Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Afternoon headlines: AMLO rejects court ruling; U.S. oil companies fined by Chavez gov’t

Sorry for the lack of posts today (I’ve been ill). In the meantime here are some headlines from around Latin America:

* Mexican presidential candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called yesterday’s court decision rejecting complaints by his supporters “offensive and unacceptable.” Meanwhile, virtual president-elect Felipe Calderon has kept a very low profile over the past few weeks though he did speak briefly publicly yesterday to praise the Federal Electoral Tribunal’s decision.

* Tropical Storm Ernesto hit Cuba on Monday (image via ABC News) after briefly reaching hurricane force winds while going through Haiti.

* Venezuela’s government fined two U.S. oil companies for “bookkeeping irregularities” while Brazil’s state-owned oil company wants to ally with their Mexican counterpart.

* Red Cross data show the number of displaced persons in Colombia continues to rise.

* Raul Castro is stepping up his role as leader of Cuba in anticipation of next month’s summit of nonaligned countries.

* Argentina’ presidential elections will remain on October 2007 as planned.

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3 comments:

Taylor Kirk said...

Colombia: This is not good. We've heard reports of the general murder rate slowly going down and a tiny pickup in tourism...but I guess that's how averages work.

Raul Castro: What is that website where people place bets on everything in the godforsaken planet? We need a pool going on this guy.

Erwin C. said...

Re Colombia: It's a mixed pot regardless of Uribe's rhetoric. There have been a number of positive changes in the country with the overall crime rate diminishing, judicial reform, and modest economic growth. Unfortunately there are still some mighty big problems there like dispalced people, lack of economic development, and implicit impunity towards paramilitary members.

re Raul: Maybe this article from the Guardian UK can help you if you wish to place a morbid bet: http://www.guardian.co.uk/cuba/story/0,,1837845,00.html

Erwin C. said...

Oops! Maybe it's easier to read the link like this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/cuba/story/
0,,1837845,00.html