Blame placed on Mexico, Brazil air crashes

Aviation authorities have analyzed the causes of a pair of high-profile airplane crashes in Mexico and Brazil.

Turbulence has been cited as the reason behind a November 4th accident which killed fourteen people including Mexico’s Interior Minster. According to a preliminary investigation, the pilot of then small government jet flew too close behind a jumbo jet and this caused uncontrollable turbulence in the doomed Learjet.

The wake turbulence that supposedly caused the accident in Mexico was the same reason why American Airlines Flight 587 crashed seven years ago this week.

In Brazil, media reports claim that the government is to blame for a deadly July 2007 crash (image). A lack of government oversight in ensuring runway safety was cited as the cause of the accident which killed 199 people. Prosecutors in Sao Paulo may bring up criminal charges based on the conclusions of an unreleased study.

In the aftermath of the Sao Paulo accident numerous hypotheses were presented as to how it occurred. One aviation expert denied that runway conditions were inadequate while officials initially cited pilot error.

Image- AFP
Sources- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, AP, Reuters, New York Times

Rally held for murdered Ecuadorian immigrant

A reported 1000 people attended a rally last night on Long Island to honor recently murdered Ecuadorian immigrant Marcelo Lucero (image). Chanting “we are all immigrants”, those present at the vigil expressed their disgust at an increasing anti-immigrant sentiment on Suffolk County where the Latino population has boomed over the past decade.

"Many people treat us like animals, like they just want to get rid of us," said one of the demonstrators who also expressed anger at Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy’s initially dismissive response to Lucero’s death.

Meanwhile, a grand jury has indicted seven teens in connection with Lucero’s murder. Hate crime charges may be levied against the accused who police alleged were “looking to beat up anyone who looked Hispanic.” Ironically, one of the accused teens is Latino who is supposedly “distraught” over the crime according to his lawyer.

The crime has received widespread media attention who has also focused on the increasing divide over immigration like the controversy in Farmingville a few years ago. Columnist Ruben Navarrette Jr. expressed his disgust not only at Lucero’s death but at the sickeningly spiteful tone of the immigration debate:

There are things that are so horrible that human beings should never become desensitized to them. Near the top of the list: when someone is killed because of his race, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation. That we cannot tolerate.

Nor should we tolerate an immigration debate that turned anti-Hispanic and that some now blame for incidents such as this…

In case you're keeping score at home, Hispanic immigrants are said to be responsible for street crime, traffic congestion, global warming, underperforming schools and crowded hospitals. In fact, recently, they were blamed for the collapse on Wall Street.

Who knew? I realized that Hispanic immigrants are tireless workers who could multitask. But I had no idea that they could -- in between doing our chores -- create so much havoc and misery. Or have so much havoc and misery visited upon them.

Image- ABC News
Sources- WNYC, Gothamist, Newsday.com, CNN, PBS

Daily Headlines: November 15, 2008

* U.S.: Could Hillary Clinton get her revenge on Bill Richardson for not endorsing her presidential bid or is my tin foil hat on too tight?

* Panama: An eagle-eyed blogger discovered that a financial exec working for a local firm was the former Grand Wizard of the Canadian Ku Klux Klan.

* Ecuador: Worries over debt repayments led Standard & Poor's and Moody's to downgrade Ecuador's credit rating.

* Uruguay: As was expected, President Tabare Vazquez vetoed a bill that would've depenalized first trimester abortions.

Image- AP (“Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., speaks at a New York Public Transit Association conference in Albany on Friday, Nov. 14, 2008.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, National Post, Reuters, TVNZ

Today’s Video: Brazilian botox beauties

Note: We apologize for the lack of posts today. we ’ll publish a few posts on Saturday in order to make that up.

Some stories speak for themselves:

The Brazilian Society of Esthetic Medicine is offering free Botox injections and several other beauty treatments to those earning less than $250 a month.

See for yourself:

Sources- YouTube

Article: Lula holds “trump card” for LatAm

Whenever Latin America is discussed in the media oftentimes the focus is on Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. Talk on Chavez tends to place him as either some leftist regional Messiah (i.e. Venezuela as a socialist paradise for some “academics”) or as a crazed radical (i.e. the irrational fear that the U.S. “will turn into Venezuela”).

There’s more to Latin America than so much polarizing talk on Chavez. There are other leaders in the region who are lost in the fray and whose impact, dare I say, is greater than the Venezuelan ruler.

Today’s online version of the Christian Science Monitor examined Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and considered him as holding Latin America’s “trump card.” As the article goes on to mention:

But while Lula, a former union firebrand, effortlessly bands together with Latin America's left, he just as easily peels away, overseeing a market orthodoxy at home that pleases Washington, defies categorization, and has propelled him forward as the true, if understated, leader of Latin America's underclass today.

"Lula seems to have hit upon a pragmatic approach, using fiscal responsibility as his way to deal with poverty in Latin America, and the results are there," says Thomas Trebat, the executive director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at Columbia University.

Lula’s strategy of “helping the poor through conditional responsibility” can be seen in other countries with other moderate leaders like in Peru or Chile. The notion that Latin America is turning into some sort of socialist juggernaut belies the gains made in other countries. The region is not the monolithic ideologue it’s made out to be with so much of a focus on Chavez. It’s high time that other heads like Lula become recognized and the aforementioned article is a welcome step in that direction.

What do you think?

Image- Javno
Sources- csmonitor.com, The Daily Show, IHT

Daily Headlines: November 14, 2008

* Argentina: Diego Maradona denied rumors that he would quit before his first game as coach of the men’s national soccer team.

* Latin America: Floundering auto giant General Motors may have set profit records in Latin America but that could soon change.

* Brazil: Congress has approved a measure that would toughen penalties for child pornography.

* Cuba: Stephen Soderbergh’s epic film on Ché Guevara is expected to be shown at Havana's New Latin American Film Festival next month.

Image- BBC Sport
Sources- The Independent, Latin Business Chronicle, AFP, IHT, Reuters

Today’s Video: Juanes triumphs at Latin Grammys

Wow:

Juanes has completed a sweep at the Latin Grammys in Houston by taking record of the year honors.

By winning the top honor, the Colombian rocker brought his total for the night to five, including trophies for song of the year, album of the year, best male pop vocal album and best short form music video.

We’ll have more on the Latin Grammys tomorrow; in the meantime, let’s turn back the clock to last March and watch Juanes’ performance at the Paz Sin Fronteras ("Peace Without Borders") concert:

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube, AP

El Salvador: Seeking justice in ’89 massacre

One of the darkest days in Salvadoran history occurred nineteen years ago this month. Six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter where murdered in cold blood due to the clergymen’s commitment to investigate human rights abuses. The senseless killings brought increased global attention to the horrors of El Salvador’s civil war which would end in 1992.

Brining those responsible for the 1989 massacre to justice has been very difficult. Nevertheless, several human rights groups filed a lawsuit on Thursday against several Salvadorans including former president Alfredo Cristiani. "We hope this case helps to reawaken the memory and the conscience of El Salvador's people," said the lawyer of one of the petitioners who accused Cristiani of orchestrating a government cover up of the massacre.

Most of the murdered priests were Spaniards though that country’s judicial system was chosen for its precedence in international law:

The case was taken to Spain's National Court, because of its involvement in other high-profile human rights cases.

The same Spanish court issued an arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet in 1998, while he was in a London hospital. For the rest of his life he fought legal battles -- first in England and later in Chile -- to avoid convictions.

The Spanish court has also taken on human rights cases from other countries, including Argentina and Guatemala, testing a relatively new international legal principle known as Universal Jurisdiction.

It contends that if justice for human rights abuses is not served in the country where the crime occurred, then a court in another country can intervene.

Image- daylife.com (“The bodies of killed Jesuit priests are seen in this Nov. 16, 1989, file photo in El Salvador.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Tim’s El Salvador Blog, UPI, IHT, CNN

Colombia: Shock, anger over failed “pyramids”

A new house.

The savings of a young couple.

The financial future of an upcoming child.

These were a few of the aspirations held by thousands of Colombians who placed their trust in so-called “pyramid” businesses around the country. These firms targeted lower-class people in cities and often functioned out of rented storefronts in poor neighborhoods. The faux-financiers touted as much as 150% return as long as investors gave them their money and signed contracts promising not to withdraw it.

Over the past few weeks, several of these “pyramids” have shutdown under the cover of darkness and the executives have fled. In their wake are duped customers clamoring for their lost savings and desperately seeking answers. Yesterday, their rage reached a boiling point as riots flared in several cities:

Police used batons and tear gas to control angry investors and curfews were declared in several cities.

In Popayan in the south-western department of Cauca, 2,000 depositors stormed an investment firm's offices.

In Pereira, in Risaralda, police caught two men hurrying out the back door of a scheme's office with suitcases of cash.

They offered one of the cases to the police to let them go.

Who’s to blame? There are those that fell for the Ponzi schemes, the unscrupulous men running the firms, and even the government who didn’t intervene to stop the obvious scams.

In the end, there are the dreams deferred of the victims whose savings have been apparently wiped out. The goals mentioned at the top of this post represent those of some of my family whose aspirations served as carrion for vultures. Their situation- like so many others- is heartbreaking and hopefully one that can serve as a lesson.

Image- AFP (“A man holds a sign reading "what about my money?" in Popayan, department of Cauca, Colombia.”)
Sources- AHN, BBC News

Taiwan to close trade offices in LatAm

Taiwan, in a sharply worded message aimed at a few Latin American countries, said its Ministry of Foreign Affairs will close some of their offices in Latin America.

Saying some of its trade and economic representative offices have "failed to fulfill their functions," Chou Lin, deputy director of the Ministry's Central and South American Affairs Department, said the move will save money.

"The planned move is aimed at saving meaningless government spending, particularly for trade and economic offices in countries that are unfriendly to Taiwan," Chou said.

He said the Venezuelan government places restrictions on Taiwan's diplomats and requires them to renew work visas every three months.

The Mexican office, however, he said, has helped create two-way trade and investment between Taiwan and Mexico. Other countries, like Argentina, Brazil and Chile produce similar efforts, he said.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Photo: Agence France-Presse, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou before a trip to Latin America

Hispanics volley for admin positions

After reports that Hispanics helped Obama take the presidency last week, the talk now turns to Hispanics' role in an Obama administration.

The Miami Herald reports that the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is leading efforts to encourage Hispanics to apply to work in the Obama-Biden administration. Residents in states like Florida expect to see more Hispanic representation in Washington after their numbers tipped the scales for Obama.

Diverse also has an article about Hispanic power players pushing for more people in advisory roles. This article includes a list of potential and current players on the transition and advisory teams.

This circling of wagons comes amid rumblings that Obama might get a chance soon to dig into Latin American issues. The Chronicle's Jorge G. Castaneda's speculates that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's antics and the financial crisis might bubble to the top as immediate issues. Also, he portends that immigration will not soon drop as a hot topic.

Photo: LA Times, Obama and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a member of Obama's transition team

Costa Rica Joins CAFTA

From Tuesday's USA Today:

"Ending a four-year tussle, Costa Rican lawmakers today cleared the way for the U.S.-Central America trade deal to take effect Jan 1. In 2004 Costa Rica signed the pact along with its neighbors, the Dominican Republic and the United States. Opponents had stalled implementation of CAFTA until today, when laws governing intellectual property were approved, the AP reports."

Finally, the DR-CAFTA plan is complete! Muhahaha... huh? Oh, right:

From Tuesday's Xinhua News Service:

"Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez has praised his country's relations with China, saying the upcoming visit to Costa Rica by President Hu Jintao would be "historic." The visit is of great "importance" as the two countries have great potentials to further enhance their bilateral ties, Arias told Xinhua in a recent interview... Led by rapid growth in trade with China, Costa Rica's trade with Asia registered a strong surge in the following years."

Oh well, Uncle Sam; you win some, you lose some.

In all seriousness, despite the hand-wringing Costa Rica's legislature went through, both these newly strengthened trading partners and a little healthy competition may help bring Costa Rica's lagging economy to the next level, and with a hefty 57% approval rating (among the best in today's skeptical region), it seems to me that President Arias continues to navigate murky diplomatic waters with relative skill and popular support.

Daily Headlines: November 13, 2008

* Mexico: Diamonds are a girl’s best friend…especially if they’re made from tequila.

* Peru: Are the Shining Path guerillas mounting a serious comeback?

* Brazil: Plummeting energy prices led to Petrobras stocks tumbling to its lowest point in a decade.

* Chile: Government workers have gone on a two-day national strike in an effort to earn higher wages.

Image- BBC News
Sources- Guardian UK, washingtonpost.com, IHT, Bloomberg

Today’s Video: Remembering Flight 587

Seven years ago today, American Airlines Flight 587 crashed shortly after takeoff from New York City’s Kennedy International Airport. 265 people died including all passengers and crew of the flight which was scheduled to arrive in the Dominican Republic.

The crash occurred two months and a day after the 9/11 attacks; thus fueling speculation that foul play downed the plane. In the end, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded that wake turbulence the cause of the accident:


A memorial for those deceased during Flight 587 was designed by a local Dominican-born artist and dedicated two years ago.

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, snopes.com, YouTube, Gothamist, Wikipedia

Guatemala: Foul play behind migrants' murder?

The senseless death of fifteen Nicaraguan migrants heading to Guatemala raises concerns over immigration in Central America.

Originally, it had been reported that no foul play was suspected in the deaths of the sixteen passengers of the charred bus. Yet doubts over why the dead remained in their seats led investigators to find that the victims were shot at point-blank range.

Guatemalan officials have claimed that they have “various hypotheses” over the murders though they didn’t release more details. Meanwhile, Nicaragua’s government has put pressure to try to find out precisely what happened:

Nicaragua's Ambassador to Guatemala Silvio Mora said Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was "very concerned" about the "murder" of the Nicaraguans.

"It looks like there were 16 people and we're afraid because they were killed. Up to now, the (Guatemalan) authorities have given us nothing to go on. It's all under investigation," Mora told reporters at the scene of the tragedy...

"We presume they were traders, but others say they were tourists and some others that they were undocumented workers, but we still don't know the truth," Mora said.

Thus far, reports have not said if the Dutch government will be involved in this case. (All the dead on board were Nicaraguan apart from a Dutch national.)

Image- AP (“In this photo released by Guatemala Fire Department, the bodies of fifteen people lie on the ground after a bus fire in Zacapa, Guatemala, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2008.”)
Sources- The Latin Americanist, IHT, Reuters, Xinhua, BBC News, AFP

Argies angling for Davis Cup title

The Davis Cup tennis championship is set for November 21-23 in Mar de Plata, Argentina and the home side is hopeful that they can take their first-ever title.

In 2006, the Argentines came close but lost in the deciding fifth match against Russia. This year could be different in the final series against two-time champs Spain since world number one Rafael Nadal will be unable to play. A painful tendonitis in the right knee has forced the Olympic gold medalist to drop out.

The Argentine squad lamented the loss of Nadal though acknowledged the advantage it gives them:

"Argentines want to be Davis Cup champions," (captain Alberto) Mancini said. "And in that sense this is good news, because our chances improve."

Added Jose Acasuso: "It's true that our possibilities are better, but we're still up against a tough opponent. We can't relax."

Acasuso will be joined by three strong players: Juan Martin del Potro, David Nalbandian and Agustin Calleri. Spain will field an experienced squad that have been together throughout the tournament.

Image- UPI (Photo of Juan Martin del Potro from this year’s U.S. Open).
Sources- The Latin Americanist, seattlepi.com, IHT, MSN India, TVNZ, Xinhua, AFP