more than triple the number of a decade ago.

Video Source – YouTube via DiscoveryID

Online Sources- NPR, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, LAHT

Daily Headlines: July 17, 2012

* Mexico: President Felipe Calderon claimed that murders in the first six months this year dropped by as much as 20% though human rights activists claimed that violence against women has “surged” in the state of Mexico.

* Honduras: Remittances to Honduras between January and June of this year increased by 2.2% compared to the same period in 2011.

* Bolivia: India's Jindal Steel cancelled a contract with the Bolivian government to invest in a $2.1 billion mining project.

* Peru: Ollanta Humala's approval rating fell to 40% one year into his presidency according to a recently released poll.

Video Source– YouTube via cmdpdh (A January 2011 report from Televisa Noticias highlighted the growth in femicides in the state of Mexico).

Online Sources- Fox News Latino, Los Angeles Times, Economic Times, Reuters, Honduras Weekly

Daily Headlines: May 3, 2012

* Mexico: Mexican expats sent $5.37 billion in remittances to their home country in the first quarter of 2012, which represents a 5.3% increase compared to the first three months of 2011.

* Bolivia: A U.S. State Department spokesman said that the Bolivian government’s takeover of the main power grid could “really dampen the investment climate in Bolivia.”

* Guatemala: Officials declared a state of siege in the northwestern province of Huehuetenango after two hundred armed people briefly took over an army outpost.

* Nicaragua: President Daniel Ortega called for three days of national mourning after the death of former Sandinista figure Tomas Borge.

Image Source – YouTube via teleSUR (Remittances are a major source of dollar inflows into Mexico and most of the money transfers are sent from the U.S.)

Online Sources- LAHT, AFP, Boston.com, Los Angeles Times

Daily Headlines: February 2, 2012

* Mexico: According to the central bank remittances to Mexico grew by 6.9% in 2011; thus, representing the biggest rate of increase since 2006.

* Guatemala: Can the government and civil society unite to combat a “relentless wave of femicides”?

* Brazil: Social media research company Semiocast concluded that Brazil leapfrogged Japan to become the second most-represented country on Twitter.

* Venezuela: Trade between Cuba and Venezuela reportedly soared by 78% to over $6 billion in 2010.

Image Source – Flickr via navart (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Online Sources- Los Angeles Times, PC Magazine, IPS, El Universal

Daily Headlines: December 19, 2011

* Peru: Federal authorities have yet to explain why Lori Berenson was barred from leaving Peru despite a court allowing her to spend the holidays with her family in the U.S.

* Mexico: Senior officials issued an apology to an indigenous woman who was raped and tortured by the military in 2002.

* Cuba: Restrictions on travel and remittances from the U.S. to Cuba were dropped by Congress from a $1 trillion spending bill.

* Brazil: The environmental secretary for Rio de Janeiro state claimed that thousands of barrels of oil from a leak reached the shore.

Video Source – YouTube via larepublicaweb1 (The above video from Peruvian TV claimed that paroled activist Lori Berenson arrived late to the airport and subsequently missed her flight to the U.S. But according to Gothamist “witnesses claim that Berenson was ‘at the airport hours before the flight was to leave.’”)

Online Sources- Gothamist, Houston Chronicle, UPI, MSNBC, ABC News

Daily Headlines: August 3, 2011

* Guatemala: A court sentenced four men to prison sentences of over 6000 years per person as punishment for participating in the Dos Erres massacre of 201 people in 1982.

* Mexico: According to the central bank remittances the amount of remittances sent to Mexico in the first six months of this year increased by 4.7% compared to the same period in 2010.

* Caribbean: Tropical Storm Emily is expected to roll through the Dominican Republic and Haiti later today.

* Colombia: A U.S. federal judge refused to dismiss the charges against an arms dealer accused of selling weapons to Colombia’s FARC guerillas.

* Honduras: Canadian immigration officials deported a man suspected of war crimes in Honduras.

* Cuba: The country’s National Assembly backed a series of economic changes including the possible shedding of up to one million public jobs.

Image – Reuters (“A woman reacts after hearing the sentence of four former soldiers convicted of war crimes at the Supreme Court in Guatemala City, August 2, 2011.”)
Online Sources- Fox News Latino, Reuters, CTV.ca, BBC News, The Guardian, Bloomberg

Daily Headlines: March 15, 2011

* Latin America: The Inter-American Development Bank concluded that remittances to Latin American and the Caribbean are expected to increase this year though a weaker dollar and rising inflation could affect its “purchasing power” in some countries.

* Mexico: A judge ruled that "Presumed Guilty", a documentary critical of the Mexican judicial system, can continue its popular run in movie theaters.

* Haiti: U.S. State Department officials have urged exiled former president Jean-Bertrand Aristide to avoid returning to Haiti at least until presidential elections take place on Sunday.

* Venezuela: According to a report by a local NGO, 3114 protests (or an average of 8.5 per day) took place in Venezuela during 2010.

Image – LAHT
Online Sources- El Universal, ABC News, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Hispanically Speaking News

Remittances to Mexico increase

Money transfers to Mexico have grown and signify that the county’s economy is rebounding, according to data released earlier today. The twelve percent increase compared to May 2009 marks the second consecutive month of remittance growth to Mexico based on figures from the central bank. The data represents a turnaround after months of decreased money transfers since the end of 2008.

Not all was good news, however; the boost in remittances during May was not enough to cover the losses during the first four months of this year. $8.7 billion in remittances was sent to Mexico between January and May 2010, which was 4.6% less than in the same period last year.

Remittances are vital to Latin American economies though money transfers to the Americas have fallen since the global economic downturn. Some countries like Bolivia continue to struggle in turning around their remittance woes while others like El Salvador have seen increases that aid their respective economies. Could sustained “robust economic growth” throughout the region see a boost in remittances throughout Latin America?

Recent growth spurts around Latin America have surpassed the expectations of many governments themselves. Brazil, the region’s rising power, is leading the regional recovery from the downturn of 2009, growing 9 percent in the first quarter from the same period last year. Brazil’s central bank said Wednesday that growth for 2010 could reach 7.3 percent, the nation’s fastest expansion in 24 years.

After a sharp contraction last year, Mexico’s economy grew 4.3 percent in the first quarter and may reach 5 percent this year, the Mexican government has said, possibly outpacing the economy in the United States.

Image- LAHT
Online Sources- LAHT, El Informador, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, New York Times, EPA, El Universal

Daily Headlines: April 16, 2010

* Argentina: An Argentine judge annulled Latin America’s first gay marriage that had taken place last December in the city of Ushuaia.

* Colombia: Green Party presidential candidate Antanas Mockus continues his rise up the polls as he keeps closing the gap with frontrunner Juan Manuel Santos.

* El Salvador: Remittances to El Salvador increased last month as part of the “first positive rate observed since October 2008.”

* U.S.: According to researchers Latinos tend to live in areas where there are limited screenings for colon cancer.

Image – Guardian UK (Alejandro Freyre and Jose Maria Di Bello was Latin America’s first same-sex marriage in a civil ceremony last December).
Online Sources- UPI, LAHT, The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, AFP