Space’s final frontiers will be observed via Chilean observatory

Scientists from around the globe have gathered in Chile’s Atacama Desert in order to construct the world’s most precise view of space. Known as ALMA, (Atacama Large Millimeter Array), the project involves constructing a network of 64 telescopes and the Atacama Desert is ideal for such an endeavor since its climate has very low humidity and clear skies all year long. (Image shows artists’ depiction of ALMA, via this site).

Chile, science, space

Morning briefs

* Immunity lifted from Argentina ex-dictator Jorge Videla (image via Deutsche Welle).

* U.N. study shows that Dominican women living abroad continue to be discriminated although they have greater economic opportunities.

* Pressure intensifying to choose between Guatemala and Venezuela for one of Latin America’s U.N. Security Council seats.

* Colombia’s government wants to join an Asian economic bloc by next year.

Argentina, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Venezuela, United Nations, international politics, women

Afternoon headlines

* Illegal immigrants will get full amnesty…in St. Lucia.

* New strategy to curb gang violence in Haiti: arms for food.

* Bolivian president Evo Morales (image via Washington Post) met with an ailing Fidel Castro yesterday.

* Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning blasted the Bush administration by claiming it has been “ignoring the Caribbean,” particularly since the 9/11 attacks.

* Center-left candidate León Roldós leads the race for president of Ecuador approximately one month before elections are to take place.

* Opposition legislators in Paraguay vowed to stop any constitutional amendment allowing for presidential reelection.

* Mexico’s La Jornada newspaper published a scathing editorial against yesterday’s confirmation of Felipe Calderon as the country’s next president.

Bolivia, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, Haiti, Mexico, crime, immigration, international economy, international politics

Massive protest against violence in Argentina

Police estimated that about 100,000 people demonstrated last week in Buenos Aires calling on the government to take a more active role against crime. “The population feels that crime is out of control” said one political analyst, and this is especially true in the province of Buenos Aires where crime is the highest in the country and where 9 police chiefs serve over the past 5 years. (Image via this site).

Argentina, crime

Controversy over class-based Colombian “Survivor”

Recently we linked to a blog entry on the race-based tribes in the next season of the U.S. version of “Survivor” and we wondered about the endless “possibilities for exploitation in the name of high ratings.” Well, the Colombian version on Caracol TV decided to up the ante by dividing tribes based on economic class. Teams are named “privileged”, “searchers,” and “screwed” and producers for the show acknowledge milking stereotypes regardless of whether or not the show is in bad taste or how much it has been slammed in the press. (Image via Miami Herald).

race, television, Colombia

Polls show varying support for leaders in Nicaragua, Mexico, and Bolivia

Polls taken over the few weeks have been reported by Angus Reid Global Scan. Nicaraguan presidential candidate Daniel Ortega’s (image via RFI) lead has grown by 6% as has the support of his nearest rival, Eduardo Montealegre. Meanwhile, 2 out of 3 Mexicans surveyed support president Vicente Fox in spite over the presidential electoral controversy. Lastly, support for Bolivian president Evo Morales keeps slipping; his approval rating has gone down 7% since July and 14% overall since June.

Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, international politics

Calderon confirmed as president elect of Mexico

Mexico’s Federal Electoral Tribunal confirmed Felipe Calderon as president-elect about two months after elections took place. The Tribunal ruled that Calderon (image via ABC News) was the winner by slightly over 0.5% and its decision cannot be appealed. As part of its ruling, the Tribunal rejected claims by candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) that Calderon ran a “dirty campaign” though the court did blast President Vicente Fox for putting “the election at risk” through his comments during the campaign period.

So how have bloggers reacted to the news? Here’s a small sample:

• Conservative blogger Jay Reding blames AMLO for putting Mexico in a “state of virtual civil war.”
• Daily Kos points out the different viewpoints people have of protestors supporting AMLO such as derision, fear, and optimism.
• CorrenteWire makes the inevitable comparisons between Mexico’s political snafu and the previous 2 U.S. presidential elections.
• Is the Mexican political left “cursed”? Hmmm?
• Ana Maria Salazar wonders if Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, another leftist who lost the presidency, will step up and take a more public role.
• Blogcritics.org looks at the aftermath of the Tribunal’s court ruling, while Madam Mayo links into author Enrique Krauze’s analysis of what could happen in the near future.
• VivirLatino notes how the Bush Administration is pleased that Calderon will be Mexico’s next president.

Mexico, Bush administration, international politics, blogs

Skeleton belonged to paramilitary head, says Colombian authorities

The Colombian prosecutor’s office confirmed that the remains found in a shallow grave last week belonged to former paramilitary leader Carlos Castaño. Castaño, who had gone missing since 2004, was allegedly killed on the orders of his brother Vicente who was worried that Carlos would turn into an informant for U.S. authorities. (Image of Castaño’s supposed remains via CNN).

international politics, crime, Colombia

Morning briefs

* China’s government will promote Uruguay as a tourist destination for Chinese citizens. (Image of Punta de Este, Uruguay via this site).

* Sao Paulo police arrested a gang planning several major bank heists.

* Hugo Chavez accused the Venezuelan opposition of planning a coup against him.

* Private security firms are making big bucks in Honduras.

international economy, gangs, Tourism, crime, Venezuela, Honduras, Brazil, Uruguay

Here comes your blog

The following are several interesting blog posts from the past week. Please feel free to reply in the comments section of this post if you have a specific blog or blog article that we should know about.

If you don’t mind, we’re off for the rest of the day to celebrate our one-year (plus one day) anniversary. New posts will be coming up on Tuesday.

• It seems like Hugo Chavez will get a chance to make his best impression of Spike Lee at a Knicks game. (First left image via this site).

• AlterNet looked at recent Latin America news stories. http://www.alternet.org/blogs/themix/41179/

• Mark on Mexico described how Felipe Calderon was all but confirmed as Mexico’s nest president, while Global Voices linked to Guyanese bloggers’ comments on their country’s presidential election.

• Ben Dangl survived the “most dangerous road in the world” road in Bolivia and lived to tell the tale. (First right image via this site).

• Thursday was Blog Day and on that day two bloggers found several interesting blogs from Latin America.

• Will future wars be fought over water? Not so said experts including analysts from Latin America.

• Latin America News Review reminded us of the other 9/11- the 1973 coup against Chilean president Salvador Allende.

• Andres Oppenhiemer gave several election scenarios for Latin America in the upcoming months.

• NYC mayor Mike Bloomberg had a thing for Shakira in MTV promo.

• The story behind the libation that would become Cuba’s most popular beer.

• Guest blogger on political commentator Andrew Sullivan’s blog touched on the seizure of Caracas golf courses (second left image via CBS News) and crackdowns along Guatemalan border.

• Be all that you can be (especially if you’re poor and a racial minority).

• Sound Roots posted on Electro Côco (image via this site), a Dutch-based band that blends samba, bossa nova, and electronic music.

Latin America, blogs

Week in review: August 28 to September 2

Listed below are several news stories on Latin America from the past few days. If you want to find out more please feel free to check out previous posts on this blog. (Image via this site.)

Monday August 28

• Mexico’s Federal Electoral Tribunal tossed out complaints by supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador though they did not confirm Felipe Calderon as winner of Mexico’s presidential election.
• Hurricane Ernesto blew through Cuba after leaving two Haitians dead in its wake.
• Ecuador’s defense minister unexpectedly resigned from his post.

Tuesday August 29

• Guatemala’s government suspended the constitutional rights in several border towns as a measure to combat crime.
• While visiting Syria, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez scolded the U.S. for its role in the Middle East.
• A witness in the trial of former Haitian paramilitary leader Emmanuel Constant recalled the details surrounding her gang rape by Constant’s goons in 1994.

Wednesday August 30

• Deals were reached to halt strikes at Peru’s biggest gold mine and Chile’s Escondida copper mine.
• Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo denied claims that he excommunicated doctors involved in Colombia’s first legal abortion even though a videotaped interview signals otherwise.
• A New York City judge acquiesced to the demands by several immigrant plaintiffs, including a Mexican single mother, and ordered the Bloomberg administration to stop illegally withholding aid from abused immigrants.

Thursday August 31

• Peruvian presidential runner-up Ollanta Humala was formally indicted for human rights violations committed when he was a chief in the army.

• Former Argentine president Raul Alfonsin testified at the trial of an ex-police chief accused of human rights abuses during the “Dirty War” era.

Friday September 1

• Protestors including several legislators prevented Mexican president Vicente Fox from delivering his State of the Nation speech in Mexico City.
• The female heads of state of Chile and Jamaica were named as Forbes magazine’s 100 most powerful women.
• Guyanese electoral officials confirmed the victory of President Bharrat Jagdeo from Monday’s presidential elections.
• Cuban media shows video of a recuperating Fidel Castro meeting with his brother as well as Hugo Chavez.

Saturday September 2

• Argentina finishes the men’s world basketball championships in 4^th place after losing their final two games to Spain and the U.S.
• The International Herald Tribune published an article on the discontent amongst Mercosur trading bloc states on the little voting power they have in the International Monetary fund.

Latin America, week in review

Afternoon briefs

* Strange bedfellows between Cuba and U.S. as they work closely together on weather forecasting.

* Guyanese electoral officials confirm Jagdeo presidential reelection victory.

* Colombia police in controversy over video showing child abuse.

* Lastly, find out the possible translations for a certain thirteen-letter curse word in this week’s “Ask a Mexican!”

(Image of Hurricane John sweeping through Acapulco on Wednesday via CBS News).

weather, international politics, election, corruption, United States, Mexico, Guyana, Colombia, Cuba

Bachelet and Simpson Miller amongst top 100 powerful women

Chilean president Michelle Bachelet (image via this site) and Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller were part of Forbes’ list of the 100 most powerful women in the world headed by German Chancellor Andrea Merkel. Simpson Miller was ranked 89^th on the list while Bachelet was ranked 17^th, one spot ahead of Hillary Clinton and several places in front of Queen Elizabeth II (46^th), Katie Couric (54^th) and South Korean PM Han Myung-Sook (68^th).

Chile, Jamaica, Michelle Bachelet, Portia Simpson Miller, women

Church can’t make up its mind on Colombian excommunications

In Thursday’s “Morning briefs” we reported how on Tuesday the Colombian Church planned to excommunicate the medics involved in Colombia’ first legal abortion, but since then there has been some confusion among Church officials. In an interview on Wednesday, Cardinal Alfonzo Lopez Trujillo (image via this site) denied that he publicly excommunicated the doctors by saying how “I have not set, nor has the Holy See, nor have I thought it.” Yet the head of Colombia’s ecclesiastical tribunal observed that it would be up to a more senior-ranking cardinal to decide on excommunications, while a top Vatican official rejected any involvement by the Holy See on the issue. Even canonical law is unclear in cases like these.

human rights, religion, Colombia

Morning briefs

* Jamaican tourism has given a much needed boost to the island’s economy. (Image via this site).

* Constitutional rights suspended along five Guatemalan border cities by government.

* Brazil’s president proposes increasing budget spending by 9.5%.

Brazil, Guatemala, Jamaica, crime, law, Tourism, international economy

News stories about Uruguay

* In an op/ed piece from yesterday’s Miami Herald, the vice president of the Council of the Americas highlights Uruguay as underrated by Washington policymakers and that it would behoove the Bush administration to seek a free trade deal with that country.

* Larry Rohter in today’s New York Times shines a positive light on President Tabaré Vásquez by noting how he continues working in his original career as an oncologist in spite of his presidential duties. (Registration required).

* Uruguay’s trade deficit was over quarter billion dollars during first half of 2006, which is less than some of most of its Mercosur partners.

* Not happy with a recent International Court of Justice verdict in Uruguay’s favor, environmental activists from Argentina have traveled to Finland in the hope of halting mill construction near the Uruguay-Argentina border.

* Uruguayan officials are worried that neo-Nazis may purchase remnants of a Nazi World War II battleship being raised near Montevideo’s harbor.

(Image via this site).

Uruguay, Argentina, United States, international economy, international politics