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: Politics
Arias in favor of homosexual unions
In kind of a surprising turn of events, lame duck Costa Rican President Oscar Arias has come out rather strongly in favor of state recognition of homosexual unions. He told local daily La Nación: “Yes, there should be some legal recognition. One doesn’t pick one’s sexual inclination. It comes from nature or from God. One [...]
Also posted in Costa Rica, Human Rights Tagged Costa Rica, gay marriage, Oscar Arias Leave a comment
Cheapskates
You would think if you were inviting a dozen heads of state and their entourages to a party at your house, you would want to make a good impression. But not if you’re Costa Rica, which has budgeted a measly $179,000 to cover the costs of both its 2010 presidential inauguration ceremony and lodgings for [...]
Insulza stepping out
A week after his reelection to a second (and final) five-year term as Secretary General of the OAS, Chilean José Miguel Insulza is coming out swinging. First he demanded Venezuela release the head of an opposition television channel jailed for insulting the president, then he requested Cuba release its infirm political prisoners, then he urged [...]
Arias out of bounds
Sometimes, almost-former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias is insufferable. He has this schtick where he travels around the world preaching that other countries should abolish their militarys like Costa Rica did, and then the world will be a better place. No doubt it would be, but this is exactly the kind of self-regarding smugness that [...]
The truth is out there
Rumors and accusations have been floating around for some time about links between the Chávez government and the FARC. Now Adam Isaacson at the Plan Colombia and Beyond blog has done us all a great favor by compiling all the evidence that’s come out over recent years in one place. The conclusion? There is no [...]
Santos in the lead
A survey sponsored by El Tiempo puts Juan Manuel Santos in the lead for Colombia’s May 30 presidential elections, with 34.1% of the vote. He’s followed up by Conservative candidate Noemí Sanín, with 21.7% of the vote. As a candidate needs 50% plus one vote to win in the first round, the election will almost [...]
Chilean José Miguel Insulza was elected today to a second 5-year term today as Secretary General of the Organization of American States. [link]
Also posted in Side notes Leave a comment
Touchy, touchy
The Chávez government has arrested former Zulia Governor Oswaldo Álvarez Paz “on charges of conspiracy, spreading false information and inciting hatred.” What Álvarez Paz did was go on television and state the obvious: That drug traffickers are operating more or less openly from Venezuelan soil with either the active or passive cooperation of the Venezuelan [...]
The Fat Man is back
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 [...]
Mockus steps up