Corrupt, sleazy Latin American politicians are like the proverbial horror movie monster that, no matter how many times you shoot it or set it on fire or run it over with a car, always come back for one more scare. No surprise then that in Nicaragua, eminent ex-presidential scumbag Arnoldo Alemán (1997-2002) has thrown his hat in the ring for 2011.
Thanks to a “pact” he had made with Daniel Ortega in 1999, Ortega got control of the government and Alemán got a Get Out of Jail Free card. Alemán was released in 2009 after the Supreme Court overturned his conviction for corruption.
Not content with escaping prison, however, Alemán is running for office again. As this kind of breaks the power-sharing pact, the government is going after him again with new charges of corruption. He’s undeterred. Here’s a video of the old charlatan that does a lot to blur the distinction between Alemán The Presidential Candidate and Alemán The Guy Selling You a Used Refrigerator:
Who knows if Alemán will win, but faced with a choice between Alemán and Ortega, the Nicaraguans are definitely the losers. And you wonder why Denmark is pulling its aid money out of Nicaragua.
The Nation has a long, wonky, wonderful article on Mexican maize cultivation, the effects of NAFTA, and the dangers of genetically-modified seeds. Author Peter Canby backs up his excellent writing with piles and piles of meticulous research. Not to be missed. [link, via SM] (Image from Joel Penner.)
Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas ended his hunger strike yesterday after 134 days. Farinas decided to end his strike after the Cuban government said it would release political prisoners rounded up in the "Black Spring" crackdown of 2003. Get well soon. [link]
The Uruguayan selection, which has made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup, just received a shipment of half a ton of fine cuts of beef for the mother of all asados in preparation for a contest against Ghana on Friday: "450 kilos of lomo, 200 of entrecot, 75 of vacío, 75 of colita de cuadril, 150 of ojo de bife and 50 kg of picaña." [link]
Hitmen have assassinated the PRI candidate for governor of Tamaulipas State, Rodolfo Torre Cantú. Torre was gunned down along with six others at about 10:30 this morning on a highway on the way to a campaign event. Drug mafias are assumed to be responsible. [link]
From the days when coups were something of a regional sport, new documents detail a famous British ballerina's role in a plot to topple the government of Panama. The plan was to use her yacht to gather men and arms, then "land somewhere and collect in the hills." It didn't work. [link]
Mexico's Attorney General's Office has posted on its web site irrefutable evidence that gold-plated AR-15s and diamond-studded pistol grips are not nearly as cool-looking as they sound. The deadly knick-knack collection is said to belong to Valencia Cartel leader El Lobo. [link]
Two Brazilian ranchers were sentenced to 30 years in prison apiece for ordering the killing of an environmentalist nun: "Prosecutors said the pair offered to pay a gunman $25,000 to kill the 73-year-old [Dorothy] Stang because she had prevented them from stealing a piece of land that the government had granted to a group of poor farmers." [link]
This video of a kidnapping and car chase in Mexico is notable mainly for the bad-assitude of the TV journalists who were on this like white on rice. Well done, gentlemen.
The Economist takes a peak at the Mockus phenomenon in Colombia: "His moustacheless beard gives him the air of a Baltic pastor... He is financing his campaign with a bank overdraft. His supporters rely on Facebook and make their own posters; street vendors sell unofficial campaign T-shirts." [link]
Some cruise lines will cease traveling to Antarctica after this cruise season, as a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil goes into effect next year. The ban came after a 2007 incident when a Gap Adventures ship got punctured by ice and sank, causing a mess. [link]
The Nation has a long, wonky, wonderful article on Mexican maize cultivation, the effects of NAFTA, and the dangers of genetically-modified seeds. Author Peter Canby backs up his excellent writing with piles and piles of meticulous research. Not to be missed. [link, via SM] (Image from Joel Penner.)
Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas ended his hunger strike yesterday after 134 days. Farinas decided to end his strike after the Cuban government said it would release political prisoners rounded up in the "Black Spring" crackdown of 2003. Get well soon. [link]
The Uruguayan selection, which has made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup, just received a shipment of half a ton of fine cuts of beef for the mother of all asados in preparation for a contest against Ghana on Friday: "450 kilos of lomo, 200 of entrecot, 75 of vacío, 75 of colita de cuadril, 150 of ojo de bife and 50 kg of picaña." [link]
Hitmen have assassinated the PRI candidate for governor of Tamaulipas State, Rodolfo Torre Cantú. Torre was gunned down along with six others at about 10:30 this morning on a highway on the way to a campaign event. Drug mafias are assumed to be responsible. [link]
From the days when coups were something of a regional sport, new documents detail a famous British ballerina's role in a plot to topple the government of Panama. The plan was to use her yacht to gather men and arms, then "land somewhere and collect in the hills." It didn't work. [link]
Mexico's Attorney General's Office has posted on its web site irrefutable evidence that gold-plated AR-15s and diamond-studded pistol grips are not nearly as cool-looking as they sound. The deadly knick-knack collection is said to belong to Valencia Cartel leader El Lobo. [link]
Two Brazilian ranchers were sentenced to 30 years in prison apiece for ordering the killing of an environmentalist nun: "Prosecutors said the pair offered to pay a gunman $25,000 to kill the 73-year-old [Dorothy] Stang because she had prevented them from stealing a piece of land that the government had granted to a group of poor farmers." [link]
The Economist takes a peak at the Mockus phenomenon in Colombia: "His moustacheless beard gives him the air of a Baltic pastor... He is financing his campaign with a bank overdraft. His supporters rely on Facebook and make their own posters; street vendors sell unofficial campaign T-shirts." [link]
Some cruise lines will cease traveling to Antarctica after this cruise season, as a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil goes into effect next year. The ban came after a 2007 incident when a Gap Adventures ship got punctured by ice and sank, causing a mess. [link]
The Fat Man is back
Boo.
Corrupt, sleazy Latin American politicians are like the proverbial horror movie monster that, no matter how many times you shoot it or set it on fire or run it over with a car, always come back for one more scare. No surprise then that in Nicaragua, eminent ex-presidential scumbag Arnoldo Alemán (1997-2002) has thrown his hat in the ring for 2011.
This is the same Alemán who was convicted of corruption in 2003 for stealing something like US$100 million from a country whose entire government budget amounts to only about US$1.4 billion annually. The Fat Man (as he’s known) got sentenced to 20 years in prison. He only served about two. The rest of the time he spent under “house arrest” on his sprawling estate, when he wasn’t actively traveling around the country campaigning.
Thanks to a “pact” he had made with Daniel Ortega in 1999, Ortega got control of the government and Alemán got a Get Out of Jail Free card. Alemán was released in 2009 after the Supreme Court overturned his conviction for corruption.
Not content with escaping prison, however, Alemán is running for office again. As this kind of breaks the power-sharing pact, the government is going after him again with new charges of corruption. He’s undeterred. Here’s a video of the old charlatan that does a lot to blur the distinction between Alemán The Presidential Candidate and Alemán The Guy Selling You a Used Refrigerator:
Who knows if Alemán will win, but faced with a choice between Alemán and Ortega, the Nicaraguans are definitely the losers. And you wonder why Denmark is pulling its aid money out of Nicaragua.
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