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]
Category Archives: Argentina
After a two-hour closed-door meeting with Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton agreed to act as mediator in the conflict between Argentina and the U.K. over oil exploration near the Falkland Islands. [link]
Also posted in Politics, Side notes | Leave a comment
Hardball
If at first you don’t succeed, ram it through. When Argentine President Cristina Kirchner issued a decree earlier this year to pay US$6.6 billion in debt with Central Bank reserves, it caused an uproar. Congress objected, the Central Bank president rebelled, and the courts froze the funds. Even after Kirchner sacked the Central Bank head, [...]
In a long, detailed essay, The Economist brutalizes the Kirchners for their caudillista ways. “They have bullied institutions that have got in their way, from the judiciary to the Central Bank. They have used the power of the state to harass groups they see as hostile, from farmers to utility companies. Meanwhile, some of their [...]
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Two school teachers are suing the Argentine military for burning garbage on a base in Antarctica less than 50 meters away from a major penguin mating and nesting grounds. [link]
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The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would require the U.S. government to release documents related to human rights violations in Argentina during the dictatorship. A similar effort released a trove of information on U.S. involvement in the Pinochet business in Chile. The bill still has to pass the Senate. [link]
Also posted in History, Human Rights, Politics, Side notes Leave a comment
Three-ring politics
I have the impression that in Argentina, politics is always something of a circus, and that everyone revels in the madness. The latest uproar started on Wednesday, when the opposition said it was poised to take control of the Senate with a 37-seat coalition (they already have control of the lower chamber). This would have [...]
Happy reunion
A father and son met each other for the first time after being separated by Argentina’s dirty war for 33 years. In 1977, Abel Madariaga’s pregnant wife was kidnapped by a government death squad and taken to the Campo de Mayo, a military base in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. She gave birth, and was [...]
Argentine ranchers are suing fruit farmers over the use of "hail cannons," which shoot booming shock waves straight up into clouds. The farmers say the cannons prevent hail by breaking it up. The ranchers say the cannons are causing a drought. Most experts, meanwhile, doubt the cannons do anything at all.
A beef boycott in Argentina managed to push prices down by 25%. Organizers of the boycott say prices are high because beef producers are hoarding. Beef producers say there are just fewer cattle being produced, as more ranchers switch to soy.
INDEC cruisin’ for a bruisin’
It’s not much use having a national census and statistics institute if you can’t believe its numbers. Such is the case in Argentina, where the Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas y Census (INDEC) is widely assumed to be under the thumb of the Kirchners. For just one recent example, INDEC reported that wholesale beef prices rose [...]
