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American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Paraguay: Riots over re-election proposal

Riots are breaking out in Paraguay over President Horacio Cartes’s proposed change to the country’s Constitution, which would allow him to run for re-election,

Cartes is seeking to amend the constitution to enable himself to run for office again in 2018 after his current term ends.

Removing the ban would also allow left-wing former president Fernando Lugo to run again. He held power from 2008 to 2012, when he was removed after an impeachment trial.

After the Senate sidestepped opposition resistance and approved the bill, it was due to be voted on Saturday in the Chamber of Deputies, where the president has a majority.

The Paraguayan Congress building was set on fire on Sunday, over the proposed change,

Protesters in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion stormed the National Congress building following a day of rallies in anger at the senators’ closed-door vote allowing President Horacio Cartes to run for re-election.

Opposition party youth leader Rodrigo Quintana died of severe injuries after being shot by police at his organization’s office. The Guardian reports,

Forensic investigators found that Quintana died as a result of lead shotgun pellets penetrating his lungs.

Video below the fold,

[Read more…]

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The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
Newton’s Third Law at work:
For every action Argentina reiterates claim to Falklands, there is an equal and opposite reaction Falklands MPs reject Argentina’s claim to islands

Argentina Said to Revise Nuclear Pact With China to Favor U.S.

BAHAMAS
An Island in the Bahamas Where Pigs Swim Free. On Big Major Cay, tourists and pigs play together on the sand and in the water.

BOLIVIA
China’s Sinosteel Signs Contract for Mill at Bolivia Iron-Ore Mine

BRAZIL
Brazil’s Vice President Michel Temer Aims Higher. Having led his party out of President Dilma Rousseff’s embattled government, former ally turns foe and angles for presidency

Brazil Investigator Alleges Connection Between Murder and Corruption Scandal. Judge Sergio Moro alleges money siphoned from Petrobras may have been used to cover up death of Celso Daniel

In January 2002, Mr. Daniel, the former mayor of Santo André, a suburb of São Paulo, was found shot to death a few days after being kidnapped. Six men were convicted and sentenced to prison, but the case has been reopened and closed several times since.

Mr. Moro on Friday alleged funds siphoned from the state-owned oil company at the center of the complex web of bribery and coverups, Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, could have been used to pay hush money related to Mr. Daniel’s murder.

Brazil Court Crimps Judge’s Probe. Sergio Moro’s aggressive probe of a bid-rigging-and-bribery scheme at state oil company Petrobras has put him in open conflict with President Dilma Rousseff—and made him a star to her many detractors.

CHILE
Bolivia Suing Chile at The Hague over Water Dispute

COLOMBIA
Thousands protest government handling of peace process in Colombia

Colombia unsure about hostage numbers before talks with ELN rebels

CUBA
Cuba After Obama Left

Obama’s Cuban Disgrace

This Is Not the Path to Cuban Freedom

In Cuba, image is king – whatever horrors lurk beneath it

Hypocrisy update of the day: Castro regime seeks reparations for slave trade

ECUADOR
Kiwi drug accused Scott Elliott speaks of ‘dreadful situation’ in Ecuadorian jail

JAMAICA
Jamaica, Beyond the Beach. The nation is recasting itself as a glamour and eco-tourism destination, but its African-inflected culture is what lulls you.

MEXICO
Argentine Experts Question Report on Missing Mexico Students

NICARAGUA
Miami Fugitive on Run for 20 Years Found in Nicaragua

PARAGUAY
Can Paraguay Escape Decades of Despotism, Ineptitude, and Corruption? Despite promising one of the biggest turnaround stories in the southern hemisphere, President Horacio Cartes has more work to do.

PERU
The drug mule’s makeover: Incredible transformation of ‘Peru Two’ Brit as she shows off new blonde hair and smarter, slimmer look in first interview since leaving jail for smuggling £1.5million of cocaine

PUERTO RICO
Why Puerto Rico’s super restructuring is bad policy

VENEZUELA
Venezuela’s Economy, As Told by A Hot Dog. Like the Famous Venezuelan Hot Dog Pepito, the Chavista-made Economic Crisis Comes in Layers



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The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

LatinAmerARGENTINA
Fifty ways to screw your country: Argentina Applies Law That Jails Hoarders as Bread Surges

Mothers will now collect welfare money instead of fathers in Argentina

BOLIVIA
Michael Moynihan brings out the big stick: Edward Snowden’s Parasites: Evo Morales, Julian Assange & More
The NSA drama has reeled in a host of global grandstanders desperate for relevancy. Michael Moynihan on the Bolivian farce, the WikiLeaks sideshow, and other yanqui ‘victims.’

Russia’s Plan Bolivia – drug wars and oil

McDonald’s closing all restaurants in Bolivia as nation rejects fast food

BRAZIL
Ever wonder why 21st century socialism is winning so many hearts and minds in Latrine America?

Custody case strands Mass. mom, child in Brazil

Getting Brazil on a winning streak

Brazil’s State-Made Crisis

Brazilian Students Dig for Corruption
Student protesters at a public university in Rio de Janeiro are teaching each other how to expose data about the city’s transport system:

CHILE
Post-Coup Egypt’s Only Way Out Is The Chilean Model

COLOMBIA
‘World’s biggest cocaine dealer’ deported to Italy

COSTA RICA
You have to pass it to know what’s in it? Costa Rica ‘accidentally’ legalises gay marriage
Conservative lawmakers voted for the bill to pass but later realised that a change in the language could allow gay marriage.

CUBA
Fewer political arrests in Cuba in June, but nothing has changed

1964 and the day we left in Cuba

18 members of Cuba’s Ladies in White resign over alleged infiltrator (h/t Babalu)

ECUADOR
Julian Ku and George Conway: When Corporate Defendants Go on Offense
How an $18 billion judgment against Chevron in Ecuador turned into a battle royal with a top U.S. law firm.

GRENADA
2013 Budget Statement; the country is broke

GUATEMALA
Gangs Target Bus Drivers in Guatemala

JAMAICA
The Shetlander who mapped Jamaica

LATIN AMERICA
Iran in Latin America: State Department Ignores Allies

Indeed, the report paints a rosy picture, suggesting that Iran’s influence in the Western Hemisphere is in decline. This narrative is contradicted by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper’s testimony last year warning about Iranian ambitions to establish operations in the Americas and strike the continental United States.

Additionally, the general prosecutor of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) bombings in Buenos Aires, Alberto Nisman, issued a report that directly conflicts with the State Department’s narrative. An intense multi-year investigation went into Nisman’s report, which detailed how Iran and Iranian agents have used their assets in the Western Hemisphere to conduct terrorist actions against the United States and its friends and allies. For example, the AMIA building in Buenos Aires was destroyed in 1994 by Iranian-backed terrorists. In 2011, Iranian intelligence agents attempted to coordinate with Mexican drug cartels to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States on American soil.

Nisman’s report painstakingly details how Iran has also been engaged in a widespread effort to infiltrate governments and public institutions throughout the Western Hemisphere. These outposts work toward radicalizing individuals across Latin America, destabilizing U.S. allies in the region, and influencing regional governments.

MEXICO
‘No me importa’: You get the feeling that the Mexican government does not care about “Fast & Furious”!

Mexican Police Chief Was Killed By ATF “Fast And Furious” Rifle

PARAGUAY
Cartes changing Mercosur position

PERU
Make sure you have your visas: Driving the Interoceanic Highway Through Peru
Ten days of hairpin turns, Inca cities, horseback rides and high-altitude villages along South America’s Route 66.

PUERTO RICO
US pledges $2.25M to help improve traffic safety in Puerto Rico

VENEZUELA
He better bring his own toilet paper: Maduro offers Snowden the world and the sun.

The week’s posts and podcast:
Cuba: The British man falsely accused of spying

Where oh where will Edward Snowden go?

Venezuela: A circus without a ringmaster

Ecuador: The curious case of the combative consul

Note to Cristina: Don’t drink and tweet!

Fukuyama on Brazil’s demonstrations

Putin, Maduro, and Snowden: A deal in the making?

Row, row . . . the Amazon?

Podcast:
The Babalu Blog @ 10 plus US-Latin America stories


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