Daily Headlines: August 12, 2013

* Mexico: The White House is reportedly working with Mexican officials to bring new charges against Rafael Caro Quintero, a former top drug gang leader who was released from prison last Friday.
 
* Argentina: The odds of Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner running for reelection became slimmer after the opposition made several key gains in Sunday’s midterm primary elections.

* Chile: Tensions between Chilean authorities and the local Mapuche community have intensified over accusations of police involvement in the recent killing of a Mapuche land rights activist.

* El Salvador: The U.S. State Department issued a new travel advisory to citizens visiting El Salvador where “crime and violence levels remain critically high”.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews

Online Sources- Bloomberg; CBS News; Department of State; MercoPress

Blogging this Week

Unfortunately we will not be posting any new articles here at The Latin Americanist this week due to personal reasons.

We hope to possibly return during the weekend of August 10th and definitely be back by Monday August 12th.

We sincerely apologize to you, our readers, for this brief hiatus.

Thank you all for your kind attention.

Daily Headlines: August 2, 2013

* Chile: Some of the 33 workers rescued from the collapse of the San Jose mine in 2010 students are unhappy that prosecutors will not press charges against regulators or the mine's owners.

* Ecuador: The body of recently deceased soccer star Christian Benitez arrived in his native Ecuador this morning several hours before his funeral in Quito.

* Uruguay: Which Latin American country could soon follow Uruguay's lead and legalize the use of marijuana?

* U.S.: Several legislators have reintroduced proposals in both houses of Congress aimed at creating a Smithsonian American Latino Museum in Washington, D.C.

Online Sources - BBC News; The Latin Americanist; ABC News; CBS News; CNN

De Musica Ligera: Ignacio Cervantes and the Sounds of Cuba

We won't be posting any articles on Wednesday though we hope to return on Thursday.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

July 31st marks the birthday of Cuban composer and musician Ignacio Cervantes.  Born in 1847, Cervantes was famed for combining traditional Cuban sounds within classical music.  He was also a figure in the struggle for Cuban independence from Spain by performing concerts in the U.S. and Mexico to raise funds for the rebel cause.

Perhaps his best known work was his series of Danzas Cubanas including six of them that are featured in the following video from pianist Silvia Navarrete:

Cervantes died in 1905, which was nearly seven years after Cuba became its own independent country.

"De Musica Ligera" is our occasional series that examines music from the Americas.  It's also the title of a song from Argentine rock group Soda Stereo.
  
Video Source - YouTube via user silvianavarretepiano

Online Source - Wikipedia
    

Border Agents Identified in 2010 Mexican Immigrant Death

Note: This video may Not Be Safe for Work.

A U.S. federal court revealed the names of a dozen border agents involved in the death of Mexican migrant over three years ago.

The judge’s order to lift the protective order was issued as part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of Anastasio Hernández Rojas.

In May 2010, the 42-year-old was in the process of being deported via the San Ysidro-Tijuana border post when he was beaten by agents with batons and was fired upon with Taser electronic guns.  Hernández subsequently suffered a heart attack and loss of oxygen to the brain, which led to his death five days after the incident.

Two Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, six Border Patrol agents, and four Customs and Border Protection officers were identified as being involved in the altercation with Hernández.   An attorney for one of the men named in the lawsuit, Customs and Border Protection officer Jerry Vales, said that his client reacted after Hernández resisted detention.

"Hernandez's violence escalated after the initial five-second tase, as he kicked at officers as many as a dozen times and landed kicks to Officer (Vales') upper body," according to a motion filed in the lawsuit.

Yet an eyewitness who videotaped the altercation with a cell phone and said that Hernández was cooperating with officers despite being assaulted upon.  (Portions of that recording can be viewed in the YouTube video at the top of this post).

Other points of contention include whether Hernández tried to escape from custody and if the traces of meth coroners found in his body may have contributed to his death.

For one of the lawyers involved in the civil case, the judge’s actions are an important step forward in the case:

Daily Headlines: July 30, 2013

* Peru: President Ollanta Humala tried to calm the discontent of recent anti-government protests by claiming that the Peruvian economy will continue to be strong.

* Colombia: The latest round of peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels resumed this week in Cuba while the ELN guerillas could soon release a kidnapped Canadian geologist. 

* Latin America: At least twenty-six people have died so far this year as a result of a dengue outbreak affecting several Latin American countries.

* Puerto Rico: Why are two of the most prominent Congressmen of Puerto Rican background opposed to a bill that could help grant statehood to the island?

Video Source – YouTube via user JewishNewsOne

Online Sources- Reuters; MercoPress; Prensa Latina; Huffington Post; Hispanically Speaking News

Ecuadorian Soccer Star Christian Benitez Dies

In the past week, the U.S. continued its eleven-match winning streak by capturing the Gold Cup while Atletico Mineiro of Brazil overcame a two-goal deficit to earn its first ever Copa Libertadores title.  Off the field, however, the soccer world is mourning the sudden death of one of Ecuador’s top players.

Twenty-seven-year-old Christian Benitez passed away on Monday in Qatar only one day after playing his first game for new side El Jaish.

The cause of death has yet to be established though a statement issued by El Jaish noted that Benitez “participated in yesterday's match against Qatar Sports Club in the Sheikh Jassem Cup without complaining of any health problems.”  Nevertheless, Benitez’ agent, Jose Chamorro, told an Ecuadorian TV station that the striker may have died due to a possible heart attack.

The player affectionately nicknamed “Chucho” is being mourned in his native Ecuador where the country’s president, Rafael Correa, who mourned the “tragedy that has hit us all”.

“You will always be my brother,” tweeted Ecuadorian soccer star Antonio Valencia along with a photo of Benitez during his time with El Nacional of Ecuador.

He is also being remembered in Mexico where he tallied over 100 goals in a four-year period for Santos Laguna and Club America.
 
"Olé, olé, olé Chucho, Chucho" chanted dozens of Club America fans who gathered this morning at the club’s training ground with photos, posters and replica jerseys of Benitez.

“RIP ‘Chucho’ Benitez…you will live forever in the hearts of your fans,” tweeted ex-Mexican international and Santos Laguna legend Jared Borgetti.

”Who Am I to Judge Gays?” Asks Pope Francis

Argentine-born Pope Francis said that he wouldn’t judge priests for their sexual orientation at press conference held as he was returning to the Vatican from Brazil.

“If a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge them?” said the pontiff to members of the media accompanying him onboard the papal flight earlier today.  “We shouldn’t marginalize people for this. They must be integrated into society,” he added.

Francis also advocated for an increased role for women within the Church beyond limiting them to “altar girls or the president of a charity” though he rejected the notion of allowing female priests.
The Pope’s comments might not represent a change in Vatican policy on gays or women, but for some analysts his words are a major shift in tone compared to his predecessors.

"For so long the rhetoric coming out of the Vatican -- about gay and lesbian people and same sex marriage -- has been horrifically damaging. For the first time we're seeing a pope who says: 'Who am I to judge,'" Marianne Duddy-Burke, executive director of Dignity USA, a group that advocates for gay Catholics, to ABC News.

Meanwhile, Italy’s first openly gay governor, Nichi Vendola, told the Associated Press “I believe that if politics had one-millionth of the capacity to ... listen that the pope does, it would be better able to help people who suffer.”

The Pope’s remarks also tied into one of the major themes he discussed during his six-day-long visit to Brazil: the need for Church officials to be more open to those who are socially and economically marginalized.  This theme was especially emphasized at a mass held in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday:

Daily Headlines: July 29, 2013

* Chile: The main cathedral in the Chilean capital of Santiago was temporarily closed after a small group of abortion rights protesters clashed with police last week.

* Mexico: Mexican Vice Admiral Carlos Salazar Ramonet was ambushed and killed in one of the latest acts of violence in the state of Michoacán.

* Cuba: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met with former Cuban leader Fidel Castro at a public event commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of the start of the Cuban Revolution. 

* Colombia: A recent report concluded that at least 220,000 people died in Colombia’s armed conflict since 1958 and that roughly four out of every five victims were civilian noncombatants.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English

Online Sources- The Guardian; UPI; BBC News; Al Jazeera English; CNN

Daily Headlines: July 26, 2013

Note: Posting will be very light today but we hope to return on Monday and examine several recent news events from the Americas. 

* Cuba: Members of a U.S. Senate Judiciary subcommittee were divided in their views over whether the military prison at Guantanamo, Cuba should be shutdown or continue to be kept open.

* Latin America: During his visit this week in Brazil, Pope Francis criticized the “liberalization of drug use” proposed in parts of Latin America, while a poll found that roughly two in three Mexicans are opposed to marijuana legalization.

* Mexico: Authorities reportedly rescued ninety-four migrants crammed into the back of tractor trailer that was examined at a security checkpoint in the southern Chiapas state.

* U.S.: A Pew Hispanic Center survey found that a growing number of Latino adults are getting their news from English-language sources.

Video Source – YouTube via Al Jazeera English
 
Online Sources- Fox News Latino; The Guardian; ABC News; Rolling Stone; CNN

Latin Americans Among Dead in Spanish Train Disaster

At least four people from three Latin American countries were among the dozens of fatalities from Spain’s worst transportation accident in decades.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that two nationals from that country were among the passengers of a high-speed train that derailed on a curve Wednesday night in the northwestern Spanish region of Galicia.

The name of one of the deceased has yet to be published while her family gets contacted but the other Colombian fatality was reportedly identified as Sara Camila Vélez Fuenmayor. 

The 36-yer-old was allegedly riding on the train in order to pick up her eleven-year-old daughter who was vacationing with her Spanish-born father.  Vélez Fuenmayor, who had dual Colombian and Spanish citizenship, worked as a gym instructor and her own jewelry-making business.  She had been residing in Madrid for the past fifteen years and was also a mother to a three-year-old boy.

Yolanda Delfín Ortega of Mexico was also mentioned on Thursday as one of the deceased. The university student majored in law at the Universidad Anáhuac of Xalapa in her native Veracruz but had traveled to Spain as part of an academic exchange program.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy admitted, “It’s a major challenge to identify the people who have died.” Yet forensic experts were able to positively identify Delfín Ortega based on photographs published on the Internet by her family and boyfriend.  (Some of these images can be seen in the video at the top of this post).

“She sent me a message on Facebook saying that she was about to arrive at Santiago de Compostela and that we would get in touch once she got home,” Delfín Ortega’s boyfriend, Luis Ledesma said in a radio interview before her body was identified.

Thousands of messages of support have been sent to Ledesma and Delfín Ortega’s family via the social media hashtag #YolandaDelfínOrtega.  Among those expressing condolences to her family was Veracruz state governor Javier Duarte who also expressed his “solidarity” with the Spanish people.

Daily Headlines: July 25, 2013

* Brazil: More than one million people are expected to attend a mass at Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach today as Pope Francis continues his visit to Brazil.

* Venezuela: “We are open to having a positive relationship with Venezuela moving forward,” said a State Department spokesperson in response to Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro ending efforts to improve diplomatic ties with the U.S.

* U.S.: A recent study concluded that Latino housing consumers in three major cities face discrimination including hostility from housing agents and being requested to pay additional fees.

* Ecuador: The Ecuadorian government has offered thousands of jobs to Spanish teachers who are willing to leave their economically weak country.

Video Source – YouTube via euronews (“Tens of thousands of people turned out in southeastern Brazil (on Wednesday) to witness the Pope celebrate his first mass outside Italy as pontiff”).
 
Online Sources- Voice of America; The Latin Americanist; GlobalPost; Think Progress; LAHT

Daily Headlines: July 24, 2013

* Argentina: Gerardo "Tata" Martino will officially be named as the new coach of the famed Barcelona soccer team weeks after guiding Argentine side Newell's Old Boys to the semifinals of the Copa Libertadores.

* U.S.: The Univision TV network will surpass its English-language counterparts to top the Nielson ratings in two key age groups for the month of July.

* South America: Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro met with Colombian leader Juan Manuel Santos and pledged to continue supporting peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC guerillas.
 
* Mexico: A U.S. federal judge threw out a lawsuit against ex-Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo that accused him of crimes against humanity related to the 1997 Acteal massacre.

Video Source – YouTube via user sntv

Online Sources- The Guardian; USA TODAY; Huffington Post; Reuters

Multitude Welcomes Pope to Brazil

Tens of thousands of people in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil took to the streets in order to welcome Pope Francis on his first international trip as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Argentine-born pontiff waved and smiled to the multitude as he rode in the open-air Popemobile through downtown Rio on Monday afternoon.  His security detail had their hands full attempting to control the throngs of admirers that gathered around the motorcade.  One woman even took advantage of a traffic jam to pass her baby through the window of the pontiff’s vehicle for a kiss from Francis. 

"I want to see him and feel him close to me," said Carlos Alberto Fahd regarding the ex-Archbishop of Buenos Aires.  "Francis is already changing the church with his simplicity," added the 23-year-old pilgrim who traveled from northern Brazil to catch a glimpse of the first Latin American pope. 

Prior to the procession, the Pope took part in a motorcade that was occasionally surrounded by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff led a group of dignitaries at Rio’s main international airport.  The group was then serenaded by a choir of about three dozen children; a fitting reminder that Francis’ visit occurs amidst the Church’s World Youth Day (WYD) festivities.

“The world crisis is not treating young people well,” the Holy Father told reporters on the plane travelling from Italy. “We are running the risk of having a generation that does not work. From work comes a person’s dignity.”

The Pope will attempt to use his visit to appeal to Catholic youth in a country where most young followers may not see eye-to-eye with some of the Vatican’s policies. An Ibope poll released today showed that 82% of Brazilian Catholics between the ages of sixteen and thirty years old support the use of the "morning after pill" while 56% of those surveyed back same-sex civil unions.

Colombia’s Quintana Obtains Second Place in Tour de France

Colombian cyclist Nairo Quintana finished his first-ever participation in the Tour de France with an extraordinary second place finish.

Yesterday Quintana became the first Latin American in a quarter century to reach the podium of the world’s top cycling completion. The 23-year-old’s dream debut also included winning the white jersey as the best young rider and the polka-dot jersey as the best mountain climber.

“He has plenty of talent and I think he could be one of the Tour’s greats,” said race winner Chris Froome of Britain about Quintana.  “I knew he would give it his all and he achieved something very important,” added Froome who finished over five minutes ahead of Quintana.

The Boyacá-born Quintana shined in the centenary edition though when the Tour began he wasn’t among the experts’ favorites to be among the top riders.  (For BBC Sport, Quintana’s teammate on the Movistar team, Spain’s Alejandro Valverde, was seen as a “potential rival” against Froome while Quintana was not mentioned.)  Yet Quintana proved his prowess in the always difficult mountain stages, which seemed natural for someone who as a child used to make a ten mile trip to a school located high in the Andes.

The pinnacle moment for Quintana in France occurred in the penultimate stage on Saturday; a date that coincidentally was the 202nd anniversary of Colombia’s independence.  Entering stage 20 in fifth place overall, Quintana took advantage of the pace set for most of the day by his Movistar teammates and he was able to pull away with eight kilometers left in a breakaway group that included Frrome and Spaniard Joaquim Rodríguez. The group stayed together until Quintana burst forth with some 900 meters to go until the finish and captured the stage victory while his elated family back home celebrated the win.   

Daily Headlines: July 22, 2013

* Brazil: Argentine-born Pope Francis is expected to arrive today in Brazil and preside over the Roman Catholic Church's World Youth Day festival.

* Venezuela: Venezuela's president "ended" the possibility of improving diplomatic relations between that country and the U.S. due to recent remarks made by the White House’s nominee to serve as envoy to the U.N.   

* Chile: Labor Minister Evelyn Matthei became the candidate for the ruling conservative coalition vying to prevent Michelle Bachelet from returning to the Chilean presidency.

* Colombia: President Juan Manuel Santos said that the military would launch a strong offensive against the FARC after at least nineteen troops died in combat against the rebels this weekend.

Video Source – YouTube via AFP
 
Online Sources- The Guardian; Christian Science Monitor; ABC News; France 24