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
The judges deciding whether to extradite ex-Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo to the U.S. said they received death threats. An anonymous caller to the court threatened to kill the three judges’ families if they did not suspend proceedings. Though the judges later approved Portillo’s extradition to face money laundering charges in the U.S., he has to [...]
Also posted in Guatemala, Side notes | Leave a comment
Shopping spree
Two reports were issued recently on Latin American arms purchases. Venezuela has recently given the impression of being particularly spendy on new weapons, perhaps because ex-military man Chávez likes to talk about guns and things. According to the Washington Office on Latin America, however, everyone’s going shopping. Brazil is the region’s biggest buyer of arms, [...]
In its report as an observer of the Colombian legislative elections, the OAS is complaining that lots of vote-buying went on. Apparently the going rate for a vote is $10 and a sandwich. The report also complains that the election material was hard to understand and the system of telephonic results reporting was chaotic. However, [...]
Also posted in Colombia, Side notes Leave a comment
The chilling effect
It started with a rumor posted on popular anti-Chávez site NoticieroDigital.com that several government ministers had been murdered. Now there is talk in Venezuela of “regulating the internet,” whatever that might mean. I’ll believe it when I see it (and when I do see it, I’m going into the web proxy business). Frankly, the rumors [...]
Also posted in Human Rights, Venezuela Tagged Chávez, freedom of expression, Human Rights, Venezuela 1 Comment
Dirty politicians win big
The consensus in Colombia seems to be that the parapolíticos – politicians with links to paramilitaries – won big in Sunday’s legislative elections. Specifically, the National Integration Party (PIN) won eight of the country’s 107 Senate seats, making it the fourth largest party in the Senate. The distressing thing is that the candidates with ties [...]
Chile inaugurated billionaire Sebastian Piñera as its new president on Thursday. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs has produced a brief document giving an excellent overview of the history of U.S.-Chile relations and the historical and political context in which Piñera takes office. [link]
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Faceoff
Bolivan President Evo Morales is in Chile this week for Sebastian Piñera’s swearing in as that country’s new president. The two are facing off this afternoon on the football pitch. From EFE: The game, which was organized by the Chilean Ex-Professional Football Players Union, will include the participation of former renowned Chilean players, including Marcelo [...]
Falta de respeto
Two Costa Rican congressmen almost came to blows yesterday on the floor of the legislature over a “falta de respeto.” As is typical of a Costa Rican sissy-fight, everyone is pretty polite about the whole thing, at least up until the end. You will note that Oscar López, the diputado who steps, is blind. Often [...]
Parapolíticas on the ballot
La Silla Vacia has published a great interactive map showing where the sketchy politicians will be running for office during Colombia’s legislative elections this month. Colombia has had a tough time putting together a Congress free of links to paramilitaries, drug trafficking, and left-wing guerrilla groups. Dozens of former lawmakers are under suspicion or actually [...]
Honduran ex-President Mel Zelaya has found himself a job with Venezuela’s PetroCaribe project as “Political Council.” PetroCaribe gives Venezuelan oil to member states at preferential rates, one would assume in exchange for political favors. [link]
Also posted in Side notes, Venezuela Leave a comment
