Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

January 4, 2017 By Fausta

Argentina: No Falklands on the tweet

Here’s the Social Development Minister’s tweet that started it all,

“GREETINGS!
[Text in the image]
May 2017 find us united, building a more inclusive country with equal opportunity for all.”

¡FELICIDADES! pic.twitter.com/AGhBBLXIp0

— Carolina Stanley (@CaroStanley) December 31, 2016

People threw a Twitter snit because the map does not include Antartica and the Falkland Islands:

The oversight could not have come at a worse date. January 3 marks the 184th anniversary of the British occupation of the archipelago, and a public event is planned at Plaza de Mayo, where war veterans and nationalist groups typically converge each year.

On the political front, the situation is not the best either. In September, Argentina and the UK signed a memorandum of understanding paving the way for commercial flights to the islands from the continent, and opening the door to hydrocarbon exploration in the area.

But Elisa Carrió, a congresswoman and former presidential candidate, said that the deal to improve the situation of islanders is in violation of sovereignty claims, and threatened to launch political trials against any high-ranking officials who sign such treaties without consulting with Congress first.

The people in charge of running the ministry’s official account have apologized. I still harbor a faint hope that the Social Development Minister is a realist.

[Translation revised]

Share

Filed Under: Argentina Tagged With: Falkland Islands, Fausta's blog

May 2, 2016 By Fausta

The beer-less Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

21st Century Socialism at work: TEN years ago I posted that Hugo Chávez had taken over the beer trucks. Now Empresas Polar closes its breweries because the government

hasn’t allocated the dollars the company needs to pay for imported raw materials such as malted barley.

Polar says it’s been warning the country for a year about the need for sufficient access to foreign currency “to keep making products demanded by Venezuelans.”

ARGENTINA
Obama pokes fun at Trump’s foreign policy experience: ‘Miss Sweden, Miss Argentina . . ’

The Triumphant Return of Argentina to International Capital Markets

BOLIVIA
Bolivian Judge Orders Morales, Alleged Son to Take DNA Tests

BRAZIL
Brazil registers 91,387 possible Zika cases in two months

CHILE
Chile: An Island of Stability in South America

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s economic outlook darkens: report

CUBA
Philip Hammond becomes first Foreign Secretary to visit Cuba since 1959 Revolution

ECUADOR
Rescuers Pull 72-Year-Old Man From Rubble 13 Days After Ecuador Earthquake

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Leaving EU would fuel Argentine aggression towards Falkland Islands, official claims

JAMAICA
Cuba and Jamaica to sign multi-destination agreement

MEXICO
Four Questions about the ‘5th Bus’ in Case of Mexico’s Missing 43

Other View: Mexico’s Faltering Efforts to Fight Corruption

PANAMA
Grueling Trek to U.S. Leaves Thousands of Cuban Migrants Stranded in Panama

#PanamaPapers: How ex-Nigerian minister bought two penthouses in Panama for N837million

Panama’s Economy Grows as Rest of Latin America Stalls. Region Faces Worst Scenario since 1982, IMF Report Explains

PARAGUAY
Paraguay may serve as a convenient “gateway” for Russia to the markets of other Mercosur countries, head of the Paraguayan Congress Mario Abdo Benitez said.

PERU
PHOTOS: 33 Rescued Circus Lions Airlifted From Peru To South Africa

The animals were rescued from circuses in Colombia and Peru after both countries passed new laws to ban the use of wild animals in circuses, according to ADI.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico debt rescue plan engulfed in Great Recession ‘bailout’ politics

SURINAME
Islamic bank offers billion-dollar loan to Suriname (emphasis added),

A delegation from the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) has ended a fact finding visit here offering Suriname a loan of US$1.75 billion, Finance Minister Gilmore Hoefdraad has announced.
. . .
Hoefdraad said government was considering the loan and that while projects that will be funded through this loan would be taken through a rigorous selection process, funds would immediately be made available to finance imports of social merchandise, such as basic goods and medicines.
. . .
Hoefdraad said that while the enormity of the loan could be daunting, as it regards 40 per cent of the gross national product (GDP) of Suriname, the money would help the country bridge the economic crisis it is facing.

VENEZUELA
Venezuela turmoil may alter region’s energy landscape



Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Russia, Venezuela Tagged With: Falkland Islands, Fausta's blog, Iguala, Suriname

April 11, 2016 By Fausta

The Peruvian election Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
Cristina Fernández, Ex-Argentine President Fernandez charged with money laundering: media

Mauricio Macri, Panama Papers: Argentina President Macri to go before judge

BOLIVIA
Protesters Reach Accord, Lift Blockade on Main Bolivia Highway

BRAZIL
Brazilian President Rousseff’s Campaign Was Financed with Bribes. Construction Company Executive Reveals Information in Exchange for Reduced Sentence

Brazilian Public Favors New Presidential Election.Poll finds support for new vote if Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer leave office

CHILE
As Graft Cases in Chile Multiply, a ‘Gag Law’ Angers Journalists. A new law would punish anyone who makes public information about current judicial investigations with up to 541 days in prison.

Missing in Chile: What happened to Boris Weisfeiler?

COLOMBIA
Photos: Colombia’s “lost city of marijuana”

CUBA
“Bring out your dead”? Fidel Castro makes first public appearance in almost a year after lambasting US President Barack Obama’s visit to Cuba
-Former Cuban president, 89, makes first public appearance since JulyFidel Castro handed over power to his brother, Raul, in 2008
-Castro survived several assassination attempts by the US over the years
-He recently criticised Obama’s visit to the US and overtures by Americans

Video of Cuban Rafters Reaching US Soil Goes Viral.Viewers See What It’s Like To Flee Castro’s Cuba Successfully

EL SALVADOR
Panama papers: Mossack Fonseca offices in El Salvador raided

FALKLAND ISLANDS
The Argentines are childish stalkers who menace us Falkland Islanders

MEXICO
“Say hello to my leeddle fren”

Secrets of El Chapo’s money laundering scheme revealed: How brokers used nicknames like ‘Tony Montana’ to funnel US cocaine dollars back to cartels in Mexico and Colombia using sophisticated ‘layering’ technique.
-A joint investigation between Miami-Dade authorities and federal investigators led to 22 suspects being charged in money laundering ring.
-The illicit operation involved $1 million a month in drug moneySuspects have links to Colombian cartels and El Chapo’s drug gang.
-Scheme is ‘very sophisticated,’ a federal investigator told Daily Mail Online

GRAPHIC: Mexican Border State Cop Arrested as Hitman for Los Zetas Cartel

Aurelio Nuño Mayer, A young political star in Mexico takes on a major battle: Fixing the nation’s schools. Mexico’s woeful educational system is holding back a growing economy, officials say.

PANAMA
How Panama ended up in the middle of a financial scandal. Panamanians were riding high, with hopes of a financial boon. Then two reporters got ahold of the Panama Papers.

British PM Cameron makes historic move over Panama Papers

PERU
Three dead in attack ahead of Peru election.Suspected leftist rebels in Peru have killed three people in an attack ahead of Sunday’s presidential election

Peru Presidential Candidate Keiko Fujimori Faces Father’s Dual Legacy.Front-runner in Sunday’s vote embraces his law-and-order record while rejecting his authoritarian excesses

Peru election: Keiko Fujimori wins first round, early results say

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico governor declares bank emergency

URUGUAY
Uruguay: at least two years needed to sort out troubled economy — Astori

The debt to GDP ratio is close to 70% and is still expected to increase, according to some independent Uruguayan economists. Meanwhile, the sharp depreciation of the peso on the foreign exchange market — over 60% compared to the dollar in the past three years — has fuelled inflation, which ended 2015 at 10.5%.

VENEZUELA
Venezuela arrests Interpol detective over cocaine haul. Interpol’s chief detective in Venezuela has been arrested over allegations he was involved in shipping 349kg (770lb) of cocaine to the Dominican Republic.

How Nicolás Maduro’s Spy Network Silences the Opposition.Venezuelan Government Taps Phones to Keep Opposition in Check

Un exgeneral del grupo golpista de Chávez como posible sucesor de Maduro, (De peor en mal o al revés) https://t.co/lfJycREIa7

— Álvaro Uribe Vélez (@AlvaroUribeVel) April 10, 2016



Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, cocaine, Colombia, Cuba, El Salvador, Fidel Castro, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Boris Weisfeiler, Falkland Islands, Fausta' blog, Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman

November 30, 2015 By Fausta

The Venezuelan passports Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

The big news of the week: Venezuela is issuing passports, voter registrations, to Hezbollah and Syrians – actual, authentically government-issued yet fraudulent passports and voter registrations.

ARGENTINA
Housecleaning: “Mysterious” Fire Hits Argentine Ministry Of Finance, Destroys Years Of Prior Regime’s Files

NSFW: Grupos kirchneristas habrían “meado” la Catedral de Buenos Aires

BARBUDA
Robert DeNiro’s Caribbean Mega-Resort Met with Opposition from Locals

BOLIVIA
Russian Technical Commission to Plan Bolivia Nuke Project

BRAZIL
Head of Brazil’s Largest Investment Bank and a Senator Arrested in Petrobras Probe. Brazil’s federal police arrested André Esteves, the CEO of Brazil’s largest investment bank, and Sen. Delcidio do Amaral, of the ruling Workers’ Party, in a widening of the Petrobras probe.

Soiling the sea

Vale Acknowledges Toxic Waste in River. Brazilian miner Vale acknowledged for the first time the presence of toxic elements in river water following the disastrous failure of a dam at its Samarco joint venture, two days after a critical U.N. report.

CHILE
Chilean Public Employees to Strike

COLOMBIA
Police Seize over 600 Kilos of Cocaine in Southwestern Colombia, presumably from the FARC.

CUBA
Flood of Cuban “migrants” annoys Latin American neighbors

Assad and Castro Are Simply Glorified Terrorists

ECUADOR
Canada warned against getting entangled in the Chevron Shakedown

U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador: Who Is Todd Chapman?

Ecuadorians Run against Correa’s Trade Barriers. Guayaquil Chamber of Commerce Promotes Commercial Freedom with 5K Race

EL SALVADOR
Targeting The Young: Gangs of El Salvador (Part 4)

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Falkland Islanders celebrate demise of the ‘Botox Queen’ Cristina Kirchner and welcome new president Mauricio Macri. The election of Mauricio Macri to succeed Cristina Kirchner is likely to see Argentina present a friendlier face

HONDURAS
Gang Violence Drives Hondurans Away from Home. The Maras Have Displaced Nearly 174,000 Hondurans in a Decade

IMMIGRATION
Number of Migrants Illegally Crossing Rio Grande Rises Sharply

Whistleblower: Many Unaccompanied Migrant Children Placed in Care of Criminals

JAMAICA
Jamaican lottery scammer to spend 20 years in US prison

LATIN AMERICA
Focusing on Latin America Is Essential in 2016

MEXICO
Houston-area former Marine released after being detained with children in Mexico

NICARAGUA
What did I tell you? $50bn Nicaragua canal postponed as Chinese tycoon’s fortunes falter. Environments concerns and Chinese stock market woes mean world’s biggest canal project will not begin for at least another year

PANAMA
Again, Panama canal expansion could suffer new delay – spokesman

PARAGUAY
Official sacked for ‘kicking’ woman. The president of Paraguay fires the head of the country’s indigenous affairs office after he kicks an indigenous woman.

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico among Caribbean islands under scrutiny amid pesticide poisoning concerns. Use of banned pesticide not isolated event in US territories

VENEZUELA
Violence breaks out as election season gets going in Venezuela

  • The country’s opposition reports five attacks, two at gunpoint, against its candidates
  • Lilian Tintori, wife of imprisoned leader Leopoldo López, says her life is in danger

FARC Find Big Business in Smuggling Cattle from Venezuela. FARC Profit from Venezuela’s Border Closure, Smuggle Livestock

Reuters: In Venezuela, a tree named “Revolution” wilts from disease



Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, FARC, Honduras, Jamaica, Latin America, Mexico, MS-13, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Venezuela Tagged With: Barbuda, Falkland Islands, Fausta' blog, HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co., Nicaragua canal

October 26, 2015 By Fausta

The Argentinian election Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Argentinians voted yesterday. There will be a runoff, Scioli vs Macri (more on that later today).

New Scrutiny on Vote Buying as Argentine Elections Near. The practice, which is not illegal, was called a scourge last month in local voting, but raises questions about the frailty of the nation’s democracy.

Is it the end of Kirchnerismo and the start of saner economic policies? There are No Easy Economic Options for Argentina’s Next President.Winner of Sunday’s election will be forced to make unpopular moves to keep inflation-ridden economy ticking

Argentina Election Won’t Make Investors Rush In. International community won’t be wooed easily amid recent retreat from emerging market debt

ARGENTINA
In time for the election, Nisman is being accused of being a spy:
Alberto Nisman: Was prosecutor killed while investigating 1994 bombing of Jewish centre in Buenos Aires moonlighting for the FBI?Exclusive: A new book claims US security services abandoned Mr Nisman as he was about to reveal President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s alleged attempts to cover up Iran’s involvement in the atrocity

Alberto Nisman ‘was working for the FBI’Argentina gripped by a new book which claims that Alberto Nisman, the terrorism prosecutor found dead in January, was working for the Americans

America ‘refused to hand over emails sent by Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman’ before his death. A new book claims the prosecutor, who was found dead earlier this year, was secretly a contact for the FBI. Money quote:

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the president, has laughed at suggestions that she orchestrated his death and instead argues that he was murdered by rogue spies who used him to discredit her, and then killed him.

As they said forty-one years ago, Silence is health.

BOLIVIA
Bolivian Court OKs Vote on Allowing Presidents to Serve 3 Terms

El exembajador chavista que se convirtió en alto ejecutivo ferroviario en Bolivia. No era una imagen que sorprendía a nadie. Sentado junto a Evo Morales en un sinfín de actos públicos aparecía Julio Montes, el delegado de Hugo Chávez en Bolivia. Chavista former ambassador became high-placed railroad executive in Bolivia.

BRAZIL
Brazil Begins Major Security Operation on Northwestern Border

Operation Agata 10 is targeting environmental crimes, illegal trafficking of timber, drug smuggling and illegal fishing along the 10,000 kilometers (6,215 miles) of Brazil’s border with Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Suriname and Guyana, the ministry said in a statement.

CHILE
Damage control in Chile. Michelle Bachelet’s reluctant retreat towards the centre

Chile grants same-sex couples civil partnership licenses. New law took effect on Thursday following more than a decade of congressional debate over gay marriage

COLOMBIA
Colombia Forces Kill 9 ELN Guerrillas

“Peace without justice benefits only the terrorist leaders, otherwise it’s unstable and engenders more violence. Let’s support the Centro Democrático.”

Paz sin justicia solo beneficia a cabecillas terroristas, de resto es inestable y genera más violencia. Apoyemos al Centro Democrático

— Álvaro Uribe Vélez (@AlvaroUribeVel) October 24, 2015

COSTA RICA
New ferry to connect Costa Rica-El Salvador starting in January

CUBA
Castro Pocketed WHO Funds Destined for Ebola Health Workers

This also violates international labor and human trafficking covenants.

And yet, some still advocate for “dictator-down-economics.”

Apartheid-loving tourists have their fun spoiled by an unruly drunk

Cuba frees ‘prisoner of conscience’. Graffiti artist “El Sexto” was jailed for 10 months after he painted “Fidel” and “Raúl” on pigs to satirize Cuba’s leaders.

CUBAN TROOPS IN SYRIA: ANOTHER FOREIGN POLICY CRISIS

It's not in vain that Ricardo Cabrisas came to Moscow today. Russia's coming back to Cuba with its industry (cont) https://t.co/QjrwYTyulK

— Dmitry Rogozin (@DRogozin) October 22, 2015

ECUADOR
Ecuador’s president literally wants to fight a politician who criticized him, but it came to naught.

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Promises, promises: Argentina’s presidential hopeful promises better relations with Britain over the Falklands. Exclusive: Mauricio Macri will not appoint a ‘Falklands Minister’ if elected and will work to defrost Argentina’s relations with Britain, his foreign policy chief tells The Telegraph

GUATEMALA
Guatemala’s Presidential Hopefuls Exit the Final Debate as They Went In.Lack of Confrontation, New Plans Leaves Sandra Torres in Catch-Up Mode

MEXICO
Mexico Outdoes the United States for Deporting Central Americans. Southern Border Plan Ushers in 25% More Arrests, 200% More Checks

Patricia, Strongest Landfalling Pacific Hurricane on Record, Downgraded to Tropical Depression

Mexican police uncover secret drug tunnel used by ‘El Chapo’s’ cartel. The 800-meter-long passageway runs under the US-Mexican border from Tijuana

PANAMA
Panama reaffirms open date for widening. All signs point to April startup for expansion of the Panama Canal, agency says. (subscription)

PARAGUAY
Investigation into Paraguay Ex-President Reflects Regional Trend

PERU
Prosecutor: Peru army officer got $10K per cocaine planeload

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico: The Progressive Utopia is Here Now | Scott Ott Thought

URUGUAY
Uruguay’s Mujica to Step Away from Senate, but Not from Public Life

VENEZUELA
Franklin Nieves, the prosecutor in Leopoldo Lopez’s trial, has fled the country, and, a day late and a dollar short (emphasis added),

In a video sent Friday to the Venezuelan news website La Patilla, Nieves said he fled Venezuela with his family to escape pressure from the executive branch and his superiors to stand by while “false evidence” is used to keep an innocent Lopez in jail during the appeals process. He said he would soon present evidence to demonstrate that Lopez’s trial was a premediated “farce.”

Speaking of dollars, Venezuela Central Bank sues US-based DolarToday website

It accuses the website of cyberterrorism and says its managers are sowing economic chaos in Venezuela.

The central bank requested both an injunction and damages, accusing the site’s managers of fanning inflation in the country.

It’s always somebody else’s fault, Organized crime:At least half of the homicides that occur in Venezuela are tied to the organized crime but individuals fail to perceive that, a study found



Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Rafael Correa, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Alberto Nisman, Andrés Páez, El Sexto, Falkland Islands, Fausta's blog, Jose Mujica, Julio Montes, Leopoldo López, Pepe Mujica

August 31, 2015 By Fausta

The cone of uncertainty Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
Ariel Velázquez: Young Activist’s Murder Becomes Political Football in ArgentinaAs Elections Near, Rival Parties Rush to Claim Slain 20-Year-Old as Their Own

Insight – Manufacturers in Argentina starved of dollars ahead of election, hurting output

BOLIVIA
Oil Exploration Campaign Kicks Off in Bolivia’s Amazon Region

BRAZIL
Río de Janeiro bars poor black youths from its most famous beachesPolice arrest slum youngsters en route to Ipanema and Copacabana in bid to fight theft

Brazil’s Recession Marks The Beginning Of A Long, Painful Contraction: Argentina, Venezuela, Rest Of Latin America Could Be Affected

Head of Brazilian State Bank Rebuts Accusations against Lula

CHILE
Clashes erupt as truck drivers protest arson attacks

COLOMBIA
The more you give them, the more they want: FARC Slams Santos-Backed Plans for Implementing Possible Colombia Peace Deal

Colombia will face 10 years of economic slowdown, analysts predict

CUBA
Human rights activists fear arrest ahead of Pope’s visit to Cuba

When Was This Cuba Story Written?, Pt. 2

DOMINICA
Tropical storm Erika heads for Florida after killing 20 on island of Dominica

ECUADOR
Sweden and Ecuador to begin Julian Assange talks next weekEcuador seeking formal agreement on judicial cooperation before Swedish prosecutors can interrogate WikiLeaks founder

FALKLAND ISLANDS
Britain orders £46m air defence radar to protect Falklands from ArgentinaThe new vehicle-mounted radar will be able to spot threats up to 75 miles away and the first systems will be delivered before the end of the year

GUATEMALA
Guatemalans Rally Against PresidentTens of thousands of Guatemalans took to the streets Thursday to demand that President Otto Perez resign, amid the country’s biggest political crisis since the end of the civil war nearly two decades ago.

MEXICO
Mexican Film Defrocks the Political Pimping of a Massacre
Young Idealists Serve as Cannon Fodder in Petty Power Struggles

HUMAN SMUGGLING, KIDNAPPING, SLAVERY AND EXTORTION RING BUSTED IN TEXAS

PANAMA
Panama Canal suspends planned draft restriction due to recent rains

PARAGUAY
11-year-old Paraguay rape victim has baby, stokes abortion debate

PERU
The Fascinating Afterlife of Peru’s MummiesFrom atop bejeweled thrones and sacred mountaintops, the Inca dead continued to wield incredible power over the living

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico bond deadlines loom: What you need to know

URUGUAY
Ten things you never knew about… UruguayToday is Independence Day in Uruguay, celebrating the country’s independence from the Brazilian Empire on August 25, 1825.

VENEZUELA
Woman, 80, trampled to death in Venezuelan supermarket stampedeRush for subsidized goods sees 75 people injured as thousands besiege supermarket

Scapegoating: Crime in VenezuelaJustice decayedThe government wrongly blames Colombia for its high murder rate

The government has paved the way by allowing the institutions of law enforcement to decay. The police force is underfunded and mistrusted. Venezuela has many fewer prosecutors and judges than it should. Chile, a country with much lower levels of violent crime, has a third more prosecutors than Venezuela in relation to the size of its population. Courts are reluctant to sentence criminals to serve time in crowded and violent jails: 90% of murders go unpunished. Gun control is weak.

And it all came to that

The week’s posts:
Brazil and other fallen BRICs

Why the knives are out on Menendez

Cuba: Getting Gitmo closed

What about the Trump/Ramos thing?

Argentina: The #tucumanazo, stories of a fraud foretold?

Heading to the World Meeting of Families in a VW bus . . . all the way from Buenos Aires

Crisis at the Venezuela-Colombia border

Bolivia: What’s with the proposed nuclear plant?

Brazil: Cunha charged with corruption and money laundering

En español: Los spots de campaña de Sergio Massa

Bolivia: The catch in the numbers

Puerto Rico: Don’t expect payment anytime soon

"The cone of uncertainty": metereological term, metaphor for existence

— Fausta (@Fausta) August 29, 2015



Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Latin America, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: Ariel Velázquez, Falkland Islands, Fausta's blog, Julian Assange

August 21, 2015 By Fausta

The Falklands: Pope Francis, what fresh hell can this be? UPDATED

After the pontiff took home the Communist crucifix, I borrow Dorothy Parker’s question to ask him, Pope Francis, what fresh hell can this be?

Pope Francis poses with ‘dialogue for Malvinas’ sign
Pope Francis poses with a propaganda sign calling for “dialogue” between Britain and Argentina

“It is time for dialogue between Argentina and the United Kingdom about the Falkland Islands“

Argentina’s rulers for decades have used the Falklands as a propaganda tool by which they can distract from the dictatorship, the economic situation, the poverty, the corruption, the “silence is health” mentality. The Falklanders have confirmed their right to self-determination by overwhelmingly voting to remain British in a March 2013 referendum.

Cristina Fernandez, whom the pope has hosted at least five times since his ascension to the papacy, is particularly fervid on the Falklands (a subject dear to Hugo Chavez, her 21st Century Socialism compadre) also because of new oil findings on Falklands territory. There’s even a Twitter hashtag,

Gustavo Hoyo, director of the “dialogue” movement, has been tweeting pictures of ordinary Argentines and well-known faces holding the placard.

By holding the sign, Francis has now joined in the propaganda, on the 50th anniversary of the UN’s Decolonization Committe resolution asking for dialogue, just as Cristina ramps up the rhetoric as the October 25 election looms.

Sure enough, Cristina tweeted it,

#MalvinasArgentinas @Pontifex_es pic.twitter.com/vxewfUd1rS

— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) August 19, 2015

What a tool you are, Francis.

UPDATE:
Mercopress says the pope’s not a tool, but a clueless fool,

“The Holy Father did not even realise he had this object in his hands. He has discovered this just now after seeing the photograph,” Father Ciro Benedettini said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Interesting how so many have to explain “what Francis really meant” after the fact.

“Nobody takes Francis by surprise”, tweets Cristina:

A Francisco nadie lo toma por sorpresa @Pontifex_es #MalvinasArgentinas pic.twitter.com/s32nrP0qIt

— Cristina Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) August 21, 2015

Share

Filed Under: Argentina, Catholic Church, Pope Francis I Tagged With: Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Falkland Islands, Fausta' blog

July 28, 2015 By Fausta

Argentina: Tokyo Rose does the Falklands?

During WWII, Japanese propaganda tried to demoralize American soldiers serving in the Pacific,

Alas, Argentina is broadcasting to the Falklands,

. . . the broadcasts were an attempt to “break the media siege” around the islands, where Argentine TV signals cannot penetrate, and “guarantee the inhabitants a right to information in the English language.”

Information broadcast to the “English-speaking Argentinians” in previous editions included stories about trade surpluses, transgender rights and many, many more stories on how wonderful President Kirchner is.

Nick Hallett calls it,

Irrelevant, uninteresting and sometimes even unintelligible, the “Boletín Malvinas” – a product of Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior (RAE) – is a textbook example of how not to do effective propaganda.

The show may have been going two years, but there is little evidence it has had any effect, or that anyone is indeed listening. Taking a listen to recent editions, it is easy to see why.

It broadcasts at midnight, or, as Nick puts it, “when most islanders are presumably in bed.”

I nominate Lanata’s show (in Spanish) as the antidote,

Lanata’s latest is on the Mercosur parliament, or Parlasur.



Share

Filed Under: Argentina, propaganda Tagged With: Falkland Islands, Fausta's blog, Jorge Lanata

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 7
  • Next Page »
Tweets by @Fausta
retirees_raise-2015_300x250

Pages

  • About
  • Email

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Previous Posts

  • Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • You need to unfriend me
  • Go ahead and Kiss the Girl, if you dare
  • Ashamed

Recent Comments

  • John on Mrs. Maisel goes full Alinsky on Mrs. Schlafly
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! – PoliticalWitchDoctor.com on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Today’s hot topics: Democrats’ collusion shift, tax-return rift, Venezuela drift, and more! - AmericanTruthToday on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Did Venezuela’s Minister of Defense Back Out At The Last Minute? on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?
  • Roseanne Not Back, Khan not Invited, Operaman’s back, Jobs back, Fausta’s back (but not here yet) Thoughts under the fedora – Da Tech Guy Blog on Venezuela: Did the Minister of Defense back out at the last minute?

Archives

  • 2019
    • December 2019
    • May 2019
    • January 2019
  • 2018
    • December 2018
    • October 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
  • 2017
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
  • 2016
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
  • 2015
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
  • 2014
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
  • 2013
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
  • 2012
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
  • 2011
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
  • 2010
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
  • 2009
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
  • 2008
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
    • June 2008
    • May 2008
    • April 2008
    • March 2008
    • February 2008
    • January 2008
  • 2007
    • December 2007
    • November 2007
    • October 2007
    • September 2007
    • August 2007
    • July 2007
    • June 2007
    • May 2007
    • April 2007
    • March 2007
    • February 2007
    • January 2007
  • 2006
    • December 2006
    • November 2006
    • October 2006
    • September 2006
    • August 2006
    • July 2006
    • June 2006
    • May 2006
    • April 2006
    • March 2006
    • February 2006
    • January 2006
  • 2005
    • December 2005
    • November 2005
    • October 2005
    • September 2005
    • August 2005
    • July 2005
    • June 2005
    • May 2005
    • April 2005
    • March 2005
    • February 2005
    • January 2005
  • 2004
    • December 2004
    • November 2004
    • October 2004
    • September 2004
    • August 2004
    • July 2004
    • June 2004
    • May 2004
    • April 2004
    • March 2004
Content Copyright Fausta's Blog

Site Developed and Managed by 300m.com