Mexico Leftist Leader Sees Strength Fade

JANUARY 31, 2007
Leftist leader Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who has declared himself Mexico's "legitimate president," saw his strength wane as organizers of Wednesday's march to protest skyrocketing tortilla prices asked him to stay on the sidelines.

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Chavez gains more powers in the Venezuelan Government

The Venezuelan Congress enacted measures to grant President Hugo Chavez massive law-making powers. He wants to use his new powers to change Venezuela into a completely socalistic society, bringing oil and gas projects under state control. Supporters say the law will make the state more efficient, however opponenets claim the law puts too much power into one person's hands, which is a recipe for disaster. Read more here.

Protestors in Ecuador

Today in Ecuador protestors stormed Congress to demand that they approve leftist president, Correa's, proposed referendum on whether or not to rewrite the constitution. The protestors caused the lawmakers to evacuate the building. Correa is the leftist president of Ecuador that wants to make changes to stop the influence from traditional political parties. The protest forced officials to close the legislature. More can be read here.

-Meredith West

Castro Video

Possible verification that Castro is up and about... go here.

Dirty War Reprisals

Since the death of August Pinochet, a military Gen. of Cuba, people wishing for justice for the perpetrators of Chile's dirty war are going to have to move fast if they want anything to be done.
Read all about it here.

world cup

As of 2001, Brazil had last won the world cup in 1994. Before that, they won it in 1970. Add 1994 and 1970 and you get 1964.
Germany last one in 1990. Before that they won in 1974. Add the two and again you get 3964.
Argentina last won the world cup in 1986 before that they won it in 1978. Add 1978 and 1986 and you again get 3964.
So going by this logic the winner of the 2002 world cup would have been the same winner as the winner in 1962, Brazil. Crazy enough, this actually happened.

a little trivia

Alanis Morissette shocked fans when she ended her first gig in Peru by shouting: "Thank you Brazil!" Morissette made the mistake in front of a 14,000 crowd at the Monumental Stadium in Lima. She was criticised by a number of Peruvian newspapers but some were more forgiving. Newspaper Ojo said: "We have already forgiven her thanks to her magical performance in which we witnessed a true rock star. "It was the first time something like that happened over here but it must have been the emotion she felt for being in Peru."

Two million alcohol cars running in Brazil

A new form of car that runs on flex-fuel, a mixture of any combination of ethanol and petrol, has just hit the two million car mark in Brazil. These now make up 77% of the Brazilian car market. Link is here.

Brazilian Billboard Ban in Biggest City

The recently imposed ban on billiboards in Sao Paulo has been challenged legally as unconstitutional. The link to the article is here.

A leftist leader in Mexico joins Oaxaca protest

Leonel Cota, president of Democratic Revolution Party, joined in protests that are occurring in Oaxaca. These protests are occuring because of a six-month long conflict that has been occurring, and because over 600 people have been arrested since the conflict started. Link here.

Cancer in Haiti's Preval may be back.

Haiti's President Rene Preval, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer five years ago, has recently reported that the cancer may have returned. The article is linked here.

Mexico to begin cracking down on drug violence.

The Mexican government is sending out 6500 soldiers to the state of Michoacan to crack down on the violence, including execution-style killings, that have plagued the region. Link is here.

Marine Reserve Created in Mexico

A new Marine Reserve was created in Espiritu Santo Archipelago in the Gulf of California. This water was home to many endangered species. Link here.

Cancun Prison riots prove to be Deadly

After prisoners overpowered guards at a prison in Cancun, Mexico, over 150 prisoners escaped. About half of these have been recaptured. Link here.

Gas Smuggling Problem in Brazil and Venezuela

The huge price disparity between Brazil and Venezuela have caused a new form of crime to rise, gas smuggling. The link to the story is here.

Protecting the Amazon rain forest

Brazil is ramping up protections on the important and ecologically diverse region known as the Amazon rainforest. Some of this area will be used for sustainable development, while some will be open to only researchers. The link is here.

human right's day protest broken up

On Human Right's Day in Cuba a small protest was broken up in the middle of a Cuban park. Apparently government supporters assaulted a dozen or so people as soon as their protest, they were forced to flee. It is sad that this happened on Human Right's Day but it exemplifies the political and social instability the Cubans suffer. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061210/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cuba_human_rights_day

Gang Violence in Colombia

After some interesting conversation at the last Intercambio session, I thought it would be appropriate to post a link to this page containing information on Colombian gang violence.

"2 U.S. Pilots Charged in Air Collision Over Brazil"

After a deadly September 29 plane crash that killed 154 people, two US citizens who were piloting the private jet that struck and felled a Brazilian commercial airliner have been charged with unintentionally endangering an aircraft. They face up to 12 years in prison. More details here.

Former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet Dies at 91

Pinochet, a dictator who violently ruled the country of Chile from 1973 to 1990 died earlier today due to heart complications. Read the full article here.