Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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



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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

February 9, 2015 By Fausta

The dropping helicopters Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

The Indian helicopters that Ecuador bought keep falling off the sky, but the bigger story is Iran’s continued presence in the region.

ARGENTINA
China to supply Argentina five “Malvinas Class” offshore patrol vessels
Argentine president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is expected to sign agreements with China to increase military co-operation, including construction of new warships for the Argentine Navy, during her current state visit to Beijing, according to media reports and Jane’s Defense Weekly.

Argentinian president to write letter to Mia Farrow over tweets
Fernández will write letters to the actress and Martina Navratilova in response to tweets about the mysterious death of a federal prosecutor

Death of prosecutor leaves Argentina’s Jewish community angry and distrustful
The mysterious death of Alberto Nisman, who was investigating a 1994 terrorist attack, has alarmed many Jews but others warn against over-simplifying the case

BOLIVIA
Stranger in a Strange Land: An Internship Gone Bad

BRAZIL
Rio carnival downsizing and another cancelled as Brazil feels the pinch
Brazil is tightening its purse strings ahead of the 2016 Olympics and carnivals across the country are downsizing or have been cancelled

CHILE
Chile’s Bachelet Renews Bid to Legalize Abortion
Religious Groups Prepare to Fight Proposed Exemptions

COLOMBIA
Colombia’s FARC rebels invite Miss Universe to attend peace talks
Newly crowned beauty queen Paulina Vega Rebels surprised after being invited to assist guerillas’ peace negotiations with the government.

CUBA
A Tally of What Cuba Owes the World

FPI Bulletin: More Questions than Answers at Cuba Hearings

ECUADOR
Jorge Zabala presenta denuncia ante Consejo de la Judicatura
Posibilidad de fraude procesal, alerta defensor de los hermanos Isaías

Ecuador Grapples With Grounded Freighter
Ecuador has declared a 180-day state of emergency in the protected Galápagos Islands, while it continues to unload and work toward refloating a freighter that ran aground last week.

GUATEMALA
Guatemala volcano eruption forces evacuations
Fuego volcano belches black ash, forcing 100 residents to be moved out and closing the capital’s international airport

IMMIGRATION
Obama administration issues 5.5M work permits to non-citizens; critics call it ‘shadow’ immigration system

POPE FRANCIS: APPLY RULE OF LAW WHEN DEALING WITH IMMIGRANTS

MEXICO
Experts question Mexican investigation of 43 students’ disappearance
Argentinian forensic team hired on behalf of students’ parents says government presented biased analyses of the scientific evidence

Two US Army Vets Missing In Mexican Border City With Raging Cartel War

Conflict of interest in Mexico
A false start
Mixed messages in a new anti-corruption campaign

MISERY INDEX
The five most miserable countries in the world at the end of 2014 are, in order: Venezuela, Argentina, Syria, Ukraine, and Iran.

NICARAGUA
Can a Chinese billionaire build a canal across Nicaragua? Depends on who else is backing him up.

PANAMA
Panama Becomes First Latin American Nation to Join Coalition Against ISIS

PERU
Peru’s no-convictions politician
A failed labour reform exposes the limits of pragmatism

PUERTO RICO
It’s called “rule of law”: Puerto Rico Restructuring Law Thrown Out in Bondholder Win

Investment funds of Franklin Resources Inc. and OppenheimerFunds Inc., which hold more than $1.5 billion in bonds issued by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, convinced a federal judge in San Juan that bankruptcy law and the U.S. Constitution trump the commonwealth’s legislation.

The law, passed under threat of a fiscal emergency, would have allowed public utilities such as the power authority, or Prepa, to negotiate with bondholders to reduce their debt loads, potentially forcing investors to accept unfavorable terms, according to the funds’ complaint.

URUGUAY
Uruguay questioned Iranian diplomat over fake bomb near Israeli embassy
Convincing-looking dummy bomb detonated outside Montevideo offices
Iranian ambassador summoned to Uruguayan foreign office in December
Diplomat denied any connection but has now left country

Jose Mujica Was Every Liberal’s Dream President. He Was Too Good to Be True.
He spoke truth to power, and legalized marijuana and abortion. So why are Uruguay’s progressives so disappointed?

VENEZUELA
Venezuela accuses UK of smuggling ‘spy glasses’ into trial of opposition leader
Leopoldo Lopez’s father says it was he, not a British diplomat, who brought in the video glasses, but prosecutor claims there was collusion with the family

Nelson Mandela’s Lawyer on a Mission for Leopoldo’s Release
Irwin Cotler Joins Imprisoned Opponent’s Defense Team amid Human-Rights Row

Running Out of Time: Dimming Prospects for Reform in Venezuela

Venezuela Maduro: State seizes supermarket chain

The week’s posts and podcast:
Separated at birth?

Sunday evening tango: Mario Bournissen & Laura Rusconi

Uruguay: Iranian diplomat expelled after bomb explosion near Israeli embassy

Argentina: And now the spy is missing

Moral equivalence strikes again

Cuba: Next, O will give away Gitmo

Colombia: Is that a Russian RPG in your pocket?

China: Cristina’s twit UPDATED

Argentina: #Nisman is front-page news at the NYT

Argentina: Nisman wanted Cristina’s arrest UPDATE

50 Shades of meh

At Da Tech Guy Blog:
A few thoughts about Bruce Jenner

Univision plays the world’s smallest violin

Podcast:
On Silvio Canto‘s

[Post corrected for html errors]



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Filed Under: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Carnival of Latin America, Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala, illegal immigration, immigration, Latin America, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela Tagged With: #Ayotzinapa, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Día a Día, Farmatodo, Fausta's blog, Irwin Cotler, Jose Mujica, Leopoldo López, Martina Navratilova, Mia Farrow, Misery index, Nicaragua canal, Ollanta Humala, Pepe Mujica, Pope Francis I

November 7, 2014 By Fausta

He can have my Volvo for US$500,000

Soon-to-be-former Uruguayan president Pepe Mujica claims that an unnamed Arab sheik (who must have been smoking the Uruguayan government’s most famous crop) has offered to buy Mujica’s VW Beetle for US$1million:
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica receives $1m offer for his blue Beetle
The leader says that an Arab sheikh wanted to buy the car which has become a symbol of his humble style

he joked that he did not sell it because of his dog Manuela, famous for only having three legs.

Yeah, right.


The Love Bug

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Filed Under: cars, Uruguay Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Jose Mujica, Pepe Mujica

October 27, 2014 By Fausta

Elections: No change in Brazil, Uruguay

First Uruguay: Same old, same old, in age and in politics,
Since Pepe Mujica could not run for a second term according to the Uruguayan Constitution, an election took place yesterday, which now goes to a runoff

Leftist ruling coalition candidate Tabare Vazquez led Uruguay’s presidential election on Sunday but he fell short of a first-round victory and will go to a runoff vote next month with the country’s pioneering marijuana bill hanging in the balance.

Vazquez of the Broad Front coalition said as results trickled in that the race would go to a second round and he is likely to face a nerve-jangling contest against young center-right opposition candidate, Luis Lacalle Pou.

Exit polls showed Vazquez winning 44-46 percent of the vote compared with 31-33 percent for Lacalle Pou of the National Party.

The 74 year old Vazquez first was president in 2005, and it looks like he’s going for a rerun. Lacalle Pou is 41.

Also going for a rerun, Brazilians choose to remain “the country of the future”:
Brazil Sticks With Statism
Odds are that the country’s reputation for economic mediocrity is safe for another four years.

Neither Lula nor Ms. Rousseff seem to care about development. According to Goldman Sachs , from 2004-13 government spending grew at almost 8% a year, in real terms, which was more than twice the rate of GDP growth. Inflation is now 7% year-over-year on prices for goods and services not regulated by price controls and 8.6% for services alone. Inflationary expectations are rising.
…
More worrying is the damage the PT might do to institutions and the rule of law over another 48 months. Civil society here jealously guards civil liberties and pluralism. But as one astute businessman told me, “We are noticing, bit by bit, a trend toward copying Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador. The tendency is to reduce democracy.” One example is Ms. Rousseff’s May decree empowering “popular councils,” which would move the country away from representative democracy à la Venezuela. Congress has so far refused to approve the measure but if the usual vote-buying goes on, that may change.

To celebrate, Dilma wore a suit that matched the drapes and her politics,

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Filed Under: Brazil, elections, Uruguay Tagged With: Aécio Neves, Dilma Rousseff, Fausta's blog, Jose Mujica, Luis Lacalle Pou, Pepe Mujica, Tabare Vazquez

May 26, 2014 By Fausta

Uruguay: High hopes

Uruguay Has Big Hopes for Pot Industry
Uruguay hopes that its status as the only country to fully regulate the cannabis industry will turn it into a magnet for investment in medical and other applications of the plant

No word as to whether Uruguay hopes that its status as the only country to fully regulate the cannabis industry will turn it into a magnet for investment in the snack food industry.

Cheetos, anyone?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch . . .


President Mujica makes a sartorial statement.

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Filed Under: business, drugs, Uruguay Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Jose Mujica, marijuana, Pepe Mujica

November 30, 2009 By Fausta

Honduras: Porfirio Lobo elected new president

Porfirio-Lobo-001

In today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern,
Honduras elects Porfirio Lobo as new president
Rival Elvin Santos concedes defeat as ousted president, Manuel Zelaya, declares vote illegitimate

Profile of Porfirio Lobo (in Spanish).

Electoral map results at El Heraldo.

La Gringa‘s election day post.

In other presidential elections in the hemisphere, Uruguay elected a former Tupamaro:
“Pepe” Mujica es el nuevo presidente de Uruguay
Mujica, dirigente histórico de la guerrilla Movimiento de Liberación Nacional-Tupamaros (MLN-T), recibió nueve balazos, estuvo preso en 1970 y participó en una masiva fuga en setiembre de 1971.

UPDATE
Mary O’Grady at the Wall Street Journal:
In Elections, Honduras Defeats Chávez
The tiny country beats back the colonial aspirations of its neighbors.

Mr. Zelaya had already showed his hand when he organized a mob to try to carry out a June 28 popular referendum so that he could cancel the elections and remain in office. That was unlawful, and he was arrested by order of the Supreme Court and later removed from power by Congress for violating the constitution.

It is less well-known that as president, according to an electoral-council official I interviewed in Tegucigalpa two weeks ago, Mr. Zelaya had refused to transfer the budgeted funds—as required by law—to the council for its preparatory work. In other words, he didn’t want a free election.

Mr. Chávez didn’t want one either. During the Zelaya government the country had become a member of Mr. Chávez’s Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), which includes Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua. If power changed hands, Honduran membership would be at risk.

Last week a government official told me that Honduran intelligence has learned that Mr. Zelaya had made preparations to welcome all the ALBA presidents to the country the night of his planned June referendum. Food for a 10,000-strong blowout celebration, the official added, was on order.

ALBA has quite a bit of clout at the Organization of American States (OAS) these days, and it hasn’t been hard for Mr. Chávez to control Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. The Chilean socialist desperately wants to be re-elected to his OAS post in 2010. Only a month before Mr. Zelaya was deposed, Mr. Insulza led the effort to lift the OAS membership ban on Cuba. When Mr. Zelaya was deposed, Mr. Insulza dutifully took up his instructions sent from Caracas to quash Honduran sovereignty.

Unfortunately for him, the leftist claims that Honduras could not hold fair elections flew in the face of the facts. First, the candidates were chosen in November 2008 primaries with observers from the OAS, which judged the process to be “transparent and participative.” Second, all the presidential candidates—save one from a small party on the extreme left—wanted the elections to go forward. Third, though Mr. Insulza insisted on calling the removal of Mr. Zelaya a “military coup,” the military had never taken charge of the government. And finally, the independent electoral tribunal, chosen by congress before Mr. Zelaya was removed, was continuing with the steps required to fulfill its constitutional mandate to conduct the vote. In the aftermath of the elections Mr. Insulza, who insisted that the group would not recognize the results, presides over a discredited OAS.

Additionally,

Almost 400 foreign observers from Japan, Europe, Latin America and the U.S. traveled to Honduras for yesterday’s elections. Peru, Costa Rica, Panama, the German parliament and Japan will also recognize the vote. The outpouring of international support demonstrates that Hondurans were never as alone these past five months as they thought. A good part of the world backs their desire to save their democracy from chavismo and to live in liberty.

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Filed Under: Blog Talk Radio, elections, Honduras, Latin America, Uruguay Tagged With: Fausta's blog, Manuel Zelaya, Mel Zelaya, Pepe Lobo, Pepe Mujica, Porfirio Lobo, Roberto Micheletti

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