Latin America News Review

When does a foreign scandal become known as such in the United States?

2011-08-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

Larry Tovar Acuña, a former top lieutenant to the infamous Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

August 12, 2011

Below is short passage of a 1993 Washington Post report that explains how Venezuela's interim president at the time --Ramon Velasquez-- mistakenly signed a letter of pardon for one of Pablo Escobar’s top lieutenants, Larry Tovar Acuña. Tovar Acuña had been imprisoned in Venezuela for drug-trafficking and money laundering. The presidential letter of pardon allowed Tovar Acuña to walk free from a Venezuelan prison.

There has never been a conviction here on charges related to money laundering, and U.S. officials say high-level governmental corruption remains a barrier to successful prosecution.

A particularly revealing example surfaced in late October when an operative in the office of President Ramon Velasquez slipped a letter of pardon into a stack of documents to be signed by the president. The letter allowed one of Escobar's top lieutenants, Larry Tovar Acuna, to walk free from a Venezuela prison.

"The pardon order made this incredible leap through the system. It bypassed all the normal checks and balances that would prevent such a mistake from happening," a U.S. official said.

"It is not just a dark hand behind these activities, but a dark political hand that has been managing the situation," Justice Minister Fermin Marmol Leon said. The president's private secretary was arrested.

What’s striking about the story is that, in the United States, what would seem to have been a scandal of significant proportion was barely a footnote in U.S. news reporting about Venezuela in 1993. I’ve analyzed thousands of U.S. newspaper, television and radio reports about Latin America spanning the past 20 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever come across any mention of this particular episode in the U.S. press. And, mind you, the report above doesn't even treat the episode as a scandal. The passage above is basically just a sidenote, coming after the first seven paragraphs of a story entitled "Venezuela Takes Steps Against Illegal Money Laundering."

Now, I suspect that, if Venezuela’s current president --an official U.S. enemy-- were to mistakenly sign a letter of pardon for a top lieutenant of an infamous drug kingpin, there would be wall-to-wall news coverage about such a scandal. My guess is that one talking head after another would prattle on for months about how Hugo Chavez is the new Noriega.

This demonstration of how media subjectively decide what constitutes a scandal and what doesn’t is illustrative of how media can very easily manipulate public perceptions of the outside world. When does a foreign scandal become known as such in the United States? The answer is that foreign scandals become known as such when powerful people deem that they have some interest in exposing such scandals. When powerful people do not have an interest in exposing a scandal (about an allied government, for example), you hear little about the scandal in question. In contrast, when powerful people have an interest in exposing a scandal (about an official U.S. enemy, for example), the public is often treated to all manner of wild conjecture about the implications of the scandal.

In sum, the media’s ability to downplay some foreign scandals and highlight others really calls into question whether our culture is capable of truly understanding the politics of foreign countries. Because I’m deeply skeptical about our culture’s ability to genuinely inform itself about the politics of foreign countries, I’m also deeply skeptical of the notion that the U.S. public is able to make consistently sound judgments about how and when the United States should intervene abroad.

Colombia's Supreme Court dismisses Reyes files as evidence

2011-06-01T22:17:00.000-07:00

By Adriaan Alsema

Colombia Reports

May 18, 2011

Documents found on computers of slain FARC commander "Raul Reyes" are inadmissible as evidence in court as the material is illegally obtained and provides no evidence, Colombia's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday...

(click here to read story)

People Power in Wisconsin

2011-02-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest from Matt Wisniewski on Vimeo.

Interesting Mexican commentary on culture and the passing of "Cantinflas"

2011-02-07T07:39:00.000-08:00

Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, also known as 'Cantinflas' (August 12, 1911 – April 20, 1993) was a Mexican comedian and actor.

As I continue to wade through old New York Times reports for my dissertation, I came across an interesting old quote about the passing of the Mexican comic-actor "Cantinflas." The quote is from a report published on April 23, 1993, entitled "Loved Clown Exits Down Memory-Filled Streets."

As dozens of [Mexican] fans described their loss, the sense of nostalgia seemed to apply almost as much to the world that he satirized as to the comic himself.

"On television now they bombard us with so many things that are not ours," complained Lauro Pacheco, 39, an office worker for the telephone company... Referring to the United States, Mr. Pacheco added, "It is all things from the other side -- the rich person marries the poor person -- things that are not of our world."

...

To American audiences, Cantinflas (pronounced cahn-TEEN-flahs) was known almost entirely for his role as David Niven's sidekick, Passepartout, in the 1956 film "Around the World in 80 Days." But in Mexico he was remembered for films like "Cantinflas the Boxer," "Neither Blood Nor Sand" and "Patrol Car 777," and roles in which he twisted the thickly formal language with which working-class Mexicans are expected to use when addressing people of higher position to make fun of those at the top.

...

In the more studied remembrances that dominated much of the capital's radio programming, several critics described Cantinflas's comedy as much like that of Chaplin's, but with an even sharper satirical edge.

"More than anything, he wanted people to see that there had to be more equality in Mexico," said Jose Alberto Murillo, a 19-year-old student. Now, Mr. Murillo said, many people seemed to be forgetting that.

Pablo Solón Responds to Secret U.S. Manipulation of Climate Talks Revealed in WikiLeaks Cable

2010-12-09T10:24:00.000-08:00

Democracy Now!

December 6, 2010

Secret diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks have revealed new details about how the United States manipulated last year’s climate talks in Copenhagen. The cables show how the United States sought dirt on nations opposed to its approach to tackling global warming, how financial and other aid was used to gain political backing, and how the United States mounted a secret global diplomatic offensive to overwhelm opposition to the "Copenhagen Accord." We speak to Bolivia’s ambassador to the United Nations, Pablo Solón. Several of the cables addressed Bolivia’s opposition to the U.S.-backed accord.

Nicolas Rossier: Talking with Jean-Bertrand Aristide

2010-12-07T09:57:00.000-08:00

More GRITtv

GRITtv

November 23, 2010

It's not a year since the earthquake rocked Haiti and destroyed homes and cities, leaving people in desperate situations. And now as elections are approaching, Haitians face a cholera outbreak on top of everything. Nicolas Rossier, an award winning independent filmmaker and reporter whose latest films include American Radical and Aristide and the Endless Revolution, spoke to exiled former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide about the situation in his country and brought us an exclusive first look at his two-hour conversation.

Rossier joins Laura in studio to discuss the situation in Haiti, Aristide's enforced exile in South Africa, and why his party, still popular in Haiti, isn't allowed to participate in the upcoming election.

Chilean Economist Manfred Max-Neef on Barefoot Economics, Poverty and Why The U.S. is Becoming an "Underdeveloping Nation"

2010-12-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

Democracy Now!

November 26, 2010

We speak with the acclaimed Chilean economist, Manfred Max-Neef. He won the Right Livelihood Award in 1983, two years after the publication of his book Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics. "Economists study and analyze poverty in their nice offices, have all the statistics, make all the models, and are convinced that they know everything that you can know about poverty. But they don’t understand poverty," Max-Neef says.

A Look at Argentina’s Economic Rebellion and the Social Movements that Led It

2010-12-07T09:34:00.000-08:00

Democracy Now!

November 12, 2010

As we broadcast from Buenos Aires, we look at the economic rebellion of Argentina that took place after the government defaulted on $95 billion in foreign loans in 2001. The next two years saw record protests and social upheavals that changed the country’s political landscape. Today, Argentina’s current president Cristina Kirchner is in South Korea taking part in the G20 summit. We speak with Ezequiel Adamovsky, a historian and activist who teaches at the University of Buenos Aires.

Still on Hiatus

2010-12-05T13:07:00.000-08:00

To those of you who've written in asking whether I'll be blogging again, I'm unfortunately not able to do so at the moment. I'm teaching two classes, trying to finish up my dissertation, and getting ready to go on the job market, so I'm not able to do much blogging nowadays. I hope to be able to start blogging again next Fall.

Brazil: electricity at the ends of the Earth

2010-11-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

France 24's Reporters

October 29, 2010

Light For All! That was President Lula’s promise - a programme designed to bring electricity to the millions of Brazilians who don’t have any. In Amazonia, on the shores of Lake Cunia, we followed the work of the "Light For All" team.

Latin America news roundup - July 18, 2010

2010-07-18T23:45:00.001-07:00

TOP STORY - South of the Border: reviewing the reviewers (Guardian)

Brazil - Brazil to launch bullet train soon (CalcuttaTube)

Colombia - EU lawmakers urge probe of Colombian intelligence operations (Deutsche Welle)

Colombia - U.S. denies visa to Colombian journalist Hollman Morris, citing Patriot Act (Washington Post)

Latin America - Latin America and Caribbean: CELAC Steams Ahead (Monthly Review)

United States - John Pilger: There Is a War on Journalism (Democracy Now!)

United States - US Finance bill lacks power to curb Wall St. (Real News)

Venezuela - BBC "Hard Talk" with President Hugo Chavez Frias (Axis of Logic)

World - Taming Finance in an Age of Austerity (Social Europe)

World - Productivity is up, so why cut social programs? (Real News)

Latin America news roundup - July 4, 2010

2010-07-04T16:29:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Oliver Stone responds to attack from the New York Times' Larry Rohter (southoftheborderdoc.com)

Brazil - Rousseff takes lead in Brazil election poll (Reuters)

Colombia - Cordoba discusses peace with Ecuador minister (Colombia Reports)

Ecuador - Colombia Spied on Ecuador’s President, Newspaper Says (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Honduras - Honduran suspicions of US complicity in the coup: Part one (Honduras Culture and Politics)

Honduras - Honduran suspicions of US complicity in the coup: Part two (Honduras Culture and Politics)

Latin America - Stone's Border Shows Fall of South America's Berlin Wall (Huffington Post)

Latin America - The Count: Childhood poverty (Structurally Maladjusted)

Peru - State needs to increase presence in isolated regions, Humala says (Peruvian Times)

Venezuela - New York Times to Oliver Stone: It’s CHA-vez, Not sha-VEZ (Venezuelanalysis)

Latin America news roundup - June 28, 2010

2010-06-24T18:59:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - One Year After Coup, Honduras Repression Continues (Democracy Now!)

Bolivia - The U.S. Paid Money to Support Hugo Banzer’s 1971 Coup in Bolivia (Digital Emunction)

Colombia - Far Worse than Watergate (WOLA)

Honduras - One Year Later: Honduras Resistance Strong Despite US Supported Coup (¡Presente!)

Honduras - Honduras failing to tackle coup rights abuses (Amnesty International)

Latin America - The high cost of neoliberalism (New Statesman)

Latin America - Tax gap and equity in Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

World - Cuts in social welfare spending also cost lives: study (AFP)

World - Naomi Klein: The Real Crime Scene Was Inside the G20 Summit (Democracy Now!)

World - The Iranian Threat (ZNet)

Latin America news roundup - June 22, 2010

2010-06-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker Oliver Stone Tackles Latin America’s Political Upheaval in "South of the Border", US Financial Crisis in Sequel to Iconic "Wall Street" (Democracy Now!)

Argentina - Argentina's economic rebound solidifies in Q1 (Reuters)

Latin America - Latin America: Impunity in Plan Condor’s Shadows (Toward Freedom)

Latin America - Oliver Stone's New Documentary Explains Progressive Governments in Latin America, Exposes Adversarial Media Bias (Upside Down World)

Mexico - Mexico's Gaza (Counterpunch)

Nicaragua - Nicaragua's landmine success (Al Jazeera)

United States - With Rumored Manhunt for Wikileaks Founder and Arrest of Alleged Leaker of Video Showing Iraq Killings, Obama Admin Escalates Crackdown on Whistleblowers of Classified Information (Democracy Now!)

Venezuela - NED Report: International Agencies Fund Venezuelan Opposition with $40-50 Million Annually (Venezuelanalysis)

Venezuela - This interview with Hugo Chávez focused entirely on the negative (Guardian)

World - Stephen Kinzer on the History of BP/British Petroleum and Its Role in the 1953 Iran Coup (Democracy Now!)

OFF TOPIC: The kind of political advertisement I'd like to see more often

2010-06-20T17:43:00.000-07:00

Latin America news roundup - June 19, 2010

2010-06-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

More GRITtv

TOP STORY - Greg Grandin on Honduras, Colombia and Latin America (GRITtv)

Argentina - Argentina Economy Grows at Fastest Pace Since 2008 (Bloomberg)

Brazil - Brazil gears up for a fight (Guardian)

Colombia - Juan Manuel Santos, Colombia Presidential Candidate, Oversaw The Company Managing Elections (Huffington Post)

Honduras - Truth in Honduras (In These Times)

United States - The new right history (Transnational Institute)

Venezuela - Venezuela's Chavez offers cure for kids' insomnia (Reuters)

World - Julia Buxton on the "drug war" (FEAD)

World - Bad Economic Policy Still Biggest Threat to Global Economic Recovery (Huffington Post)

World - Naomi Klein: Wall St. Crisis Should Be for Neoliberalism What Fall of Berlin Wall Was for Communism (Democracy Now!)

Phil Gunson responds regarding Venezuela's coup of 2002

2010-06-12T19:23:00.000-07:00

The Caracas-based correspondent Phil Gunson (left) and Donald A. Lamont, formerly the United Kingdom's ambassador to Venezuela, at a party sponsored by the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional in Caracas in 2005.

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

June 12, 2010

About three weeks ago, I posted a short blurb about a curious NPR interview with the prominent freelance correspondent Phil Gunson during Venezuela's failed coup of April 2002. I noted that it was "grossly contradictory" for Mr. Gunson to describe the coup leader Pedro Carmona "as a conciliator, as a man of consensus" immediately after having explained that Carmona had just dissolved Venezuela's Congress and Supreme Court. I wrote, "one wonders if Mr. Gunson will ever be called upon to explain the words that he used to describe Carmona at the failed coup leader's moment of infamy."

I checked my blog today and noticed that Mr. Gunson appears to have responded. Thus, I must first thank Mr. Gunson for providing me the opportunity to once again call upon him to explain the words that he used to describe Carmona on that fateful day. Below is Mr. Gunson's initial response to me, followed by my rejoinders.

Hello Justin. Considering that we disagree on just about everything that has happened in Venezuela in the past ten years, I'm a little surprised that you want to pick a fight over something we actually agree on. As you know, because you have read plenty of the articles I have written about the 2002 coup, I condemn the dictatorial behaviour that triggered the well-deserved overthrow of the brief regime of Pedro Carmona. Why don't we have an argument about something more interesting, and relevant to today's Venezuela, such as the ongoing coup against the 1999 constitution by the present regime?

As to whether Mr. Gunson and I "disagree on just about everything that has happened in Venezuela in the past ten years," I doubt that's really true. People can draw quite different lessons from contemporary history without necessarily disagreeing on "just about everything that has happened." Although I'm sure that Mr. Gunson and I have some disagreements with regard to what we think the facts are, I would submit that the primary differences between Mr. Gunson and myself have more to do with the lessons we draw from contemporary Venezuelan history.

To illustrate the point, let us revisit Mr. Gunson's NPR interview of April 12, 2002. Mr. Gunson stated that, by shutting down Venezuela's National Assembly and Supreme Court, the coup leaders were effectively "dispensing with the need to deal with any remaining opposition on the part of Chavez's supporters." Here, Mr. Gunson and I can agree that his statement is a factual one. What is in question, however, is whether Mr. Gunson is fully capable of drawing conclusions that logically follow from the facts that he himself presents. I would submit that Mr. Gunson's simultaneous description of Carmona "as a conciliator, as a man of consensus" did not logically follow from the facts that he himself had just presented.

With the benefits of hindsight, Mr. Gunson is probably telling the truth when he says that he did not sympathize with Carmona after the coup failed, but I would submit that Mr. Gunson's glowing words about Carmona on April 12, 2002 clearly indicate that he sympathized with the coup leader at the time (and that he might very well have continued sympathizing with Carmona if the failed coup leader had succeeded in overthrowing Chavez).

The point here is not to "pick a fight" with Mr. Gunson. The point here is to demonstrate that the mainstream U.S. media will tend to favor correspondents whose interpretations don't always logically follow from the facts. The reason that the mainstream media will tend to favor correspondents of this sort is simple: Interpretations that logically follow from the facts do not always coincide with the interests of the media establishment, meaning that sometimes the media establishment wants journalists whose interpretations don't logically follow from the facts.

As to whether there is an "ongoing coup against the 1999 constitution by the present regime" (in Venezuela), I would first ask that Mr. Gunson specify what he means by "coup." To accuse a government of carrying out an "ongoing coup" is a very serious charge that requires explanation before it can be considered a topic worthy of debate. One hopes that Mr. Gunson does not proffer the charge for the simple purpose of trying to justify extra-legal activities on the part of certain segments of the Venezuelan opposition.

Latin America news roundup - June 8, 2010

2010-06-06T17:19:00.000-07:00

U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton arrives at the Catam military airport in Bogota June 8, 2010.Hillary Clinton is on a two-day official visit to Colombia. REUTERS/John Vizcaino

TOP STORY - Quite possibly the only decent piece of advice that a U.S. cabinet official has given Latin America in the last decade: Hillary tells the region to tax its rich (Associated Press)

Bolivia - Evo Morales hopeful of reestablishing full relations with Washington (MercoPress)

Brazil - Experts Call Brazil-Turkey Deal with Iran a "First Step" (Inter Press Service)

Brazil - Brazil's Rousseff rises in poll, ties with Serra (Reuters)

Colombia - Washington and the Colombian Elections (Huffington Post)

Colombia - Colombian Army Attacks Striking BP Workers (Upside World Down)

Ecuador - Correa and Clinton to dicuss US-Colombia bases pact (Colombia Reports)

Latin America - Taxing the Poor (Inter Press Service)

South America - Uruguay, Argentina to Cooperate on Energy, Environment (Latin American Herald Tribune)

World - UN Urges Veganism (Open Economics)

Latin America news roundup - June 7, 2010

2010-06-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Glenn Greenwald Clobbers Eliot Spitzer in Debate on the Gaza Flotilla (AlterNet)

Brazil - Brazil’s Nuclear Diplomacy and Its Quest for a New International Politics (NACLA)

Central America - China crashes Cafta's party (Guardian)

Chile - Chile: 90 percent of Pinochet fortune dubious (Associated Press)

Latin America - Report Slams Obama Military Approach to Latin America (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Mexico - Subcomandante Marcos Interview (Culture & Dissent)

United States - Barack Obama's same old brand new security strategy (Guardian)

World - How Israeli propaganda shaped U.S. media coverage of the flotilla attack (Salon)

World - The real cost of cheap oil (Guardian)

World - Eurozone crisis is self-inflicted (Guardian)

Latin America news roundup - June 6, 2010

2010-06-06T00:21:00.000-07:00

Bolivia's President Evo Morales, left, shakes hands with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva as they pose for a photo at the Third Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) in Rio de Janeiro, Friday, May 28, 2010. The AoC is a high-level group of experts that explore the roots of polarization between societies and cultures today and recommend a practical program of action to address the issue.

TOP STORY - Lula promises to CEPAL to work for Latin America and Africa (Brazil Institute)

Latin America - Oliver Stone Promotes New Film “South of the Border” in South America (Latin America News Dispatch)

Latin America - Foosball with the Devil: Haiti, Honduras, and Democracy in the Neoliberal Era (Upside Down World)

Paraguay - President Lugo on promoting social justice (YouTube)

South America - UNASUR: An Emerging Geopolitical Force (CEPR)

United States - Naomi Klein: Why is BP still in charge (Dandelion Salad)

United States - Debate on the US debt (CNN)

Uruguay - Uruguay president's wealth: 23-year-old VW Beetle (Seattle Times)

World - Naomi Klein speaks out against attack on Gaza Flotilla in Toronto, Canada (ZNet)

World - Pranab Bardhan on the economic rise of China and India (Reuters)

Latin America news roundup - May 22, 2010

2010-05-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Bolivia's President Evo Morales speaks during a session of northern Norway's Sami parliament in Karasjok May 21, 2010. REUTERS/Scanpix/Jan Morten Bjornbakk.

TOP STORY - Bolivia to take lesson from Norway oil strategy (Associated Press)

Bolivia - Elections Deepen Local Democracy (NACLA)

Bolivia - Bolivian president backs embattled Spanish judge (AFP)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula says Iran showed willingness to talk (Reuters)

Brazil - Rousseff Likely Brazil's Next President, Eurasia Says (Bloomberg)

Colombia - Colombian Indians, Small Farmers Support Mockus at Campaign Rally (Latin American Herald Tribune)

South America - UNASUR: An Emerging Geopolitical Force (Center for Economic and Policy Research)

United States - Capitalism: Big Surprises in Recent Polls (CommonDreams)

World - Guides to Reading Marx (Verso)

World - "The People of Greece Are Fighting for the Whole of Europe": Tariq Ali and Mark Weisbrot Discuss Greece’s Economic Crisis and Popular Uprising (Democracy Now!)

Was Phil Gunson a journalistic advocate of Venezuela's coup in 2002?

2010-05-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

A freelance journalist, Phil Gunson has been based in Caracas since 1999.

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

May 21, 2010

In analyzing old NPR coverage of Latin America for my dissertation, I just came across a curious interview from the day after the coup against Venezuela's Chavez government in 2002. The interview is with the prominent freelance correspondent Phil Gunson, who has reported on Latin America for the Miami Herald, The Economist, Newsweek, The Guardian and The Independent.

Gunson first explains that, in shutting down Venezuela's Congress and Supreme Court, the coup leaders were effectively "dispensing with the need to deal with any remaining opposition on the part of Chavez's supporters, and they can pretty much do what they like because, of course, they have the armed forces with them."

Then, immediately after explaining that the coup leaders had just dissolved the Congress and Supreme Court, Gunson had these glowing words to say about coup leader Pedro Carmona:

"He has a reputation as a conciliator, as a man of consensus--if you like, the polar opposite to his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, who had a distinct talent for dividing rather than uniting."

(In another interview with NPR that day, Gunson said that Carmona was known "as a man with strong democratic credentials").

Never does it seem to occur to Gunson that to speak of Carmona "as a conciliator, as a man of consensus" immediately after explaining that he had just dissolved the Congress and the Supreme Court is grossly contradictory.

One wonders if Mr. Gunson will ever be called upon to explain the words that he used to describe Carmona at the failed coup leader's moment of infamy.

Yet another example of why you can never really trust the U.S. media's favored sources on Latin America

2010-05-17T23:20:00.000-07:00

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

May 17, 2010

My apologies for not posting lately, but I need to concentrate on the dissertation this year. However, I wanted to drop in to provide yet another example of just how unreliable the media's favored sources have been on Latin America for the past decade. Back in the year 2000, the world price of oil was running at about $30 a barrel. On September 26, 2000, NPR summed up Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's position on OPEC production quotas as follows:

NPR REPORTER MARTIN KASTE: Chavez says the current price, hovering around $ 30 a barrel is fair, and he says anything much lower than that is tantamount to exploitation. Consequently, OPEC says it will now use its production quotas to stabilize prices at around $ 25.

The Venezuelan multi-millionaire and business editor Robert Bottome then gave NPR this little nugget of wisdom in response:

Mr. ROBERT BOTTOME (Business Editor): The model is not workable.

KASTE: Robert Bottome, a Venezuelan business editor, says Chavez is living in the past, specifically the 1970s, when OPEC still controlled the lion's share of world oil exports.

Mr. BOTTOME: I mean, if these guys had 80 percent of the market, 90 percent of the market and discipline, you might say, 'OK, then they can control the price.' But with 35 percent of the market, there's no way they can control the price.

Now, with the price of a barrel of oil holding at about $75 dollars a barrel, it would seem that Mr. Bottome was the one living in the past.

Latin America news roundup - March 25, 2010

2010-03-25T00:27:00.000-07:00

Salvadorans rally in honor of Archbishop Oscar Romero in the capital on the 30th anniversary of his death. President Mauricio Funes, the nation's first leftist leader, asked forgiveness on behalf of the state for the assassination, blamed on a right-wing death squad. (Jose Cabezas / AFP/Getty Images / March 24, 2010)

TOP STORY - El Salvador publicly marks Archbishop Romero's killing for first time (Los Angeles Times)

Colombia - The paras are back ... did they ever leave? (Al Jazeera)

Colombia - Cordoba: FARC will talk to govt without demilitarized zone (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - FARC hostage release operation to begin Saturday (Colombia Reports)

Cuba - Taunting Havana (Counterpunch)

El Salvador - Funes asks forgiveness for Romero assassination (Tim's El Salvador Blog)

Honduras - Why President Zelaya’s Actions in Honduras Were Legal and Constitutional (Rebel Reports)

Latin America - Deal for Oliver Stone Doc (indieWIRE)

Venezuela - New moves to build people's power (Green Left)

World - Naomi Klein Brings 'Shock Doctrine' to Ithaca College (Ithaca)

Latin America news roundup - March 22, 2010

2010-03-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Operating in the Obama Moment (ZVideo)

Bolivia - Bolivia's Easter Elections (Democracy Center)

Colombia - Colombian journalist shot and killed (Washington Post)

Cuba - Margaret Randall’s Years in Cuba (Monthly Review)

Brazil - Lula Keeps Extraordinary Rating in Brazil (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

Brazil - Brazil's broadband plan to provide cheaper high-speed Internet access (Xinhua)

Brazil - Brazil still not crying for Israel (South/South)

Colombia - James Carville is Santos' Top Campaign Advisor (O Colombia)

Honduras - Canada's Long Embrace of the Honduran Dictatorship (Counterpunch)

Latin America - Militarizing Latin America (Monthly Review)

Latin America news roundup - March 19, 2010

2010-03-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

Commander of U.S. Southern Command Gen. Douglas Fraser, U.S. Air Force, conducts a press briefing in the Pentagon on Jan. 13, 2010. DoD photo by R. D. Ward.

TOP STORY - The anti-Venezuela election campaign (Guardian)

Bolivia - Bolivia summit to seek global climate change referendum (AFP)

Colombia - Colombia voters elect political novices with possible links to death squads (Washington Post)

Colombia - A massacre explored: Part I (Global Post)

Colombia - A massacre explored: Part II (Global Post)

Cuba - Havana does not negotiate under pressure, political scientist says (Progreso Weekly)

Honduras - Poll Proposed by Resistance Challenges Regime (Upside Down World)

Honduras - Manifesto of the Second National Summit for the Re-Foundation of Honduras (Monthly Review)

United States - Christian Parenti: Fairytale Democracy (GRITtv)

World - House Afghanistan Debate: What Kucinich Accomplished (Huffington Post)

Second Latin America news roundup - March 17, 2010

2010-03-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

Bolivia's President Evo Morales waves to reporters upon his arrival at in Santiago, Wednesday, March 10, 2010. Morales is in Chile to attend Pinera's inauguration on March 11. (AP Photo/Jorge Sanchez)

TOP STORY - Argentine Nobel Peace prize winner nominates Evo Morales (Buenos Aires Herald)

Brazil - Brazil Encourages Israel, Palestinians to Start Talks (Xinhua)

Colombia - Results from March 14 Elections (Elites TV)

Honduras - Responding to the Honduran Coup (Foreign Policy in Focus)

Latin America - Latin American countries seek to eradicate hunger, poverty (Xinhua)

Mexico - Facing Protests in Ciudad Juárez, Calderón Says U.S. Must Reduce Consumption to Stem Mexico’s Drug War Violence (Latin America News Dispatch)

United States - Irrefutable Evidence to Indict Bernanke and Greenspan (Daily Kos)

United States - Naomi Klein to speak on American capitalism at Washington University in St. Louis (Washington University in St. Louis)

Uruguay - Uruguay seeks expanded ties with Iran (Press TV)

World - Support Our Troops: Boycott the Israeli Occupation (Truthout)

Latin America news roundup - March 17, 2010

2010-03-17T17:59:00.000-07:00

Sao Paulo's Governor Jose Serra (L), Brazil's chief of staff Dilma Rousseff and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attend the opening ceremony of the new Case New Holland Industrial Complex in Sorocaba, 70 km (43 miles) north of Sao Paulo March 2, 2010. The new Case Holland industrial Complex Latin America results from an investment of R$1 billion ($558 million) that is part of an investment plan by the Fiat Group for the 2007-2011 period. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

TOP STORY - Brazil's Rousseff narrows gap on Serra: poll (Reuters)

Brazil - Brazil ruling party candidate gets legal boost (Associated Press)

Brazil - Brazil helicopters set for Colombia hostage handover (Reuters)

Chile - Naomi Klein: How Socialism Protected Chileans from Earthquake Fall-out (AlterNet)

Colombia - U.S. Bases in Colombia Rattle the Region (Progressive)

Cuba - Cuba-U.S. Rhetoric Timeline: Hope for a Basic Shift in Policy Disintegrates into Continued Polarization (Council on Hemispheric Affairs)

Latin America - We are ALL Americans! Cindy Sheehan interviews Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales (Dandelion Salad)

Latin America - Lessons from Latin American Social Movements for the US: Left Forum in New York, March 19-21 (Toward Freedom)

Latin America - America's Backyard: The United States and Latin America from the Monroe Doctrine to the War on Terror (ebook30.com)

United States - Charity CEOs Get Rich by Taking From the Poor (Truthout)

Latin America news roundup - March 16, 2010

2010-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Noam Chomsky on Obama’s Foreign Policy, His Own History of Activism, and the Importance of Speaking Out (Democracy Now!)

Brazil - Follow Brazil's Example (The Nation)

Brazil - Da Silva welcomed as symbol of peace (Jerusalem Post)

Ecuador - Ecuador's Correa comes up with a great idea (Lat/Am Daily)

Honduras - Honduras After the Coup: Fear and Defiance (OpEdNews)

Honduras - Transcript of Interview with Exiled Los Necios Militant Gilberto Ríos (Quotha)

Latin America - Watch Apology of an Economic Hitman (Daily Paul)

Uruguay - Uruguay's new president promises policy continuity (Xinhua)

World - Support Our Troops: Boycott the Israeli Occupation (Huffington Post)

World - A New Capitalist Order (Global Finance)

Second Latin America news roundup - March 15, 2010

2010-03-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva places a wreath during a welcome ceremony upon his arrival to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem, Monday, March 15, 2010. Lula da Silva is in Israel on the first official visit by a Brazilian leader. (AP Photo/Jim Hollander, Pool)

TOP STORY - Brazil leader talks Mideast peace, how to be friends with both Israel and Iran (Haaretz)

Bolivia - Is Bolivia Heading for Andean-Amazonian Capitalism? (Bolivia Rising)

Brazil - AP Interview: Silva says Iran sanctions dangerous (Associated Press)

Colombia - Court seeks protection for DAS witnesses (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - Cordoba threatens to sue Arias for slander (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - Piedad Cordoba seeks to re-establish ties with Venezuela (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - Colombian Rebels Deliver Coordinates for Hostage Releases (Colombia Reports)

Ecuador - Our country is open for business (Miami Herald)

Mexico - Cananea Mine Battle Reveals Anti-Labor Offensive in Mexico, United States (Center of International Policy)

United States - Robert Rubin: Why Won't He Go Away? (Truthout)

Latin America news roundup - March 15, 2010

2010-03-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Sean Penn's thoughts on Chavez (Real Time with Bill Maher)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula kicks off Mideast tour (AFP)

Colombia - Cordoba says supporters were threatened (Colombia Reports)

Ecuador - Ecuador's president hits out at 'hypocritical' US criticism (Morning Star)

Haiti - Chomsky on Haiti (Counterpunch)

Honduras - FIAN: Human Rights and coup d’etat in Honduras (Honduras: Human Rights)

Latin America - 25 years ago: Vatican inquisition of “liberation theologians” (World Socialist Web Site)

Mexico - Chiapas Calling: Multinational Raids Displace Maya (Pacific Free Press)

World - Greenspan's Nightmare Is Much of the World's Dream (ZNet)

World - The Decline of Israel: Interview with Jonathan Cook (Creative-i)

Second Latin America news roundup - March 14, 2010

2010-03-14T19:24:00.000-07:00

More at The Real News

TOP STORY - Clinton's Latin American tour (Real News)

Colombia - ‘Avatars’ threaten to revive paramilitary-linked politics (France 24)

Cuba - Changes pending to Cuba's paternalistic economy, sources say (Reuters)

Cuba - Cuban TV runs series on attempts to kill Castro (The Times of India)

El Salvador - Eighteen years later, President Funes moves forward with implementation of Peace Accords (CISPES)

El Salvador - Film showing of Romero in California's Bay Area (Bay Area Latin America Solidarity Coalition)

Latin America - Apology of an Economic Hitman (Link TV)

Nicaragua - Nicaragua Faces “Crisis of Credibility,” Ortega’s Brother Says (Latin American Herald Tribune)

World - A new book says economic inequality is the social division we should be worrying about (Boston Globe)

World - Naomi Klein calls out an Israeli thinktank for misrepresenting her views (Mondoweis)

Latin America news roundup - March 14, 2010

2010-03-14T19:16:00.000-07:00

TOP STORY - Mark Weisbrot on Obama Administration Policy toward Latin America (The Young Turks)

Brazil - Dilma Rousseff, Lula's enforcer, is favourite to be next Brazilian president (Guardian)

Brazil - Ambitious Development Plan to Cut Inequality (IPS)

Chile - Chile shaken to the core (McClatchy)

Cuba - Strides Towards Sustainability (Resurgence Magazine)

Haiti - Disaster Capitalism on Steroids (Dissident Voice)

United States - An Oscar for America's Hubris (Truthout)

United States - Relax, the Empire's in Safe Hands (Counterpunch)

World - A new arrogance in the Middle Kingdom (Business Standard)

World - Don't celebrate these billionaires, be horrified by their existence (Guardian)

Latin America news roundup - March 6, 2010

2010-03-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks to students in Sao Paulo, Wednesday, March 3, 2010. Clinton is on a two-day official visit to Brazil. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
TOP STORY - Clinton's Latin American clangers (Guardian)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula to visit Palestinian territories (Al hdhod)

Colombia - Resisting Internal Displacement from Ancestral Lands: Afro-Colombians in Northern Cauca (WOLA)

Haiti - Non-random Acts of Kindness (Huffington Post)

Honduras - Hillary Clinton’s Honduran Disgrace (The Progressive)

United States - Is Military Keynesianism the Solution? (Dollars & Sense)

United States - The Pentagon's appetite is killing us (ZNet)

Uruguay - Compromise and Celebration in Uruguay (Counterpunch)

Venezuela - Uribe defends Venezuela against FARC-ETA accusations (Colombia Reports)

Venezuela - Venezuelan court reinstates anti-Chavez mayor (Associated Press)

Latin America news roundup - February 28, 2010

2010-02-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

Motorists pass under a footbridge that has collapsed over the Panamerican Highway after a major earthquake in Curico February 27, 2010. A huge magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early on Saturday, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami that rolled menacingly across the Pacific. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado (CHILE - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT)

TOP STORY - 8.8 magnitude earthquake hits Chile, tsunami warning issued (Christian Science Monitor)

Bolivia - Bolivian women rise up (Green Left Weekly)

Bolivia - US protects Bolivian terrorist (Green Left Weekly)

Brazil - Brazilian feminists on the alert (Open Democracy)

Chile - How to Help in Chile (The Nation)

Haiti - Haitian Garment Workers Should Get at Least $5 a Day (Huffington Post)

Haiti - Brazil calls for cancellation of Haiti's debt (Xinhua)

Latin America - Liberals and Military Dictatorships: From Johnson to Obama (Z Magazine)

United States - 'Freefall': Joseph Stiglitz on deregulation's ongoing threat to the economy (Seattle Times)

United States - Joseph Stiglitz: Bankers Made Reckless Bets on the Economy, Knowing Taxpayers Were Going to Pick up the Tab (One Penny Street)

Poorly chosen words from State Department spokesman about Brazil

2010-02-27T23:41:00.000-08:00

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on February 24. Clinton will meet Wednesday with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Foreign Minister Celso Amorim in Brasilia during her five-country tour of Central and Latin America. (AFP/Getty Images/Astrid Riecken)

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

February 28, 2010

It's election year in South America's regional power, but somehow that point seems to be lost on the State Department's spokesman, Philip Crowley. Crowley's words about Brazil's opposition to a campaign to isolate Iran shows just how arrogant and hypocritical the U.S. foreign policy establishment is. In preparation for Secretary of State Clinton's visit to Brazil, Crowley is quoted as saying, "clearly Brazil is an emerging power with growing influence in the region and around the world, and we believe that with that influence comes responsibility."

Never mind that, in an election year, an emerging power like Brazil is probably not going to take kindly to U.S. lectures about how it needs to act with greater "responsibility" on matters of foreign policy.

Funny how U.S. policy-makers so rarely apply to themselves the principle that with power comes responsibility. How much "responsibility" did the United States show in obstructing a resolution to a Honduran coup whose precedent poses real dangers to democracy in the region?

Given that the Iraq war was justified on the false pretext of weapons of mass destruction, how much "responsibility" is Clinton showing by banging the war drums on exactly the same pretext on Iran?

Are we really in any position to be lecturing Brazil about "responsibility"?

Third Latin America news roundup - February 27, 2010

2010-02-27T21:12:00.000-08:00

More at The Real News

TOP STORY - Thriving black markets in Haiti aid (Real News)

Brazil - Brazil as a Key Player (Americas Program, Center for International Policy)

Brazil - World should avoid isolating Iran: Brazil (AFP)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula plans no 2014 election bid: Report (Reuters)

Haiti - Brazil’s Lula Visits Quake-Devastated Haiti (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Honduras - Call in Solidarity with the Honduras Resistance (CISPES)

Latin America - The U.S. and its unruly Latin American ’backyard’ (Committee for the Abolition of Third World Debt)

North America - Peer Review as Censorship (Counterpunch)

United States - Max Keiser with John Perkins: Economic Hit Men Now Used on Americans (Dprogam.Net)

United States - Defense elephant in America’s living room (Canadian Dimension)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 27, 2010

2010-02-27T18:22:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Peter Hallward on "Damming the Flood: Haiti, Aristide, and the Politics of Containment" (Democracy Now!)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula makes final official visit to Cuba (Washington Post)

Central America - The church and Central America (Guardian)

Cuba - Brazilian president says Castro seems recovered (Associated Press)

Cuba - Cuba struggles to preserve past in hard times (Reuters)

Haiti - Private Contractors 'Like Vultures Coming to Grab the Loot' (IPS)

Latin America - Independent Latin America Forms Its Own Organization (Huffington Post)

United States - The Pentagon and the Suckers: Gargantua's Mouth (Counterpunch)

Venezuela - Exploring the Dialectic of the Bolivarian Revolution (Monthly Review)

World - Behind Clinton's tough talk on Iran (Guardian)

My apologies for the delay in posting news roundups

2010-02-27T17:50:00.000-08:00

Between my dissertation and the labor activism that I've been involved in recently, the blog has fallen by the wayside. But I'll be updating readers with a bunch of news roundups on Latin America this weekend.

Best,
Justin

Latin America news roundup - February 27, 2010

2010-02-27T13:30:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Honduras: We Refuse To Go Back (GRITtv)

Argentina - Argentina's Dirty War Still Haunts Youngest Victims (NPR)

Brazil - U.S. military tries to peddle Boeing F-18s on Brazil (AFP)

Brazil - Brazil to Build an Additional Million Homes for Poor (BusinessWeek)

Ecuador - Don’t Mess with Our People, Ecuador Tells Colombian Rebels (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Honduras - "Neither Forgive nor Forget" Shouts the Resistance (Honduras Culture and Politics)

United States - Colonial War Media: Reflections on a Recent Issue of the New York Times (ZNet)

Venezuela - BBC = Biased Broadcasting Corporation (Axis of Logic)

World - In drug war, failed old ideas never die (Reuters)

World - With Avatar Poised to Win Big at the Oscars, James Cameron Should Help Some Na’vi Right Here on Earth (Indypendent)

Latin America news roundup - February 17, 2010

2010-02-15T21:21:00.000-08:00

President of the Argentine Central Bank, Martin Redrado (C), speaks to journalists as he enters the National Congress building to testify before a special committee formed to study his case in Buenos Aires on January 27. Redrado, announced his resignation Friday amid a row with President Cristina Kirchner over her bid to use reserves to pay down government debt. (AFP/File/Pablo Molina)

TOP STORY - Answer to the people, not big finance (Guardian)

Chile - Chile’s President-Elect Starts Cashing In (Upside Down World)

Chile - The many faces of Roberto Bolaño: Poet (OF Blog of the Fallen)

Colombia - Uribe's closest aides probed in wiretap scandal (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - Why the war on drugs in Colombia may never be won (Guardian)

Colombia - The Medellín “non-aggression pact” (Plan Colombia and Beyond)

El Salvador - Killings Bear Hallmarks of Death Squads (IPS)

El Salvador - Join the Romero Vive Campaign (Share Foundation)

Honduras - Honduran leader keeps military chief behind coup (AP)

Venezuela - The New York Times Does Not Like Hugo Chavez (The Reasoned Review)

World - Financial crisis hurting millions: ADB, UN (AFP)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 15, 2010

2010-02-15T12:59:00.001-08:00

TOP STORY - Naomi Klein in Conversation with Raj Patel (C-SPAN)

Argentina - Impunity Is Not Just a Memory (NACLA)

Colombia - Colombian Voters Threatened with Loss of Government Aid (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Colombia - FARC gives terms for hostage release (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - UN expert calls on Colombian authorities to focus on Afro-Colombians’ plight (ReliefWeb)

Ecuador - Ecuador's Version of the Tea Party Movement? (Alterdestiny)

Haiti - Dominican solidarity with Haiti (Socialist Workers Party)

World - The Information Super-Sewer (Truthdig)

World - Review of Shock Doctrine documentary (Daemon's Movies)

World - The new McCarthyism sweeping Israel (Independent)

Latin America news roundup - February 15, 2010

2010-02-15T00:50:00.000-08:00

Bill Fletcher, Jr "The Economic Crisis" from Frank Llewellyn on Vimeo.

TOP STORY - Bill Fletcher: Right-wing populism must be understood, or else (Greanville Post)

Chile - Chile’s Piñera Firmly Backs Insulza for OAS Post (Santiago Times)

Ecuador - Ecuador: Governmental Help for Haiti (Global Voices Online)

Honduras - All is Not Quiet in Honduras as Unionist is Murdered (Vivirlatino)

Honduras - Interview: Tortured, Exiled Honduran Journalist Recalls His Experiences (Upside Down World)

Mexico - Growing crisis over failed drug war policy (World Socialist Web Site)

United States - President of Cant (New Left Review)

United States - America, the land of inequality (World Socialist Web Site)

Venezuela - Review of Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela (Green Left)

World - Beyond the World Social Forum ... the Fifth International (Links)

Third Latin America news roundup - February 14, 2010

2010-02-14T23:09:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Stories of Guazapa (Tim's El Salvador Blog)

Brazil - Lula da Silva’s closest advisor denies a repeat of Chilean scenario in Brazil (MercoPress)

Ecuador - Ecuador Delivers Land Titles to Andean Indians (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Latin America - Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy, by Yves Engler (Democracy)

Paraguay - Paternity claims in Paraguay dropped (Catholic News Service)

United States - Chris Hedges: The Walls are Literally Crumbling Around Us (Dandelion Salad)

Venezuela - Tens of Thousands of Students Rally in Support of Chavez in Venezuela (Venezuelanalysis)

World - FDL Book Salon Welcomes John Perkins, Author of Hoodwinked (FireDogLake)

World - CIA Death Squads are Alive and Well In Today's Drone Industry (American Everyman)

World - Stiglitz: Fears Greece will go bust irrational (Reuters)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 14, 2010

2010-02-14T17:16:00.000-08:00

In this Jan. 24, 2010 photo, from left to right, Minister of Health Sonia Polo, Minister of Justice Nilda Copa, Minister of Rural Development and Lands Nemesia Chacollo, Minister of Education Roberto Aguilar, Minister of Labor Carmen Trujillo, Minister of Environment and Water Maria Esther Udaeta and Minister of Productive Development Antonia Rodriguez attend the speech by Bolivia' President Evo Morales at the government palace in La Paz. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Bolivia - Bolivia tackles gender equality in government (Associated Press)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula sends anti-fraud bill to Congress (Reuters)

Chile - The Battle for Chile featured at Food for Thought Books in Amherst (Daily Collegian)

Guatemala - The Best-Kept Secrets: The Military's (IPS)

Haiti - Imperium Watch: "Help" for Haiti (Valley Advocate)

Haiti - US has a responsibility to help Haiti (Guardian)

Haiti - Latin American left slams US over Haiti (Morning Star)

United States - Assassination, Inc.: Government of Lawyers Spit on Law (Counterpunch)

Venezuela - Venezuela and the BBC - Part 1 (New Left Project)

Venezuela - Venezuela and the BBC - Part 2 (New Left Project)

Latin America news roundup - February 14, 2010

2010-02-13T23:07:00.000-08:00

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff attends a Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) ceremony at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia February 4, 2010. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes (BRAZIL - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

TOP STORY - Lula’s Favoured Candidate Gains in Brazil (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

Bolivia - Empowering indigenous women leaders in Bolivia and across Latin America and the Caribbean (ENEWSPF)

Brazil - The race to replace Lula (Aljazeera)

Brazil - Brazil and Chile’s president-elect support Insulza as OAS chief (MercoPress)

Chile - Voters disillusioned as right takes power (Green Left Weekly)

Colombia - 'Colombian cities should stop taking care of the displaced' (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - FARC: No Military Flyovers a Condition for Colombia Hostage Releases (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Cuba - How credible is Human Rights Watch on Cuba? (Links)

Haiti - Christian Imperialism in Haiti? Missionaries, Theo-tourism, and the Invasion of the Global South (Religion Dispatches)

United States - Obama’s muddled solutions (NBN)

Fourth Latin America news roundup - February 13, 2010

2010-02-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

A supporter of the Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez dressed as the devil gestures during a rally with students in Caracas, Friday, Feb. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

TOP STORY - Hugo Chávez’s First Decade in Office: Breakthroughs and Shortcomings (Latin American Perspectives)

Bolivia - Total starts natgas exploration project in Bolivia (Reuters)

Colombia - Washington Post Makes Things Up In Pushing "Free Trade" Deals, Again (American Prospect)

Haiti - UNASUR Creates $300 Million Fund To Aid Haiti’s Recovery At Meeting In Quito (Latin America News Dispatch)

Honduras - Ongoing horrific human rights abuses of the Honduran (para)military regime (Quotha)

Latin America - Latin America distances itself from U.S. on drug war (AFP)

United States - Skyrocketing Profits for Big Insurance Companies (The Rag Blog)

Uruguay - Uruguay's ex-ruler Bordaberry jailed for 30 years (BBC)

World - Disparity feeds injustice (Indian Country Today)

World - Stiglitz calls on Euro zone governments to “burn the speculators” (MercoPress)

Third Latin America news roundup - February 12, 2010

2010-02-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Two Important Video Reports from Haiti (CEPR)

Brazil - Brazilian Journalist of the Day: Ademir Malavazi (The New World Lusophone Sousaphone)

Haiti - UN "alarmed" at Lack of Support for Agricultural Needs (CEPR)

Haiti - Criticisms of media coverage of Haiti (CEPR)

Haiti - Only 7.5% of Tents Requested are in Haiti (CEPR)

Honduras - Truth Commission In Honduras Will Investigate Overthrow of Manuel Zelaya (Latin America News Dispatch)

United States - Review of The New Class Society: Goodbye American Dream? (The Rag Blog)

United States - Pledge to Save Journalism (GRITtv)

World - Author Steven Hill on “Europe’s Promise: Why the European Way Is the Best Hope for an Insecure Age” (Democracy Now!)

World - Joe Sacco: Images Can Transport You (GRITtv)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 13, 2010

2010-02-13T10:01:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Upcoming screenings of Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela in Australia (Alborada)

Brazil - Iran Talks Should Go Via IAEA, Brazil Open To Help -Minister (Dow Jones)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula sacks general opposing probe into human rights violations (Xinhua)

Brazil - Brazil governor arrested on fraud scandal (Reuters)

Ecuador - Ecuador’s Correa Undergoes Successful Operation in Cuba (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Haiti - Actor, Activist Danny Glover: Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide “Mystified” at US Resistance to His Return (Democracy Now!)

Mexico - Consumers Join Electrical Workers (NACLA)

United States - Howard Zinn: A Call to Action (Huffington Post)

United States - Unemployment? Not for the Rich (Wall Street Journal)

World - A life in politics: New Left Review at 50 (Guardian)

Latin America news roundup - February 13, 2010

2010-02-13T02:55:00.000-08:00

Taking it slow: Members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) rest upon arrival at Oventic, in southern Mexico, in August 2003. (Photo by JORGE UZON/AFP/Getty Images)

TOP STORY - Escape From the Dismal Life: Raj Patel’s new book explains the value of nothing, and everything (In These Times)

Brazil - Lula Sets Law for Brazil to Retaliate on U.S. Patents (Bloomberg)

Brazil - Brazil’s Rousseff to Keep Lula’s Economic Program, Valor Says (Bloomberg)

Brazil - Empire of Savagery in the Amazon (New York Times)

Brazil - When Ford got stuck in first gear (Irish Times)

Cuba - What Was Alan Gross Doing in Havana? (Politics Daily)

Haiti - A Creditor, Not a Debtor (The Nation)

Latin America - Washington Post Calls For Ousting Chile’s Insulza From OAS (The Santiago Times)

United States - Andrew Sullivan is Not an Anti-Semite (Huffington Post)

United States - U.S. Poised to Commit War Crimes in Marjah (Common Dreams)

Latin America news roundup - February 12, 2010

2010-02-12T03:56:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - As Haiti Toll Revised to 230,000, Journalist Reed Lindsay Reports on Scarcity of Aid in Devastated Port-au-Prince (Democracy Now!)

Argentina - ‘To Resist is to Survive’ (In These Times)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula refutes opposition criticism over handpicked successor (Xinhua)

Brazil - Brazil Ministers: Space For Talks With Iran On Nuclear Issue (Dow Jones)

Haiti - UNASUR to help Haiti reconstruction (CCTV)

Honduras - Consolidating the Coup in Honduras (Counterpunch)

Honduras - The making of a death squad “democracy” (World Socialist Web Site)

United States - Wall Street Wants a Refund (Truthout)

World - American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein (GRITtv)

World - Lesson of credit crunch hasn’t been learned, says Joseph Stiglitz (NBN)

Third Latin America news roundup - February 11, 2010

2010-02-11T22:17:00.000-08:00

Supporters of Chile's new president-elect Sebastian Pinera celebrate, one holding a bust of former Gen. Augusto Pinochet, after the runoff presidential election in Santiago, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010. Billionaire Sebastian Pinera won the election, ending two decades of center-left rule. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)

TOP STORY - Chilean Activists Fear Setbacks Under Rightwing Government (IPS)

Colombia - Magazine Closure Deals Major Blow to Investigative Reporting (IPS)

Colombia - Love in the Time of Hegemony: A Primer on U.S.-Colombia Relations (As it Ought to Be)

Honduras - History Repeats: Committee of Relatives of the Detained-Disappeared of Honduras (MiMundo.org)

United States - Davos: Stiglitz and Rogoff, Part 2 (Reuters)

United States - Papantonio and Joseph Stiglitz on the Economic Freefall (One Penny Sheet)

United States - Stiglitz: It's Wall Street Bonuses, Stupid (BNET)

United States - You’re an Anti-Semite If You’re Against War (Veterans Today)

Venezuela - Sealing Shift, Chávez Gives Contracts to Western Oil Companies (New York Times)

World - Latvia's Recession: The Cost of Adjustment with an "Internal Devaluation" (Monthly Review)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 11, 2010

2010-02-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - America's Sorry History with Haiti (Consortium News)

Brazil - Brazil to hold high-speed rail auction on May 2 (Reuters)

Brazil - Brazil denies jet deal done after reported Rafale price cut (AFP)

Costa Rica - Luxury Homeowners Evade Solidarity Tax (IPS)

Haiti - America's Sad History with Haiti, Part 2 (Consortium News)

Haiti - A gesture for Haiti (Guardian)

Haiti - Members of Congress Urge Debt Cancellation for Haiti (Common Dreams)

Latin America - Fifth International and the left movement in Latin America (Workers Education)

Latin America - Argentina/Brazil set to grow 5%, helping to ease bilateral trade relations (MercoPress)

United States - U.S. Tolerance of Income Inequality (Center for Strategic & International Studies)

Latin America news roundup - February 11, 2010

2010-02-11T00:25:00.000-08:00

Justice Minister Copa started her political career as a trade unionist

TOP STORY - Bolivian women spearhead Morales revolution (BBC)

Argentina - Orphaned in Argentina's dirty war, man is torn between two families (Washington Post)

Bolivia - Bolivia Creates Space Agency for Satellite Project (IANS/EFE)

Colombia - Threatened journalists announce "state of terror" in Colombia and blame Uribe (Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas)

Haiti - Haiti earthquake death toll hits 230,000 (Morning Star)

Honduras - ‘More Terror’ in Honduras, as Another Unionist Murdered (In These Times)

United States - If Michael Moore Were to Run for President (Truthout)

United States - The CIA's Greatest Hits (Scribd)

United States - Politicians, the press, and foreign policy: What to read (Foreign Policy)

Venezuela - Venezuela seals biggest oil deals under Chavez (Reuters)

Latin America news roundup - February 5, 2010

2010-02-04T21:52:00.000-08:00

Porfirio ¨Pepe¨ Lobo (left) is sworn in as the new president of Honduras on Wednesday, January 27. "This election marked the...highest voter turnout in our history,¨ Lobo said during his inauguration speech. In fact, just 49 percent of the electorate went to the polls, the lowest national participation rate of all time. (Photo by Jeremy Kryt)

TOP STORY - A Lobo in Sheep’s Clothing? (In These Times)

Colombia - Updates on the La Macarena gravesite (Plan Colombia and Beyond)

Colombia - Same Paramilitary Abuses; New Faces, New Names (IPS)

Costa Rica - Polling gets Narrower as Sunday’s Presidential Elections in Costa Rica Approach (COHA)

Cuba - In Cuba, peso makes a comeback, pleasing customers (Reuters)

El Salvador - Stop private firms exploiting poor states (Guardian)

Haiti - Cuban-Haitian Medical Teams in Haiti Go International (Havana Note)

Haiti - Limited Compassion for Haiti (The Killing Train)

Peru - CIA Misled Congress, Dragged Feet on Disciplining Employees in Killings of US Citizens in Peru Drug War Plane Shootdown (Drug War Chronicle)

Venezuela - Viva Hugo Chavez: Oliver Stone Takes on IMF and the World Bank in South of the Border (Santa Barbara Independent)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 4, 2010

2010-02-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Center for Economic and Policy Research launches new blog on Haiti (Center for Economic and Policy Research)

Colombia - Warning on former Colombian paramilitaries threat (Financial Times)

Haiti - Unasur seeks to coordinate relief efforts in Haiti (Xinhua)

Haiti - There's real hope from Haiti and it's not what you expect (Independent)

Honduras - Ex-Leader of Honduras Says Successor Must Hasten Purge (New York Times)

Honduras - OAS mission to establish truth commission in Honduras (Xinhua)

United States - The Corporate Takeover of U.S. Democracy (In These Times)

Venezuela - Marta Harnecker: Decentralization key in fighting bureaucratism and corruption (VHeadline)

Venezuela - BBC host repeats false claim that Chavez accused U.S. of causing Haitian earthquake (Media Lens)

World - Davos: Stiglitz and Rogoff - Part 1 (Reuters)

Latin America news roundup - February 4, 2010

2010-02-04T18:44:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Haitians will defend their sovereignty (Real News)

Brazil - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva: Brazil is building economic strength by lifting millions out of poverty (Independent)

Brazil - Brazil agrees on price to buy French jets - report (Reuters)

Colombia - Military Buildup in Colombia: A Rumor of War (The Rag Blog)

El Salvador - SOA Watch Romero Legacy Delegation, March 19-26, 2010 (School of the Americas Watch)

Haiti - Haitians will defend their sovereignty Pt.2 (Real News)

Honduras - Impunity on the Prowl, in Honduras and Here (Huffington Post)

United States - Whose News Is It, Anyway? (GRITtv)

Venezuela - US Intelligence Report Classifies Venezuela as "Anti-US Leader" (Monthly Review)

World - Keynes v. Hayek, Full Video (Open Economics)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 3, 2010

2010-02-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - A People’s History of American Empire (GRITtv)

Colombia - Updates on the La Macarena gravesite (Plan Colombia and Beyond)

Ecuador - Ecuador to Chevron: Do The Right Thing (GRITtv)

Haiti - The Tremor Felt Round the World (Huffington Post)

Haiti - Ciné Institute: Stories of Heroes (GRITtv)

United States - From History to Action: Inspired by Howard Zinn (GRITtv)

United States - Ben Jealous: History from the Bottom Up (GRITtv)

United States - Progressives and the Democratic Party Pt.2 (Real News)

World - More reasons not to expect "regime change" in Iran (Foreign Policy)

World - Ignoble Prizes in Economics (Open Economics)

Latin America news roundup - February 3, 2010

2010-02-03T04:27:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Bill Quigley: “Disgraceful” Suspension of Medical Evacuations Captures US Indifference to Magnitude of Haitian Suffering (Democracy Now!)

Brazil - Brazilian congress willing to approve reformed power accord with Paraguay (MercoPress)

Colombia - A day for the “false positives” suspects (Plan Colombia and Beyond)

Colombia - Human Rights in Colombia: Rep. Jim McGovern (D)(Huffington Post)

Cuba - School for liars: Posada Carriles Tells the El Paso Court "I lied because the CIA taught me how" (Machetera)

El Salvador - Salvadoran Anti-Mining Activists Risk Their Lives by Taking On ‘Free Trade’ (NACLA)

United States - An interesting quote from I.F. Stone (Still Hangin' on a Cross)

United States - The Defense Industry is Pleased with Obama (GRITtv)

United States - Progressives and the Democratic Party (Real News)

World - Admitting Wrongdoing at the World Economic Forum (GRITtv)

Second Latin America news roundup - February 2, 2010

2010-02-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Globalization Documentary Discusses Paradox of Poverty in Era of Unparalleled Wealth (Black Collegian)

Colombia - “Collateral Damage” an Issue in Colombia’s War Against Rebels (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Colombia - U.S.-Colombian Base Pact Accelerates "Dangerous Trend" In Latin America (Australia.TO)

Haiti - Haiti's 'odious debt' must be completely and unconditionally cancelled (Pambazuka News)

Honduras - US to Restart Aid to Honduras (Democracy Now!)

United States - Barack Obama and the Fading of Hope (The Progressive)

Venezuela - The Challenges of 21st Century Socialism in Venezuela (ZNet)

Venezuela - Venezuela And Russia Partner To Develop Oil Field In Orinoco Region (Latin America News Dispatch)

Venezuela - Hugo Chavez Did Not Accuse the U.S. of Causing the Haitian Earthquake (The Anti Press)

World - The Age of Monopoly-Finance Capital (Monthly Review)

Latin America news roundup - February 2, 2010

2010-01-31T16:26:00.000-08:00

Chief of Staff Minister Dilma Rousseff attends a launch ceremony in Brasilia, January 11, 2010. Brazil's October presidential election looks the least threatening to economic stability in 25 years, but vital differences between the two main candidates mean much will be at stake for businesses and investors. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

TOP STORY - Lula’s Chosen Heir Surges in Brazil Presidential Poll (Bloomberg)

Chile - Death in the South by Jacobo Timerman (suite101.com)

Haiti - Exploitation Nation? Naomi Klein worries Haitians won't have a role shaping their future (Newsweek)

Honduras - Uribe Signs Security Pact with Lobo, Travels to Colombia (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Latin America - Why Washington cares about Haiti and Honduras (Huffington Post)

United States - A More Permanent Underclass (Open Economics)

United States - The Lobby versus Iran (Foreign Policy)

Venezuela - Australia screenings of Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela (Som Post)

Venezuela - Russia, Venezuela step up oil cooperation (Xinhua)

World - World Social Forum: Reconciling Social and Environmental Needs (IPS)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 31, 2010

2010-01-31T11:26:00.000-08:00

[Editor's Note: Thanks to BoRev.Net for alerting me to the three stories on Colombia below.]

TOP STORY - Howard Zinn (1922-2010): In Lieu of Flowers, Organize (The Field)

Brazil - Arruda and the Quasi-Government: Old School and New School (The New World Lusophone Sousaphone)

Colombia - Army mass grave in La Macarena (Plan Colombia and Beyond)

Colombia - Rights court: Colombia apologizes for 1994 killing (Associated Press)

Colombia - Seven Colombian officials charged with wiretapping (Reuters)

Haiti - Haiti president Rene Preval criticises lack of coordination in aid relief (DPA)

Haiti - Our Man in Port Au Prince: The Folha on Haiti’s “Radical Fringe” (The New World Lusophone Sousaphone)

United States - New mindset for US foreign policy? (Real News)

United States - AWOL From the State of the Union: Peace, Reconciliation and Debt (Truthout)

World - The Yes Men target World Economic Forum (Unreported)

Latin America news roundup - January 31, 2010

2010-01-31T03:20:00.000-08:00

A US Blackhawak helicopter hovers over a landing zone at the airport in Port-au-Prince as US military personnel looks on on January, 19. The US military defended its management of the flow of aid flights into Port-au-Prince airport Wednesday, saying it was working hard to free up bottlenecks but space was limited. (AFP/File/Joseph Eid)

TOP STORY - Will History Recall the Haiti Airlift? (Huffington Post)

Brazil - Lula da Silva calls for unity and warns followers about the “Piñera factor” (MercoPress)

Chile - Chilean fascist youth--what charm, what class... (News of the Restless)

Haiti - US military 'halts medical flights for Haiti victims' (The Raw Story)

Honduras - A conversation with Hugo Llorens (Quotha)

Latin America - Fast food making Latin American teens fat (Times of India)

United States - Data Visualization on US Health Care Expenses and The People's Health Reform (Alterdestiny)

United States - US Does Not Have Capitalism Now: Stiglitz (CNBC)

United States - Presidential assassinations of U.S. citizens (Salon)

World - Remember the illegal destruction of Iraq? (Salon)

Third Latin America news roundup - January 30, 2010

2010-01-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Remembering Howard Zinn (GRITtv)

Bolivia - Unprecedented Gender Parity in Cabinet (IPS)

Ecuador - Ecuador Rules Out Joint Military Operations with Colombia (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Latin America - Latin America rejects old U.S. approach in drugs war (Reuters)

Latin America - Drug Surveillance Drones Frequent Flyers in Latin America (New America Media)

North America - North America's Long Winter of Discontent (IPS)

United States - A Radical Treasure (New York Times)

United States - Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein Respond to Obama’s First State of the Union (Democracy Now!)

Venezuela - Lefties can be total dumbasses about Chávez, too (Inca Kola News)

World - The End of Poverty? (The Sly Fox)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 30, 2010

2010-01-30T09:11:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - From Fracking to Freedom Riders, Documentaries at Sundance Take on Wide Range of Human Rights & Social Justice Issues (Democracy Now!)

Brazil - Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin (Guardian)

Haiti - A nation on its knees (Guardian)

Haiti - Mark Weisbrot on Haiti (Counterspin)

Honduras - Honduras' new gov't finds nation 'bankrupt' (Associated Press)

Honduras - More repression on the horizon? (Quotha)

Latin America - The US game in Latin America (Guardian)

Venezuela - The Chávez obsession (Two Weeks Notice)

World - Another Kind of Economics Is Possible (IPS)

World - Inside Israeli land grabs (Real News)

Latin America news roundup - January 30, 2010

2010-01-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Howard Zinn (1922-2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove (Democracy Now!)

Cuba - Time for the U.S. and Cuba to Talk and More (COHA)

Cuba - Cuba woos Saudi investors (Saudi Gazette)

Haiti - Cuban Doctors Unsung Heroes Of Haitian Earthquake (NPR)

Haiti - Cuba Aids Haiti Relief (Voice of America)

Haiti - Haitians are Helping Haitians (Counterpunch)

Haiti - Ecuador president blasts aid 'imperialism' on Haiti trip (AFP)

Venezuela - Chavez Mulling Partnership with French Owner of Hypermarket Chain (Latin American Herald Tribune)

World - Social forum ends with vows to fight capitalism (Associated Press)

World - Sundance documentary shows how capitalism exploits tragedy (Salt Lake Tribune)

Latin America news roundup - January 28, 2010

2010-01-27T22:19:00.000-08:00

U.S. Army Pvt First Class Thomas, of the 82nd Airborne Division, stands among a crowd of about 2000 people to help maintain order as they line up for water distribution at a camp set up on a golf course in Port-au- Prince, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. AP

TOP STORY - Jesse Jackson, Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Haiti-Based Aid Groups, and Haiti Experts Call for U.S. to Prioritize Aid Delivery Over Military Deployment (TransAfrica Forum)

Colombia - 2.4 million Colombians displaced under Uribe presidency (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - Another classic from Uribe's model democracy (Inca Kola News)

Colombia - Death by natural causes, Colombian style (Inca Kola News)

Haiti - Story that Chavez claimed U.S. naval test caused Haiti earthquake appears false (Beautiful Horizons)

Haiti - Donate to MEDICC (MEDICC)

Honduras - Shot in the Back: The Honduran Coup (GRITtv)

Honduras - Honduras' unhappy coup (Guardian)

Honduras - More Terrible Death-Video From The Bloodless Coup (BoRev.Net)

World - Why would the pope whip himself? (Guardian)

Latin America news roundup - January 27, 2009

2010-01-27T20:13:00.000-08:00

More at The Real News

[Editor's Note: Just want to say that Howard Zinn was a wonderful man who spent much of his life writing the untold histories of poor and oppressed peoples. His legacy will live on.]

TOP STORY - Howard Zinn, historian who challenged status quo, dies at 87 (Boston Globe)

Brazil - Brazilian ruling coalition fears division among left wing voters (MercoPress)

El Salvador - Activists Link Mining Co. to Murders (IPS)

El Salvador - Indigenous Peoples in El Salvador Commemorate 1932 Massacre (Upside Down World)

Haiti - Security Kills (Counterpunch)

Haiti - Haiti and the 'Devil's Curse' (Real News)

Honduras - Zelaya En Route to Dominican Republic (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - More US spin on Honduras... (Honduras Coup 2009)

United States - The only line I liked from Obama: Democrats shouldn't "run for the hills" (Huffington Post)

United States - Maybe Obama Wants To Lose (FireDogLake)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 26, 2010

2010-01-26T19:38:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Sundance 2010 first looks: The Company Men, The Shock Doctrine (Time Out Chicago)

Colombia - Colombian Troops Indicted for Killing Indian (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Haiti - Chavez forgives Haiti's debt (AFP)

Haiti - Securing Disaster in Haiti (Haitianalysis.com)

United States - Sundance Founder Robert Redford on His Life, His Activism and the Importance of Independent Films (Democracy Now!)

United States - Stiglitz: Obama bank proposals a big step forward (Reuters)

United States - Nobel economist Stiglitz: "US privatized profits, socialized losses is not capitalism" (Examiner)

Venezuela - Venezuela's Pres. Chavez: 'We Need' Foreign Oil Investment (Wall Street Journal)

Venezuela - Revolution within the Revolution in Venezuela (Monthly Review)

World - Global Economic Trends: A Conversation with Joseph E. Stiglitz (Audio) (CFR)

Latin America news roundup - January 26, 2010

2010-01-26T18:50:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Michael Moore on Haiti, the Supreme Court Decision on Corporate Campaign Financing, and Why He Calls the Democrats “Disgusting” (Democracy Now!)

Chile - Water a Matter of National Security (IPS)

Colombia - Senate candidate: My campaign is financed by 'faggot' not drugs (Colombia Reports)

Haiti - To Heal Haiti, Look to History, Not Nature (New York Times)

Honduras - Charges Dismissed Against Military (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo: Another Disaster for Central American Democracy Waiting in the Wing (COHA)

Latin America - ¿Cambio? The Obama Administration in Latin America: A Disappointing Year in Perspective (COHA)

United States - The State of the Union Speech: What I'd like to hear but won't (Foreign Policy)

Uruguay - ‘Uruguay must crow for the eggs it produces’ (Progreso Weekly)

Venezuela - The community revolution (Red Pepper)

Latin America news roundup - January 25, 2010

2010-01-25T11:01:00.001-08:00

Newly elected Chilean President Sebastian Pinera (C), accompanied by his wife Cecilia (R) and his son Sebastian (L), delivers a speech after winning the presidential election in Santiago January 17, 2010. Pinera, a conservative billionaire, won Chile's presidential election on Sunday, ending two decades of centre-left rule in Latin America's most stable economy. REUTERS/Victor Ruiz Caballero (CHILE - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

TOP STORY - Chavez responds to Chilean president-elect: "We do not mess with the Chileans, and their new government should not mess with us" (Venezuelanalysis)

Ecuador - Ecuadorian Troops Kill 3 Colombian Rebels in Border Clash (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Haiti - Video: Haiti Report by TeleSur’s Reed Lindsay, Now Translated to English (Creative-i)

Haiti - How Much More Can Haiti Take? (GRITtv)

Haiti - U.S. "Security Concerns" Could Cost Many Lives in Haiti (Huffington Post)

Haiti - Haiti, Again? (Transnational Institute)

Haiti - Earthquake Frees Haitian Prisoners from Port-au-Prince Jail, 80% Never Charged with a Crime (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - “She Had a Desire to Live I Have Never Seen”: Rescue Worker Describes Pulling Woman Out of Rubble 7 Days After Haiti Quake (Democracy Now!)

Honduras - The Preventive Coup (Counterpunch)

Venezuela - Venezuela Speaks! Voices from the Grassroots: Vermont Event Announcement (Toward Freedom)

Fourth Latin America news roundup - January 24, 2010

2010-01-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Tè Tremblé: Journey to the Epicenter of the Earthquake (Democracy Now!)

Bolivia - Freedom's Just Another Word For...Bechtel On the Loose (BoRev.Net)

Brazil - Brazilian president calls for more investment in pharmaceuticals (Xinhua)

Haiti - Haiti needs water, not occupation (Guardian)

Haiti - Security “Red Zones” in Haiti Preventing Large Aid Groups from Effectively Distributing Aid (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Cine Institute Haiti: Thibaud UN (GRITtv)

Honduras - A new president in Honduras, same old Uncle Sam (Bucks County Courier Times)

Latin America - Haiti and Honduras: A more than symbolic parallel between coups and earthquakes (Quotha)

Latin America - Haiti, Honduras and the neo-colonization of the Americas (The Prison Notebook of Maximon)

World - WORLD SOCIAL FORUM: Positive Reviews, On Balance (IPS)

Third Latin America news roundup - January 24, 2010

2010-01-24T10:25:00.000-08:00

[Editor's Note: Thanks to Cuba Central (at the Center for Democracy in the Americas) for alerting me to eight of the following ten stories.]

TOP STORY - Muscling Latin America (The Nation)

Chile - Chile's Turning Point (The Nation)

Cuba - The interesting case of Alan Gross (Progreso Weekly)

El Salvador - El Salvador's new vision to the world (Miami Herald)

El Salvador - El Salvador President Apologizes to Civil War Victims (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Haiti - If Haiti is to `build back better' (Miami Herald)

Haiti - Cuban doctors help treat injured (Miami Herald)

Haiti - Haiti needs our help in myriad ways (The Washington Post)

Honduras - IACHR: De Facto Government Commited Serious Violations of Human Rights (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - The Honduran Resistance Will Continue (Honduras Coup 2009)

Second Latin America news review - January 24, 2010

2010-01-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

A Cuban doctor treats an earthquake victim in the Hospital Universitaire de la Paix in central Port-au-Prince January 18, 2010. Aid workers struggled to get food and medical help to injured and hungry earthquake survivors, many living in makeshift camps on streets strewn with debris and decomposing bodies. REUTERS/Milexsy Duran (HAITI - Tags: DISASTER HEALTH)

TOP STORY - Cuban doctors helping in Haiti (CNN)

Chile - Piñera's inauspicious start (Two Weeks Notice)

Haiti - Cuban doctors help in Haiti (CNN)

Haiti - Week in Review: Is it Fair to Compare Haiti to New Orleans? (GRITtv)

Haiti - Clinton: We appreciate Cuba's providing an air corridor for humanitarian flights to Haiti (Miami Herald)

Haiti - U.S. And Cuba Showing Signs Of Cooperation In Haiti Relief Effort (TPM)

Haiti - News and advice from Haiti (Inca Kola News)

Honduras - Posters from the National Popular Resistance Front (Quotha)

Peru - Old interview with Hugo Blanco (Culture & Dissent)

World - The price of our Middle East policy (Salon)

Latin America news roundup - January 24, 2010

2010-01-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - US should open dialogue on Colombian bases: Chavez (Colombia Reports)

Costa Rica - Last-Ditch Leftwing Alliance to 'Save' the Country (IPS)

Haiti - Haiti’s hard times: Are we helping or hurting even more? (Illinois Humanities Council)

Honduras - Ousted President Zelaya will leave Honduras next week (AP)

Latin America - Obama policy and conservatives (Two Weeks Notice)

Latin America - ECLAC: Extreme Poverty Up in 2009 in Mexico, Central America (Latin American Herald Tribune)

United States - Air America ends broadcasting (Air America)

United States - GOP candidate: People on public assistance ‘like stray animals’ (Unreported)

Venezuela - USGS claims Venezuela sits on Earth’s largest oil reserves (Raw Story)

Venezuela - Venezuela Rocked By 7.2 Magnitude Rumor! (BoRev.Net)

Latin America news roundup - January 20, 2010

2010-01-20T02:21:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - “Haiti is Shaken to the Core”: Amy Goodman Reports from Port-au-Prince (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Guns or food? (Real News)

Haiti - Cruise ships still find a Haitian berth (Guardian)

Haiti - “Haiti is Like Gaza”: Sharif Abdel Kouddous on Haiti a Week After the Earthquake (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Haitian Feminist Leader Myriam Merlet (1953-2010) (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Poll! Who's Exploited the Haitian Earthquake In the Most Ridiculous Way "SO FAR"? (BoRev.Net)

Honduras - Request for help from Father Joe Mulligan (Quotha)

Honduras - Shot in the Back: The human impact of the Honduran coup (Quotha)

United States - The Martin Luther King You Don't See on TV (FAIR)

World - Boycotting Israel (GRITtv)

Latin America News Roundup - January 19, 2010

2010-01-19T12:30:00.001-08:00

TOP STORY - UN confronts 'worst ever disaster' (Aljazeera)

Chile - What Next for Chile? (Guardian)

Haiti - Cuba's Working Hospital in Haiti (CNN)

Haiti - Aid and Strategic Resistance (The Media Co-op)

Haiti - Larry Birns discusses the history and politics of Haiti (COHA)

Haiti - Contextualizing the Haitian Death Toll (Alterdestiny)
Haiti - Haiti Faces Long Road To Stability (NPR)

Haiti - Help Haiti? Let Haitians Stay in U.S. and Cancel Haiti's Debt (Huffington Post)

Haiti - Our Big Idea for Haiti (Huffington Post)

World - Who's the Enemy? (Huffington Post)

Second Latin America news review - January 16, 2010

2010-01-16T12:50:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Week in Review: Earthquake in Haiti (GRITtv)

Bolivia - Evo Morales praises 'Avatar' (Huffington Post)

Brazil - Fordlandia: Henry Ford’s Failed Utopia in the Amazon (Weekends in Paradelle)

Colombia - Death squads target Black activists in Colombia (Final Call)

Haiti - How Washington’s Plot Against Haiti Worsened The Earthquake Disaster (Max Blumenthal)

Haiti - Satan and Pat Robertson (Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Haiti - Brazil's Opportunity in Haiti (Foreign Policy Blogs)

Venezuela - US combat plane stationed at the military base in Curaçao violated Venezuelan airspace (Postcards from the Revolution)

United States - Flashback: Carl Bernstein on the CIA and the Media (The Progressive Mind)

World - Panel in Washington D.C.: Better Rural Services through Decentralization? (International Food Policy Research Institute)

Latin America news roundup - January 16, 2010

2010-01-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Honduras: Which Way? (Quotha)

Bolivia - ‘Evonomics’ Gets a Second Term in Bolivia (NACLA)

Chile - Chilean Presidential Run-Off Could Be Close (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

Chile - Review of By Night in Chile (John Baker's blog)

Guatemala - Angels in Guatemala: Confronting a Legacy of Official Terror (NACLA)

Haiti - Bail Out People demands Wall Street bonuses go to Haiti (Unreported)

Honduras - An Electoral Defeat for Democracy: The Regional Implications of the Honduran Vote (NACLA)

Puerto Rico - Puerto Rico in Crisis: Government Workers Battle Neoliberal Reform (NACLA)

United States - Krugman, Gruber and non-disclosure issues (Salon)

World - Latvia's EU handcuffs (Guardian)

Note to those who follow the site

2010-01-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

January 16, 2010

By the way, if there's ever a story that folks think I should link to, feel free to post a comment or send me an email at justin.delacour@yahoo.com. Latin America is a very large region with many different countries, so some important stories will naturally go under my radar.

Fortunately, Laura recently informed me of two stories on Chile that I might otherwise have missed.

Second Latin America news roundup - January 15, 2010

2010-01-15T19:35:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Exiled in South Africa, Arisitide Says He Wants to Return to Haiti to “Help Rebuild the Country, Moving from Misery to Poverty with Dignity” (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Earthquake Survivors Dying as Aid Struggles to Reach Haiti (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - “Bush Was Responsible for Destroying Haitian Democracy”–Randall Robinson on Obama Tapping Bush to Co-Chair US Relief Efforts (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Deanna Zandt: Helping Haiti Through Tech (GRITtv)

Haiti - Artists for Haiti (GRITtv)

Haiti - Pat Robertson 'A Public Relations Nightmare,' Says God: Almighty Holds Rare Press Conference (The Borowitz Report)

Honduras - More Than 50 Lifetime Appointments!! (Honduras Coup 2009)

Peru - The Commission of Inquiry's Report on the Violent Events in Bagua, Peru: A Truth Commission with Little Truth (NACLA)

United States - Obama confidant's spine-chilling proposal (Salon)

Venezuela - Reinventing Class Mobilization: Class Cleavages and Participatory Populism in Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela (sitemason.vanderbilt.edu)

Latin America news roundup - January 15, 2009

2010-01-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

US President Barack Obama makes a statement on the Haitian earthquake at the White House in Washington, DC. Obama promised Haitians Thursday they would not be forgotten, offering 100 million dollars in immediate earthquake aid and every element of US power to help them. (AFP/Jim Watson)

TOP STORY - President Obama to National Security Staff: I Want to Know Why It Is We’re Not Doing More (ABC)

Bolivia - Bolivia to introduce Coca Colla carbonated coca-leaf drink (FoodBev.com)

Brazil - Brazilian Election Hysteria Begins: “The PT Are Terrorists” (New World Lusophone Sousaphone)

Brazil - Human Fights on Human Rights (New World Lusophone Sousaphone)

Haiti - Brazil's Lula urges Obama to speed up Haiti aid (Reuters)

Haiti - Donors, U.N. must discuss Haiti: Brazil (Reuters)

Haiti - Poverty is behind Haiti's vulnerability to natural disasters (ReliefWeb)

Haiti - Haiti É Aqui: A Report from the UNICAMPers (New World Lusophone Sousaphone)

Honduras - Micheletti has no intention of leaving the stage (Honduras Coup 2009)

Venezuela - Socialism Doesn’t Drop from the Sky (Workers Education)

Third Latin America news roundup - January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T20:43:00.000-08:00

Chile's former presidential candidate Marco Enriquez-Ominami announces his support for government coalition presidential candidate Eduardo Frei in Santiago, Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2010. Chileans will go to the polls to choose between opposition candidate Sebastian Pinera and government coalition candidate Eduardo Frei in a runoff presidential election on Jan. 17. (AP Photo/Roberto Candia)

TOP STORY - Maverick leftist backs Chile's Frei for presidency (Reuters)

Brazil - Brazil as the Latin American Giant: Lecture Presentation in Albuquerque on January 22 (Albuquerque International Association and Center for International Studies)

Colombia - Soldiers Accused of Extrajudicial Killings Freed (IPS)

El Salvador - WOLA Letter on Threats and Murders in Cabañas (WOLA)

Haiti - The geology underlying the devastating Haiti earthquake (Christian Science Monitor)

Latin America - Emir Sader: The Post-Neoliberal Challenge (Monthly Review)

United States - How to Save Journalism (Nation)

United States - George W. Obama: After His First Year, Obama Shows His True Face (Village Voice)

Venezuela - Venezuelan ex-official's brother faces charges (Business Week)

World - Will China Rule the World? (Korea Times)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Things to Remember While Helping Haiti (GRITtv)

Chile - Dawson, Island 10: Q&A with Miguel Littin (Alt Film Guide)

Haiti - Haiti quake: Obama announces $100m US aid package (Guardian)

Haiti - Haiti, the devil and Pat Robertson (Washington Post)

Honduras - Arias To Boycott Lobo Inauguration (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - A Coup in Honduras ... So Twentieth Century! (Progreso Weekly)

Venezuela - Venezuela and the Netherlands (Hands Off Venezuela)

Venezuela - The coups d'état in Latin America and the dangers facing Venezuela (Progreso Weekly)

Venezuela - Year of Resistance: Interview with Eva Golinger (Monthly Review)

World - Klein Gives Monsanto Award for Worst Climate Lobbyist (FORA TV)

Latin America news review - January 14, 2010

2010-01-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Naomi Klein Issues Haiti Disaster Capitalism Alert: Stop Them Before They Shock Again (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Rep. Maxine Waters on US Response to Haiti Crisis (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Special Report: Haiti after the quake + how you can help (GRITtv)

Haiti - Report from Haiti: Desperate Call for Aid with Rescue Equipment, Medicine, Food & Water in Short Supply (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - US Policy in Haiti Over Decades “Lays the Foundation for Why Impact of Natural Disaster Is So Severe” (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - “The Sound of Screaming Is Constant”–Haiti Devastated by Massive Earthquake, Desperate Search for Survivors Continues (Democracy Now!)

Haiti - Haiti's Independence (Two Weeks Notice)

Honduras - Micheletti Appointed Congessman For Life (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - Some Honduras lowlights, past few days (Quotha)

World - Ann Wright: Worldwide Movement for Peace (GRITtv)

Latin America news roundup - January 13, 2010

2010-01-13T17:03:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Haiti Devastated by Largest Earthquake in 200 Years, Thousands Feared Dead (Democracy Now)

Bolivia - Evo Morales, the Best Ally of the Middle Class (IPS)

Brazil - China Over U.S. in Brazilian Exports (The Rio Times)

Haiti - Presidential palace and hospital among buildings hit (Independent)

Haiti - US debt policies left Haiti vulnerable to catastrophe (Unreported)

Haiti - Brazil to donate 10 million dollars to Haiti (Xinhua)

Honduras - Ministers Challenge Military In Supreme Court (Honduras Coup 2009)

United States - U.S. inequality has risen further since crisis (Reuters)

United States - Harold Ford's warped understanding of "capitalism" (Salon)

Venezuela - Documentary Screening: Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela (Wednesday 20th January/Brighton) (Alborada Films)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 12, 2010

2010-01-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, right, hands President Barack Obama the book titled 'The Open Veins of Latin America' by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, during a UNASUR countries meeting at the Summit of the Americas on Saturday, April 18, 2009 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

TOP STORY - Why Latin America is Disappointed with Barack Obama (Huffington Post)

Colombia - Chiquita Lauded for Human Rights Abuses (Counterpunch)

Colombia - Colombia fears pain from Venezuela devaluation (Reuters)

El Salvador - El Salvador president enjoys nearly 90% approval (Breaking News)

El Salvador - Seek social justice and find martyrdom (enerpub)

United States - Same Difference: Obama's Militarized Status Quo (NACLA)

United States - Obama's Disappointing Year in Latin America (Council on Foreign Relations)

United States - Broad Spectrum Dominance (David Young)

United States - New York Times claims Iran has tunnel bombs (super sure this time) (unreported)

World - Stiglitz: Sarkozy Has Clearer Economic Vision than US (CNBC)

Latin America news roundup - January 12, 2010

2010-01-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Progressive Activists Face Danger in El Salvador (GRITtv)

Bolivia - Evo Morales on Avatar (Inca Kola News)

Guatemala - Bitter Fruit and the USA in Guatemala 1954 (Suite101)

Honduras - Letter from London (21st Century Socialism)

Honduras - Zelaya's Safety Ensured by Ban on Pen Deliveries to Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa (Upside Down World)

Peru - In Peru, the rich get richer & the poor get poorer....again (Inca Kola News)

United States - The fundamental unreliability of America's media (Salon)

Uruguay - What Makes Us Happy: The Thoughts of Jose Mujica (Gerry Hasan)

Venezuela - Where Is Venezuela Going? (Solidarity)

World - Stiglitz on harsh lessons we may need to learn again (China Daily)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 11, 2010

2010-01-11T21:36:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Rio: Olympic City (Aljazeera)

Bolivia - China will construct Bolivia’s first satellite; Morales travels to Beijing (MercoPress)

Brazil - Brazil's Rousseff eyeing familiar economic team (Reuters)

Honduras - My Day w/ The Despot, By Elder Brinton (BoRev.Net)

Latin America - Venezuelan bonds surge, Argentine debt slips (Reuters)

Latin America - Race and Poverty in Latin America: Addressing the Development Needs of African Descendants (UN Chronicle)

United States - The American elite (The Anti-Empire Report)

United States - "Political reporting" means "royal court gossip" (Salon)

United States - Obama shouldn't try to base his foreign policy on proving to the GOP he meets their bizarre definition of "tough" (Foreign Policy)

Venezuela - The Venezuelan Deval: dos centavitos (Inca Kola News)

Latin America news roundup - January 11, 2010

2010-01-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - “Obama Has Kept the Machine Set on Kill” (Democracy Now!)

Bolivia - Why We Fight (BoRev.Net)

Honduras - From Coup-lite to Truth-lite: US Policy and Death Squad Democracy in Honduras (Common Dreams)

Honduras - European Union Condemns Killings in Honduras (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - Honduran Military Brass Face Trial for Exiling Zelaya (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Latin America - Media Battles in Latin America Not about "Free Speech" (Monthly Review)

United States - Cheney's stenographers fight back (Salon)

United States - Naked Empire (Counterpunch)

World - What Fuels Overseas Sit-Down Strikes? (In These Times)

World - Year in Review: Benevolent Occupation in Afghanistan? (GRITtv)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 10, 2010

2010-01-10T15:41:00.000-08:00

Bolivian President Evo Morales speaks next to former Miss Bolivia Jessica Jordan during a ceremony in Trinidad January 7, 2010. Morales appointed Jordan as a candidate for the governor of Beni province in the upcoming April 4 regional elections. Picture taken January 7, 2010. REUTERS/Daniel Caballero/Bolivian Presidency/Handout

TOP STORY - Former Miss Bolivia campaigns as candidate for MAS (Abiding in Bolivia)

Brazil - Slave-like conditions persist on some Brazilian plantations, despite government efforts to halt them (Bloomberg)

Colombia - 17 perpetrators of "false positive" murders are free (Plan Colombia and Beyond)

Honduras - Proposed Amnesty Serves to Whitewash Honduran Coup, CEPR Co-Director Says (Center for Economic and Policy Research)

Honduras - Honduras is Broke (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - De Facto Government Can't Make Payroll for January (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - The Growth of the FNRP and the Perpetuation of the Dictatorship (Quotha)

United States - On our terrorism problem (Foreign Policy)

United States - More cause and effect in our ever-expanding "war" (Salon)

United States - Helen Thomas deviates from the terrorism script (Salon)

Latin America news roundup - January 10, 2010

2010-01-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Media Failures Make Comedy Gold (GRITtv)

Brazil - Lincoln Gordon, 1913-2009: Johns Hopkins president, U.S. ambassador to Brazil (Chicago Tribune)

Colombia - Colombian assassination raises fears about FARC's strength (Washington Post)

Cuba - The US is afraid of Cuba (Latino Like Me)

Guatemala - As Central America’s Economies Struggle, Guatemala Digs in for a Tax Fight (Americas Quarterly)

Latin America - Presidential ‘Peacemaking’ in Latin America (In These Times)

Mexico - A tough year ahead (IPS)

World - Has The Left Missed The Boat On Climate Change? (ZNet)

World - The Left & Climate Change 2/3: Turn Back From The Road To Nowhere (ZNet)

World - The Left & Climate Change 3/3: A Way Forward (ZNet)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 6, 2010

2010-01-06T01:59:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - The US-Colombia Defence Agreement (Aljazeera)

Brazil - Booming economy, government programs help Brazil expand its middle class (Washington Post)

Honduras - Entrenched Corruption Stymies Hope (IPS)

Honduras - Honduras After the Phony “Election”: More Repression and Resistance (The Internationalist)

United States - A Longer, Deeper Recession Looms (Counterpunch)

United States - Stiglitz calls for second US stimulus (Ramstad)

Uruguay - Low cost, no frills ceremony planned for Mujica’s March inauguration (MercoPress)

Venezuela - U.S.-Venezuelan Relations: Imperialism and Revolution (The People's Voice)

World - "Bomb Iran!": NYT op-ed helps mainstream insane agenda (Daily Kos)

World - Negotiating a Green Commitment (Americas Quarterly)

Latin America news roundup - January 6, 2010

2010-01-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - The Media as Establishment (GRITtv)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula raps US' weak role in Copenhagen (Xinhua)

El Salvador - School of the Americas Watch Delegation to El Salvador, March 19-26, 2010 (School of the Americas Watch)

Honduras - Killing Organizers in Honduras (Counterpunch)

Honduras - Oops: Footage of Iranian Repression Turns Out To Be Just Another Day in Honduras (BoRev.Net)

United States - Social security as threat to imperial power? (Dollars & Sense)

United States - Public Spending Still Key to Economic Recovery (Truthout)

Venezuela - Task Force on the Americas and School of the Americas Watch Delegation to Venezuela, April 9 to 18 (School of the Americas Watch)

World - More Continuity Than Change in U.S.-Latin America relations (IPS)

World - The Technique of a Coup d’État (voltairenet.org)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 3, 2010

2010-01-03T00:34:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Year in Review: Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald on the Media’s Wars (GRITtv)

Colombia - Farm Subsidy Scandal Exposes Corrupt Policies (IPS)

Honduras - US Legitimises Coup (Trinicenter.com)

Honduras - Honduras' political crisis worsens its economic downturn (Xinhua)

Latin America - Year in Review: Eduardo Galeano (GRITtv)

Uruguay - ‘Dry Toilets’ Provide Ecological Solution in Slums (IPS)

Venezuela - Hugo Chavez mocks Venezuela coup, Fidel Castro death forecast (Reuters)

World - A giant step back in the fight against world hunger (CBC)

World - Obama, US Continue To Reap Trillions and Condemn Africa To Climate Catastrophe (Voltairenet.org)

World - COP15 = COP out (McGill Daily)

Latin America news roundup - January 3, 2010

2010-01-03T00:13:00.000-08:00

TOP STORY - Lula's rule pulls Brazil upwards (Aljazeera)

Brazil - Going Up in the World (IPS)

Colombia - Colombia's outlandish charges that union leader raised money abroad to fund FARC (Toronto Star)

Honduras - Coup in Honduras Not Over (Trinicenter.com)

Latin America - In the next decade, I hope Latin America will continue to fight back (Guardian)

Latin America - Ecuador Will Build UNASUR Headquarters (Poder 360)

Latin America - Rumors Of Coups And War: U.S., NATO Target Latin America (American Armageddon Judgement Day)

United States - A hot mess of a decade, a reason for the American Left to be hopeful (Global Comment)

Uruguay - Uruguayans Want Comeback for Vázquez (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

World - Politicization of `anti-Semitism' tragic (Toronto Star)

Interesting Old Panel Discussion: Evaluating Chavez from the Left

2010-01-02T15:38:00.000-08:00

Steve Ellner, Historian, Universidad del Oriente, Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

Greg Wilpert, Sociologist, Brooklyn College

Fernando Coronil, Anthropologist, City University of New York (CUNY)

Questions and Answers

Fourth Latin America news roundup - January 2, 2010

2010-01-02T10:20:00.002-08:00

TOP STORY - Anti-Mining Activists Killed in El Salvador (Democracy Now!)

Bolivia - Year in Review: Evo Morales (GRITtv)

Brazil - Brazil's Lula signs law cutting CO2 emissions (AFP)

Chile - Chile to open museum dedicated to Pinochet torture victims (Los Angeles Times)

Mexico - Granito de Arena Documentary: Repression of social movements in Oaxaca Mexico (Culture & Dissent)

United States - Obama, an "F" in Political Theory (Tlaxcala)

United States - A Timeline of CIA Atrocities (American Pendulum)

United States - The Clinton Foundation or the Corporate Foundation? (Washington Post)

Venezuela - An interview with Eva Golinger on Venezuela (Counterpunch)

World - Amid dark times, meet the most inspiring people of 2009 (Independent)

Third Latin America news roundup - January 2, 2010

2010-01-02T02:18:00.000-08:00

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero gives a press conference at the Moncloa palace in Madrid on December 30. Spain on Friday assumed the rotating presidency of the European Union, the first under a new leadership structure for the bloc which includes its first full-time president and a new foreign policy supremo. (AFP/File/Dominique Faget)

TOP STORY - Spain Gives Honduras' Lobo An Ultimatum (Honduras Coup 2009)

Bolivia - Bolivian Government to Back Coca-Based Soft Drink (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Colombia - Mary O’Grady Incites Violence in Colombian Peace Community (Upside Down World)

Ecuador - Ecuador's cocaine problem can be summed up in two words: Its neighbors (Inca Kola News)

Guatemala - NGOs Urge President Colom to release military archives (Washington Office on Latin America)

Honduras - Poet René Novoa attacked by police (Quotha)

Latin America - Classic South American reads: A literary trip (Go With Me)

United States - Distortions in the healthcare debate (Salon)

World - US Press Ignores Egyptian Suppression of Gaza Freedom March (Common Dreams)

World - Going beyond financial instability hypothesis (livemint.com)

Second Latin America news roundup - January 2, 2010

2010-01-02T00:29:00.000-08:00

Honduras' de facto President Roberto Micheletti (R) poses with U.S. senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) after a private meeting at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa October 2, 2009. REUTERS/Henry Romero (HONDURAS POLITICS CONFLICT)

TOP STORY - Informal Empire: The Case of Honduras, by Jeff Nygaard (Quotha)

Argentina - Argentina's Anti-IMF Christmas Board Game (BoRev.Net)

Brazil - Fordlandia makes MoJo's list of top books in 2009 (Mother Jones)

Ecuador - Canada-Ecuador: When Stock Exchanges Fuel Human Rights Violations (Upside Down World)

El Salvador - Pregnant Anti-Mining Activist Murdered in El Salvador (Intercontinental Cry)

Honduras - Uncle Sam's Signature (Truthout)

Honduras - What comes next (Quotha)

Peru - Peru's election poll: Humala rises, Fujimori drops, Castañeda stays on top (Living in Peru)

United States - Taking on the Warmongers (Media with Conscience)

World - Pius XII: a saint too far? (Guardian)