RCTV, energy top concerns at OAS summit

Several topics will be discussed during the 37^th Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly conference being held in Panama City. One of the most divisive issues will be the debate over Radio Caracas Television; Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro has warned against a possible rebuke by the U.S. against the Chavez administration. The Miami Herald’s Pablo Bachelet reports that:

“(U.S.) Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who arrives today, and foreign ministers of several countries like Canada and Costa Rica are likely to complain ''in very explicit terms'' in their speeches, said one OAS diplomat who asked to remain anonymous in order to talk freely about delicate issues. Other nations like Chile might make ''generic'' pronouncements over the need to preserve basic human rights like the freedom of expression, the diplomat said”.

During the opening session of the summit yesterday, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon praised the development of biofuels in the Americas as well as creating “stable energy supplies” as a tool against the region’s deep economic inequality.

Other topics that will be examined include border issues (e.g. Bolivia’s claim to a coastline) and the need to strengthen democratic institutions.

Update: Maduro's warning may come true; Condoleezza Rice requested on Monday that the OAS look into "alleged violations of freedom of the press in Venezuela." (Link via Monsters & Critics).

Sources- The Latin Americanist, International Herald Tribune, People’s Daily Online, Miami Herald, Voice of America, Earthtimes.org

Image- George Washington University

Wild weather hits Americas

Tropical storms, torrential rains and other weather phenomena have wrecked havoc for several Latin American countries over the past few days. For example:

• Tropical Storm Barbara left over eight thousand people homeless in the Dominican Republic and caused moderate material damage in Mexico and Guatemala.
• Mudslides killed at least seven people in Medellin, Colombia (image).
• A cold wave caused rolling blackouts in Argentina and energy shortages in Chile, while over fifty children were killed in mountainous areas of Peru.

Sources- CBBC, Earthtimes.org, Reuters UK, Washington Post, People’s Daily Online, Bloomberg

Image- CBBC

U.N. report: Child hunger is a costly burden on C. America

A U.N. study calculated that child hunger in Central America costs several billions of dollars each year in diminished education, health care and overall productivity. Malnutrition becomes “a critical economic concern,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday as the report also found that nearly one million children under five-years-old in Central America and the Dominican Republic suffer from malnutrition.

Source- Reuters AlertNet

Image- Stuff.co.nz

Weekly Debate: Supply v. demand in the “war on drugs”

As we noted yesterday, Mexican President Felipe Calderon faulted “demand for narcotics in the U.S. market” as the main cause for drug gang violence in Mexico. Though Calderon acknowledged the state was being “challenged and questioned” by organized crime, he claimed that violence will continue due to “a market” north of the border.

Certainly, steady supply from Latin America and constant demand from consumers can be blamed for the illegal narcotics trade. (One can also fault government policies, but let us not digress too much).

Yet who is most at fault on the “war on drugs” – supply or demand? Is Calderon accurate in placing most of the blame on the demand side rather than suppliers? Will a decrease in demand diminish the drug trade or is there sufficient supply to maintain a lucrative business?

What do you think?

Please let us know of your opinion via the poll located on the sidebar (closes on June 11^th) and/or leaving a comment to this post.

(Last week's poll results & debate on Venezuela and the media).

Sources- The Latin Americanist, Monsters & Critics, PollDaddy

Image- The Moderate Voice

Daily Headlines: June 04, 2007

* Government budget cuts may force the shutdown of the world's largest radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico (image).

* Students who are also illegal immigrants eagerly await the outcome of an immigration bill currently being considered in the U.S. Congress.

* Please read the following with appropriate sarcasm: Gary Sheffield – master of race relations.

* Days ahead of a visit to Washington, DC, Colombian president Alvaro Uribe said that an unreleased White House report will show that coca production in Colombia continues to rise.

* Could the venom of a Chilean black widow spider yield be used as an effective spermicidal?

* “We do not have any territorial or maritime demand against Ecuador”, said Peruvian president Alan Garcia after meeting with his Ecuadorian counterpart.

* A scathing critique of U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba, via the Council On Hemispheric Affairs.

Sources- FOX News, International Herald Tribune, People’s Daily Online, ABC News, Deadspin, Caribbean Net News

Image- KOMO-TV

Week in Review: May 28 to June 03

In order to make up for the lack of posts last week, here are several headlines that were in the news over the past few days:

Monday May 28

* Radio Caracas Television ceased its transmission after not getting its broadcast license renewed, but the network has continued its transmissions via alternate means. (See Thursday May 31).

* Miss Japan won the 2007 Miss Universe pageant despite several pre-contest favorites from the Americas.

* Recently escaped Colombian police officer Jhon Frank Pinchao tells the Colombian press that an exchange between jailed guerillas and kidnap victims “will always be the best option.”

* Remember the riots several weeks ago in Argentina over the country’s rail service? On Monday, irate passengers lashed out again due to massive delays.

Tuesday May 29

* Bolivian president Evo Morales tries to unite other South American leaders against FIFA’s decision to ban all international matches at very high altitudes.

* Remember the brouhaha over Newt Gingrich’s remarks on Spanish being a “ghetto” language? Gingrich’s Spanish tutor tried to clarify his student’s statement in an article published in Politico.com.

* Negotiations have been “optimistic” between Argentine and Uruguayan representatives over the construction of a Finnish-owned paper mill.

Wednesday May 30

* Mexico City mayor Marcelo Ebard said that first trimester abortions will be carried out despite the federal government’s legal challenge, while a study showed that over a million Brazilian women are at risk from illegal abortions.

* Nicaraguan heath officials seized thousands of tubes of tainted Chinese toothpaste that was sold there and a few other Latin American countries.

* Peru’s stocks suffered its largest drop in over seventeen years due to investors’ worries over China’s economy.

Thursday May 31

* From the boob tube to YouTube – CNN reported that Radio Caracas Television continues its daily broadcasts via popular Internet video site YouTube.

* Come back to “Macondo” – Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez returned to the town that inspired him to write "100 Years of Solitude."

* In an article published in the International Herald Tribune, a law study concluded that verdicts in asylum cases in the U.S. vary on the backgrounds and genders of immigration judges.

Friday June 1

* “Jesus loves you. I am your pastor and I will help you.” – The Guardian UK describes how religion is being used to combat violence in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

* Condoleezza Rice expressed her displeasure at Spain’s government for establishing closer relations with Cuba.

* A Brazilian judge indicted two U.S. pilots and four Brazilian air traffic controllers involved in Brazil’s worst airplane accident.

Saturday June 2

* Thousands of “Chavistas” marched through Caracas in a show of support towards Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez.

* In an interview with CNN, Cuban national assembly president Ricardo Alarcon said that Fidel Castro has “fully recovered” from the numerous surgeries he has had.

* A Caribbean connection is behind a supposed terrorist plot that was broken up by U.S. authorities.

Sunday June 3

* In an interview with the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Mexican President Felipe Calderon blamed “U.S. demand for narcotics” as the cause of widespread violence by Mexican drug gangs.

* Cuban television showed the first video images of Fidel Castro since February.

* The father-in-law of a U.S. kidnap victim in Colombia offered himself as a part of a possible prisoner exchange with guerillas.

Sources (English)- CNN, BBC News, The Latin Americanist, Guardian UK, YouTube, International Herald Tribune, Yahoo! News, Monsters & Critics, Politico.com, ABC News, Reuters AlertNet, Scientific American, Bloomberg

Sources (Spanish)- El Tiempo, El Pais, La Nacion, Sol de Mexico, RCN

Image- United States Institute of Peace

Headlines for May 31

Apologies for the sporadic posting today and yesterday, folks:

Latin America could be the next potential outsourcing source.
Countries continue in the region's trend to ban smoking.
Roman Catholic bishops gather and vow to invigorate the church.
Navy ship prepares South and Central American goodwill mission.

Links: rediff News, Inter Press Service News Agency, Miami Herald, Baltimore Sun

FIFA cuts out some Latin American cities

Latin American leaders are joining together against a FIFA banthat would bar games in several of the region's cities.

Bolivia's President Evo Morales is galvanizing other leaders in an effort to fight the international soccer organization's May 27 ban on matches in cities, including La Paz, more than 2,500 meters above sea level, according to a May 29 article on iAfrica.com. The ban also would exclude Bogota, Colombia and Quito, Ecuador.

FIFA issued the ruling to protect players' health.

Link: iAfrica.com

Photo: smh.com.au Uruguay's Alvaro Recoba against Ecuador's Ivan Hurtado during the 2006 World Cup in Quito, Ecuador

Weekly Debate: Venezuela and the media

At midnight on Monday, Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) ceased operations (for all intents and purposes) after the Venezuelan government declined to renew the network’s broadcasting license. Hours after the RCTV shutdown, the government denounced CNN and Globovision for spreading “lies” and misinformation against Hugo Chavez. Venezuelans have spent days protesting for and against the measure, and anti-Chavez protesters denounced government troops that shot tear gas and rubber bullets at them.

So what do you think about Chavez' decision? Is his opposition to RCTV censorship or correct? Will he go after other media outlets or just this one time against RCTV? Will opposing media be more or less anti-Chavez due to the RCTV situation? Are the problems between Chavez and the Venezuelan media worse than conflicts with the press in other Latin American countries?

Please feel free to give your opinion by voting in the poll located on the sidebar and/or by leaving a comment to this post.

What’s your opinion?

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

Image- BBC News (Pro-RCTV protester in Caracas, Venezuela)

Daily Headlines: May 29, 2007

* Brazil’s government will create a new program to subsidize birth control pills, while Mexico’s government is mounting a legal challenge to Mexico City’s abortion law.

* An interchange between imprisoned guerillas and kidnap victims “will always be the best option” said recently rescued Colombian police officer Jhon Frank Pinchao.

* Congrats to Argentine film “XXY” and Mexican actress Elisa Miller for receiving top awards during the Cannes Film Festival.

* In an article published over the weekend in Granma, Fidel Castro blasted U.S. President George W. Bush as "an apocalyptic person."

* Coca-Cola was levied with a $1 million fine for monopolistic practices in Mexico.

* Follow-up #1: Opposition in Venezuela and Haiti is mounting against the Chavez administration’s financing of two Danny Glover films.

* Follow-up #2: Miss Japan won last night’s Miss Universe pageant despite several Latin American contestants as favorites and some classless jeering from the crowd.

Sources (English)- CNN, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, The Hollywood Reporter, CNN, Granma, BBC News, MSNBC, Monterey Herald, ABC News

Sources (Spanish)- Milenio, El Tiempo

Image- CNN

Will Chavez go after CNN and Globovision?

Note: Last post for today.

Less than a day after Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) closed due to the non-renewal of their broadcast license, Venezuela’s government seems to be going after news giant CNN and local news network Globovision. According to Bloomberg:

“Communications and Information Minister Willian Lara said CNN last week falsely portrayed a Mexican protest as being in Caracas and displayed images of Chavez alongside an al-Qaeda leader. Globovision, a 24-hour news channel, ran scenes from the 1981 attempt to kill Pope John Paul II, which Lara said was incitement against Chavez.

‘This is an effort to associate Hugo Chavez with two things, violence and death,’ Lara said in a televised news conference today in Caracas. ‘CNN lies about Venezuela.””

In the meantime, anti-Chavez demonstrators in Caracas alleged that their peaceful protests were interrupted by troops who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at them. The European Union, Reporters Without Borders, and Honduran media groups facing their own problems with the president have condemned the decision against RCTV. (Mind you, not everyone in the Americas is displeased at the closing of RCTV).

Even though RCTV could be transmitted on cable TV, the network’s president did not discard the possibility of “government pressure” to eliminate that possibility.

Image- SBS – World News Australia (Protests around RCTV’s headquarters yesterday in Caracas became violent after police fired a water cannon at a group of unruly protesters)

Sources- CNN International, Globovision, Bloomberg, CNN, Reuters, Reporters Without Borders, El Universal, The Latin Americanist

Contestants from the Americas favorites for Miss Universe crown

Online betting outfits have several Latin American and Caribbean contestants as favorites to win the Miss Universe beauty pageant tonight in Mexico City. One website has Miss Venezuela Ly Jonaitis and Miss Brazil Natalia Guimaraes as the top two to vie for the crown, while another site has participants from the Western Hemisphere in eight of the top ten spots.

Several contestants have broken the mold of the traditional Miss Universe candidate such as Miss Jamaica Zahra Redwood. The most radical deviation has been by Miss Sweden Isabel Lestapier Winqvist who dropped out of the competition and said that the pageant “is degrading to women and weighed down by scandals”.

Seventy-seven contestants (image) will aim to succeed Puerto Rican Zuleyka Rivera as the next Miss Universe.

Sources- Monsters & Critics, theonlinewire.com, wagerpartners.com, The Latin Americanist, The Hindu, Wikipedia

Image- sawf.org

Chile and Bolivia still at odds over border

Over a century ago Bolivia signed a treaty ceding its coastal land to Chile. Since then, citizens of the landlocked country have held slight resentment towards Chile, while Bolivia’s government has tried to work out a deal in order to regain access to the ocean.

Despite gradually closer relations between the two countries, Chile continues to refuse Bolivian demands over a coastline. Last week Chile’s government rejected a Bolivian proposal that would have exported much-needed natural gas from Bolivia in exchange for granting Bolivia a coastline. The latest round of discussions has been unsuccessful for Bolivia’s territorial demands and it appear that Chile will not bend backwards.

Sources (English)- People’s Daily Online, Bloomberg, The Latin Americanist

Sources (Spanish)- Wikipedia Español, Consciencia.net, Radio Univerisdad de Chile

Image- BBC Mundo (19th-century map of Peru (in pink) and Bolivia (in green))

L. American countries hurt by FIFA high altitude ban

The world’s governing body for soccer- FIFA- announced that international matches may not be played in locations whose altitudes are located 8200 feet above sea level. The measure has hit several Latin American countries the hardest; international games may not be played in Quito, Ecuador, Bogota, Colombia, and La Paz, Bolivia.

Soccer officials in Bolivia deemed the measure as “against the right to ‘play where one lives’”, while Peruvian commentators claimed that FIFA caved in to demands by Brazil and Argentina. Bolivian President Evo Morales has even called for an emergency Cabinet meeting to figure out what to do. Nonetheless, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said that playing at such a high altitude “is not healthy or fair.”

Interestingly enough, Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca (located about 7350 feet above sea level) was saved from FIFA’s decision.

Image- fussballtempel.net (Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, Bolivia)

Sources (English)- ESPN Soccernet, Radio Australia Sports, BBC News, Stuff.co.nz, Wikipedia, Soccer by Ives

Source (Spanish)- El Tiempo

Daily Headlines: May 28, 2007

Note: Posting will be a little light over the next 24 hours due to the Memorial Day holiday here in the U.S.; a day of remembrance and reflection.

* Will the Dominican Republic’s “little New York” plan be successful or result in a resounding “Bronx cheer”?

* Archeologists in Mexico found wooden pieces that may have been used in “peace offerings” by the Aztecs over five hundred years ago.

* The few survivors of a Peruvian government flight that killed thirteen people claimed that inclement weather was to blame for the accident.

* Via Angus Reid: El Salvadoran president Tony Saca has a paltry 23.4% approval rate, while Rigoberta Menchu is a distant third in the race for Guatemala’s presidency.

* A chapter in Uruguay’s dark past is being reopened with the exhumation of bodies supposedly killed during political repression in the 1970s.

* A crash in the 66^th lap ended Venezuelan rookie driver Milka Duno’s hopes of finishing her first Indianapolis 500.

* Colombian songwriter Fabio Alonso Salgado (a.k.a. Estefano) was shot and critically wounded at his Miami residence.

* Follow-up: The beleaguered Universidad de Chile soccer team was saved from bankruptcy and a possible dissolution after a group of investors purchased the club.

Sources (English)- Guardian UK, Wikipedia, Angus Reid Consultants, International Herald Tribune, The Latin Americanist, FOX Sports, CBS News, ESPN, ABC News

Sources (Spanish)- La Razón,

Image- ABC News (Construction of a subway tunnel in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic)

RIP: RCTV

At midnight on Monday, Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) ceased operations. On Saturday, Venezuela’s Supreme Court permitted the government to go through with not renewing RCTV’s broadcast license. Throughout the weekend protests for and against the government’s decision have gone on and they are expected to continue. RCTV executives claimed that troops took over RCTV relay stations Sunday evening hours before the network signed off.

As Global Voices Online noted, Venezuelan bloggers are split on the Chavez administration’s decision against RCTV, which had been one of the country’s most vocal anti-Chavez media outlets. For the time being, RCTV has been replaced with a public television station- TVes.

As of the time of publication of this post, RCTV’s website was down.

Image- cadenaglobal.com

Sources- BBC News, Bloomberg, Global Voices Online, El Universal, RCTV.net, Reuters