DAILY LINKS
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]
Author Archives: Peter Krupa
The Chihuahua state government is going to move its main operations to Ciudad Juárez in a "show of solidarity" with the citizens of that beleaguered city.
Posted in Side notes Leave a comment
Job growth
If you’re looking to suckle at the teat of government largess, I hear Nicaragua is hiring. La Prensa reports that since Ortega took office in 2006, the government has added 7,506 employees to its payrolls. If you think that sounds bad, it gets worse. The number does not include new teachers, and only 710 of [...]
Posted in Economy, Nicaragua, Politics Tagged government employees, Nicaragua, patronage Leave a comment
Safety in numbers
You would think from media reports that traveling to Mexico is a good way to get decapitated. But technically, that’s only true if you’re a law enforcement official in a border state. The AP points out that in fact, the murder rate in Mexico has been falling since 1997, when it reached a high of [...]
Posted in Mexico, Travel, War on drugs Tagged DF, Mexico, Mexico City, murder rate, statistics, Travel, Zócalo Leave a comment
Two massacres
Two massacres are unsettling a tenuous calm in El Salvador. The first took place about a week ago. A group of gunman wearing black ski masks and armed with an M-16, a 9mm handgun, and a .22 caliber handgun appeared at a swimming hole where about a dozen gang members were bathing. They opened fire, [...]
Who’s the best paid of them all?
Of the top 12 highest paid presidents in the region, who do you think is number one? OK, fine, Barack Obama, who makes about US$400k annually. What about number two? Colombian news magazine Portafolio says it’s Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom, who makes about US$220k annually presiding over a country of 12 million people. At the [...]
Update on N. Kirchner’s surgery
He’s fine. The surgery was “routine,” removing some plaque from his carotid artery and placing a shunt. All that drama about last rites and whatnot was, well, drama. Below is an illustration from Clarín explaining what exactly went on. Click to enlarge.
Blowout
Everyone knows that opinion polls in Costa Rica are notoriously inaccurate. But it’s never clear exactly how inaccurate they’ll be, or in which direction. Four years ago, Oscar Arias was supposed to win a comfortable victory, but barely squeaked it out by about 18,000 votes. The opposition was putting their faith in the inaccuracy of [...]
Posted in Costa Rica, Politics Tagged Chinchilla, Costa Rica, election, polls, president, Unimar Leave a comment
“Expropriate it”
An clip from Chávez’ weekend talk show “Alo Presidente” show’s Chávez ordering the expropriation of businesses around Plaza Bolívar in Caracas: Apparently he would like to turn the area into a “historic center.” This afternoon, shortly after the clip was broadcast, the mayor of Caracas declared that the buildings were of “public use,” which is [...]
Posted in Economy, Politics, Venezuela Tagged Alo Presidente, capital flight, Caracas, Chávez, expropriation, Plaza Bolivar, Venezuela Leave a comment
BREAKING: Kirchner rushed to surgery
Former Argentine President (and husband of the current president) Néstor Kirchner was rushed to the hospital this morning for surgery after he… fainted? (Descompensación… and here I was thinking I would never need to translate medical documents.) It sounds like he’s having circulatory problems and doctors will be operating on his right carotid artery. Clarín [...]
The Donkey Library