The Challenge of Violence in Latin America

Over the past generation, Latin Americans have celebrated the onset or in some cases the return of democracy. The end of military rule in the region is a sea of change in a continent where juntas and dictators were the norm. Yet while Latin Americans have much to celebrate -- and notwithstanding some current challenges to democracy in quasi-authoritarian regimes such as Hugo Chavez's in Venezuela -- a more fundamental problem now afflicts the region: pervasive violence.

Full Article from the Calgary Herald

The challenge of Violence in Latin America

Over the past generation, Latin Americans have celebrated the onset or in some cases the return of democracy. The end of military rule in the region is a sea of change in a continent where juntas and dictators were the norm. Yet while Latin Americans have much to celebrate -- and notwithstanding some current challenges to democracy in quasi-authoritarian regimes such as Hugo Chavez's in Venezuela -- a more fundamental problem now afflicts the region: pervasive violence.

Full Article from the Calgary Herald

Simpson’s anyone

Have you ever felt seen a movie clip, scene from a cartoon of TV show that you just had to let everyone know about and wish they would have seen it, well I have. It was the scream-a-pillar episode on the Simpsons and now that the show is back on air in Venezuela I know that, that many more people will have a chance to see what I believe is a classic scene of any movie or program. The Venezuelan station Televen yanked the show off of air because of its time slot by the National Telecommunications Commission. The commission said that 11 A.M. is designated as family viewing time and the show violated regulations to protect children. The show is now shown at 7 P.M. Due to the failure to comply with the commission’s rules Televen might be fined, taken off the air for three days or be forced to show programs chosen by the agency as punishment for keeping “The Simpsons” in the morning after earlier warnings. The irony is that the show was removed and replaced by Baywatch Hawaii, which features much more than Marge’s large blue hair! In all respect that’s be glad Simpson fans that once again the Simpson family are putting smiles on faces around the world

"Camellos" -- giant buses -- to be replaced in Cuba

The camello, which mean camel, has been the main form of public transportation in Havana since the early 1990s. But tonight the Havana fleet will be replace by 3,000 modern "Yutong" brand buses. The currently used camello is an enormous vehicle composed of two regular buses welded together on a flatbed, holding as many as 400 people packed together. They are pretty hot, smelly, and dirty, though charging very cheap fare (20 centavos < 1 US cent). This change to new buses is just one of several new initiatives of Raul Castro; sort of superficial, but a nice change.
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Hunger in Haiti

As many people have mentioned on this blog and in class, the food situation in Haiti is spiraling out of control. Recently, the U.N. and other international organizations have been sending large amounts of support in order to alleviate some of the pressures that Haitians are feeling on a daily basis. Despite this influx of aid, several deadly riots in Haiti have severely hampered the influx of aid into the country. Due to the riots, the U.N. sent in a police force of about 9,000 soldiers to stop any sort of gang violence in the country, and the Fred Blaise, U.N. spokesperson, says that the "situation is back to normal but it's precarious, it's fragile." Although the extra supplies of food are helping some people, there is simply not enough of it. Many distribution centers such as local churches, offices, etc. that hand out the food simply run out of supplies. Obviously, this sort of emergency aid can only be a temporary solution to a very serious problem. Many countries such as the U.S., Venezuela, and Brazil have promised varying amount of support to Haiti; so the international community does acknowledge the dire situation that many Haitians are facing. Hopefully now that the situation in Haiti is garnering more international media attention, some significant and permanent changes can be made in order to improve the quality of Haitian life.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080419/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/haiti_food_handouts;_ylt=AhWR1NGjEqThGrYjM_wWdeu3IxIF

Ex-bishop running for change in Paraguay

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080418/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/paraguay_election;_ylt=AkgiSqbbqqwel2er0wNJGDS3IxIF

In Paraguay, where the conservative Colorado Party has ruled for the last 60 years, an ex-bishop by the name of Fernando Lugo is looking to rise to the presidency bearing the mantle of the liberal opposition: the Patriotic Front for Change. A former sheep farmer and the former "bishop of the poor," Lugo is going to be running against Blanca Ovelar, who is looking to make history of her own by becoming the first ever female president in Paraguyan history. In her campaign, she often accuses Lugo of being overly friendly with Venezuela, and supporting the interests of other oil-producing nations such as Bolivia and Ecuador too heavily.

Brazil's Booming Economy

Brazil's economy has been doing considerably better than America's as well as the world's at large. This puts them in a good global position, and with an annual economic growth rate of 5%, there is much optimism for Brazil's future. To add to this optimism is the fact that a vast oil field was newly discovered there, quite possibly making it the third largest in the world. A political scientist at the University of Brasilia contends that, "Brazil is going to be a major petroleum power," which he says will lead to, "political power." In the ever changing world that we live in, I argue that this seemingly jackpot find, isn't as magnificent as some article make it out to be. I argue that in the near future countries will gain immense power not when they find a new oil field, but when they find a sustainable alternative source of energy. So although, Brazil's find may be cause for immediate celebration, I think it would be more beneficial to invest in research and development for alternative energy sources, especially since Brazil has one of the largest populations in the world, and uses a considerable portion of energy to support that population.

La Neta

I decided to look up La Neta online after we talked about it in class. Its pretty cool to actually go look at the site after reading about it. It has a mission statement, NGO news, and you can read it in either spanish or have it translated to english. Check it out.

www.laneta.apc.org/

Fewer people own more land in Latin America-UN

After having talked extensively in class about the disproportionate possession of land and resources in Latin America, for the first time, I have come across mainstream media attention to the Landless Rural Workers Movement and the issue of land distribution in Latin America. According to a UN Food and Agriculture Official, the ownership of the land in Latin America is continually falling into the possession of big businesses and being taken away from the poor, which needs to change. Whether or not this means that the United Nations is going to put more diplomatic pressure on Latin American governments to act, though, is still unknown.


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"A Crime Against Humanity"

Anybody with a cursory understanding of chemistry and economics would understand that the drive for ethanol-based fuels is the biggest scam the environmental movement has produced to date. Oh, wait. Most people don’t even remember what they learned in high-school chemistry. Nevertheless, the unfortunate fact is that possibly well-meant but thoroughly ignorant activists continue to push for the production of ethanol—mainly from corn—as an alternative energy source. Of course, it is easy for them to pontificate on the evils of oil and the messiah-like properties of alternative energy sources if they do not have to live the consequences. And the consequences are dire. Everywhere, from Latin America to Africa to Asia, food prices are skyrocketing as demand for corn continues to rise and developing nations are increasingly coerced by the United States and Europe to redirect corn supplies from people’s stomachs to the lucrative alternative fuels industry. Like always, the mass media hides the truth and only until recently have I come across articles that at least voice the opinion of experts who are vehemently opposed to the corn-to-ethanol industry. For example, CNN notes that Jean Ziegler, U.N. special rapporteur on the right to food, has called using food crops to create ethanol "a crime against humanity." The article, however, is highly biased and attributes the recent food riots to rising oil prices. Fortunately, the media is now being forced to comment on the complex nature of the debate over alternative energy sources and no longer spoon-feeds their corporate sponsors' half-truths and outright lies to the largely—and dangerously—ignorant masses.

Gay Marriage in Latin America

According to the Agence France-Presse, Uruguay has become the first country in Latin America to make gay marriage legal, with the first marriage performed yesterday. This huge law was preceded by a 'cohabitation union law' which was enacted in Uruguay in January. According to this law, hetero- and homosexual couples could live together for 5 years and receive the same benefits that married heterosexual couples receive. The new gay marriages law is a big stop forward for gay rights in Latin America, and is an advancement in civil rights that our country has yet to implement. Here's the link to the article:
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iE3oWgdu7sYDyt3aR3awS8k_0teA

No need to fear the Simpsons are here!!!!!

Well for all of you Simpson fans who might be traveling to Venezuala, your in luck for the beloved show is back on the air. It was yanked from its 11 am timeslot by the National Telecommunications Commission for being inapproprate for all viewers. The show will now have a nightly time slot where it can be viewed but those of an appropriate age. Who is taking its place at 11 in the morning. Well known other than the family friendly show Baywatch: Hawaii. Now for your viewing pleasure a brief clip Simpsons clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIl9dy4R2tI

Global Hunger Pain

It's coming, there's not stopping it, and in some places INFLATION has made the price of food so high that the poorest have to skip meals. This video from the NY Times explains how Haitians are reacting to these hard times. In this impoverished country which imports most of it's food, global market crisis are being felt harder and earlier than more developed countries. This is issue has taken people out into the streets in riot against the government. History repeats itself...

Latin Americans unrepresented in U.S sports

Latin Americans have had an exponential impact in U.S. sports, such as baseball, soccer, tennis, and golf. But what about other major sports such as basketball, football, and hockey, where despite the presence of Latin Americans at the collegiate level, though still very few, the presence of Latino’s at the professional level is lacking. The following figures show Latin American impact as of 2001 in U.S. sports at the collegiate and professional, as both players, coaches, and other head positions.

· There was one Latino manager in the MLB reported in 2001

· Major League Soccer had three Latino head coaches (25 percent), down 8 percent from 1998

· NHL has no Latin American coaches

· MLB has 3 percent assistant coaches

· MLS had the only Latino GM in the men’s leagues. There were no women as GM’s in the men’s leagues.

Reports as of 2001 for Latin American players in professional sports:

· Players at the men’s professional level: Only nearly one percent of players are Latino in the NBA

· The percentage of Latinos and all others players of color remained slightly more than 1 percent in NFL

· At 26 percent, Latino’s participation in major league baseball is at its highest level ever

· In the MLS 20 percent were Latino

· Reports of Latino’s at the collegiate and women’s level:

· Three percent were Latina for the WNBA

· At the men’s collegiate basketball level, Latinos made up 1.4 percent

· Division I football, Latinos were 1.9 percent

· Division I baseball teams Latinos 4.7 percent

· The numbers of male student-athletes in all sports in Division I, Latinos were 3.1

One can see from these percentages that Latino’s are well unrepresented in U.S. sports at both the collegiate and professional level, given the exception of baseball. Though many organizations, such as the NBA, are trying to increase the level of Latino’s, as players, coaches and staff, and owners, there is much room for improvement. Due to the success of players such as Joe Aguirre, picked by the Washington Redskins in the ninth round of the 1941 who was the first Hispanic American drafted into the NFL, Manu Ginobli, Argentinean guard for the San Antonio Spurs, and Scott Gomez of the NHL, more doors and opportunities are opening for Latin American’s in U.S. professional sports. I believe that the best way to get more Latino’s involved in U.S. sports is to first increase to number of Latino owners, coaches, and staff.

These and other facts can be seen at: http://www.tidesport.org/RGRC/2001/RGRC7.22.01.pdf

Bush and Chavez

According to the Huffington Post, the Bush Administration has been insincere in its portrayal of Venezuela as state that supports terrorism and poses a security threat to the US. In fact, the writer, Mark Weisbrot, regards these "charges" against Venezuela as completely off-base and totally "ridiculous."

The claims by the Bush Administration that Venezuela is a state that "sponsors terrorism" is rooted in the seizure of computer files from Colombian military forces that suggested there were ties between Chavez and the FARC (a guerrilla revolutionary organization).

The New York Times recently came out smothering these claims saying that these computer files are far from authentic and that the Bush Administration has jumped to unfair conclusions. Overall, as Weisbrot suggests, this misinformation and inaccurate relay to the press by the Bush Administration has underscored the US' isolation of Latin America.

In other words, it seems that the Bush Administration made inaccurate claims based on un-supported assumptions that lead to our dismal relationship with Venezuela in order to promote his "War of Terrorism" agenda.

The two challenging democratic candidates for 2008, Clinton and Obama, have both voiced their plan to improve the US' relationship with the Latin America economically and through discourse. Hopefully, if one of them is elected, they commit to their plans and do better than the Bush Administration has.

Explanation of my Absense

This last week I went to Washington, D.C. with my Model Organization of American States class. All semester we have been researching about Panama, the country we were assigned to represent. Finally, this last week, we were able to utilize all our research and hard work. 31 of the 32 countries in the OAS were represented by 19 universities from the US and the remaining from Latin America and the Caribbean. This included schools from Columbia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Nicaragua, and the Bahamas. For those who don't really know how the model works, each country has a voice and a vote in the debate of resolutions. One resolution that my delegation worked on was concerning microfinance. We had to research our topic in order to be able to field topics from all the other delegations and at the same time we had to know Panama's position on topics as well as who their allies in the region in order to maintain diplomatic ties. Here is the link to the model website.

Wally World

I read an article by Fortune that seemed very similar to the microfinance article we discussed last class. The article described Walmart's intention to initiate some sweeping changes, and they targeted Mexico as the starting place. Similar to the banks Chu talked about in his article Walmart is targeting low income citizens: "Mexico's biggest retailer, with 668 stores, wants to crack the low-income market in a country where just 24 percent of households have savings accounts, compared with 55 percent in Chile. Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) plans to boost sales via debit cards, later ease users into more profitable services like insurance, and make money on interest-rate spreads." I think this move by Walmart is extremely creative, and as the article suggests, will be successful . I think this because of the fact due to their massive size and reach, they possess a great deal of persuasive power amongst low income families who frequent their stores. It only makes sense to add a no frills banking system to their repertoire.

Rice Subsidies

A while back, there was a post on this blog about Hatians eating dirt cookies as a result of the incredibly poor state the majority of the country was in. Currently, violent protests and demonstrations have been going on against rising food prices in the country. The protests are responsible for at least five deaths and The president, Preval, just announced new rice subsidies that would lower its cost by 15 percent. The money for these new reductions in price would come from international aid money and the reduction of profit margins from private rice producers. Preval's prime minister, Jacques-Eduoard Alexis (picture), is largely blamed for the economic state of the country and just received a 16-1 vote of no-confidence from the Hatian senate. Here's the link to the New York Time's article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/13/world/americas/13haiti.html?ref=americas

Mexican Oil and Privatization

Some of our past class conversations have addressed the controversial adoption of neoliberal policies as a means of revitalizing Latin American economies. Following the economic stagnation of the 1980’s and the subsequent economic upturn under neoliberalism, these policies have indeed divided many as its advocates point to the economic benefits while opponents insist—among other things—that the loss of national sovereignty is too high a price to pay. The recent upheaval in the Mexican congress over a bill that would allow private investors to increase their participation in Mexico’s nationalized oil industry demonstrates that the issue is indeed far from settled. The bill does not intend to privatize Pemex (Petroleos Mexicanos), but opponents contend that any involvement of the private sector would be detrimental for the future of the industry. A member of the opposition commented: “They've sharpened their teeth and are ready to rob a natural resource and make a big business out of it; we're not going to let them.”

You can read an article on the topic here.

"South-south cooperation"

Pratibha Patil, India's President, is about to tour several countries of Latin America, with the goal of promoting cooperation and unity between India and these countries: Mexico, Brazil, and Chile. She will meet with the various presidents and other leaders. She plans to sign accords and significantly increase trade in this April 12th-25th visit. Patil is not the Prime Minister, but nonetheless she's an important political figure in India.