The key to deportation: nudity

We end our week with the following story which, yes, speaks for itself:

Juliana Lima, the Brazilian woman who scandalized Bolivians earlier this week when she stripped at the foot of the Christ the

Redeemer monument in the eastern city of Santa Cruz to get police to deport her, got her wish and is headed home, officials said…

Lima stripped early in the morning on Monday, hoping that police would immediately deport her because she lacked documents and a passport, but officers released her after two hours…

The Brazilian woman returned to the monument later in the morning and stripped once again, causing a traffic jam.

The moral: if you don’t succeed, strip again.

Image- hoymujer.com
Online Sources- LAHT

Beyond the Americas: English athletes support Palestine charity

The sport of soccer is sometimes referred to as “the beautiful game”. Beyond glamorous goals and stunning saves, the saying becomes especially true when a charitable effort is involved:

Shirts worn by players in an FA Cup tie tomorrow will be the unlikely advertising hoarding for the plight of Palestinians. Kettering Town will have the slogan Palestine Aid emblazoned on their kit to show their support for Interpal, a charitable organization which distributes aid in the Palestinian territories.

"We are trying to raise awareness and charitable funds for the refugees in Palestine," Imraan Ladak, the Kettering chairman, said of the association with Interpal that began before the escalation last month of the conflict in Gaza.

Ladak, 30, chief executive of a recruitment business based in Milton Keynes, has no personal links with Palestine. "I just think there are certain areas in the world that are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance, for whatever reason," he said, "and Palestine is the one that's suffering the most.

Some soccer club uniforms are littered with all sorts of sponsors which makes a player look like a walking billboard. Other clubs (like my favorite team) are actually named after a particular sponsor. Yet in recent years some clubs have opted to enter into partnerships with charitable groups like the case of F.C. Barcelona and Argentine side Boca Juniors with UNICEF.

Image- Guardian UK
Online Sources- UNICEF, The Offside – Red Bull New York, mlsnet.com, Guardian UK, IHT

Venezuela oil income boosted in ‘08

The price of oil may have plummeted over the latter part of 2008 and Venezuelan oil output may have fallen by nearly 1 million barrels over the past decade. Yet Venezuelan officials claimed that oil income skyrocketed last year.

Officials with Venezuelan state-run oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) said that oil income grew by 225% over the first nine months last year. Despite the troubles with oil prices in the latter part of 2008, PDVSA saved $10.8 billion of the $12.14 billion profit which will be used to pay for the country’s vast social programs:

President Hugo Chavez's socialist government relies on Venezuela's vast oil reserves for roughly half its federal budget and 94 percent of exports.

PDVSA payments to Chavez's numerous social programs dropped 52 percent to $2.1 billion in the first nine months, the report said. But Caracas-based economist Pavel Gomez said Chavez can fulfill his promise not to slash public aid projects by drawing on other resources.

"The government has money saved in funds that can finance social spending," he said.

In addition, PDVSA officials boasted that Venezuela’s oil reserves will allow the country to be the world’s top oil producer by the end of the year.

Despite the massive oil income, Venezuela’s government is planning an “austere” budget for 2009; one step in that direction was Wednesday’s edict by President Hugo Chavez to slash the foreign currency allotment for Venezuelans traveling abroad.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- Prensa Latina, Bloomberg, AP, The Telegraph, forbes.com

Zapatistas Celebrate 15 Years Since Chiapas Uprising

It was 15 years ago that the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional began a new era in grassroots struggles in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas.

The Zapatistas made themselves known and linked the poverty that exists among the communities of Chiapas to the global economy the same day that NAFTA went into effect, January 1, 1994. The EZLN took a revolutionary approach against the Mexican government to reclaim indigenous rights in the area and while the Mexican mainstream media focuses on how no official agreement between the Zapatistas and Mexico's government has been reached since the San Andres Accords, that acknowledged some Indigenous rights, the ELZN was successful in creating 32 autonomous areas and building a movement that has global support.

Sources : Global Voices, VivirMexico, el Universal

Evo Morales defends ambassador’s expulsion

Last September, Bolivia was involved in a diplomatic row against the U.S. that included the expulsion of Ambassador Philip Goldberg (image) from La Paz. Shortly after being booted from Bolivia, Goldberg defended his actions and denied accusations that he encouraged Peace Corps volunteers to act as spies.

Earlier this week, Bolivian president Evo Morales backed his decision to remove Goldberg:

Bolivian President Evo Morales said Tuesday that the September expulsion of U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg was "a success and not a mistake because it "thwarted” an opposition coup plot.

At an evaluation meeting of his third year as president, Morales said that he did not make a mistake in deciding the "ambassador had to go," after his party "had endured the assault of the (Bolivian) right-wing."

Though the diplomatic crisis represented one of several low points between Morales and the White House in 2008, Morales admitted that relations could improve under an Obama administration. "I'm really hopeful ... We need the United States although maybe they don't need Bolivia," Morales mentioned roughly a month before Barack Obama ascends to the U.S. presidency.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Xinhua, Reuters

Guatemala: Thousands deported from Mexico, U.S.

Oftentimes the immigration debate regarding Mexico emphasizes those who cross the country’s northern border into the U.S. Yet that overlooks the problems regarding migrants from Central American countries like Guatemala crossing into Mexico.

Mexico’s seemingly out-of-control drug violence has spilled over into neighboring countries south of its border. "If the Guatemalan authorities are unable to stop the infiltration of Mexican drug cartels in two years they could take over Guatemala City," said the chief of the UN's International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala to BBC News. Guatemalan officials plan to deploy several hundred troops along the border to contain the incoming violence.

The increasing violence and the weakening economy are two of the main reasons why Guatemalans into Mexico. Some of these migrants subsequently try to make their way into the U.S. though the immigration crackdown in both countries has made it much more difficult:

Mexico deported more illegal Guatemalan migrants than the U.S. in 2007 and 2008, according to information reaching here from Guatemala City on Thursday.

In 2008, Mexico repatriated 36,362 Guatemalans, a 26.5 percent reduction from a year ago, while the United States deported 27,929people, which represented a 21 percent increase, the General Direction of Migration from Guatemala (DMG) said.

In 2007, Mexico deported 49,475 Guatemalans and U.S. deported 23,062.

One of the downsides to the increased migration from Central America is the reported abuses committed by Mexican immigration authorities.

Image- daylife.com (“A Guatemalan deportee has his US ID tag removed by a Guatemalan immigration official after disembarking from the plane upon arrival 06 August, 2007 at a Guatemalan Air Force base south from Guatemala City.”)
Online Sources- Latina, MSNBC, BBC News, AFP, Xinhua, Americas Society/Council of the Americas

Cuba: Fifty years of revolution

Yesterday marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Cuban Revolution where Fidel Castro led his rebel army to overthrow dictator Fulgencio Batista.

Cubans on the island celebrated to mark the occasion as President Raul Castro praised the revolution while noting that “it is time to reflect on the future.” Castro’s remarks came during a ceremony that included an 18-minute documentary on his brother Fidel who has not been seen in public since July 2006.

For Castro and his supporters the past fifty years have been successful and have brought great social and economic prosperity to Cuba. The mood is far different for exiles that have left the country:

Miami restaurant owner Ailin Fernandez left Cuba more than 20 years ago. She longs to return home and open a restaurant in the beach town of Varadero, but not under the current government…

Others, like Giselle Palacios, 18, have come to Miami to escape political persecution on the island. As the daughter of prominent dissidents, she fled after being kicked out of college for her political activities.

The future of Cuba remains to be seen; several Latin American nations have strengthened ties with the island and are shying away from isolationism. The recent discovery of offshore oil fields may boost the country’s sagging economy. The incoming Obama administration could help ease the hard line in U.S.-Cuba relations though that will also depend on the Cuban government’s efforts.

Cuba’s revolution has reached the fifty-year mark despite seemingly insurmountable odds. Will it make it to its centenary anniversary in 2059?

Image- The Age
Online Sources- BBC News, AFP, Voice of America, Reuters, Xinhua, NPR

Daily Headlines: January 2, 2009

* Colombia: Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures are vying to make a film based on the July 2008 rescue of Ingrid Betancourt and fourteen other hostages from the Colombian jungle.

* Nicaragua: This month Nicaragua will begin operating 19 windmills designed to contribute 6% of the country’s power.

* Peru: Peru’s main stock index plunged by 60% in 2008, more than any other Latin American index.

* El Salvador: Salvadoran troops stationed in Iraq are expected to start returning home by the end of this month or early February.

Image- Guardian UK
Online Sources- AFP, Reuters, Xinhua, MSNBC

Daily Headlines: January 1, 2009

* Mexico: Mexican immigration agents commit a litany of abuses against Central American migrants according to a damning report by the country's National Human Rights Commission.

* Chile: Chilean unions vow to boycott the country’s biggest grocer which was recently purchased by Wal-Mart.

* Venezuela: A Venezuelan man is suing U.S. immigration authorities after he claimed that he was illegally deported twice.

* Nicaragua: Could President Daniel Ortega become Latin America’s version of Robert Mugabe or is the author of this op/ed piece exaggerating?

Image- boston.com (“Illegal immigrants travel in a train heading north, on their way to the U.S. in Arriaga, southern Mexico, Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008.”)
Online Sources- Brownsville Herald, Bloomberg, csmonitor.com, MSNBC

Your headlines of 2008

Over two weeks this month you voted for the top headlines of the year based on a variety of topics. Fifty-two votes were made as dozens of our readers let their voices be heard. Thanks to those who participated in our poll and many thanks to you, our readers, for making this blog worth the effort.

Here are the final results:

1st - 25%

• Violence is out-of-control in Mexico

2nd - 21.15%

• Ingrid Betancourt and fourteen other hostages are rescued

3rd - 9.62%

• Regional economic growth slowed by the global financial crisis

4th – 5.77%

• Fernando Lugo is elected to the Paraguayan presidency

5th (tied) – 3.85%

• Argentine farmers strike against the government.
• Authorities turn the screw on Puerto Rican "macheteros”
• China strengthens ties to Latin America.
• Honduras, Bolivia, Venezuela, and the U.S. are in a diplomatic spat
• Junot Diaz wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
  

10th (tied) – 1.92%

• Broadway audiences love “In the Heights”
• Electoral fraud alleged in Nicaragua.
• Haiti’s poverty (somehow) worsens.
• Immigration is an ignored topic during presidential campaigns.
• Latino voters pivotal during U.S. elections
• Leaders debate pros and cons of free trade
• No significant changes in Cuba under Raul Castro.
• Raul Reyes killed across the border in Ecuador
• Russia’s president tours several Latin American countries
• Unrest does not stop in Bolivia.
  

May you all have a happy new year; see you tomorrow!

Image- Time (Mexico’s rampant and seemingly never-ending violence was cited by blog readers as the top news story of 2008)

De Musica Ligera: Tunes of ‘08

2008 is about to come to an end but before that why not enjoy some primo songs from the past year? Juanes, Sergio Mendes, and Julieta Venegas were a few of the great artists who released new and exciting music over the past year. The wide range of tunes released this year by Latin American/Latino musicians can satisfy just about every musical taste as evidenced by some of the exceptional songs below:

• Aterciopelados – 28 (Don’t forget to revisit our interview with Hector Buitrago!)
• Banda de Turistas - Todo mio el otonio (Very poppy, 60s- tinged music from an underrated Argentine band)
• Breeders - Regalame Esta Noche (Kelley Deal may not be fluent in Spanish but her emotion cannot be ignored in this ballad cover)
• Calexico – Absent Afternoon (Calexico’s music has a great Mexican folkloric sound which must be heard)
• Juana Molina - Un Dia (Sweet, slightly eclectic music from an excellent South American chanteuse)
• Nortec Collective - Akai 47 (One of the best representatives of the “latintronica” genre)
• Pistolera – Guerra (Great song with a political message from this New York-based band)
• Plastilina Mosh – Party (Do you remember Summerstage, Maegan?)
• Sonido Del Principe - El Principe (A Dutch DJ puts a modern tinge on tropical cumbia music)
• Yma Sumac - Bo Mambo (This isn’t a single from 2008, but its worth noting that the Peruvian singer died in November)
  

Image- daylife.com (Colombian rockeros Aterciopelados were one of several great musical groups with new albums and music in 2008)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, yousendit.com

Daily Headlines: December 31, 2008

* Brazil: As Israel continues a fourth day of air strikes on Gaza, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is trying to coordinate an international diplomatic effort to stop the attacks.

* U.S.: Less than a month after Bernard Madoff’s fraud was publicized officials uncovered anther pyramid scheme that bilked thousands of investors from Florida's Haitian-American community.

* Colombia: A U.S. federal appeals court upheld a verdict absolving Drummond coal company from the murders of three Colombian labor leaders.

* Mexico: Mexican officials lifted the suspensions on meat imports from twenty U.S.-based processors.

Image- AP (“A Palestinian woman checks the damage to her house following an Israeli air strike in Gaza City, Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008”).
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, Bloomberg, WTVM, Xinhua, Reuters

Today’s Video: “Por favor señor fondle my butt”

Of all the personal joys I feel writing for this blog one of the most satisfying is the “Daily Video” series. Numerous types of videos have been featured over this past year on diverse subjects like at guerilla warfare, music with political messages, or racist TV shows of yore. Whether it be on purpose or merely accidental it is truly amazing to watch these videos.

For me the most memorable video of the year was one I stumbled upon while goofing off one evening on YouTube. It is from the brilliant, much-missed “Mystery Science 3000” where Tom Crow and company poke fun at a so-bad-its-good documentary. The 1960s era film shows the tribulations of a gringo who travels to Maracaibo and is contracted to work on a Venezuelan offshore oil field.

(Video link):

Ah satire!

Sources- The Latin Americanist, YouTube

Homicide rate skyrockets on Puerto Rico

2008 has not been a banner year for law enforcement on Puerto Rico:

Puerto Rico's homicide rates so far this year have surpassed 800 victims, 80 more homicides than reported in 2007 and the highest homicide rate in over a decade.

This weekend alone police reported that two homicide victims were found on Saturday and three others on Sunday.

So far, this year police have reported 802 homicides or Type 1 Crimes. According to police authorities Puerto Rico's highest homicide rates were reached in 1996 when some 868 violent deaths were reported.

Last year the Justice Department dispatched additional officers to fight crime on the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan yet that has been ineffective.

Police superintendent Pedro Toledo has called for a "serious" analysis to be done to examine the social roots of crime, while an increasing number of Boricuas are advocating changes to “the traditional, exclusively punitive system of dealing with criminals.”

Image- MSNBC (“Men carry the casket of Puerto Rican nationalist Filiberto Ojeda Rios (in 2005) as a crowd of supporters look on in eastern Puerto Rico.”)
Online Sources- MSNBC, LAHT, Caribbean Net News

Archives: Brits covered up Falklands incursion

Four years before the Falklands War British leaders attempted to cover up an Argentine invasion onto the disputed islands.

Top secret British documents from 1978 were declassified this week and painted a picture of a weak British defense. "Heaven help us if there is a war!" exclaimed then-prime minister James Callaghan whose government worried over possible Soviet attacks and dropped the ball on building Iranian unrest.

In early 1978, British authorities found out that Argentina established a secret military base on a “barren, uninhabited dependency” near the Falklands. British officials worried that word of the fake “scientific” base would leak out, upset residents on the Falklands, and derail sovereignty negotiations between Britain and Argentina.

As The Telegraph noted:

David Owen, James Callaghan's Foreign Secretary, feared that revelations about what he accepted was a "violation of British sovereignty" on Southern Thule would derail talks between the two countries about the future control of the Falklands themselves…

"We were concerned that the Argentine base on Southern Thule would become public knowledge," Lord Owen told the embassy in Buenos Aires on February 17, following the three-day talks…

"In the event of a leak … the British Government would need to make it clear publicly that they had protested to Argentina about a violation of British sovereignty.

The fake scientific base would remain in Argentine control until the British took over as part of the Falklands War in 1982. Argentine relations with Britain have gradually improved though diplomatic problems have continued over renewed calls of argentine sovereignty to the Falklands.

Image- BBC News (One of the recently declassified British National Archive documents)
Online Sources- Bloomberg, Guardian UK, The Telegraph, Voice of America

Hiroshi Nohara finally leaves Mexican airport

Do you remember the curious case of Hiroshi Nohara?

The Japanese traveler had stayed in Mexico City’s Benito Juarez airport since September sleeping on the ground and spent his days lingering in the food court. Yet unlike Merhan Karimi Nasseri (an Iranian who was “stuck” at Paris’ De Gaulle Airport for eighteen years) Nohara voluntarily stayed at the Juarez airport and could leave whenever he wished. (Would that make Nohara an attention whore?)

On Sunday Nohara finally left though under seemingly odd circumstances:

“Another Japanese person came for him yesterday, and they left in a taxi after spending 117 days in the airport,” said Victor Manuel Mejia, head of the airport’s press office. “We can’t remember any similar cases in the past, it was totally atypical”…

Nohara may have gone home with a woman who visited him often and invited him to stay at a house in the city’s Colonia del Valle neighborhood, newspaper Reforma reported today. The paper published a photo of Nohara walking to a cab with an unidentified woman.

Image- daylife.com (“Hiroshi Nohara, 40, from Tokyo, is seen at the international airport in Mexico City November 27, 2008.”)
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, snopes.com, AFP, Bloomberg