Daily Headlines: November 2, 2016

* Mexico: Mexico’s “sugar tax” on carbonated beverages enacted in 2013 could prevent as many as 500,000 cases of diabetes and save up to $2.5 billion in ten years, according to a new report.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos indicated that a reworked peace deal with the FARC rebels would be ratified by Congress rather than risk defeat at a second referendum.

* Bolivia: Spanish energy giant Repsol extended its agreement for exploration and operation of Bolivia’s largest oil bloc to 2046.

* Chile: The race for 2018 World Cup qualification in South America became much tighter after a decision to dock points from Bolivia allowed Chile to leapfrog Argentina in the standings.

YouTube Source – Euromonitor International (Video uploaded on November 2013).

Online Sources – Vocaticv, Colombia Reports, Goal.com, Latin American Herald Tribune

Daily Headlines: November 1, 2016

* Brazil: A study from the Getulio Vargas Foundation public policy think tank concluded that the Brazilian economy will continue to be mired in an economic crisis into 2017.

* Cuba: The discrepancy in pay between workers of different nationalities laboring on three major hotel projects in Cuba has not sat well with residents.

* Argentina: Approximately $4.6 billion was reportedly declared by Argentines as part of a tax amnesty plan in effect until November 21st.

* Venezuela: Five imprisoned opposition politicians were released from jail after Democratic Unity Roundtable representatives first met with government represntatives in Vatican-mediated talks .

YouTube Source – Bloomberg (Video uploaded in September 2016).

Online Sources – UPI, Reuters, Xinhua, BBC News

Daily Headlines: October 28, 2016

* Brazil: Brazilian authorities warned that a recent outbreak of prison violence between the PCC and Comando Vermelho criminal groups could spill on to the streets.

* Panama: The Panamanian government took a big step in its push to remove the stigma from the Panama Papers leak by signing a multilateral treaty to combat tax evasion.

* Cuba: The United Sates Food and Drug Administration has purportedly given the green light for the clinical trial of a Cuban lung cancer medicine known as CIMAvax.

* Haiti: Spain’s soccer federation has been ordered to return around $240,000 in public funds that were misappropriated instead of being spent on a project in Haiti.

YouTube Source – AFP 

Online Sources – InSight Crime, ESPN FC, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, CBC

Daily Headlines: July 6, 2016

* Mexico: The Mexican government has offered to hold negotiations with representatives of teachers on a strike that has expanded beyond Oaxaca and into Mexico City.

* Ecuador: Ecuadorian Finance Minister Fausto Herrera admitted that officials are looking into creating a framework to comply with a U.S. Supreme Court order to pay Chevron $96 million.

* Brazil: U.S. and Brazilian authorities are looking for a former Guantanamo military prison detainee who resettled in Uruguay nearly two years ago but whose current whereabouts are unknown.

* Spain: A Spanish court sentenced Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi and his father to twenty-one months in prison for tax fraud but both men could escape jail time.

YouTube Source – CCTV America (From July 1, 2016: “The situation in Oaxaca still remains tense after clashes between teachers unions and the police. Blockades remain, while shortages of basic products are affecting the region.”)

Online Sources – teleSUR English, Fox News Latino, Marca, CNN

Panamanian Gov’t Lashes Out over “Panama Papers” Leak

What do a Nobel laureate, “La Reina del Sur” and the president of a South American country all have in common? These and a few thousand other Latin Americans were named in the “Panama Papers” leak of eleven million documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca purportedly assisting in tax evasion, circumventing sanctions, and money laundering. In light of the damaging allegations, the government of the isthmus had gone on a diplomatic offensive.

Deputy Minister Luis Miguel Hincapié on Tuesday blasted Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) chief Angel Gurria for suggesting that Panama failed “to meet the international tax transparency standards are now out there in full public view.” he claimed Gurria made “allegations and insinuations whose falsity is easily demonstrated.” Hincapié further accused Gurria of discriminating against Panama by not pointing the finger at other jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands where half of firms mentioned in the “Panama Papers” are registered in.

The official earlier today also implied that the OECD has coerced Panama as part of its campaign to place international standards on tax transparency.

“(Panama) for a long time has suffered pressure from the OECD so that the country can sign a multilateral treaty to exchange fiscal information,” Hincapié mentioned at a press conference.

“We only agreed in the interchange of information on a bilateral basis and in specific cases,” he said.
The OECD hasn’t been the only foreign body receiving criticism from the Panamanian government. Minister of the Presidency Alvaro Aleman threatened with “retaliation measures” against France if the European country goes through with placing the isthmus on its blacklist of tax havens.

Economics Minister Dulcido De La Guardia rejected claims that Panama is a “fiscal oasis” and claimed “three-quarters of income received by the government comes from taxes paid by nationals and foreigners residing in the country.” (Though this does raise the question of where does the other 25% come from).

Daily Headlines: May 26, 2015

* Cuba: Tourism in Cuba grew by 14% between January and May including a 36% boost from U.S. visitors traveling to the island despite restrictions.

* South America: Police are looking into alleged e-mail threat made last month by the Islamic State against the presidents of Argentina and Chile.

* Puerto Rico: Legislators in Puerto Rico continue to hammer out the final details of a $1.2 billon tax proposal that could be signed into law as early as next week.

* Brazil: At least eight people died following a riot at a Brazilian prison built for 644 inmates but housing over 1400 prisoners.

YouTube Source – Bloomberg Business (Video uploaded in March 2015).
 
Online Sources – International Business Times, Reuters, ABC News, The Guardian

Daily Headlines: May 19, 2015

* Colombia: A state of emergency was declared for areas of northwest Colombia ravaged by a landslide that killed at least sixty-two villagers and wiped out several rural communities.

* Argentina: Ex-Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati strongly rejected his country’s alleged role in the 1994 bombing of an Argentine Jewish cultural center that left eighty-five people dead.

* Puerto Rico: Several hundred protesters marched in opposition to an estimated $249 million in budget cuts to education and a proposed new value added tax.

* Venezuela: The U.S. is reportedly probing senior Venezuelan government officials including congressional chief Diosdado Cabello over possible drug trafficking and money laundering.

YouTube Source – euronews

Online Sources – Yahoo News, The Guardian, Fox News Latino, Reuters

Daily Headlines: March 10, 2015

* Colombia: Several thousand people in Colombia and in foreign cities participated in peace marches one day after the government and FARC rebels agreed to a landmine removal program.

* Puerto Rico: “I did not come here to put a Band-Aid on the problem,” declared Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla in a televised speech defending his controversial tax reform plan.

* Haiti: Haitian authorities reportedly pledged to increase security near Dominican consulates amid heightened political and social tensions between the neighboring countries.

* Argentina: The Argentine government called on HSBC to repatriate $3.5 billion in funds placed in offshore accounts by alleged tax evaders.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR English

Online Sources – VOXXI; Reuters; CCTV Americas

Daily Headlines: November 12, 2014

* Colombia: According to a new poll two in every three Colombians back the peace process between the government and the FARC despite the uproar over a deadly rebel attack on an indigenous community last week.

* Peru: The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the recent murder of a Peruvian journalist reportedly investigating on violence caused by local gangs.

* Venezuela: A music lecturer at a British university accused Venezuela’s famed El Sistema youth music program of being “a cult, a mafia and a corporation.”

* Argentina: More than seventy banks, currency exchange locales and other financial institutions were raided as part of a tax fraud investigation.

Video Source – CCTV America via YouTube
 
Online Sources – teleSUR English; Al Jazeera English; BBC News; The Guardian; The Committee to Protect Journalists

Daily Headlines: November 3, 2014

* Latin America: Residents in countries like Mexico and Guatemala over the weekend commemorated their respective holidays to honor and respect the deeds.

* Argentina: The Argentine government suspended the operations of Procter & Gamble after accusing the household products giant of committing $138 million in tax fraud.

* Puerto Rico: Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla urged Puerto Ricans to unite and work harder to overcome the commonwealth’s “worst fiscal and economic crisis ... since the 1940s.”

* Brazil: Several hundred people took to the streets of Sao Paulo to protest water shortages and perceived inaction by local officials.

Video Source – YouTube user Charles and Ray Eames (1957 short film by famed industrial design duo Charles and Ray Eames on Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday).
 
Online Sources – euronews; Latin Post; Reuters; Hispanically Speaking News; Fox News Latino

Daily Headlines: October 3, 2014

* Latin America: 63 doctors and 102 nurses from Cuba reportedly left for Sierra Leone to help combat the African country’s Ebola outbreak while Salvadoran authorities placed under quarantine two nuns suspected of being infected with Ebola.

* Brazil: The head of the International Olympic Committee’s inspection team claimed that plans for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro are “on track” though “the schedule was tight.”

* Venezuela: Was ruling party legislator Robert Serra and his partner killed days ago as part of a planned assassination?

* Argentina: A Spanish judge ruled that Argentine soccer superstar Lionel Messi must stand trial for allegedly evading more than four million euros in taxes.

Video Source – Voice of America via YouTube

Online Sources – Fox News Latino; Tico Times; BBC News; The Independent; Businessweek

Daily Headlines: May 21, 2014

* Central America: The U.S. Agency for International Development will work with university researchers as part of a $5 million partnership in order to combat a crippling Central American coffee fungus.

* Venezuela: The U.S. Senate could soon vote on a bill that would raise sanctions against Venezuelan officials accused of human rights violations stemming from protests and political unrest since February.  

* Cuba: Cuban dissident blogger and activist Yoani Sanchez launched a new website today that will reportedly “provide daily news about the communist-run country, but insisted it would not be a platform against the government”.

* Uruguay: The plan to legalize the sale and distribution of marijuana in Uruguay will allegedly be exempted from taxation with the goal of “undercutting the black market.”

Video Source – YouTube user CBS Evening News

Online Sources – Reuters; Tico Times; LAHT; BBC News

Daily Headlines: December 2, 2013

* Latin America: According to the U.N., Latin America is the region that provides the highest proportion of AIDS treatment coverage though several countries have seen an increase in HIV infection in seniors over 60 years old.

* Mexico: A poll released days before the one year anniversary of the inauguration of President Enrique Peña Nieto found that his popularity has fallen and more Mexicans disapprove him than back him.

* Costa Rica: Costa Rica, which is a country labeled by the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation as a tax haven, signed a deal with the U.S. to comply with a new anti-tax evasion law starting next year.

* Honduras: Thousands of supporters of defeated opposition presidential candidate Xiomara Castro protested the results of the November 24th election that she claimed where "fraudulent."

Video Source - YouTube via Metro Guatemala (Dozens of Guatemalans held a vigil in order to commemorate World AIDS Day, which was observed on December 1st).

Online Sources - GlobalPost; Reuters; The Guardian

Daily Headlines: June 20, 2013

* Puerto Rico: The San José Church in Old San Juan was included on a National Trust for Historic Preservation of the most endangered historic places in the U.S.

* Ecuador: Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino claimed that the Ecuadorian government would consider granting asylum to U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden.

* Argentina: Soccer superstar Lio Messi and his father have been reportedly charged with roughly $5.4 million in tax fraud by a Spanish judge today.

* Cuba: According to the State Department the U.S. and Cuba agreed to restart migration talks that have been stalled since 2011.

Video Source – YouTube via user preservationnation
 
Online Sources- Bernama; Reuters; USA Today

Daily Headlines: July 25, 2012

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chávez announced last night that Venezuela would withdraw from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights after losing a case at the tribunal last week.

* U.S.: Latino leaders in California have called for a federal investigation into the police shooting and death of an Anaheim resident that has triggered several days of rioting.

* Latin America: A report found that the richest people in thirty-three Latin American and Caribbean nations hid over $2 trillion in assets in offshore tax havens between 1970 and 2010.

* Cuba: A U.S. citizen accused of traveling to Cuba as an “unauthorized tourist” in 1998 agreed to pay a $6500 fine.

Video Source – YouTube via teleSUR English

Online Sources- El Universal, NPR, Business Recorder, MSNBC

Today’s Video: Taxis for all

Last week we briefly examined the difficulties faced by people with disabilities (PWD) in Latin America. We noted that "some progress" has been made in the region in order to promote the rights of PWD and help grant them much deserved social and economic equality.

Mexico City's ubiquitous green-colored VW Beatle taxis have been gradually phased out in recent years in favor of more modern, environmentally-friendly vehicles. The changes also included a pilot program of pink-colored women-only taxis that was tested last year.

Despite the positive changes to the taxi system in the megalopolis practically nothing has been done to accommodate PWD. None of the more than 250,000 registered cabs could be considered wheelchair accessible though that changed last month. Heriberto Gómez Pérez became the first Mexico City taxi driver with a fully accessible vehicle, a minivan with a hydraulic wheelchair lift. According to the website for El Universal, Gomez spent over 200,000 pesos (over USD $17,000) in order to modify his vehicle.

"I hope (Mexico City mayor Marcelo) Ebard noitces this and pays attention too a segment of the population...that want to be treated with dignity and well-being with their transportation," said Gomez. Hopefully Gomez' initiative will be example for the integration of accessible taxis not only in Mexico but for other major cities of the world.

(Video link via El Universal):

Online Sources - New York Times, The Latin Americanist, Latin America Traveller, Mexipreneur, El Universal
Video Source - YouTube via El Universal

Daily Headlines: July 12, 2011

* U.S.: While Congress continues to play politics with the Panama and Colombia free trade deals, “scores of protesters” gathered across from the White House to rally against the agreement with Colombia.

* Haiti: Did the Haitian government really reject cholera vaccinations, as was clamed by the head of a Dutch pharmaceutical firm?

* Panama: The Central American country improved on international tax standards and isn’t the tax haven it used to be according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

* Chile: Approximately 45,000 workers at state-owned mining giant Codelco went on strike to voice their opposition to a government-backed "modernization plan."

Image – semana.com
Online Sources- Reuters, Defend Haiti, The Telegraph, LAHT

Argentina: Gov’t, farmers to rally over tax measure

With one day before Argentina’s legislature votes on a government-backed farm tax plan, separate rallies have been planned for and against the measure in Buenos Aires. Former President Nestor Kirchner is expected to lead one event this afternoon in support of his wife’s proposal to raise taxes on farm exports. Shortly afterwards, rural groups will have their own protest against the government in the northern Palermo neighborhood.

The controversy over farm taxes has been going on for several months and has included several strikes and blockades. Tomorrow’s vote is expected to be a very close one as tensions have grown over the debate:

“We are going head to head on this,'' (opposition Senator Maria Eugenia) Estenssoro told reporters in Buenos Aires yesterday. ``We want senators to vote their conscience and do what their supporters are asking of them''…

(Argentine president Cristina Kirchner) says $1.5 billion additional revenue generated by the increased taxes on grains and oilseeds will help Argentina build more hospitals and roads.

Image- lanacion.com

Sources (English)- Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- Clarin, La Razon