More Bolivian provinces opt for autonomy

Voters in a pair of Bolivian provinces chose increased autonomy during referendums held on Sunday. Much like the vote in Santa Cruz last month, the Beni and Pando referendums were declared “illegal” by President Evo Morales yet an estimated 80% opted against the federal government.

For Bolivia, the results of the plebiscites highlight the tensions between the majority indigenous population living in the west and the wealthier minority mainly in the eastern provinces. Yet the results indicate a growing opposition to several left-leaning populist governments in the Americas according to the Christian Science Monitor:

In many cases, the opposition in Latin America has been stunted because they have not "come to grips" with the deep-seated shift under way in the region, says (Inter-American Dialogue analyst Mike) Shifter.

Yet, in part spurred on by (Hugo) Chavez’s ideological war against the traditional elites, the opposition has moved into defense mode…

To opposition leaders in Bolivia, this is proof enough that they must start acting. "Chavez owns the Bolivian government, and is the biggest threat to democracy in Latin America," says Jorge Quiroga, a former Bolivian president who heads Bolivia's main opposition party.

Sources- Christian Science Monitor, AFP, CNN, Monsters & Critics, the Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News (Bolivian woman wearing a pro-autonomy shirt)

Mexico: Indigenous needs unmet by gov't

Indigenous people in Mexico are not receiving the proper help from the government according to the head of the Senate’s indigenous affairs commission. Andrés Galván Rivas- from the officialist PAN- criticized the government for failing to properly match public policy with the needs of indigenous peoples. Still, the legislator praised the government for making inroads in dealing with the indigenous community.

Yet it appears as if government programs recently created to help the indigenous community have failed to do so. One local indigenous leader showed his dissatisfaction at the federal “Opportunities” job program:

(Rafael Díaz Bermúdez) indicated that peasants do not choose self-employment or seek work (under the program). Rather, they are tied to their regular subsidy or, even worse, they consume alcohol which explains the high levels of alcoholism in (certain indigenous) areas. - [ed. Personal translation]

Sources (Spanish)- El Universal, Milenio

Image- MSNBC (Indigenous leaders gathered at a conference in Mexico)

Spain to examine alleged ETA-FARC link

Authorities in Spain will examine alleged ties between the militant Basque separatist group ETA and Colombia’s FARC guerillas. According to a report on Monday by AFP, Spanish prosecutors will send an “investigative commission” to check on any claims between the FARC and ETA as well as other Basque separatist factions.

An article last week cited a Spanish daily that claimed that Venezuelan authorities were conducting their own investigation into possible ETA-FARC links. Last Friday, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos claimed that the FARC had sought to “forge an alliance” with ETA:

Santos said ""the FARC's contacts with ETA and drug traffickers exporting cocaine to Europe are not new, and when they are secure in Colombia, they try to do harm overseas,"" which, he claimed, was the rebels' goal.

The accusations made by Santos mirrors those made by Colombia’s defense minister based on the laptops seized during a controversial military strike in March.

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo, Univision

Sources- Tehran Times, Typically Spanish, BBC News

Image- BBC News (Graffiti sympathetic with ETA)

Daily Headlines: June 2, 2008

* Jamaica: Congrats to sprinter Usain Bolt who became the “world’s fastest man” by setting a new world record in the 100 meter dash on Saturday.

* Brazil: A U.N. representative has accused Brazilian police of committing “thousands” of extrajudicial killings.

* Venezuela: Will Venezuelan gas stations become the next industry to be nationalized?

* Mexico: A poll reveled that most Mexicans believe that drug cartels are winning against the police.

Sources- New York Times, MSNBC, Bloomberg, Guardian UK

Image- CNN

Meet our newest contributor!

Before we start our usual slate of posts this week, we want to welcome our newest contributor: Michael Lisman. He wrote a trio of posts for our blog two weeks ago and now he’ll do so on a permanent basis.

According to part of his bio from Inter-American Dialogue:

Michael C. Lisman is an associate with the education program, and coordinates activities in Central America for the Partnership for Educational Revitalization in the Americas (PREAL). He has worked at LASPAU: Academic and Professional Programs for the Americas, as well at the Harvard Initiative for Global Health, where he coordinated a large-scale evaluation of social security programs in Mexico.

Welcome Michael and good luck!

Sources- Inter-American Dialogue, The Latin Americanist

De Musica Ligera: It's almost time for LAMC!

The Latin Alternative Music Conference (LAMC) will be held again this July in New York City. Some bloggers like our dear contributor Maegan la Mala will be attending the many activities at LAMC such as panels on blogging and music.

One of the best aspects of LAMC is the numerous concerts to be held around town and that are open to the public. Some of these concerts are free and cannot be missed! Brooklyn Vegan has a helpful list of this year’s LAMC events.

The following are MP3s of a few of the artists performing at this year’s LAMC. We hope you enjoy them and also hope you all have a great weekend!

• Brazilian Girls – Jique
• Forro in the Dark – Limoeiro do Norte
• Julieta Venegas – Flor
• Plastilina Mosh - Bungallo Punta Cometa

Sources- Latin Alternative Music Conference, Brooklyn Vegan, VivirLatino

Image- HispanicMPR.com

Today’s Video: “Lost” tribe encountered in Brazil

In a world which has become increasingly interconnected and globalized it's hard to believe that there are tribes isolated from the rest of the world. Such was the case in Brazil where aerial photos were taken of an isolated tribe in the Amazon jungle.

The following video is a report on the story from Al Jazeera; it shows the images taken of the unnamed tribe and also points out how increased logging in the Amazon has lead “lost” tribes to seek contact with the outside world.

Sources- BBC News, YouTube

Honduras: Plane skids off runway

Update: As of late Friday night the death toll is estimated at five with over sixty people injured. (Source: Xinhua).

A passenger plane skidded off a runway at Tegucigalpa airport in Honduras and onto a residential street. CNN en Español reported this afternoon that three passengers died though that number could rise as several cars are trapped underneath the airplane. The TACA airplane carried 124 passengers and the accident occurred as the plane tried to touch down.

The culprit of the accident may have to do with the wet weather cause by Tropical Storm Alma. The storm weakened to a depression this morning after hitting Honduras this morning though the experts at the National Hurricane Center estimate that 10 to 15 inches of rain will fall over the country.

Alma has caused extensive flooding and damage in several Central American countries; one man died in Nicaragua as power lines were knocked out while several mudslides occurred in Costa Rica.

Sources- BBC News, Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, The Latin Americanist, Reuters, AHN

Image- CNN

Mexico tries to keep the flow of tourism by eliminating taxes for tourists

Contributed by Jill Seymour:

With tourism being Mexico's third most important source of income, one can imagine how the economic downturn of the United States has begun to affect Mexico. In an attempt to maintain the tourist flow toward Mexico, the Mexican government will allow tourists to claim back the 15% tourists have paid while on vacation.

In order to qualify, tourists must spend at least $115 in approved stores. The tax break will only apply to shopping and souvenirs goods, not hotels and restaurants. Starting in June, tourists will be able to claim their tax breaks at five Mexican airports (those popular as tourist destinations).

Image: MSNBC (“Tourists eat breakfast at a coffee shop in the old mining town of Real de Catorce, Mexico.”)

Source: Business Week Online

Puerto Rican Political Prisoner Oscar Lopez Marks 27 Years Behind U.S. Bars

There is much discussion about political prisoners in Latin American countries, specifically U.S. enemy Cuba, but there is little discussion of men and women incarcerated United States federal prisons who consider themselves political prisoners. One such case is the case of Puerto Rican Oscar Lopez Rivera. Yesterday marked 27 years since his capture on charges including seditious conspiracy and is accused of being a member of the FALN, or the Armed Forces of National Liberation in English, an organization dedicated to the liberation of Puerto Rico, an organization deemed a terrorist group by the United States.

Oscar López-Rivera was born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico on January 6, 1943. At the age of 12, he moved to Chicago with his family. He was a well-respected community activist and a prominent independence leader for many years prior to his arrest. Oscar was one of the founders of the Rafael Cancel Miranda High School, now known as the Dr. Pedro Albizu Campos High School and the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center. He was a community organizer for the Northwest Community Organization (NCO), ASSPA, ASPIRA and the 1st Congregational Church of Chicago. He helped to found FREE, (a half-way house for convicted drug addicts) and ALAS (an educational program for Latino prisoners at Stateville Prison in Illinois).
He was active in various community struggles, mainly in the area of health care, employment and police brutality. He also participated in the development of the Committee to Free the Five Puerto Rican Nationalists. In 1975, he was forced underground, along with other comrades.

Lopez- Rivera has a connection to the Clintons, as he was offered some form of leniency by the Clinton Administration in the fall of 1999. He declined the offer.

His sister, Zenaida Lopez, said he turned the offer down because he would be on parole. 'Accepting what they are offering him is like prison outside of prison,' she said. Zenaida Lopez said her brother 'was in total agreement' with the decision of the 11 others to take the conditional clemency.

Part of the clemency agreement included no contact with other members of the Puerto Rican liberation struggle. He is currently serving a 55-year sentence.

Someone and something to think about as both Democratic candidates, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, travel in Puerto Rico this weekend asking for primary votes from people who have no right to vote in the actual presidential election in November.

Source : Prison Activist Resource Center

Daily Headlines: May 30, 2008

* U.S.: A 1945 painting by the late Rufino Tamayo set an auction record for Latin American art after selling for $7.2 million.

* Mexico: A five-year-old boy was among the fifty-one illegal Mexican migrants found hidden in a tractor trailer trying to cross the border.

* Panama: Chile’s police chief was killed in a helicopter accident in Panama City along with eleven others.

* Argentina: Starbucks launched its first Argentine store today with a locale in Buenos Aires.

Sources- MSNBC, Forbes.com, CNN, New York Times, The Latin Americanist,

Image- Washington Post (“In this undated photo provided by the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, Rufino Tamayo's 1945 oil on canvas painting, "Troubadour", is shown in Lynchburg, Va. (AP Photo/Randolph College)”).

Bloggers of the world unite

• Numerous Latin America countries commit all sorts of human rights violations, as one blogger notes.
• So where did the potato originate from: Chile or Peru?
• Argentine prosecutors have their eye on an alleged cover-up by ex-president Carlos Menem.
• The Democratic presidential primary is splitting Puerto Rico’s independence movement according to this post.
• A look at the peaceful transition of power in Paraguay after 61 years of one-party rule.
• Columnist Andres Oppenheimer blasts “anti-immigration anchors” like Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly.
• Are Colombia’s FARC guerillas wearing Venezuelan uniforms?
• Several bloggers examine a leading Cuban dissident group’s decision to support Barack Obama.

Sources- Memory in Latin America, Slashfood, Inside Latin America, New America Media, The Oppenheimer Report on Latin America, Voices Without Votes, Venezuela News and Views, Mexico Reporter

Image- Reconstruction

U.S.-Mex. governors meet; worry over border corruption

Governors from border states in the U.S. and Mexico are meeting today with the aim of addressing several issues with Mexico's president. One of the main topics for discussion will be drug-related violence that is affecting the border states though the governors will also talk about trade and border security.

Speaking of border security, today’s New York Times mentioned of the growing number of corruption investigations among U.S. Border Patrol officers. Homeland Security officials worry that the increased number of officers could lead to dangerous security breaches:

James Tomsheck, the assistant commissioner for internal affairs at Customs and Border Protection, said the agency was “deeply concerned” that smugglers were sending operatives to take jobs with the Border Patrol and at ports…

Although bad apples turn up in almost every law enforcement agency, the corruption cases expose a worrisome vulnerability for national and border security. The concern, several officials said, is that corrupt agents let people into the country whose intentions may be less innocent than finding work.

Sources- BBC News, CNN, UPI, New York Times, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist

Image- New York Times (“The Mexican side of the fence in Naco, a village that straddles the border with Arizona.”)

Strong storms hit C. America, Colombia

With the start of the hurricane season coming up this Sunday, several Central American countries are being affected by Tropical Storm Alma. Costa Rica has already suffered over twenty-four consecutive hours of rain, while Alma is expected to strengthen into a hurricane by the time it lands in Nicaragua and Honduras tomorrow.

In Colombia, an estimated 100,000 people have been left homeless after weeks of ongoing rains have overflowed several rivers and caused landslides. A Colombian Red Cross official said that 26 of the country’s 32 provinces are under “emergency” due to the wet winter.

Parts of the Caribbean may also face its share of heavy rain this weekend according to meteorologist Dr. Joe Sobel:

The first (major Atlantic) storm is in the southwest Caribbean to the east of Panama where we have seen clusters of thunderstorms come and go over the last week or so…The showers and thunderstorms associated with it may drift to the north or northwest with time and by Friday or the weekend it may be wetter in Cancun and Cozumel or western Cuba than it is now.

Sources- Canadian Press, MSNBC, CNN, Xinhua, Dr. Joe Sobel’s Weather Blog

Image- CNN (“Residents and police officers push through the flooded streets of Honda, Colombia, on Tuesday.”)

Bank gives $550K in assistance

The Economic Times again reports that the food crisis is impacting Latin America.

The Inter-American Development Bank will provide a $550 million line of credit to help Latin American poor, estimating that about 71 million people survive on less than $1 each day.

Bank chief Luis Alberto Moreno said more than 26 million people could join the poverty line while food crisis are rising 128 percent.

The credit line should be approved by the IDB board within two weeks.

Source: Economic Times, Photo: Coolchaser.com

Dodd provides hope in Bolivia

Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd says a "change is coming" to relations between the United States and Latin America while speaking in Bolivia yesterday.

The Associated Press reported that Dodd met with Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera in La Paz to help smooth relations. Dodd's office said he was "disappointed" that President Evo Morales did not meet with him as well.

Dodd said if a Democrat is the next president, the United States will spend more time thinking about their "family here in the Americas."

Dodd served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968.

Source: AP, Photo: ChrisDodd.com