Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included, please email me: faustaw2 “at” gmail “dot” com.
The big news this week:
Alvaro Uribe visited the US and spoke at the UN. The American media paid no attention to the US’s greatest ally in the hemisphere.
A new oil field recently found in Colombia is larger than expected.
Chavez is back from his tour of China, France, Portugal and Russia promising he will develop nuclear power “for peaceful purposes” with Russia’s help
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had offered help with a reactor, adding that “we already have a commission working on this issue.”
From China, Chavez got agreements on oil, producing oil tankers and a refinery, and launching a Venezuelan telecommunications satellite from China.
A more important result from the trip is that $1 billion military loan and a new oil consortium from Russia. Putin doesn’t send you $1billion without expecting really big results: Russia is bankrolling an arms race right in our hemisphere, folks.
In other news, Ecuador’s new constitution was approved by a margin of 65%. I predicted yesterday that it would pass by 60%, only because Soviet-style 99%+ margins have gone out of fashion. This is probably the first Constitution in the world which grants inalienable rights to nature
Ecuador’s proposed constitution includes an article that grants nature the right to “exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution” and will grant legal standing to any person to defend those rights in court.
Conveniently so, considering how it’ll be yet another weapon against foreign corporations and political enemies.
And now for the Carnival
LATIN AMERICA
Today’s Brazil, Peru, Argentina: Latin America Bond, Currency Preview at Bloomberg.
ARGENTINA
Better late than never: Ms Fernández tries to charm the markets by revisiting the 2005 debt swap
BOLIVIA
The Last Days of a Nazi-Era Photographer
Via IBD Blog, U.S. moves to suspend trade benefits for Bolivia
Bolivia es un paraiso de narcotraficantes
Evo Morales Supports Terrorist Groups
US-Bolivia economic relations hit the skids
BRAZIL
Brazil Booms by Going Lula’s Way
Brazilian speeder gets $1.9m fine
Real-politik: Why elections, even to lowly office, are so expensive
CHILE
A force for good, now: A newly streamlined army polishes its democratic credentials
What We Can Learn From Chile’s Financial Crisis. I’ll add the video as soon as the code is available.
COLOMBIA
80%’er Meets 80%’er at UN Photos: Sarah Palin meets with Uribe
Solana Says Oil Field in Colombia May Be Larger Than Estimated
New NEFA Report on the FARC’s International Support Network
CUBA
Proposed Russian-Cuba-Venezuela Space Cooperation Raises Many Questions
Via Lucianne, Castro’s arrogance blocks aid
Back to normal, also at Babalu
Cuba’s ambitions for growth laid to waste yet again.
Ecuador Seems Likely to Clear Constitution
Ecuador: New laws, new conflicts
China, Ecuador: Beijing’s Latin American Opportunity
GUATEMALA
U.S. Coast Guard Sinks 60-Foot Cocaine “Submarine” off Guatemala-Mexico Coast
MEXICO
1,000 slain: Juárez drug war death continue to mount
NICARAGUA
Rewriting the book of Daniel
Nicaragua’s stellar record of treatment of dissenting opinions
PARAGUAY
Critters!
PERU
Mitsui Mining to Restart Copper Production at Mine in Peru
VENEZUELA
Chavez says Venezuela will develop nuclear power
Some possible leftovers from the Vene-Russian love affair
Putin says ties with Latin America a top priority
Chavez: Latin States Should Partner With Russia Against U.S.
Venezuelan president arrives in China
Venezuela: Iran to finance 25 factories
Downright lunacy, via IBD Blog, US Department of Energy to deliver oil from strategic reserve to Citgo
La oposición venezolana acusa a la Policía de idear un falso complot para matar a Chávez
Russia, Venezuela to Form Oil Venture, Spend Billions
Newly installed in Caracas: a monument to the FARC’s founder, Manuel Marulanda, who died of a heart attack last March.
AMERICAN POLITICS
Republican quits in Hispanic row
Change for Change’s Sake isn’t Enough
This week’s podcasts and posts
Uribe, Brazil, and the UN: 15 Minutes on Latin America
