Daily Headlines: July 17, 2014

* Latin America: According to the U.N., the Caribbean has seen the biggest decline in new HIV infections while every hour ten people in Latin America are infected with the disease.

* Costa Rica: Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas, whose superb play helped guide Los Ticos to the World Cup quarterfinals, could be headed to one of soccer’s most prestigious clubs.

* Panama: imprisoned former Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega is none too pleased over his depiction in the “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” video game.

* Mexico: The government of Mexico City enacted legislation approved last month banning the use of animals in circuses.

Video Source – YouTube user David Mercer (“Originally Published by Al Jazeera English on May 16, 2014.”)

Online Sources – euronews; MARCA.com; The Latin Americanist; The Guardian; LAHT

Daily Headlines: March 29, 2013

* Mexico: Weightlifter Soraya Jimenez, who despite suffering from numerous health problems became the first Mexican women to win an Olympic gold medal, died on Thursday at the age of 35.

* Latin America: Cuban programmers have created a video game that allows users to simulate the 1959 revolution, while British hackers attacked an Argentine video game that recreates Falklands War battles.  

* Brazil: Authorities announced that about $150 million will be invested in improving the safety measures of Brazil’s two nuclear power facilities.

* Chile: Hundreds of police officers in Santiago clashed with thousands of student demonstrators calling for educational reforms.

Video Source – YouTube via user NoticieroTVC

Online Sources- Reuters, Belfast Telegraph, LAHT, BBC News

Mexico, U.S. border officials rail against video game

Every once in a while the subject of violent video games becomes a hot topic not only in industrialized countries but also in developing nations of Latin America. In 2009 a Brazilian Senator proposed barring "offensive" video games that "affect the customs, traditions of the people”. Last year the Cuban government was angry over a mission in “Call of Duty: Black Ops” where users try to kill Fidel Castro. The latest controversy has arisen over a particular game’s depiction of a Mexican city.

The third installment of the hit “Call of Juarez” video game series is in the works and it’s expected to go on sale around the middle of this year. Entitled “Call of Juarez: The Cartel”, the game from Ubisoft will be set in the present day rather than the Old West setting of the previous two chapters. Players will "take the law into (their) own hands" on a "bloody road trip from Los Angeles to Juarez," according to Ubisoft’s website.

Community leaders and law enforcement officials on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are unhappy with the upcoming release of “The Cartel”. "Lots of kids say they want to be a hitman, because they are the ones that get away with everything," said Ciudad Juarez youth worker Laurencio Barraza to Reuters. Though Ubisoft insists that the game is for “entertainment purposes only” the police chief of Brownsville, Texas accused the firm of trying to “capitalize on the violent situation in Mexico.” Another Texan border police official compared the video game to Mexican “narco-corrido” music:

"In games you get hurt, you die and you get another life. In real life, you only die once," said El Paso County Sheriff's Office Commander Gomecindo Lopez. The Sheriff's Office lost a jailer to a shooting in Ciudad Juarez last March that also took the life of his wife and their unborn child. "This goes along the lines of narco-songs that portray cartel leaders as heroes, but both are a gross misrepresentation of who they are. They are criminals."

The dispute over “Call of Juarez: The Cartel” comes as a pair of U.S. federal agents was shot in an ambush in northern Mexico this week. One of the agents was killed in an attack that may be linked to Mexico’s Zetas drug gang.

Image- France24 (“A woman participates in a protest against violence and organized crime in Mexico City, on February 13. Gunmen burst into a home in the border city of Ciudad Juarez and killed a woman and her two teenage daughters, state officials said Tuesday.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, The Guardian, BBC Mundo, Reuters, Houston Press, The Escapist, NPR, CSMonitor.com

Brazil considering video game ban

We first mentioned last August that the Venezuelan legislature was looking into banning violent video games and toys as a way to combat high crime rates. The measure was eventually passed last month in a move backed by some parents while decried by others.

Now comes word that Brazil is looking into banning “offensive” video games. The bill introduced by Senator Valdir Raupp would “curb the manufacture, distribution, importation…(of) video games that affect the customs, traditions of the people, their worship, creeds, religions and symbols” and would carry a punishment of one to three years in prison.

On the heels of a Human Rights Watch report blasting Brazilian police for widespread abuse, Raupp’s measure appears to be superficial to combat the problem of increased violence appears to be superficial. Indeed, this was what one tech commentator said as quoted by Foreign Policy’s Passport blog:

CNET's Dave Rosenberg has lambasted Brazil's move, suggesting they deal with "larger social issues, including lack of parental oversight," instead. They praise the US system of industry self-regulation, which relies on ratings to isolate children from violent games.

What do you think? Would a video game ban work in Brazil and/or Venezuela or is it like placing a bandage on a flesh wound?

Image- The Telegraph (Still taken from the “Manhunt 2” video game)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Foreign Policy Passport, MSNBC, boingboing.net, gamespolitics.com, CNET, Miami Herald

Daily Headlines: October 5, 2009

* Ecuador: President Rafael Correa said that he would meet with representatives of indigenous protestors who have vehemently demonstrated against several government proposals.

* Venezuela: A ban on violent video games that we told you about in August is expected to soon be voted upon by Venezuela’s legislature.

* Latin America: Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Venezuela all qualified to the Round of 16 at the Under-20 World Cup currently being held in Egypt.

* Mexico: Authorities claimed to have seized a record number of meth (37 tons) in a pair of seizures last week.

Image- AP (“Shuar Indians protest laws proposed by Ecuador's President Correa on the Upano bridge near Macas in Ecuador's Amazon, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2009. Indian groups are protesting proposed laws that would allow mining on their lands without their consent and put water resources under state control.”)
Online Sources- BBC News, USA TODAY, MSNBC, The Latin Americanist, LAHT

Venezuelan considers violent videogame ban

According to Mexico’s Citizens Council for Public Safety, Ciudad Juarez is the most dangerous city in the Americas followed by Caracas, New Orleans, and Tijuana.

Regarding Venezuela, some steps have been taken to combat the increasingly rampant crime that has hit large cities like the capital. Actions like reforming the Venezuelan police are necessary and should hopefully alleviate urban violence. Yet there are other moves which are purely cosmetic and unrealistic. The bill to ban the sale of violent videogames is one of them:

Venezuelan lawmakers are moving to outlaw the sale of violent videogames and toys in an attempt to fight rampant crime in the country.

A bill to ban sales of violent games passed its first hurdle in the National Assembly on Tuesday evening, the legislative chamber said in a statement issued on Wednesday…

Opponents of President Hugo Chavez say 100,000 people have been murdered since he assumed office in February 1999. The government says its opponents and Venezuela's private media exaggerate the problem…

Some countries ban violent videogames and many restrict their sale to children. Although few studies have shown that such games cause aggressive tendencies, they have often been the subject of controversy.

Image- The Age (“Still from Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.”)
Online Sources- El Tiempo, Reuters, LAHT

Today’s Video: Immigration – the game

Recently a human rights group called Breakthrough uploaded the trailer to a video game focusing on immigration. Entitled “ICED - The Immigrant Shuffle”, the game allows players to acts as immigrants trying to survive in the U.S.

Wired.com wondered if games like ICED “get a bit of play in the press, sure, but do they actually help solve anything?” Check out for yourself by viewing the trailer:

Sources- Breakthrough, Wired.com, ABC News, YouTube