U.S. Spying in Latin America

According to the Washington Post the U.S. Navy's most advanced submarine just returned from its first sailing. Suprisingly, or perhaps not, the submarine used its cutting-edge technology to monitor phone conversations in Latin America as part of the government's effort to combat terrorism. Supposedely the Bush Administration believes the tri-border area of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay is the next terrorist hot spot. Does this have anything to do with Chavez's growing power and Morales' win in Bolivia? Read the article here...

APOCALYPTO

I saw the preview for a new movie that will come out this summer (2006). It is Mel Gibson's new movie called Apocalypto. It is set in Guatemala around the decline of the Mayan civilization, and I heard that it was filmed in a Mayan language, although I still haven't been able to figure out which one. To see a preview of the movie, go to Apocalypto.com.

From Academy Award winning filmmaker Mel Gibson ("The Passion of the Christ," "Braveheart"), comes APOCALYPTO: a heart stopping mythic action-adventure set against the turbulent end times of the once great Mayan civilization. When his idyllic existance is brutally disrupted by a violent invading force, a man is taken on a perilous journey to a world ruled by fear and oppression where a harrowing end awaits him. Through a twist of fate and spurred by the power of his love for his woman and his family he will make a desperate break to return home and to ultimately save his way of life.

Disappearances on the Border

A little more on border problems...Mexico implemented a program last June called the System for Identifying Remains and Locating Individuals that is working to locate illegal Mexican immigrants who have crossed the border and are now missing. Mexican foreign relations offices on their soil and here in the United States have been linked to a uniform database to work together to find these people. The issue of disappearing immigrants is a growing problem for the Mexican government. Over the last decade, more than 3,000 migrants died trying to cross the border. At least 1,000 of those people have not yet been identified.

Despite Political Shifts, Export Prices on the Rise

Before now, leftist shifts in politics had been followed by economic downturn. However, this tendency in Latin America might be coming to an end, due to high commodity prices. Due to high copper, oil and grain prices, export prices for Latin American goods have been on the rise. These commodities are some of Latin America's largest exports, with higher commodity prices, come higher export prices. So, it seems while the export markets in Latin America are "booming," shifts in political ideology will not affect economic performance. This is evident in the fact that recently, despite a decrease in capital flows, economic growth has increased in the region. Thus, for now, it seems that the market will accept a leftist president if export prices continue to stay high. All of this is very interesting and one can read more on the subject by visiting this sitio.

Juan's Flying Burrito

Since the number of resteraunts in the city has lessened after Katrina, I thought I would post my blog for this week about a good resteraunt, nearby, with Latin American food. I'm sure you've heard of Juan's Flying Burrito, but maybe you haven't gone yet. Well you definitely should. Why? One because it's open (on Magazine Street) and two, because it's awesome. I highly suggest the flying burrito, it may sound like too many ingredients on the menu, but when you eat it, it's simply amazing. Secondly, I suggest margaritas, it adds to the 'latin american flavor' of the experience.

Interesting Bolivia Article

I've been very excited whenever I read about the election of Bolivia's new President. His name is Evo Morales and he's the first Indigenous President of Bolivia since the last Inca King over 500 years ago. His election is a big landmark for indigenous peoples in Latin America, but more importantly, his election may signal conflict with the United States along the lines of Castro and Chavez. Morales is a coca grower, opposes free trade, and opposes privatization of public services and Bolivia's natural resources. He is another example of the leftward tilt in Latin America which is not a bad thing in my opinion, but his anti-American stances suggest conflict. I don't think Bush is going to be too pleased when he finds out who won Bolivia's election (if he ever finds out considering how much he ignores Latin America and how retarded he is).

ANYWAY...you can read a great article from the Nation about Evo Morales, Bolivia, and a lot of the issues facing American-Bolivian relations if you follow this link.

Everybody salsa!

I personally love to go dancing if I can dance to the sweet, sweet beat of salsa and merengue. However, I didn't really know how salsa came into our lives, so I looked it up. I am a bit technologically impaired so the best I can do is copy-and-paste the link to the site I found: Click here. [NOTE: El Jefe Maximo, using his editorial privileges, helped set up the link!]

Hope you enjoy it!

Oh! and somebody was commenting on the band that performed at the Pachanga...I really liked it! It's definately worth the trip to the club! :)

More on the Border

Similar to what was posted earlier, this article from The Economist further discusses the conflict surrounding the Mexico-United States border.

Mexico-U.S. Immigration

A topic that we have yet to really explore is that of the changing relations between the United States and our southern-most neighbor. Over the past 23 months, the Bush Administration has begun to prioritize the upholding of the border along the Rio Grande, including an attempt to construct a fence along the entirety of the 2,000 mile border.

His embittered battle with California state is first introduced here .

As the Bush administration begins to gain momentum, we see Vicente Fox (about to be up for re-election) go against his longtime ally, claiming that Mexicans enjoy the lack of border control and that to "no country that is proud of itself should build walls." Article can be read here.

Is this interplay between Fox and Bush simply for politics sake? Why does Fox break from Bush now? Wouldn't the Bush administration have discussed it with Mexican officials before pursuing the fight?

Is the construction of a fence a fair move for the U.S.? So many problems to explore...

Fredy Omar con su banda, Wednesday nights at Cafe Brasil

For those of you who love latin dancing or just good live latin music, (and who might have missed the Pachanga), Fredy Omar con su banda is back in New Orleans, playing at Cafe Brasil (corner of Chartres and Frenchman) every Wednesday night from 10-2. Honduran born Fredy has been dubbed "The Latin King of Frenchman Street", and his band has been voted "Best Latin Band" in New Orleans 8 times. A fun and interactive performer, Fredy has been known to exit the stage in the middle of a song to hit the dance floor with a lucky female fan. Always a good time had by all, Cafe Brasil on Wednesday nights...see you there!

"Solidary Integration": Latin American Development Plans

Last Thursday in Caracas, Venezuela a variety of Latin American countries gathered to discuss the "solidary integration" and future development plans for the region. Marco Aurélio Garcia, Brazil's Presidental Advisor on Inernational Affairs, discussed the necessity for increased amounts of infrastructure (such as roads, bridges, and faster air routes) to connect Latin American nations. In addition, financal integration was discussed through the creation of Southern Bank. Admiral Cabrera Aguirre with the Bolivarian Civic-Military Front of Venezuela stressed territorial defense. He suggested better co-operation between the military and civilians by creating civilian "territorial guards". Finally, Rafael Correa Flores, the Secretary General of the Latin American Parliament addressed the proposal for a Latin American Constitution and an Inter-American Social Charter, which is being negotiated by the Organization of American States (OAS).

The article can be found here.

Sheehan & Chavez

Back in the news.

Leftist Shift in Latin American Politics

An article here talks about the political shift currently going on in Latin America. Left-wing, more populist politicians are gaing a hold of Latin American politics, in large part due to a sense by the masses that they are losing out in the exploitation of their natural resources. I have to say I'm in support of the Latin American people reaping greater benefits from their natural resources, but let's hope that none of these new political leaders turns out to be another Huge Chavez. Dictatorship wrapped up in populist rhetoric is definately not what Latin America needs right now.

The IMF and Nicaraguan Doctors

Nicaraguan doctors have been on strike since mid-November, performing only "emergency operations." They are the lowest-paid of any Central American country and are demanding a 70% increase in salary. Meanwhile, those patients with non-immediately-life-threatening illnesses wait outside hospitals until they are ill enough to be considered near-death. The article describes a woman who contracted gangrene and had to have her leg amputated because the doctors would not treat her until her sister managed to sneak her in, posing as someone's aunt.

This article places the blame for the strike on the International Monetary Fund, which recently stated that it would cancel public debt for Nicaragua, while at the same time reactivating an economic program for the country that will require Nicaragua to take another loan package (this one for $100 million, versus the $201 million they cleared). According to the article, because of economic burden placed on the state due to debt repayments, there is little money for public health programs, such as doctors' salaries.

Here is a link to the article, from the news source CommonDreams, which I read but with an entire box of salt, as they are extremely liberal (note the anti-US commentary).

Justice may Stand

From Miami Herald Wire Services
CHILE

Daughter of Pinochet detained back in Chile

SANTIAGO - The oldest daughter of former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet returned to Chile Saturday and was detained on tax evasion charges, after dropping a surprise bid for political asylum in the United States, where she said she lived ``a nightmare.''

Lucía Pinochet, 60, was met in Santiago by a judge who served her notice of tax evasion and false passport charges against her.

The daughter of the former dictator told a reporter for Chile's state television who was on her flight, which flew from Washington to Argentina and on to Chile, that she was ''very badly treated'' in the United States.

March 3, World Baseball Classic Begins

This March 3rd, the first ever World Baseball Classic will take place and Cuba will be there. Cuba was finally allowed to play after agreeing to donate all earnings from the classic to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Now, it will be a legitimate tournament...the absence of Cuba definitely would have undermined the strength of the tournament and actually very likely would have brought the idea of a classic to a quick end since the International Baseball Confederation would have pulled the plug. Besides, look at the numbers, Cuba has won Olympic gold in 1992, 1996, and 2004 (lost in 2000, to the US). Recently the island as been forgotten in the shadow of its neighbor, the Dominican Republic, whose star products now control the MLB. So this Classic will really give the world the chance to gauge where Cuban baseball is at as it plays fully loaded teams that are usually missing in the Olympics. Has the machine decayed? What a statement Cuba would make if it sweeps the Classic: a baseball system that is as isolated and closed off as Cuba itself managed to rise above teams whose players were brought to stardom through financially deep developmental programs, most of which are backed by MLB teams. The pressure certainly will be on the Cuban national team to bring home a victory, because the forfeited prize money would be forgotten by the political and ideological currency it would give Castro.

Latino Immigrants in NOLA post-Katrina

As everyone in NOLA knows, there has been a massive migration/immigration of Latinos to the NOLA area since Hurricane Katrina. If you are like me, you are interested in learning more about this new population and finding out what part of the U.S. or from which other countries they have come from, what kind of work they are doing in NOLA, what their impressions are of NOLA and its people, and whether or not they intend on staying here, etc. I am in a sociology class at Tulane right now in which we will be conducting interviews of recent Latino migrants/immigrants to NOLA. If you would like to help, we need Spanish speakers to conduct interviews and non-Spanish speakers to do data input and analysis, among other things. If you are interesting in helping out or learning more about the research email me at whedden@tulane.edu.

A "Movement on Fire"

Article in the Washington Post about the recent World Social Forum held in Caracas: Click here.

Bold Move by Evo

According to this article, President Evo Morales cut his salary in half and declared no Cabinet minister can collect a higher wage than his own. According to Morales, Bolivia needs 6,000 more teachers, but there are only funds to pay 2,200, so the savings are to be used to hire more public school teachers. This is a bold step, and supporters see this as a sign that Morales is committed to reducing poverty and corruption in Bolivia. Critics, however, say the salary cuts were a superficial gesture that would not begin to address Bolivia's deep-seated poverty. It will be interesting to see if Morlaes can follow through with these reforms, especially in the face of resistance by some officials, who complained they might not be able to maintain homes in far-flung districts while working in La Paz. Will these cuts possibly backfire and fuel more corruption, as not-so-idealistic officials seek other sources of income to maintain their current lifestyles?

Diego Luna

One of my favorite young actors is Diego Luna, a native of Mexico City. I highly recommend "Y Tu Mama Tambien" and "Dirty Dancing Havanna Nights." You can read a biography of Diego Luna at the following site: Click here.

[NOTE: This post is from Louisa Gleichman.]