Daily Headlines: March 12, 2009

* Peru: According to the World Bank, Peru may be the only Latin American country to avoid being hit by recession this year.

* Venezuela: Former senior State Department official Otto Reich denied being involved in the failed 2002 coup against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

* Argentina: Juan Roman Riquelme quit the country’s national soccer team and declared that he will never play under new coach Diego Maradona.

* Brazil: Police arrested 72 people accused of participating in a wild animal trafficking ring.

Image- ABC News (Tourists visiting the ancient Incan ruins of Macchu Pichu)
Online Sources- Voice of America, Reuters, IHT, AFP

Today’s Video: Elena Poniatowska

International Women’s Day may’ve passed yet we continue our homage this week to exceptional Latin American women.

On Monday, we featured an enlightening interview with Chilean author Isabel Allende. Today highlight Mexican writer, intellectual, and award-winning journalist Elena Poniatowska.

Poniatowska is best-known for 1971 book on the infamous 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. In the lengthy clip below she reads from some of her works and discusses topics like Chicano literature and her childhood. (Her remarks start at the 12:45 mark after the intro).

Online Sources- Wikipedia, The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Obama, Congress relaxes Cuba restrictions (includes update)

Update

Despite calling it an "imperfect proposal" President Obama signed the spending bill which includes easing certain restrictions to Cuba. (Link via FOX News).

Original Post

Congress passed a $410 million omnibus spending bill that includes relaxing travel and importation restrictions to Cuba.

The bill’s provisions don’t go as far as scrapping the decades-long trade embargo against Cuba. Yet it would allow Cuban-Americans to visit their families on the island once a year; thus, reversing a Bush administration rule limiting travel to once every three years. In addition, the bill would make it easier to import medicine and food to the island.

The proposal had faced stern opposition from a pair of Cuban-American Senators (Mel Martinez and Bob Melendez) representing both of the major parties. Yet their disagreement seemed to have been dissuaded after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner promised that the embargo’s main parts would remain in place. Furthermore, Geithner promised tight oversight of the eased limitations.

The bill is expected to be signed very soon by President Barack Obama. During his presidential run, Obama promised to ease travel restrictions to Cuba with the possibility of improving relations with the island. Yet one Cuban government representative recently considered relaxing the provisions as committing “the same mistake previous administrations have made".

How have Cubans reacted to the news? According to Reuters, it’s a mixed bag among those living in exile and seen as a positive among those living domestically.

Image- CBS News
Online Sources- Reuters, U.S. News and World Report, USA TODAY, AFP, The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Radio Netherlands Worldwide

”Lost” Roberto Bolaño manuscripts discovered

Chilean author Roberto Bolaño passed away in 2003 at the age of 50. Since then, however, the literary world has fallen in love with his work; his critically acclaimed novel “2666” is a favorite to win a National Book Critics Circle Award this year.

Now comes word from the Spanish press of the discovery of previously unknown Bolaño manuscripts. Literary nerds will surely like this:

Two new novels by the Chilean author Roberto Bolaño have reportedly been found in Spain among papers he left behind after his death. The previously unseen manuscripts were entitled Diorama and The Troubles of the Real Police Officer, reported La Vanguardia.

The newspaper said the documents also included what is believed to be a sixth section of Bolaño's epic five-part novel 2666.

The Wylie Agency, the literary agency, which recently took over the Bolaño estate, declined to comment about the reports. The novels apparently came to light when piles of documents, notebooks and diaries left behind by Bolaño were being sifted through.

One of Bolaño’s diaries reportedly confessed that “I am sure I will die unpublished.” If only he knew.

Image- New York Times
Online Sources- The Telegraph, NPR, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

Report: $7M Merrill bonus to LatAm banker

Former executives with Merrill Lynch has come under fire for the granting of multimillion dollar bonuses shortly before the firm was acquired by Bank of America.

The bonus controversy has garnered more attention due to the investigation by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. He has looked into why so much money in bonuses were given out while the company asked for (and subsequently received) roughly $45 billion of a Wall Street rescue package.

The latest chapter in the bonus debacle reportedly involves the distributing of one Latin American banker who got a hefty check from Merrill:

Merrill Lynch & Co paid Latin American investment banker Alexandre Bettamio, whom it poached from UBS AG (UBSN.VX), at least $7 million in guaranteed bonuses for 2008, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The firm's investment bankers in Latin America, including Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, earned revenue of about $50 million through late December, while piling up at least $100 million in expenses, most of them compensation-related, one person familiar with the results told the paper.

Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Image- The Telegraph
Online Sources- Gothamist, Huffington Post, AFP, Reuters

Dominicans ousted from World Baseball Classic

On paper the Dominican Republic was one of the favorites to win this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC). With a team including superstars like Hanley Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Pedro Martinez, it should’ve been a formality for the Dominicans to advance out of the tournament’s first round. Yet twice wasn’t nice as an underdog yet very resilient Netherlands beat los quisqueyanos to eliminate them from the WBC.

Last night’s game was an absolute nail-biter that was decided in extra innings. The Dominicans broke the scoreless game in the 11th inning after Jose Reyes scored on a fielding error by Eugene Kingsdale. Facing elimination, the Dutch rallied to score two times in the bottom of the eleventh. An RBI single Kingsdale led to him advancing to third base on an error, and then scoring the winning run of a Sidney de Jong bloop single.

As to be expected, the mood in the Dominican clubhouse was grim:

“These guys, they did it,” David Ortiz said. “They beat us. I tell you, the whole world is shocked now. Even in Japan, they’re like ‘What the heck?’ in Japanese”…

“Oh, God, thank God I don’t have to go back home for a while,” Ortiz said. “I’m telling you right now, in the Dominican, there had to be a blackout right now”…

“Of course, we’re disappointed,” (Dominican manager Felipe) Alou said. “We have been called the Republic of Baseball.”

Image- FOX Sports
Online Sources- New York Times, ESPN.com, Reuters, boston.com

Brazilian actor says “não” to Sean Penn

Actor Sean Penn has come under fire for his visits and chats with Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro. This recently earned him the wrath of Maria Conchita Alonso who came out of the woodworks to claim that Penn “has no clue at all” about Venezuela.

In December, an article in The Advocate claimed that Penn is a hypocrite for his Oscar-winning portrayal of pioneering gay politician Harvey Milk. The piece by James Kirchick criticized Penn for coming “to the defense of thugs” like Chavez and Castro who have been accused of stifling the rights of the LGBT community in their respective countries.

In the latest Salvo, Penn has been critiqued by the man who usually does his voiceover in Brazil. Unlike Alonso and Kirchick, however, Marco Ribeiro’s reasoning is more religious than political:

Marco Ribeiro, who dubbed Penn in "21 Grams" and "All the King's Men," isn't just a local film voice. As a pastor, he's also the voice of the conservative protestant God's Assembly Church in Rio.

And that posed a conflict.

"I did not feel comfortable with the job," the 38-year-old Ribeiro told local press. "My voice is involved with other causes, and for the same reason I have refused to work on certain types of advertising."

The person in charge claimed that Ribeiro accepted the job yet he rejected it when he “learned more” about the movie “Milk.” (Perhaps Ribeiro mistakenly thought the film was on lactose intolerance?)

What do you think? Is Penn being rightly criticized or is it much ado about nothing?

Image- Guardian UK
Online Sources- Variety, The Independent, The Advocate, The Latin Americanist, Reuters

Daily Headlines: March 11, 2009

* Mexico: Visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged counternarcotics aid to Mexico, while police suspect that drug gangs were behind the decapitations of five men whose heads were stuffed in ice coolers.

* Costa Rica: According to official data over 4000 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 became pregnant between 1997 and 2007. This stands in sharp contrast to the 22 underage fathers they identified over the same period.

* Chile: During his royal visit to Chile, Britain’s Prince Charles insisted that “we must act now" on the issue of climate change.

* Venezuela: Authorities dismantled seven drug labs located near the country’s border with Colombia.

Image- CNN “(Police in Jalisco, Mexico, discovered five heads beside a road to Guadalajara on Tuesday morning.).”
Online Sources- BBC News, Xinhua, LAHT, AFP

Posting resumes on Wednesday

As you might have noticed, posting was very light on Tuesday. We deeply and sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. The rodent that powers this blog- Hector el Hamster- decided to take the day off without asking.

As punishment we've replaced the water in Hector's bottle with Red Bull. Therefore, regular posting will resume on Wednesday and will be extended into this weekend.

Again, sorry for the off-day. See you later.

Image- Wonkette

Daily Headlines: March 10, 2009

* El Salvador: With days left until El Salvador’s presidential election it appears as if leftist Mauricio Funes (image) is the favorite to win.

* Mexico: The mayor of Vancouver, Canada claimed that the city has been hit by a local gang war related to Mexican narcotraffickers.

* Puerto Rico: Will the weakened U.S. economy cause decreased migration of Puerto Ricans to the mainland?

* Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez and Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos are butting heads over issues of sovereignty and combating guerillas.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- washingtonpost.com, MSNBC, Voice of America, Hispanosphere

Today’s Video: Isabel Allende

In honor of International Women’s Day (which took place on Sunday) our daily video posts this week will acknowledge exceptional Latin American women.

Tonight, we feature Chilean author Isabel Allende. In this 2008 video, Allende engages in a very enlightening interview conducted by David Frost:

Online Sources- AFP, YouTube

Bolivia ejects U.S. diplomat

Earlier this month, the Bolivian government proposed improving fragile political relations with the U.S. That diplomatic gesture may be overshadowed by events today, however:

Bolivian President Evo Morales on Monday ordered the expulsion of a senior U.S. diplomat in the country, accusing him of participating in a "conspiracy" against Bolivia's far-left government.

Francisco Martinez, the second secretary of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz, was "persona non grata," Morales said in a public address at his official palace.

Martinez, he said, "was in permanent contact with opposition groups during the entire period of the conspiracy," which he said caused anti-government unrest that rocked much of the country in September 2008.

A spokesman at the embassy at La Paz didn’t comment on the specifics of Martinez’ expulsion though he did say that Martinez was a secondary-level career diplomat.

Morales’ today is one of several expulsions over the past year; Morales had previously ordered out counternarcotics DEA agents while U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg was booted out in September.

Image- PRESS TV
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Ottawa Citizen, chron.com, Reuters

U.S. Supreme Court limits minority voting provisions

By a slim 5-4 decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to limit minority voting provisions under the Voting Rights Act.

The case presided on by the magistrates referred to the creation of some election districts designed to maintain African-American and Latino voters. The decision thus reverses a North Carolina redistricting plan that aimed to preserve minority voting power in a district where racial minorities made up 39% of the electorate.

Speaking for the majority (all of whom are conservative), Justice Anthony Kennedy said that the Voting Rights Act did not warrant the creation of a new district where less than half of the electorate consist of minorities. The four dissenting, liberal judges decried the decision with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg urging Congress to work diligently to clarify the law.

Today’s ruling has a significant effect on the Latino electorate:

The ruling may make it harder for minority candidates to win election in some voting districts. The court under Chief Justice John Roberts has repeatedly shown skepticism about governmental considerations of race in voting and other contexts.

The court in April is scheduled to hear arguments in a potentially more far-reaching Voting Rights Act case, one challenging the requirement that the Justice Department give advance approval before district lines or other voting rules can be changed in many parts of the country.

Image- mlive.com
Online Sources- Bloomberg, IHT, Reuters

Vatican backs Brazilian abortion excommunication

Last week we mentioned the case of a nine-year-old Brazilian girl who underwent an abortion after she was impregnated by her abusive stepfather. Though abortion is illegal in most cases in Brazil, doctors decided that the eighty-pound girl’s life was in danger by her being pregnant.

Despite the extreme circumstances of the case, local Catholic officials excommunicated the mother and the doctors who performed the abortion. "The law of God is higher than any human laws,” declared local Archbishop Jose Cardoso Sobrinho.

Over the weekend a senior Vatican authority defended the excommunication decision. "It is a sad case but the real problem is that the twins conceived were two innocent persons, who had the right to live and could not be eliminated," said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re to a local daily. Re- who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church's Congregation for Bishops- acknowledged that “life must always be protected” yet did not say anything over the girl’s life being in danger by her pregnancy.

Aside from excommunicating the girl’s mother, Sobrinho also had the gall to disparage the raped child:

The stepfather was not excommunicated because the church said that his action, although deplorable, was not as bad as ending the life of an unborn child.

"It is clear that he committed a very serious sin, but worse than this is the abortion," Sobrinho said.

Sobrinho’s lack of compassion for a raped nine-year-old girl instead if her accused attacker is reprehensible and sickening. The child’s stepfather has been accused of:

• Raping a nine-year-old girl
• Impregnating her with twins
• Violating the girl since the age of six
• Paying her off to stay quiet
• Abusing the girl’s disabled sister
  

As a person, I’m deeply saddened that a parent could rape and impregnate such a young girl. As a Roman Catholic follower, I’m enraged that Church officials have acted so empty-hearted and callous in order to adhere to their black-and-white dogma.

Image- Al Jazeera English (“The church said the abortion was worse than the alleged rape by the girl's stepfather [EPA].”)
Online Sources- Al Jazeera English, Belfast Telegraph, New York Times, The Latin Americanist

Latino assaulters in possible hate crime

In recent months, Latinos like Marcelo Lucero have been the target of heinous crimes on Long Island due to their race and nationality. The Hispanic community rallied around his death and correctly criticized the increasingly hostile climate against Latinos on Long Island.

Nassau County authorities may bring up hate crime charges against a group of Latinos who attacked an African-American man yesterday. One of those accused is an off-duty New York City cop who reportedly used racial slurs while attacking the victim:

Any assault motivated by anger, hatred, and/or intolerance should be condemned regardless of who the aggressors are. Whether Latinos are the victims or the perpetrators, attacks like the one described above are idiotic and sickening.

Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, wpix.com, newsday.com

Daily Headlines: March 9, 2009

* Venezuela: Could the government’s threatened takeover of a local food conglomerate affect the country’s arepa production?

* Argentina: A former investigator of the 1994 bombing of the Jewish community center in Buenos Aires claimed that he was “kidnapped and tortured”.

* Mexico: Three people, including a U.S. citizen, were found decapitated near the border in Tijuana.

* Colombia: Approximately 500 people marched on Friday in protest of military corruption and human rights violations.

Image- cocina.org
Online Sources- SignOnSanDiego.com, JTA, LAHT, Bloomberg