The big news of the week: Mexico finally released Marine Sgt. Andrew Tahmooressi, after holding him in jail for seven months on gun charges – and how perfectly timed!
AND JUST BEFORE THE ELECTION, TOO. HOW NICE! Mexico Grants Humanitarian Release to Marine H… http://t.co/my0vSjsqG3 via @instapundit
— Instapundit.com (@instapundit) November 1, 2014
ARGENTINA
Argentina Borrows $814 Million in Currency Swap with China (h/t Carlos Eire)
BOLIVIA
Freddy Mamani: ‘New Andean’ architecture is turning Bolivia into an electric wonderland
A young pioneer has declared war on the dull and colorless. You might want to reach for sunglasses.
Despite the intransigence of the FARC and the opposition, the peace process is still alive
CUBA
More Uneducated Attacks from The New York Times
Indeed, Brand proclaims himself “a big fan of [Fidel] Castro and [Che] Guevara” because “they were sexy, cool, tough” and the fetid autocracy they imposed on the Cuban people “was a remarkable success in many respects.” (Fidel is also described as being “double cool” for a four-hour, filibustering courtroom speech, while Che Guevara is described as a “dear, beautiful, morally unimpeachable” revolutionary.)
And what were those successes, in a country that routinely ranks as one of the least free countries on the planet? “Education for everyone, land sharing, emancipation of women, and equal rights for black Cubans.” This latter achievement would come as a welcome surprise to black Cubans, who are second-class citizens—equal only in the sense that, like all Cubans, they too have no rights. And yes, education is for everyone—provided they want to read wooden agitprop about how education in Cuba is for everyone.
Of which Fidel boasted, claiming “Cubans are the most cultured people in the world.”
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Oscar Taveras: Road safety in the Dominican Republic
Gone too soon
. . . thorny political, economic and cultural factors have conspired against Dominican motorists. The government’s nominal motorcycle-helmet and seat-belt laws apply only to drivers, not passengers, and enforcement of speed limits and drunk-driving rules is lax. The WHO report scored its efforts in those areas just a three and a two out of ten. Less than 10% of tickets issued for vehicular infractions ever get paid, and drive-through liquor stores and alcohol sales at petrol stations expose drivers to constant temptation. Unions representing bus and taxi drivers have opposed proposed bills that could expose them to new regulation.
IMMIGRATION
Obama’s Border Policy Fueled Epidemic, Evidence Shows
JAMAICA
The Asianisation to Jamaica
LATIN AMERICA
GAO: State Department Fails to Produce Reports on Iranian Adventurism in Latin America
Keeping Mexico’s Revolutionary Fires Alive
Crisis in Mexico: Could Forty-Three Missing Students Spark a Revolution? Revolution against whom?
PANAMA
Panel discusses big changes coming at the Panama Canal
PARAGUAY
The Place Where Rutherford B. Hayes Is A Really Big Deal
PERU
Peru says most of $3 bln in bonds sold to manage existing debt
Puerto Rico Government Looks to Raise Tax on OilLegislators filed a measure Thursday that could raise the excise tax on a barrel of crude oil from $9.25 to $15.50, to generate $178 million a year. It also would allow the Highway and Transportation Authority’s loan to be transferred to Puerto Rico’s Infrastructure Financing Authority, which is authorized to issue bonds
VENEZUELA
Unhappy Halloween: Very Scary Stuff From the Castro Colony of Caracastan
Elías Jaua’s nanny detained in Brazil for gun possession has been released
The week’s posts and podcast:
Bad news for Chile
Mexico: Tahmooressi released, back in US
Mexico: 3 siblings, US citizens, dead
Venezuela: last on property rights
Brazil: The election was tweeted
Venezuela to appeal ICSID Exxon decision
At Da Tech Guy Blog
About those walking in NYC for ten hours videos
Whatever happened to the Carnival Magic with the ebola scare?
Podcast
Elections in Brazil PLUS other US-Latin America stories of the week
