Live ALAS concert webcasts!

Tonight concerts will be held in Buenos Aires and Mexico City in order to benefit Movimiento ALAS. Shakira, Miguel Bose, Calle 13, and Ricky Martin are just a few of the roughly 30 acts playing tonight in order to raise awareness of the charity.

Private sector supporters of ALAS including Warren Buffet and Carlos Slim recently pledged over $200 million to help the organization which was founded to help in the early childhood development of Latin American youth.

As of the publishing of this post Jorge Drexler is performing along with Gustavo Cerati. Please check out tonight's concerts in name of a worthy cause!

• Click here for the ALAS concert webcast in Buenos Aires

• Click here for the ALAS concert webcast in Mexico City

Daily Headlines: May 17, 2008

* Venezuela: Hugo Chavez apologized to German chancellor Angela Merkel for calling her the political descendant of Adolf Hitler.

* Dominican Republic: President Leonel Fernandez appears to be on his way to keeping his post after yesterday’s general elections.

* Cuba: More reforms could be coming to the island according to the state-run press.

* Argentina: Soybean futures in Chicago rose in trading over renewed protests between argentine farmers and the government.

Sources- Reuters UK, The Latin Americanist, Xinhua, Monsters & Critics, Bloomberg

Image- eluniversal.com

Today’s Video: Orión’s oopsie

We’ll be back over the weekend to tie up a few odds and ends.

In the meanwhile, San Lorenzo goalkeeper Agustín Orión chose a pretty bad time to bungle a pass and allow it to be knocked into his own net. Orión’s error was key in his team’s 1-1 tie against LDU Quito in their first game of the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals.

(Video link):

(Hat tip: The Offside – Copa Libertadores).

Sources- The Offside – Copa Libertadores, YouTube, International Herald Tribune

LatAm-E.U. summit begins in Peru

A summit of European and Latin American leaders started today in Lima, Peru with the focus on several topics. Representatives from both sides of the Atlantic are meeting to tackle issues like rising food prices, discussions over free trade, biofuel usage, and regional poverty.

The summit has already been hampered in that several heads of government have not made the trip including those from Italy, Cuba, France, and the U.K. Worse could be that the summit could fall apart over differences between countries; chiefly, the diplomatic conflict between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador over relations with Colombian guerillas. Yet Peruvian president Alan Garcia emphasized unity between countries and that participants should seek real solutions:

“I request as host that we need to write down and sign on to concrete goals…We cannot allow ourselves to carry the shame of not doing anything concrete and reasoned in order to avoid the hell that hovers under millions of people.” – [ed. personal translation]

Sources (English)- Guardian UK, BBC News, AFP, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo

Image- Diario La Republica

Dems, GOP wary of “Plan Mexico”

Republican and Democratic legislators are not pleased with a multibillion dollar counternarcotics plan destined for Mexico. The White House-promoted Merida Initiative (a.k.a. “Plan Mexico”) was proposed last October with an initial payment of $500 million in this fiscal year. The House of Representatives voted yesterday to cut the payment down to $400 million with most Democrats in Congress wanting more funds to go to Mexican social institutions instead of the military.

Meanwhile, members of President Bush’s party have expressed their resistance to “Plan Mexico”. Republican Tom Tancredo proposed a failed amendment to halt the Merida Initiative while a pair of representatives have requested that the president drop the plan altogether. Even Texan GOP legislators have not been pleased with the president:

"Our first priority must be to secure our own border and equip our own personnel before we even discuss sending one nickel to the corrupt Mexican government," said Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston…

"What's most maddening to me is the answer is so easy: Help our own law enforcement officers do their job," he said. "Quit obsessing with how to placate Mexico and focus on protecting America at our border."

Sources- Reuters, The Border Line, La Plaza, The Latin Americanist, Houston Chronicle

Image- TIME

95 Members Urge Mexican Authorities to Investigate the Abuses against Women during Police Operation

It's been over two years since the attacks on community members in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, attacks that specifically targeted women, exemplified by the police rape of at least 23 women. The violence was sparked by a combination of land rights and the right to make a living. It's only taken two years for the U.S. government to say something. On Monday, Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis (D-CA), Congressman James P. McGovern (D-MA) and 94 other members of Congress sent a letter to Mexican government officials expressing concerns and urging resolution to allegations of widespread physical and sexual abuse of women detained by police in San Salvador Atenco, Mexico, in May, 2006.

In the letter, congressional members urge that jurisdiction over the investigation into the crimes committed against Ms. Méndez and the 25 other women assaulted in San Salvador Atenco be transferred to the federal attorney general and that any evidence gathered by any federal investigation undertaken so far is used to identify and file charges against those responsible.
The members also encourage the Mexican officials to implement the recommendations made by the National Human Rights Commission which call for effective and impartial investigations into the sexual and physical violence suffered by these women.

Sources : The Latin Americanist, The Narco News Bulletin, Adventures in the Coconut Caucus
Image Source : Daylife.com (MARIO VAZQUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Pro Puerto Rican Independence Activist Subpoenaed to NY Grand Jury on May 23rd

The harassment against Puerto Rican independence supporters seems to be continuing. On Wednesday, the FBI seached and served a Grand Jury subpoena on the compañero attorney and educator Elliot Monteverde Torres. The subpoena orders the activist to appear in the federal court of New York on May 23, 2008. Elliot lives with his wife and daughter in Texas. He was a student leader in the U.S. and a distinguished leader of the movement in solidarity with Vieques in New York.

Source : Personal Email

Daily Headlines: May 16, 2008

* Venezuela: Hugo Chavez accused Interpol of providing a “clown show” regarding the police organization’s “authentication” of computer files belonging to a slain FARC guerilla commander.

* Honduras: Approximately 30,000 people marched in San Pedro Sula and called for an end to violence caused by drug gangs.

* Ecuador: Oil and gas industry services firm Willbros Group agreed to pay $32.3 million as a settlement over accusations of bribing Nigerian and Ecuadorian officials.

* Haiti: Ericq Pierre accused the Haitian legislature of corruption after his nomination to be prime minister was rejected.

Sources- Reuters UK, CNN, The Latin Americanist, MSNBC

Image- Javno.hr

Today’s video: Cartoon Contras

So is this what really happened with Oliver North during the Iran-Contra affair?

(Hat tip: BoRev.net).

Sources- BoRev.net, YouTube

Navy says “no” to Clinton campaigning on Vieques

Part of the heated Democratic presidential race headed to Puerto Rico this week where campaign activities where held by close relatives of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. For instance, Michelle Obama spoke to followers in San Juan and emphasized “self-determination” by islanders over Puerto Rico’s political status.

Meanwhile, Chelsea Clinton wanted to campaign on the former U.S. Navy firing range on the island of Vieques. Naval officials denied her request:

The Navy rejected the request because U.S. law forbids campaigning on federal property and because the Navy allows only people clearing the Vieques range of ordinance to enter the area, the officials said. They said they did not know what Clinton planned to do there.

Vieques had been the site of several heated protests years ago after a bombing exercise accidently killed a security guard. Though the Naval base closed in 2003, opinions remain heated over the island’s relations with the U.S.

Sources- Reuters, Bloomberg, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News (1999 image of protestors demonstrating against the U.S. Naval base on Vieques)

How much are those tortillas in the window?

The price of tortillas in Mexico could jump by as much as 40% according to the country’s “tortilla chamber”. The price of the Mexican food staple could spike next month to 12 pesos ($1.14) per kilo compared to the current 8.5 pesos per kilo according to the president of the National Association of the Dough and Corn Tortilla Industry:

Mexico's annual inflation accelerated at the fastest pace in almost three years last month, led by costs for housing and food…

Higher costs from rising gasoline prices and the hoarding of corn by producers are also behind the expected surge in tortilla prices, Milenio cited Martinez as saying. Tortillas need to be more costly to keep 10,000 tortilla shops open and prevent 50,000 job losses, said Martinez, according to Milenio.

The Mexican government has tried to downplay worries over a spike in tortilla prices by emphasizing that any increase will “not (be) by the exaggerated sums mentioned.”

Anxiety over increased tortilla prices last year led to government intervention including the capping of prices. Nevertheless, thousands took to the streets in protest as more Mexican corn is being used for biofuels.

Sources- Reuters, Bloomberg, Guardian UK, The Latin Americanist

Image- BBC News

Interpol: FARC comp docs are “authentic”

International police organization Interpol authenticated the files found on the laptops of a slain Colombian guerilla commander. The information- including parts which were leaked to the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post– appears to seriously implicate Venezuela’s government with aiding and abetting the FARC rebel army.

Interpol’s finding will surely be used by the Colombian government to increase international pressure on Venezuela. Though the information refutes Venezuelan claims that the files were faked and doctored, Interpol head Ronald Noble warned that they did not analyze the content:

Mr. Noble said that deep forensic analysis showed Colombia did not modify, delete or create any files, although it did not always follow internationally accepted methods when handling the computers.

But he was quick to stress that the fact that the files had not been tampered with did not prove that the information contained within them was totally accurate.

Sources- Washington Post, Bloomberg, MSNBC, BBC News, The Latin Americanist

Image- Al Jazeera English (“[Raul] Reyes, Farc's second-in-command, was killed in March in Ecuador during a Colombian military raid [AFP]”)

Daily Headlines: May 15, 2008

* Brazil: Environment minister Marina Silva resigned on Tuesday in a move decried by environmentalists.

* Latin America: Did economic pressure from the World Bank at underdeveloped countries fuel the global food crisis?

* Venezuela: The Venezuelan and Portuguese heads of state signed an oil-for-food deal in anticipation of this weekend’s European Union-Latin America summit.

* Chile: The evacuated town of Chaiten will be shutdown for three months due to the eruptions of a nearby volcano.

Sources- Monsters & Critics, Bloomberg, MSNBC, BBC News

Image- MSNBC (“Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula of Silva, right, speaks with his Environment Minister Marina Silva at an Amazon conservation program in Brasilia on May 8. The minister resigned Tuesday.”)

Immigration Destroying Families On Both Sides of the Border

With the recent ICE raids across the U.S. there is much talk about how families are being torn apart without a deeper analysis of the how and the why immigrants are coming to the United States and how on the Mexican side of the border, families are being torn apart as well as breadwinners are forces to look for work outside their national borders.

So single women go north. And increasingly grandparents are being left
behind with grandchildren to take care of. The elders do what elders
do: they grow older, they start to lose their hearing, they need
someone to take care of them. But that generation is up north. Women
like Floriberta are left to take care of the elders…to the degree that
they can.
The people who spoke to us are clear that the forced migrations have
brought their towns economic benefits but a devastating disintegration
of families.
In Boqueron, I was struck by how empty the town is of traditional
families. There are elders of both genders and younger women with
their babies but very few men and women in their twenties and
thirties.

Source : Racewire

Ecuador's President Rafeal Correa: "Even the U.S. Can't Control Outside Infiltration"

In an interview with BBC Mundo, Ecuador's President Rafeal Correa said from Paris that he feels no responsibility for the FARC camps found inside his country that sparked an international incident.

First, the FARC didn't have permanent camps [inside Ecuador]. They were temporary, about two or three months.
Second, what self critique should I have? Even the United States can't prevent immigration, that's why they are building a wall along the Mexican border.
Accusing us of allowing the FARC to infiltrate means accusing Colombia allowing the FARC to leave Colombia. That's Colombia's responsibility. We control our own territory.

In the interview (which is really interesting and should be read in my opinion), Correa also said that while he has no confidence in Uribe he is willing to talk with him in the upcoming conference in Lime because they are neighbors.

Source : BBC Mundo

Daily Headlines: May 14, 2008

* Brazil: A government study concluded that there are more blacks than whites in Brazil for the first time since slavery was abolished 120 years ago.

* Bolivia: Will voters oust President Evo Morales on an August 10^th recall referendum?

* Latin America: Corruption is the main obstacle to trade and investment between Latin America and the European Union according to a survey released yesterday.

* Chile: The government will give a minimum of $1070 to families who were forced to evacuate due to the erupting Chaiten volcano.

Sources- Guardian UK, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist, BBC News

Image- PBS