American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture
This time in Nigeria,
As you may recall, Petrobras to pay $2.95 billion to settle U.S. corruption lawsuit earlier this year.
The Pemex-Odebrecht cases are still in the headlines.
And who could forget the UN’s oil-for-food?
It’s enough to make one suspect that government-owned and UN-connected agencies are ripe for the picking.
Without further comment,
Brazilian oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, plans to request part of the record anticorruption settlement that construction company Odebrecht SA signed earlier this week with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities.
Petrobras has said it was the victim of the vast bid-rigging and kickbacks scheme that Odebrecht admitted to helping run. Investigators say the graft ring, which included a group of builders, cost Brazilian taxpayers and Petrobras shareholders an estimated $13 billion.
After months of negotiations, Odebrecht agreed Wednesday to pay between $2.6 billion and $4.5 billion to Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities over 23 years, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, which had brought suit against the firm under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Anti-government protests sweep across Brazil [Video] http://t.co/fid1pLnkhv RT @FinancialTimes
— Arjen Uijterlinde (@arjenuijterlind) March 16, 2015
Anti-Rousseff protests draw 1.5 million across Brazil
About 1.5 million protesters hit the streets across Brazil on Sunday in a major show of anger against leftist President Dilma Rousseff, who faces crises from a faltering economy to a massive corruption scandal at state oil giant Petrobras.
Many called for the impeachment of Rousseff, less than six months after she was narrowly returned to power in the most bitterly fought presidential race since the end of a military dictatorship in 1985.
The biggest demonstration took place in Sao Paulo, where a million people rallied — according to police estimates — many in the distinctive yellow and green of Brazil’s national football team. The city — South America’s biggest, and Brazil’s business and industrial hub — is a stronghold of opposition to Rousseff.
Peaceful demonstrations also took place in 83 cities and towns around the country, including major protests in the capital Brasilia and in Rio de Janeiro.
Nearly a Million Protest #Brazil's President, Economy, Corruption – via @reuters – http://t.co/LxvXt9PBwA #latam
— Gate 15 (@Gate_15_Analyst) March 16, 2015
Watch Tens of Thousands Demand Brazil President Rousseff’s ImpeachmentThe Guardian, of course, refers to them as “Rightwing demonstrations,” since demanding transparency and an end to corruption is clearly not a leftie “thing,” and Dilma is definitely a leftie.
The latest protests coincide with the 30th anniversary of the year in which Brazil’s military dictatorship ended and democracy was restored. In recent days, Brazilians have debated whether the demonstrations would mark a milestone for democratic expression and free speech or, conversely, signal the country’s unwillingness to obey the verdict of the ballot box when times turn tough.
Will the protests make a difference? Only if the people of Brazil are deteermined to strengthen the institutions that guarantee transparency and the rule of law.
Until then, no.
ARGENTINA
Prosecutor Pollicita charges President CFK in AMIA cover-up case
Alberto Nisman’s Death Just The Latest Example Of Large-Scale Corruption, Argentines Say
BOLIVIA
From Stratfor: U.S., Bolivia: The Pieces Are in Place for Improved Relations
Uribe meets with US Congressmen to seek support for Colombia opposition
Colombia proposes world’s largest eco-corridor with Brazil, Venezuela
CUBA
Former Obama Official on Cuba Talks: “We didn’t want anything in return”
Dissident savagely attacked by Castro thugs
Turkey’s Erdogan wants to build a mosque in Cuba. It’s based on a historical fallacy.
ECUADOR
The President Of Ecuador Just Went Off On John Oliver In Hilarious Rant
IMMIGRATION
OBAMA’S AMNESTY: IT’S EVEN WORSE THAN YOU THOUGHT
JAMAICA
In historic move, Jamaica extradites fraud suspect
LATIN AMERICA
What’s Putin’s Game in the Western Hemisphere?
The Russians are coming—again.
NICARAGUA
Skeptical Panama takes heed of planned Nicaraguan canal
PANAMA
Ohio? Panama Canal expansion shipping jobs to Ohio
Appalachian Ohio could benefit most, in part because the Ohio River could receive goods from the canal after they’ve made their way to the United States via the Gulf of Mexico and the Mississippi River or the East Coast and the Port of Virginia.
PERU
Argentina oil company leaves Peru town after protests
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico bankruptcy bill to get House hearing: source
URUGUAY
Uruguay: Árabes, persas y espías, último capítulo de la gestión Almagro
You think? Uruguay Undecided on Accepting More Syrian Refugees
Escándalo en el HSBC revela cuenta en Suiza de Hugo Chávez con 12 mil millones de dólares
The week’s posts and podcast:
Smart diplomacy: “We didn’t want anything in return” from Cuba
Argentina: Gitmo alumnus “ready to fight”
Latin America: Worldwide Threat Assessment
Ecuador: John Oliver goofs on Correa
Argentina: Why we’ll probably never learn the truth about the #Nisman murder
Venezuela: Persecuting the retailers
At Da Tech Guy Blog:
Argentina: A case of “Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown?” UPDATE
This Carnival is dedicated to the new meaning of the word easement, which, following last Friday’s U.S. Department Of Commerce and U.S Department Of The Treasury Announcement Of Regulatory Amendments To The Cuba Sanctions now includes “making a deal where one gets nothing in return.”
However, the big news of the day is Alberto Nisman’s death by a gunshot wound in his home while his bodyguards were absent. Go to this morning’s post for more.
ARGENTINA
THE LONESOME DEATH OF ALBERTO NISMAN
In 2013, Argentina announced that it would collaborate with Iran in a joint commission “to advance knowledge of the truth about the attack,” as Ms Fernández wrote on Twitter at the time. The country’s Jewish population, the world’s seventh largest, was puzzled and angry about the accord. Now the prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, alleges that the controversial deal was reached in back-channel negotiations that Ms Fernández initiated with Iran. He claims that she offered to cover up the involvement of any Iranian officials in exchange for increased trade. Argentina would export grain to Iran, while Iran would sell oil to Argentina to ease its severe energy deficit.
In the end, for reasons that are still unclear, the negotiations failed and the deal fell apart. But Mr Nisman has marshalled evidence of the talks in a 300-page document that he filed in a Buenos Aires court. “They decided, negotiated, and assured the impunity of the fugitive Iranians in the AMIA case with the aim of faking Iran’s innocence to serve geopolitical and commercial interests,” Mr Nisman declared. The allegations against Ms Fernández, her foreign minister, Héctor Timerman, and others are based on “irrefutable proof” from two years of investigations and myriad wiretaps, Mr Nisman claims.
Fernandez Graft Cases Multiply in Argentine Electoral Year
A federal prosecutor in Argentina has filed a criminal complaint against President Cristina Kirchner , her foreign minister and others, accusing them of conspiring to cover up an investigation into Iran’s alleged involvement in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in this capital city.
The prosecutor, Alberto Nisman, said on Wednesday that Mrs. Kirchner had ordered Foreign Minister Hector Timerman and others to negotiate immunity for Iranian suspects in hopes this would reestablish trade ties and allow Argentina to import Iranian oil to ease a domestic energy crisis. The alleged plan didn’t come to fruition, however.
Prosecutor: Argentinian President Plotted to Cover Up Iranian Role in AMIA Bombing
ARUBA
Aruba Tops 1 Million Visitors for First Time
It also makes Aruba one of just five Caribbean destinations above the 1 million mark, along with the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
Cuba’s 1 million visitors sure made a difference so far, or haven’t they?
BOLIVIA
Bolivian Peasants Urged On by Drug Traffickers Hold Hostage, Beat 4 Police
BRAZIL
Petrobras’s Lesson for Latin America
We Ignore Cronyism at Our Peril
Codenamed Lava Jato, or “car wash,” the investigation into Petrobras operations by police and public prosecutors revealed a colossal corruption scheme involving former top executives, construction companies, and prominent politicians from the governing coalition dominated by the Workers’ Party (PT). Evidence uncovered so far suggests the privileged club of racketeers pocketed billions of dollars under the cover of public contracts.
After a marathon 20-hour session on Wednesday, January 14, the Chilean Senate approved reform to an electoral system that dates back to the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. The objective is to increase the number of deputies and senators, and change the voting mechanism from binomial to proportional.
COLOMBIA
Why is Colombia Smuggling Coca Base to Honduras?
Colombia’s Santos Orders Discussion of Bilateral Cease-Fire with FARC
Breaking News from the Rumor Desk: Fidel gravely ill due to “embolia” (embolism)
Via Babalu,
* Obama will allow Americans to use credit cards in Cuba
* Castro will continue to prohibit private businesses from accepting credit card payments
ECUADOR
Ecuador targets cartoonist as world rejects Paris attacks
EL SALVADOR
U.N.’s Ban Ki-Moon Worried by El Salvador Violence as Murders Soar
HONDURAS
U.S. Seeks to Seize Properties Bought by Corrupt Honduran Officials
IMMIGRATION
CBO: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GRANTED EXECUTIVE AMNESTY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR CERTAIN FEDERAL BENEFITS
México: las rutas de los migrantes que no pueden viajar en La Bestia
MEXICO
DECOMPOSING BODY OF MURDERED MEXICAN ACTRESS FOUND IN WATER TANK
MEXICO PROVIDING BIRTH CERTIFICATES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN U.S.
Losing marijuana business, Mexican cartels push heroin and meth
PANAMA
Obama to Meet With Cuban Dictator Raul Castro in Panama
PERU
Peru’s Entire Economy Is Threatened By Anchovies
Peru Currency Drops to Lowest Since 2009 After Surprise Rate Cut
Sony to Withdraw from Puerto Rico after 25 Years, Web Site Says
URUGUAY
Uruguay Offshore Bidding Plans Hinge on Oil Recovery
VENEZUELA
Venezuelan Bishops Get Religion
Venezuela’s Bishops Have A Message For Pope Francis on Communism
Wow! Venezuela bishops tell Pope Francis the downside of socialism and communism
Report: Coup Plot Possible Against Socialist Venezuelan President. Not quite yet.
Venezuelan oil basket down to USD 39.19 per barrel
The week’s posts and podcast:
Argentina: Cristina’s corrupt deals with the Ayatollahs
Starting the day with Smart Diplomacy
Cuba: Effective Friday UPDATED
Venezuela: Qatar gives a band-aid
Who’s publishing the new Charlie Hebdo cartoon? UPDATED
Cuba: Finally, the list of the 53 UPDATED
At Da Tech Guy Blog:
Film: Boyhood
Cuba’s outdated Cold War mentality
The WSj writes on Dilma Rousseff’s second inaugural. Brazil Leader Starts Term on Shaky Ground
President Dilma Rousseff Promised to Fight Corruption and Fix the Economy During Her Inauguration
After being in office for four years, the numbers are not good:
In an inauguration ceremony that was upbeat but drew sparse applause and little spontaneous celebration by her supporters, Ms. Rousseff extolled her legacy of poverty reduction while outlining a vision to get Latin America’s largest economy back on track.
“We will prove that it is possible to make adjustments to the economy without repealing rights that have been won or betray social commitments,” she said in a speech in Brazil’s Congress attended by cabinet members, foreign dignitaries, allied lawmakers and other officials.
Her pledge came as Brazil confronts flat growth, stubbornly high inflation, ballooning debt and a potentially explosive corruption scandal at state-controlled oil giant Petróleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras.
Petrobras is key:
But the darkest cloud on the horizon for Ms. Rousseff might be the fast-moving corruption scandal at Petrobras.
Brazilian prosecutors allege that executives at Petrobras conspired with construction companies to inflate the cost of contracts, skimming off as much as $1.5 billion, by the estimate of Brazil’s budget watchdog, to enrich themselves while funneling kickbacks to Ms. Rousseff’s Workers’ Party and its allies.
Ms. Rousseff hasn’t been implicated in the scandal, and leaders of her party have repeatedly denied allegations of involvement. Police have already filed charges against 36 suspects, including two former Petrobras officials.
There are two things to bear in mind:
1. The enormous amounts of money handled through Petrobras (and the temptation/opportunities for corruption)
2. Brazil’s antecedents when it comes to scandals and prosecutions
Related:
Blast from the past: The Economist explains What is Brazil’s “mensalão”?
Argentine president hospitalized for sprained ankle. Not sprained, fractured.
Not sure if this was before, or after she broke her ankle, but it’s the weird photo-op of the week: Argentina president adopts young Jewish boy as godson to prevent him from turning into werewolf
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchhner adopted Yair Tawil as her godson, due to an Argentine folktale that says the seventh born son in a family will turn into a werewolf, and eat unbaptized babies.
Spanish Tourists Spend the Most in Bolivia
Unlike other class actions, some of the company’s senior executives have also been named as defendants.
CHILE
Red Alert Due to Forest Fires Still in Effect for Chile’s Valparaiso Region
COLOMBIA
Colombia to Grow Faster Than Peers Even as Oil Tumbles
CUBA
The Geopolitics of U.S.-Cuba Relations
Americans back normalizing relations with Cuba, but has anyone examined the costs?
U.S. ending Cuban sanctions more proof of weakness, say Iranian media
TOP 10 LIES IN OBAMA’S CUBA SPEECH
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Charged in Scheme to Sell Massachusetts’ Driver Licenses to Illegal Aliens
ECUADOR
Boston Investment Company Sues Ecuador Over Bond Default
EL SALVADOR
Salvadorian Who Went Missing in War Reunites with Family 32 Years Later
GUATEMALA
The One Latin America Winner From U.S. Economic Boom: Currencies
Merry Christmas but Lest We Forget, MEXICO STILL MOURNS
NICARAGUA
I’m not the only skeptic: Doubts deepen over Chinese-backed Nicaragua canal as work starts
So far the company, the HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co Ltd, or HKND Group, of telecoms entrepreneur Wang Jing, has identified only $200 million in funding.
. . .
Supporters point to Monday’s start as evidence that the plan is on schedule. But key feasibility studies on the canal have been pushed back to next April, and excavation work is not due to begin until the second half of next year.
PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rican Economic Activity Index Drops 2.1%
VENEZUELA
Diosdado’s Crocodile Tears
New York Times Op-Ed Scapegoats United States for Venezuela’s Ruin
Why checks and balances? Check out Venezuela today.
The week’s posts and podcast:
Venezuela: Leopoldo’s letter
Confirmed: US Sperm For Spies program
Nicaragua: Where’s the Canal money coming from?
Did Obama give in on Cuba so Uruguay would take 6 Gitmo alumni?
At Da Tech Guy Blog:
The Interview. Yes, The Interview
Last-minute shopping: The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels
Podcast:
The Opening to Cuba: What do Cuban Americans Think?
Happy St. Patrick’s day! If you would like to read a novel about an Irishman in Latin America, I recommend El sueño del celta / The Dream of the Celt: A Novel, by Mario Vargas Llosa. (Warning: It can be gruesome at times)
ARGENTINA
Paris Club invites Argentina to hold debt negotiation
BOLIVIA
Petrobras Makes Its Entry into Eastern Bolivia Official
BRAZIL
Brazil World Cup: Fifa scraps speeches to avoid protest
His name is Eduardo Campos: Brazilian Politician Heats Up Election
In Brazil’s poor northeast, an upstart presidential hopeful is shaking up this year’s election race by spotlighting a sensitive issue ahead of the Brazilian-hosted soccer World Cup contest: soaring murder rates.
COLOMBIA
Colombian Left Forms United Front for Presidential Contest
Colombia’s elections; a nation divided
COSTA RICA
Costa Rica describes as “outrageous” exclusion from Ethical Traveler list
CUBA
Cuban dictatorship seeks more prison time for 2 imprisoned labor activists
Cuba Participates in “Friends of Assad” Meeting in Iran
ECUADOR
Chevron and Ecuador
Out of Hollywood
HONDURAS
Judge, Attorney Gunned Down in Honduras
JAMAICA
Jamaica dancehall star Vybz Kartel guilty of murder
LATIN AMERICA
CHAIRMAN SALMON TO SECRETARY KERRY: “WE NEED A BETTER STRATEGY IN THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE”
Enrique Peña Nieto Says He Wants To “Hit Crime Hard” During Michoacan Speech
PERU
Peru Naked Tourists: Government Wants Visitors To Stop Stripping In Machu Picchu
PUERTO RICO
The Next Financial Catastrophe You Haven’t Heard About Yet: Puerto Rico
URUGUAY
Uruguay not seen setting drug liberalisation trend: U.N. official
VENEZUELA
A Growing Crisis in Post-Chavez Venezuela
The crisis in Venezuela
Another day, more bodies
In Venezuela, Conciliatory Talk but Combative Tactics
One Bottle, Then This: My Afternoon at UCV
Some people never learn: Jennifer McCoy of the Carter Center promotes herself
To Those That Think Maduro Is Not A Dictator: ¿Qué Pasa en Venezuela? by Foro Penal Venezolano
The week’s posts and podcast:
Venezuela: #SOSVenezuela and the war against the Chuckys
Sean Penn: Photoshop, or nitwit?
Colombia: FARC & ELN recruited 1,387 children in the past two years.
Puerto Rico: Hedge funds <3 the new bonds
Cuban endurance sports: Meet world-class windsurfer Henry Vergara Negrin
En español: Unidad de quemados
Venezuela: Protesting doctors, 1st foreign casualty
At Da Tech Guy Blog:
Biden goes to Chile
#Chile: Bachelet’s inauguration LIVEFEED
Podcast:
Elections in El Salvador plus other US-Latin America issues.