President Porfirio Lobo Might Put End to Honduran Crisis
Andres Oppenheimer

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo's inauguration was a pretty lonely affair, with most Latin American presidents shunning the ceremony because of the country's 2009 coup. But judging from what I'm told by key Latin American and U.S. officials, Lobo's isolation won't last long.

Chile Unlikely to Lead Anti-Ch�vez Bloc
Andres Oppenheimer

There is a lot of speculation that Chile's president-elect, Sebasti�n Pi�era, a Harvard-educated economist and business tycoon, will lead an anti-populist bloc in Latin America. But judging from what I'm hearing from people in his inner circle, it won't happen.

Chile's Sebastian Pinera Unlikely to Be South American Silvio Berlusconi
Andres Oppenheimer

The conventional wisdom in the media is that Chile's president-elect Sebasti�n Pi�era will be Latin America's version of Italy's scandal-ridden leader Silvio Berlusconi. Both are right-of-center business tycoons who won their countries' elections with the help of their media empires and soccer teams. In fact, there are five powerful reasons why he may do better than the Italian leader

Politics Behind Hugo Chavez's Currency Devaluation
Andres Oppenheimer

A lot has been written in recent days about the economic impact of drastic devaluation of the Venezuelan currency announced by Venezuela's authoritarian-populist President Hugo Ch�vez. But the measure's political impact may be just as important, if not more.

Uruguay's Leader May Join 'Responsible Left' Bloc
Andres Oppenheimer

Uruguay has just elected a former guerrilla fighter who has surrounded himself by radical leftist aides, but there is no climate of panic among opposition politicians and business leaders.

Corruption Puts Argentines in Sour Mood
Andres Oppenheimer

Contrary to what one might think, the general sense of hopelessness is not due to the economy. Argentina has sailed through the world economic crisis relatively unscathed thanks to high commodity prices, and economists project a growth of at least 4 percent this year. Rather, it's because Argentines see no way out for the massive political corruption

Latin America's Economy Risks a Chicken's Flight in 2010
Andres Oppenheimer

The good news is that Latin American economies are expected to do reasonably well in 2010. But economists warn that unless they become more competitive, their recovery will look like a chicken's flight -- they get a few feet off the ground, and fall

A Few Not-So-Crazy Ideas for Latin America in 2010
Andres Oppenheimer

Now that it's 2010, let me apply some of the things I learned in 2009 while writing my columns on Latin American affairs. Some of them are surprisingly simple, but could make a big difference in 2010. Here they go, in no particular order

Latin America: For Trade, Obama Doesn't Look South
Andres Oppenheimer

The Obama administration's first big move on international trade is good news for Asia, but it doesn't bode well for much of Latin America.

Latin America: Chile Now One Step Closer to First World
Andres Oppenheimer

Recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- the club of the world's richest democracies -- formally invited Chile to become a member. Chile had applied for membership two years ago. Chile will become the first South American member of the OECD

Latin America: For Chavez, Money no Longer Buys Love
Andres Oppenheimer

Venezuela's narcissist-Leninist President Hugo Ch�vez is not getting his money's worth for the billions of dollars he is spending in public relations abroad: According to a new poll, his approval ratings in Latin America could hardly be worse.

U.S. May Take New Look at 'War on Drugs'
Andres Oppenheimer

In a tacit admission that current U.S. anti-drug policies are not working, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to create an independent commission to review whether the U.S. anti-drug policies of the past three decades in Latin America are producing positive results. What's interesting about the planned independent drug policy commission ...

Latin America's Honeymoon With Obama May Be Over
Andres Oppenheimer

Only a few months ago, Latin American leaders hailed the Obama administration as a new beginning in hemispheric relations. But now, the honeymoon is over as Brazil is leading criticism of U.S. foreign policy

Brazil, United States, OAS Flunked Honduras Test
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil, the United States and the Organization of American States deserve a gold medal each for their awful handling of recent presidential elections in Honduras. Let's examine how the main international players behaved ...

New Corruption Ranking Says a Lot
Andres Oppenheimer

A new survey on corruption around the world confirms what many of us have long suspected: Fiery populist leaders who rise to power vowing to eradicate corruption often end up leading sleazier governments than their predecessors

Latin America Sends Few Students to United States
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

While looking at a new report on foreign students at U.S. universities, it's hard not to conclude that the gap among developing nations is widening: While Asian countries are sending more students to some of the world's best colleges, Latin American countries are lagging behind

Latin America: Street Blockades Breed 'Anything-Goes' Culture
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

The street blockades that almost paralyzed Mexico City and Buenos Aires in recent days, interrupting traffic and keeping millions of people from going to work, are becoming a major economic problem. But their invisible costs may be larger than their immediate monetary impact

Latin America: Chavez's Headline Addiction Might Cause Conflict
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Watching Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez call on his armed forces to 'prepare for war' with Colombia, I couldn't help wondering whether he will end up like the late star of the TV series The Crocodile Hunter -- a victim of his own addiction to headlines

Latin American Economy Will Do Well, but Not Great
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

The news that Brazil and Mexico have come out of the recession and are poised for solid growth in 2010 should be celebrated, and both countries' leaders should be given credit for their sound economic management. But in the global economic context, the two Latin American giants' recovery will be modest.

Latin America Low on Obama's Priority List
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

One year after the election of President Barack Obama, it's time to ask whether his ambitious campaign promises about Latin America are being fulfilled, or whether, like others before him, he has placed the region at the bottom of his foreign policy priorities. Let's look at Obama's key campaign promises for Latin America

Time for Common Latin American Visa
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

While the 27-nation European Union has just approved creation of a common foreign service with embassies throughout the world, Latin American countries cannot even agree on a common visa for tourists from other parts of the world in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil.

Royal Spanish Academy Ponders Changes to Spanish Language
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

One of the pleasant surprises I found during a recent visit to Spain is a new trend by the Royal Spanish Academy to officially modernize the Spanish language and make it much easier to read and write.

Spain Nudging European Union to Ease Cuba Stand
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Spain's announcement that it will seek a major improvement in European ties with Cuba's dictatorship once it takes over the presidency of the 27-country European Union on Jan. 1 is bad news not only for pro-democracy activists on the island, but also for oppositionists in several other authoritarian-ruled Latin American countries.

Brazil a Nuclear Power? Probably Not
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil's Vice President Jose Alencar made big headlines recently when he stated that Brazil should have the right to have nuclear weapons, which he said would give his country a greater 'dissuasive' power and more 'respectability' in world affairs.

Politics Not Economics Sinking Mexico
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Everything that could possibly go wrong seems to be going wrong for Mexico, Latin America's worst performing economy this year. But a new government idea could put this country back on the road to prosperity for decades to come -- if government officials really are serious about it.

Alvaro Uribe Is Closer to a Third Term and to Self-destruction
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who enjoys sky-high popularity rates at home thanks to his successful crackdown on narco-terrorist groups, is a step closer to changing the constitution and running for a third consecutive term. The big question is whether this will turn Colombia into a banana republic.

Some Latin Nations Lead World in Red Tape
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Once upon a time, it used to be that communist countries like China had more business-phobic bureaucracies, more red tape and a worse business environment than capitalist ones. Not anymore. According to Doing Business in 2010, a new World Bank study, China and Vietnam offer better conditions to local and foreign business people than most Latin American countries.

Despite Crisis, Latin Countries' Military Spending Rising
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Despite the world's worst economic slump since the 1930s and projections that the number of poor in Latin America will rise this year, countries in the region have embarked on their biggest military spending spree in recent memory.

Venezuela's Iran Ties Raise Eyebrows
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Here's an issue that is drawing growing attention in Washington, but is going almost unnoticed in Latin America -- allegations that Venezuela is helping Iran develop nuclear weapons, and that Iran's fundamentalist regime is setting up a foothold in Latin America from where to threaten the United States

Fate of Honduras Crisis Will Hinge on Riots
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Diplomats see three possible outcomes of the bizarre political crisis in Honduras, a country with two leaders -- one in control, the other powerless but recognized by the world community -- since ousted President Manuel Zelaya's brazen return. The final outcome will ultimately depend on.

Presidential Candidates Key to Solving Honduras Crisis
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

There is a new possible solution to the Honduran crisis that is gaining traction in Washington and key Latin American capitals: Bypass the country's two presidents, and get leading presidential candidates to work out a deal that would give credibility to the Nov. 29 elections.

Joseph Stiglitz Left's Favorite U.S. Nobel Economist
by Andres Oppenheimer

U.S. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz has become a sort of rock star in left-of-center Latin American countries for his vocal criticism of free-for-all capitalism. But in a wide-ranging interview, he offered some advice that many of his fans in the region may not want to hear.

Childhood Tragedy May Affect President Rafael Correa's Policies
by Andres Oppenheimer

I'm not a great fan of using psychological profiles to explain people's political leanings, but a report on Ecuador's rabidly anti-U.S. President Rafael Correa, which I read during a visit to Colombia last week, left me wondering.

Growth With Equity: Brazil's Path to Economic Recovery
by Patrus Ananias

The financial crisis has left few corners of the global economy unscathed, but many of the loudest cries reflecting the deepest pain are largely ignored. These are the cries of the world's poorest citizens whose suffering is not measured in battered portfolios and retirement plans but in their daily survival

'U.S. Bases' in Colombia May Be Less Than Meets the Eye
Andres Oppenheimer

What's most surprising about South America's growing uproar over Colombia's plans to allow 'U.S. military bases' on its territory is that there may be no such thing in the making -- but rather a major Colombian PR blunder.

What's most surprising about South America's growing uproar over Colombia's plans to allow 'U.S. military bases' on its territory is that there may be no such thing in the making -- but rather a major Colombian PR blunder.

Israel Fortifies Presence in Latin America
Andres Oppenheimer

Following three years of frantic Iranian activities in Latin America that included three trips by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the region -- a fourth visit is scheduled in August to Brazil -- and the opening or enlargement of a half-dozen Iranian embassies, Israel is beginning to raise its own profile in the region.

Partisan Split on Honduras Can Be Costly
Andres Oppenheimer

The conflict in Honduras is rapidly becoming the focus of a fierce partisan fight in Washington, D.C. -- and that may not bode well for the future of U.S. policy in Latin America. Sources in Washington tell me that 17 senators -- mostly conservative Republicans and not part of the usual crowd of legislators interested in Latin American affairs -- are trying to open a new front against Obama on top of healthcare accusing him of being "soft" on anti-American leaders in Latin America.

China Rising in Latin America, but Won't Overtake United States
Andres Oppenheimer

The latest figures showing that China is emerging from the global crisis sooner than anticipated is triggering speculation that China will soon overtake the United States as Latin America's top business partner. Granted, speculation about China's impending leap to becoming Latin America's top economic partner spread like wildfire recently when Brazil announced that it will trade more with China than with the United States this year for the first time. It sounds very interesting, but don't bet on it.

Latin America's Economic Forecast Good but Not Good Enough
Andres Oppenheimer

Good news for Latin America: a new United Nations study projects that the region's economy will start recovering in the second half this year, and that it will grow by a respectable 3.1 percent next year.

OAS Oddly Silent on 'Coup' in Caracas
Andres Oppenheimer

While the Organization of American States is rightly denouncing the coup against ousted President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, there are growing questions about why it hasn't said a word about the coup against Antonio Ledezma in Venezuela.

Argentine Finance Chief's Tenure an Economic Indicator
Andres Oppenheimer

When Argentina earlier this week appointed its sixth minister of economy in the past six years, it was hard not to conclude that there should be a new economic indicator to measure countries' reliability: the length of their economy minister's time in office.

Chile Should Tout Its Passage to First World
Andres Oppenheimer

By the end of this year, Chile is likely to become the first South American country to join the exclusive club of the world's 30 richest countries.

ALBA Bloc Leaders' Main Obsession: Indefinite Rule
Andres Oppenheimer

It's hard to keep cool while watching the dismantling of democracy in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Honduras. When the presidents of these countries met in Venezuela, for a special ALBA bloc summit -- the Venezuelan-led alliance of mostly radical leftist countries -- it was hard not to see the group as a society of mutual support for self-perpetuation in power.

The Real War in Mexico
Shannon O'Neil

Mexico is engulfed by escalating violence. The question is not whether the Mexican state will fail. It will not. The actual risk of the violence today is that it will undermine democracy tomorrow

Another Swine-Flu Casualty: Good Journalism
by Andres Oppenheimer

The swine flu outbreak that has wrecked Mexico's economy may become a case study in reckless journalism. Like most of you, I had taken it for granted that the disease had started in Mexico.

Latin American Region Silent Amid Attacks on the Media
Andres Oppenheimer

The most immediate threat to democracy in Latin America: a concerted move by authoritarian leaders to silence independent media throughout the region. Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, a disciple of Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez, said that when he takes over as president of the 12-nation Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in July he will propose creation of a regional body to defend governments against critics in the media.

Brazil Deserves Criticism for Awful Foreign Policy
by Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, has received well-deserved praise in recent years for its responsible economic policies. There is hardly a dictator -- or repressive government -- that Brazil doesn't like, human rights groups say.

Brazil Stretching Clout to Central America
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazilian President Luiz In�cio Lula da Silva's largely unnoticed trip to Central America last week underscored an interesting phenomenon: Brazil is making big inroads into a region that was traditionally seen as Mexico's backyard

U.S. Should Do More to Compete With Cuba's Student Programs
Andres Oppenheimer

The House of Representatives approved a proposal last week to dramatically increase the number of U.S. college students studying in Latin America and other parts of the developing world.

Latin America Foreign Investment Outlook Grim
Andres Oppenheimer

A new United Nations report predicts a 40 percent drop in foreign investments in Latin America this year. I hope I'm wrong about this, but the fall in foreign funds may be even steeper.

Commodity Price Hikes Might Not Save Venezuela, Others
Andres Oppenheimer

The nearly 30 percent rise in the price of oil and other raw materials over the past month raises a big question: Will commodity-dependent populist governments in Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador get a second wind? They are certainly hoping for that to happen.

Will Colombia's President Uribe Run Again?
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

After Tuesday's vote in the Colombian Senate many well-placed Colombians tell me they are convinced that President �lvaro Uribe is serious about running in 2010.

Many Believe End of Argentina's 'K' Era Nears
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Seven weeks before Argentina's much-awaited June 28 legislative elections, there is a growing consensus that populist President Cristina Fern�ndez de Kirchner will lose her majority in Congress, and that there will be major political changes in this country.

Brazil, China & India Can Mitigate Global Crisis
Global Economic Viewpoint

Brazil, India and even China will not be able, by themselves, to correct the dysfunctions that produced the global crisis. But it is true that the economic power of these three countries can mitigate its negative consequences. ...

Super Bowl breaks ratings record
The New Orleans Saints' win in the Super Bowl is the most-watched programme in US TV history, early figures show.

Colombia mounts major drugs raids
More than 20 people are arrested in Colombia in what the authorities say is the biggest anti-drug operation in a decade.

Chavez declares energy emergency
President Hugo Chavez says emergency measures are needed to help tackle Venezuela's power shortages.

Actor Sheen charged with assault
Actor Charlie Sheen is charged with assaulting and threatening his wife Brooke Mueller during an argument on Christmas Day.

Mexico holds reputed gang leaders
Mexico police arrest two suspected drug gang leaders in the border city of Tijuana.

Canada base boss held for murders
The commander of Canada's largest Air Force base has been charged with the murder of two women, police say.

Jackson doctor denies manslaughter
Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, denies a charge of involuntary manslaughter over the singer's death.

Brain injury linked to gambling
Californian scientists think they may have discovered the part of the brain which makes people fear losing money.

'Third-hand smoke' risk warning
Lingering residue from tobacco smoke that clings to upholstery, clothing and the skin releases cancer-causing agents, warn experts.

Sarah Palin's 'helping hand' of crib notes for speech
Sarah Palin is criticised for writing crib notes on her hands for Saturday's high-profile Tea Party speech.

Political analysis and a British perspective on life in the US
Mark Mardell's take on politics and life in the US and North America.

Groundhog Day: Is US politics repeating itself?
Matt Frei, presenter of BBC World News America, says 2010 is starting to bear an uncanny resemblance to 1993.

What turns affluent youngsters into bombers?
Matt Frei, presenter of BBC World News America, asks what motivates affluent youngsters to turn into suicide bombers.

Saints upset Colts in Super Bowl
The New Orleans Saints win their first Super Bowl with a surprise 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami.

Super Bowl XLIV as it happened
The New Orleans Saints win their first Super Bowl with an upset 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Miami.

Pitt and Jolie sue Sunday paper
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt sue a British Sunday newspaper over allegations about their relationship.

Snow misery continues in US
Fresh snow is forecast to hit the Mid-Atlantic US as some cities remain largely paralysed for a third day by blizzards.

Costa Rica elects female leader
Costa Ricans elect Laura Chinchilla as president, the first woman to occupy the post in the Central American nation.

Water punishment for US child
A US soldier is arrested after allegedly punishing his four-year-old daughter with water for not reciting the alphabet.

New Orleans parties after NFL win
Party season comes early to New Orleans as it celebrates a historic win in the US Super Bowl just before Mardi Gras.

'All accounted for' in US blast
Everyone has been accounted for after an explosion at a US power plant, leaving the death toll at five, officials say.

BAE handed £286m criminal fines
Defence group BAE Systems is to pay fines of £280m after pleading guilty to criminal charges in Britain and the US.

Euro MPs shun data deal with US
A committee of Euro MPs moves to block the renewal of a deal allowing US anti-terror officials to access Europeans' bank data.

China to put duties on US chicken
China is to enforce anti-dumping duties on US chicken imports, accusing poultry firms of exporting at unfairly low prices.

Toyota: US readers' comments
Toyota drivers in the US react to the news of recalls

Haiti children find home in Canada
Longed-for adoption happens despite quake

Stand up and be counted?
Why some are reluctant to feature in the US Census

Spend and save
US deficit dilemma and why Obama needs to get it right

El Salvador family reunited
El Salvador's troubled adoption history

Frontline cops
A Mexican widow joins police tackling the drug cartels

Spaceman
America ponders the options for a big rocket

Who's talking?
How a talent show winner scored in Las Vegas

In pictures
The explosion at a power plant in Connecticut

Happy and green
What is behind the success story of Costa Rica?

Anyone for tea?
Sarah Palin and the newest US political movement

BBC News | World | Americas | UK Edition
Get the latest BBC News from the Americas: breaking news, features and analysis plus audio and video content from the United States and the Americas.

 

Paperwork Hinders Airlifts of Ill Haitian Children
Doctors and aid workers are wrestling with proving that they are not illegally transporting children, whose risk of dying is rising while the paperwork awaits.

Fake Food Coupons Spread in Haiti
The United Nations said Monday that counterfeiters have begun printing up fake vouchers, complicating giveaways that are meant for the hungriest Haitians.

Costa Rica: Female Leader Elected
Costa Ricans elected a former vice president, Laura Chinchilla, as the country’s first female president, giving the ruling party a resounding victory.

Chávez Declares an ‘Electricity Emergency’ in Venezuela
Despite large reserves of crude oil, the country relies on hydroelectricity for 70 percent of its power needs.

World Briefing | The Americas: Canada: Air Force Official Charged
The commander of the largest air force base in eastern Canada has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women from eastern Ontario and with the sexual assault of two others.

Canadian Official Charged in Murders
The commander of Canada’s largest Air Force base has been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of two women.

Ex-President of Argentina Undergoes Cardiovascular Surgery
Former President Néstor Kirchner of Argentina underwent successful emergency surgery to unclog his right carotid artery, Argentine news outlets reported.

Americans Held in Haiti Are Divided Over Leader
Eight of 10 Americans held on child abduction charges signed a note saying that their leader, Laura Silsby, misled them.

Ex-Vice President May Avoid Run-Off Vote in Costa Rica
The election could give the country its first woman president after a campaign dominated by voters’ concerns over rising crime.

Bleak Portrait of Haiti Orphanages Raises Fears
Authorities fear some orphanages are taking advantage of the chaos to round up children sell them as servants and sex slaves.

Gay Marriage Puts Mexico City at Center of Debate
A law to let same-sex couples marry and adopt is pushing Mexico City to the forefront of the gay rights movement.

UN Slams Haitian Hospitals for Charging Patients
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- The United Nations has warned that it will cut off shipments of free medicine beginning immediately to any Haitian hospitals that it finds are charging patients.

Mexico Arrests 2 Reputed Leaders of Tijuana Gang
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) -- Mexican federal police arrested two suspected gang leaders Monday, delivering another big blow to a brutal drug cartel that terrorized the border city of Tijuana for several years.

UN: Some Haitian Hospitals Are Charging Patients
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- The United Nations warned Monday that it will cut off shipments of free medicine to Haitian hospitals that charge patients, saying it had learned some are levying fees for drugs.

Doctor: Kirchner Recovers Well From Artery Surgery
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Former President Nestor Kirchner is recovering well from emergency surgery on an important artery feeding blood to his brain, one of his doctors said Monday.

Quake Shakes Southern Mexico, Felt in Capital
OAXACA, Mexico (AP) -- A magnitude 5.7-earthquake shook southern Mexico near the Oaxaca coast Monday, setting off evacuation alarms and swaying buildings as far away as Mexico City.

Bolivia Expects 5, 000 Foreigners at Climate Forum
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Bolivia's government says it expects thousands of activists, environmentalists and scientists to travel to the Andean nation for conference on climate change.

Haitians Confront New Threat: Deadly Spring Rains
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Survivors of Haiti's catastrophic earthquake have had one saving grace: There's been no significant rain since the disaster. But that won't last.

Venezuela Declares Emergency Amid Energy Crisis
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez has signed a decree declaring an energy emergency in Venezuela to facilitate his government's efforts to ease severe energy shortages.

Chavez Hosts New Radio Show _ at Any Moment
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has launched a new radio program in which he can take to the airwaves at any time of the day or night.

Chavez Declares "Electricity Emergency" In Venezuela
CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez inaugurated a folksy new radio talk-show on Monday by declaring an "electricity emergency" in oil-rich Venezuela.

US Baptists' Attorney in Haiti: Clients Innocent
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- The new lawyer for 10 American Baptists charged with child kidnapping said Monday he believes they had paperwork to take 33 children out of the country after Haiti's devastating earthquake.

Ex-Mayor Absolved in Journalist's Slaying in Peru
LIMA, Peru (AP) -- A Peruvian court on Monday absolved the former mayor of a jungle city in the 2004 killing of a reporter who accused him of cocaine trafficking.

Report: Alligator Kills 11-Year-Old Girl in Brazil
SAO PAULO (AP) -- A 13-foot (4-meter) alligator has reportedly attacked and killed a girl who was swimming in a Brazilian jungle river.

Haiti Studies Colombian Town For Quake Rebuilding
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Haiti's interior minister on Monday toured a Colombian town rebuilt after a huge 1999 tremor as his own country considered plans to reconstruct its wrecked capital city after last month's devastating earthquake.

Bahamas to Return Migrants to Quake-Ravaged Haiti
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- More than five dozen Haitian migrants detained as they sailed north through the Bahamas will be returned directly to the earthquake-ravaged country, the Bahamian prime minister said Monday.

Haiti's Children and the Adoption Question
What rules should govern in adopting orphans from Haiti?

Race to Avoid a 'Death by Red Tape' in Haiti
An informal media campaign tries to save a young Haitian girl from "death by red tape."

Woman Detained in Haiti Also Due in Idaho Court
A decision is expected Thursday on the fate of ten Americans who were stopped by Haitian authorities last week as they attempted to drive 33 children out of the country to an orphanage they hoped to establish in the Dominican Republic.

Questions for Baptists, Praise for Scientologists in Haiti
On Wednesday, as a Haitian judge continued to question 10 Americans whose faith-based mission to Haiti went badly astray, the work of volunteer ministers from the Church of Scientology was lauded in a report on American television.

A Glimpse of Haiti Before the Catastrophe
Since life in Haiti was not a common subject in international news reports until the country was devastated by an earthquake three weeks ago, a short video and photographs of New Year's Eve in the capital, Port-au-Prince, gives a sense of how dramatically the society has changed.

NYT > Americas

 

Reputed drug cartel leader "Muletas" and another suspected gangster are arrested in Baja California
Two reputed leaders of a drug cartel that waged a years-long terror campaign in Tijuana were arrested Monday in the Baja California port city of La Paz, according to U.S. authorities. Raydel Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental are believed to be top lieutenants of a gang blamed for a string of massacres, police killings, beheadings and kidnappings that caused many residents to flee the border city. The arrests by Mexican federal police, coming one month after the capture of alleged leader Teodoro Garcia Simental, are the latest blows to the gang. Authorities feared Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental, Teodoro’s younger brother, were planning to reignite a gang war for control of Tijuana’s drug trafficking routes. Lopez Uriarte was known for his narrow escapes and flair for self promotion: His nickname “Muletas,” or crutches, stands for the trail of disabled people he has left behind. He outfitted his crew with uniforms featuring a patch designed with a skull and crutches crossed underneath. The Mexican government did not provide details of the arrests. — Richard Marosi in San Diego

Laura Chinchilla elected president of Costa Rica
The tiny club of female presidents in Latin America will grow by one with the election in Costa Rica of Laura Chinchilla. She won the presidency in a landslide victory Sunday and takes office May 8. The socially conservative, pro-business former vice president hails from the party of incumbent President Oscar Arias, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for his work in the 1980s to end Central America's wars. Chinchilla's victory was widely seen as a vote for continuity in a politically stable country that enjoys one of the region's highest standards of living. It's the first time Costa Rica has chosen a woman to lead the nation. Chile's Michelle Bachelet and Argentina's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner are the other female chief executives in Latin America. In the past, Panama and Nicaragua also had female presidents. Read more about Chinchilla's election in the English-language newspaper Tico Times. --Tracy Wilkinson in Mexico City Photo: Laura Chinchilla at the Festival Adelante Nacional. Credit: Laurachinchilla.com

HAITI: Chat recap with reporter Joe Mozingo
Joe Mozingo covered the earthquake in Haiti for The Times, and yesterday he took the time to have an online chat with readers about his experiences on the ground in the aftermath of the quake. See what he had to say (and what readers wanted to know) in the live chat at the L.A. Times Reader's Representative Journal blog. RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti Photo: Joe Mozingo is shown in Haiti with fellow Los Angeles Times reporters Tracy Wilkinson, center, and Tina Susman. Credit: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times.

Sports Chalet collects nearly 1 million pairs of shoes for the Haiti relief effort
Sporting goods retailer Sport Chalet and shoe charity Soles4Souls joined forces Jan. 15 in an effort to collect footwear for victims of last month's devastating earthquake in Haiti. In less than two weeks, more than 950,000 pairs of gently worn men's, women's and children's shoes were dropped off at Sport Chalet’s 55 stores. "We are simply floored by the overwhelming support that our partners at Sport Chalet have received,” Wayne Elsey, founder and chief executive of Soles4Souls, said in a statement. “Their donations will be used to bring hope to the people of Haiti as they struggle to rebuild their lives. We are proud of the public for stepping up to help those less fortunate." Sport Chalet originally set a goal of collecting 55,000 pairs of shoes, with Soles4Souls aiming for a national goal of 250,000. After the first three days of the footwear drive, Sport Chalet had collected nearly 70,000 pairs, and decided to increase their goal to 250,000. "Our customers are the best," said Craig Levra, chairman and CEO of Sport Chalet. "They have proven, in an overwhelming fashion, that they are truly generous people who gave from their hearts. We had children, communities, schools, businesses and local...

Haitian attorney says 10 Americans charged with kidnapping
Ten Americans detained in Haiti for trying to take 33 children out of the country after the earthquake were charged with child kidnapping and criminal association on Thursday, their Haitian lawyer said.

Stars remake 'We Are the World' for Haiti relief
Twenty-five years after the all-star recording of "We Are the World" became a signature moment in celebrity altruism and pop-music history, a new collection of stars came together Monday at the same Hollywood recording studio to record a new version for Haiti earthquake relief. Just as Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan descended on the A&M Studios on La Brea to sing for famine relief in Africa, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion, Kanye West and Keith Urban turned up at the same sound stage (now called Henson Recording Studios) to join a celebrity chorus that was 100 voices strong. The 1985 effort, called USA for Africa, raised $63 million and became a template for famous-face fundraising. The new single will premiere Feb. 12 on NBC during the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics with the hope that the download single can help funnel aid into the ravaged island nation. Continue reading "An all-star 'We Are the World' remake for Haiti relief" in Pop & Hiss, the L.A. Times music blog. -- Geoff Boucher RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti Photo: In 2010, celebrities gather at the "We Are The World: 25 Years for...

United Nations' culture and education agency raises concerns for Haiti's cultural treasures
The United Nations' culture and education agency called Friday for a ban in the trade of Haitian artifacts to prevent the pillaging of cultural treasures in the aftermath of its devastating earthquake.

Haiti earthquake: 'I feel good,' says young survivor
Five-year-old Monley Elize, who was found after eight days in the rubble, is healthy and living with his extended family. But their future is uncertain at a camp for the homeless.

Sanitation crisis adds to Haiti's woes
Haiti_camp Relief officials are scrambling to confront a sanitation crisis that could spread malaria, cholera and other deadly diseases throughout the chaotic camps packed with hundreds of thousands of Haitian earthquake survivors.

An 11-year-old Haitian boy survives on the edge
Even before the Haiti earthquake, life was a struggle for 11-year-old Clifford, one of Port-au-Prince's thousands of street children. He spends his days hustling for coins and queuing for food.

Haiti earthquake: Push to send FEMA trailers to Haiti stirs backlash
The trailer industry and lawmakers are pressing the government to send Haiti thousands of potentially formaldehyde-laced trailers left over from Hurricane Katrina — an idea denounced by some as a crass and self-serving attempt to dump inferior American products on the poor. "Just go ahead and sign their death certificate," said Paul Nelson of Coden, Ala., who contends his mother died because of formaldehyde fumes in a FEMA trailer. The 100,000 trailers became a symbol of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's bungled response to Katrina. The government had bought the trailers to house victims of the 2005 storm, but after people began falling ill, high levels of formaldehyde, a chemical that is used in building materials and can cause breathing problems and perhaps cancer, were found inside. Many of the trailers have sat idle for years, and many are damaged. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which is coordinating American assistance in Haiti, has expressed no interest in sending the trailers to the earthquake-stricken country. FEMA spokesman Clark Stevens declined to comment. Haitian Culture and Communications Minister Marie Laurence Jocelyn Lassegue said Thursday she had not heard of the proposal but added: "I don't think we would use them. I...

Haiti earthquake: Memorial set for diplomat, a Whittier native, killed in quake
A memorial service for Victoria DeLong, 57, a career diplomat who was killed Jan. 12 when her house collapsed in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, will be held Saturday in Whittier, her hometown. DeLong, a 27-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service, served as a cultural affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince. Scheduled to attend the 1:30 p.m. service at Rose Hills Memorial Park are Ambassador Nancy J. Powell, director general of the Foreign Service, and Susan R. Johnson, president of the American Foreign Service Assn. in Washington. In a Jan. 15 statement, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said DeLong "worked tirelessly to build bridges of understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of Haiti." Thomas Switzer, a spokesman for the association, said at least six Foreign Service nationals died and 28 others are unaccounted for. Continue reading Memorial set for diplomat, a Whittier native, killed in Haiti earthquake on L.A. Now.

East Hollywood bake sale to benefit Haiti
This Sunday, January 31, between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. there will be a bake sale at Scoops, 712 N. Heliotrope Dr., East Hollywood, to benefit Doctors Without Borders USA, who are on the ground helping with the medical needs in Haiti. Visit the nocookieleftbehind blog for more on the Cookies Without Borders: A Bake Sale for Haiti event.

Haiti earthquake: Making sure children find the right home
Farrah Leolo, a 9-year-old with a charming smile, was dressed for an important journey. Her hair was braided and she wore a crisp white blouse and pink slacks. In her pocket, she had cookies and passport-sized photos. A few minutes after Farrah left the Horizon of Hope child-care center with French Embassy officials this week, her adoptive mother called the center's owner, Kathelen Douyon, from Paris. "She looked so beautiful," Douyon told the mother. Then, choking back tears, she silently handed the phone to an aide and put her face in her hands. "She was one of my favorites," Douyon said. The earthquake that ravaged Haiti two weeks ago has the Haitian government and foreign embassies scrambling to speed up adoption paperwork in cases like Farrah's, and joyous scenes of new parents in the United States and elsewhere greeting their Haitian children at airports suggest the system is working. The earthquake's aftermath, though, has created a dangerous situation for children in a country that, even before the disaster, had some of the world's weakest adoption regulations. Continue reading "Haiti adoptions: Keeping youths in the right hands." -- Scott Kraft in Port-au-Prince, Haiti RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia...

Haiti coverage is just right, according to the American public
Sometimes the American people, like a good jury, get it right. Following weeks in which one American comedian has paraded a racehorse across his stage wearing a mink snuggie and a television network paid the entertainer $45 million to go away, and an earthquake claimed the lives of at least 150,000 in Haiti and other American entertainers went on air to raise millions of dollars for relief, people say they heard way too much news about the first and just about the right amount about the latter. Seven in 10 Americans (69%) say in a Pew Center news-interest survey released today that the media devoted too much coverage to late-night Conan O'Brien's departure from NBC's "The Tonight Show" and Jay Leno's imminent return. Seven in 10 (71%) say the earthquake and relief efforts in Haiti have received the right amount of coverage. The Pew poll of 1,010 Americans carries a possible margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, but this call isn't even close. -- Mark Silva reporting for Tribune politics blog The Swamp RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti

Travolta uses his plane to ferry supplies, Scientology ministers to Haiti
John Travolta has flown a jetliner carrying relief supplies into the Haitian capital, along with doctors and ministers from the Church of Scientology. The 55-year-old actor piloted his own Boeing 707 from Florida late Monday with six tons of ready-to-eat military rations and medical supplies for survivors of Haiti's devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. His wife, Kelly Preston, was also aboard. "We have the ability to actually help make a difference in the situation in Haiti and I just can't see not using this plane to help," Travolta said. Continue reading "Travolta flies relief supplies, doctors, Scientology ministers to Haiti" RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti

Builders dream of a better Haiti
The first e-mail went out within hours of the Jan. 12 earthquake, calling together some of Haiti's most prominent architects, engineers and urban planners. The next day, 50 people showed up at a house in the hillside suburb of Petionville and went to work. They have met every day since, gathering around a table in a courtyard under the shade of a spreading almond tree. Their goal is simple. It is also audacious. They want to plan a new Haiti. And not just new buildings. A new economy, a new political culture, a new way of thinking. And yes, a Haiti that would look very different from the one that existed before the quake. "We don't want to talk about rebuilding," said the group's guiding spirit, industrial engineer Jean-Marie Raymond Noel. "We want to talk about a new project, a new vision. ... We can't hope to be in the same situation as before the quake. It was not good." Continue reading "Builders dream of a better Haiti" -- Mitchell Landsberg reporting from Port-au-Prince, Haiti RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti Photo: U.N. troops try to control the crowd of thousands trying to...

Groups work to protect animals in the aftermath of Haiti earthquake
Animal-welfare groups arrived in Haiti on Saturday to help protect earthquake victims by vaccinating stray dogs and maintaining the health of livestock. One of the biggest animal-related threats posed by the magnitude 7.0 quake, which killed an estimated 200,000 people and left thousands more homeless, is an increased incidence of rabies, said Ian Robinson, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "When you get situations with a large group of displaced people, and hungry dogs wandering around, then you've got the opportunities for dog bites to occur, and that obviously leads to the spread of rabies," he told the Associated Press. It is also important to maintain veterinary care for livestock, said Gerardo Huertas, of World Society for the Protection of Animals, because families in crisis need them all the more for food, milk, sale and survival. "The concept of pets is quite foreign to Haitians," said Karen Ashmore, executive director of the Lambi Fund agricultural group in Haiti. "Most Haitians can barely feed themselves, much less a pet." Robinson's and Huerta's groups -- the world's two largest for animal welfare -- have joined a dozen partners to respond to protection and public-health issues related to animals in Haiti. Continue...

83 million tune in to Haiti telethon
More than 83 million people tuned in Friday night for at least a portion of the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, which aired commercial-free on dozens of networks. The fundraising effort, spearheaded by actor George Clooney and MTV Networks, had an average audience of more than 24 million viewers and pulled in at least $61 million in pledges from the general public to help survivors of the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake that rocked Haiti. Organizers on Monday were still tabulating additional donations made by corporations and large private donors, as well as proceeds from an album of the telethon's live performances sold on iTunes. -- Continue reading "83 million tune in to Haiti telethon" RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti

SAUDI ARABIA: Riyadh commits $50 million to Haiti relief efforts
After taking a beating in the media for failing to come up with aid for earthquake-stricken Haiti, oil-rich Saudi Arabia has now agreed to pitch in $50 million to help the poor Caribbean nation, news agencies are reporting. The aid will be directed through the United Nations. "The kingdom, by instruction of King Abdullah, is donating $50 million ... to assist the Haitian people," foreign ministry spokesman Osama Nugali told Agence France-Presse today. -- From the L.A.Times' Middle East blog, Babylon & Beyond RELATED: Haiti quake relief: How to help Multimedia coverage: The earthquake in Haiti

L.A. Times - Latin America Blog
News from Latin America and the Caribbean

 

Needs of Haiti's disabled must not be forgotten, says UN expert body
A group of United Nations experts today stressed that the needs of Haitians with disabilities must be included in the relief, recovery and reconstruction processes following the earthquake that battered the small Caribbean nation last month.

UN faces race against time and weather to obtain hazard-proof shelters for Haiti
The United Nations said today it is racing against time to bring in hazard-resistant tents for Haiti's earthquake victims before the rainy season starts, provide sufficient agricultural input to save the next planting season, and raise greatly increased funding to support the effort.

Haiti: UN agricultural agency kick starts irrigation clearing programme
The United Nations agricultural agency has launched a scheme for some 600 Haitians affected by the Caribbean country's devastating earthquake to quickly clear irrigation canals in a bid to save this season's bean and maize crops, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) announced today.

Dozens of additional UN Police start work in Haiti to help local officers
More than 100 additional United Nations police officers are already on the ground to help Haiti, which was devastated by a massive earthquake last month, following a call by the Security Council for extra forces to support the beleaguered Caribbean nation.

Bill Clinton arrives in Haiti to help with UN post-quake aid effort
The former United States president Bill Clinton flew into Haiti today as part of his expanded leadership role for the United Nations in coordinating international aid efforts in the wake of last month''s earthquake, and immediately pledged to see the tasks through to their successful conclusion "long after the television crews have gone and emergency response teams have returned to their home countries."

UN appeals for donations to restore Haiti's quake-devastated educational system
With hundreds of Haitian schools destroyed or damaged by last month's devastating earthquake, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has launched a public appeal for donations to help re-establish the education system in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

UN expert urges immediate cancellation of Haiti's external debt
An independent United Nations human rights expert today called for the immediate cancellation of Haiti's external debt to allow it to recover from the devastating earthquake that struck the nation last month and move towards reconstruction.

UN seeking support from donors to scale up cash-for-work initiative in Haiti
The United Nations is seeking to scale up its cash-for-work programme that is enabling Haitians to earn an income as they help their country recover from last month's devastating earthquake, and the world body is calling on donors to help fund the vital initiative.

Departing Chilean President to lead UN efforts advocating for Haitian women
The United Nations Women's Fund (UNIFEM) has announced that the outgoing Chilean President will work closely with the agency to speak out on behalf of Haitian women suffering from the massive earthquake that devastated the Caribbean country on 12 January.

Haiti: UN helps pregnant women as risk to babies rises after quake
The United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) is providing medical kits to thousands of expectant mothers in Haiti in case they cannot get medical attention in time and give birth at home or on the streets where they are living after last month's earthquake.

UN News Centre - Americas
A world of news from the world organization.

 

Brazil enters fray for African resources
The mining company Vale is to start operations in Mozambique as South America's largest economy steps up the scramble for Africa's resources

Costa Rica elects first woman president
Laura Chinchilla, a protege of Nobel peace laureate and incumbent president Oscar Arias, has vowed to continue his pro-business policies after winning a landslide victory

Kirchner undergoes emergency surgery
The husband and predecessor of Argentine President Cristina Fernández and the man widely believed still to be the pulling the strings of power in her government, had emergency surgery on his carotid artery

Building Brics
In the race for African passport stamps, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil has nosed ahead of Hu Jintao, president of China, having visited 19 African...

Moment of truth near in search for Falklands oil
Drilling by four British companies is to begin shortly amid hopes it could transform the disputed territory with a population of just 3,000 into the site of a black gold rush

Argentina's new central bank governor promises stable monetary policies
Argentina's new central bank governor headed into office yesterday vowing stability and tranquillity in monetary and exchange rate policy. But her nomination was seen...

Warning on former Colombian paramilitaries threat
Colombia's disbanded paramilitary groups have morphed into criminal gangs that are contributing to a surge in violence, according to a report by Human Rights Watch

OAS urged to normalise Honduran relations
The Organisation of American States should discuss restoring full membership to Honduras just seven months after coup, according to a senior US diplomat

No 10 rebuffs protests over Falklands oil drilling plans
Downing Street refused to bow on Wednesday to Argentine protests over plans to start drilling for oil and gas around the Falkland Islands

Panama Canal vows to stick with toll increases
The administrator of the Panama Canal has defended the waterway's recent programme of toll increases despite complaints that they are aggravating the shipping market crisis

Kirchner's personal currency move criticised
News that President Cristina Fernández's husband Néstor Kirchner, her predecessor as president, bought $2m in October 2008, a month after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, has sparked opposition outrage

Mexico's central bank chief vows co-operation
The new head of Mexico's central bank promises that closer co-operation with the government will underpin his six-year tenure, a move likely to heighten investor concerns about his institution's independence

Kirchners fight for central bank control
Fears increase for Argentine reserves as Redrado awaits his fate after the president's attempt to oust him as governor

Argentina's central bank chief resigns
After weeks of political crisis sparked by his refusal to hand over reserves to pay off debt, Martín Redrado has resigned, blasting a government he said was trampling the nation's institutions

Charities miss out on £5m tax relief for Haiti
With only three-fifths of uk donors using Gift Aid, charities are keen to urge UK taxpayers to tick the box that allows them to reclaim tax, because chasing up the contributors adds to their costs.

FT.com - World, Americas
FT.com - World, Americas

 

Europe to Seek Latin American Pact in 2010

Is It Haiti That's Cursed--or America?
U.S. takes on yet another impossible task.

ALBA Trade Alliance Pledges to Give Up the U.S. Dollar

Mexican Border City Calls for UN Peacekeepers
Just yards away from El Paso, Texas, violence engulfs a city of 1.5 million.

Now Venezuela Wants to Go Nuclear

Venezuela Recognizes Pro-Russian Breakaway Provinces of Georgia
Russian influence expands in America’s backyard.

Defending Dictators
U.S. response to Honduras crisis is beyond shameful.

Venezuela and Iran Continue to Boost Ties
The two petroleum economies sign more energy deals.

Russia Returns to America's Back Door
As the struggling U.S. administration thrashes around to save a sinking U.S. ship, an old enemy sails up to its back door.

World Prepares to Dump the Dollar
American economists think the world can’t afford to let go of the dollar’s reserve currency status. The world is about to teach them differently.

China Stepping Up Trade Presence in Latin America
Business is booming between China and Latin America as the competition for resources continues.

"Stand With Democracy" in Honduras
Right alongside Hugo Chávez and other champions of freedom

Argentina Wages Economic War on the Falklands
Is Great Britain too weak and too distracted to respond?

Report: Drug Cartels, Terrorist Organizations Cooperating
More than just drugs could be crossing the border.

Venezuela, Bolivia Accused of Sending Uranium to Iran
Uranium flows out, and terrorists flow in.

China Flexes Economic Muscle
Beijing seizes the global economic crisis as an opportunity to assert its influence.

Reaching Out to Our Enemies
While the new U.S. administration cuddles up to confirmed enemies at its back door, other nations have already sealed vitally strategic alliances with Cuba and Venezuela destined to threaten U.S. security.

Hezbollah Agents Flood Into America
Iran is using the Mexican drug cartels to smuggle terrorists onto American soil.

The Drug Cartels Are on Our Payroll
A vivid illustration of how America’s sins are becoming curses

Is a Trade War With Mexico Imminent?

China Reaches Out to Africa and Latin America

Mexico: Bordering on Collapse
The United States faces a number of serious crises. Here’s one many Americans haven’t yet considered.

Iran Sends Explosives Lab to Venezuela
The Islamic Republic tries to send a suspicious package containing “nothing important” to Latin America.

Will Mexico Fail in 2009 or 2010?
A brilliant oil bet may pay off for Mexico. But time is running out.

Mexican Drug Cartels Growing Problem for U.S.

theTrumpet.com: Latin America
theTrumpet.com -- Understand your world.

 

Former Liberian Warring Faction Leader Arrested by U.S. Authorities
George Boley faces charges of being in the U.S. without proper documentation and for extra-judicial killings in Liberia

Haitian Company Struggles to Rebuild its Business After Earthquake
Many workers have lost their jobs, and employers are trying to get their businesses up and running

Man Pulled Alive From Haiti Earthquake Rubble
Earlier, UN said it is racing against time to provide survivors with tents before rainy season starts

Costa Rica Elects First Woman President
Former VP and ruling party candidate Laura Chinchilla earns landslide win to become Costa Rica's first woman president

Costa Rica Votes in National Elections
Polls indicate country may elect its first female president

UNICEF, NGO's: Haitian Children at Risk
Case of 33 children allegedly abducted by a group of Americans illustrates the plight of children separated from parents

Former President Clinton to Return to Haiti
Bill Clinton says he wants to ensure assistance continues to be 'effective, coordinated, sustained'

US Seeks Debt Relief for Haiti
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says Washington will work with its international partners on issue

VOA News: Americas
Americas Voice of America

 

Argentina's reserves and its debts: Central Bank robbery

The president gets her way, again, but at a price

CRITICS of Argentina’s government have two main explanations for the behaviour of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s administration: cunning conspiracy or bumbling incompetence. Two bits of evidence suggest the truth lies somewhere in between.

First, Martin Redrado, the governor of the Central Bank, was pushed out on January 29th, after a battle with the president over the bank’s dollar reserves. Ms Fernandez ostensibly wanted to use the cash to reassure foreign investors about Argentina’s creditworthiness. If so, her government has achieved the opposite with its bullying of Mr Redrado, who was making a stand for central-bank independence—something investors tend to like. That his replacement will be Mercedes Marco del Pont, an economist said to be close to the presidency, is also a discouraging sign. ...

Colombia's health reforms: Shock treatment

President Uribe tries to push through some much-needed changes

AS ALLIES of Barack Obama seek procedural tricks to slip his health reforms through a truculent Congress, his Colombian counterpart, Alvaro Uribe, is not bothering with such niceties. He has simply issued a set of decrees ordering a much-needed but equally controversial shake-up of his country’s health service. The Constitutional Court, whose earlier rulings have added greatly to the health system’s financial stresses, is examining the decrees. Mr Uribe has begun negotiating with doctors and other opponents over how they are implemented—but he remains determined to see them through.

There is little argument over the need to close the big deficit in the health service’s budget. Mr Uribe’s decrees include an increase in taxes on alcohol, cigarettes and gambling, and measures to cut losses from corruption and bureaucracy. But his critics accuse him of taking advantage of this financial emergency to make more profound changes to the way health care is provided, and with little public debate. ...

Brazil's possible next president: Serra waits, a bit too patiently, for the presidency

The front-runner in Brazil’s coming presidential contest has done a decent job running its biggest state. But to keep his lead he must get campaigning

WITH almost 30m voters and a population greater than Canada’s and on a par with Argentina’s, the giant industrial state of Sao Paulo is accustomed to playing a big part in choosing Brazil’s presidents. The retiring incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, both had their political roots in the state. The front-runner so far in this year’s race, Jose Serra, has been the state’s governor for the past three years. He has suffered much criticism of late, as heavy rains have caused flash floods, landslides and collapsing roads, resulting in around 70 deaths. Despite the accusations of failing to improve the state’s flood defences, Mr Serra’s team still think his record as governor is solid enough to carry him to the presidency in October’s election.

Brazil’s rising economic and diplomatic muscle means that the job of running it is becoming an ever bigger one. With an impressive record as an academic, minister and state governor, Mr Serra is surely a strong candidate to fill the post. But he is a curious character. A friend says he announced that he would become president of Brazil when he was just 17. Colleagues describe a nocturnal control freak with a stubborn streak. Paulo Renato Souza, a former cabinet colleague of Mr Serra and now his state education secretary, remembers him telephoning in the middle of the night, demanding information. ...

Venezuela's drift to authoritarianism: Wolf sheds fleece

Hugo Chavez worries ever less about maintaining a semblance of democracy

OPPONENTS of Hugo Chavez have often bewailed his knack of cloaking authoritarianism in outwardly democratic forms. So perhaps they should be grateful that the Venezuelan president is increasingly abandoning the pretence. On January 23rd—a date on which the country commemorates the 1958 uprising that ousted its last military dictator—cable-television operators were told to stop carrying RCTV, a pro-opposition channel. It was the latest in a series of recent moves that have placed Mr Chavez’s elected regime within a hair’s breadth of dictatorship.

Three years ago RCTV’s broadcasting licence was not renewed, confining it to cable. Now the government has ruled that, despite being a cable channel, it (and many other channels) must obey a broadcasting law that requires it, among other things, to transmit the president’s lengthy speeches live, whenever he feels like it. The urge came over him almost immediately, at a political rally. When RCTV declined to oblige him, its fate was sealed. ...

Liberalism in Brazil: The almost-lost cause of freedom

Why is economic liberalism so taboo in socially liberal Brazil?

“ADMITTING to liberalism explicitly,” wrote Roberto Campos, a Brazilian politician, diplomat and swimmer against the tide who died in 2001, “is as outlandish in a country with a dirigiste culture as having sex in public.” His observation still holds for Brazil, where economic liberals (in the British, free-market sense, not the socialistic American one) are as scarce as snowflakes. Government revenue as a share of GDP has risen steadily in the past decade, and is now closer to the level in rich European countries than that of Brazil’s middle-income peers. Despite this, none of the likely candidates in the presidential election due in October talks about cutting taxes. The two leading candidates are both on the tax-and-spend centre-left.

Brazil’s shortage of economic liberals is even stranger given the country’s history. In Chile economic liberalism was tainted by association with military rule. But Brazil’s 1964-85 military dictatorship chose an economic model built around state planning and restricted imports. It is necessary to go back to the 19th century, when Brazil’s then monarchy was briefly in thrall to Scottish economists, to find something like classical liberalism there. ...

Haiti two weeks after the earthquake: Scrabbling for survival

As international aid reaches a devastated people, their leaders wonder how to rebuild a country in ruins

IN THE days after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12th, the country’s shock and grief were tempered by the urgent need to save lives. Now that search-and-rescue operations are officially over—with just 132 people plucked from the rubble alive, and estimates of the dead ranging as high as 300,000—Haitians are confronting the devastation wrought on their perennially troubled land.

The past week has seen remarkable progress. Because Haiti’s roads and ports were badly damaged by the quake, little aid arrived in the disaster’s immediate aftermath. Moreover, since the government was almost wiped out—the presidential palace and most main ministries collapsed—there was no one to co-ordinate those relief workers that did arrive. ...

Lessons from the tsunami: Too much of a good thing?

Quality counts as much as quantity in disaster relief

AFTER the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004, aid agencies clubbed together to review their efforts. The main conclusion was sobering: “It was local people themselves who provided almost all immediate life-saving action.” But “international agencies often brushed local capacities aside.”

This lesson is relevant to Haiti now. Focused on raising money, bedevilled by disputes over logistical precedence and haunted by fears that the country is too weak to help itself, the Haiti operation shows signs of becoming an aid stampede. Like the tsunami, the earthquake has produced an outpouring of generosity amounting to $1 billion so far. ...

Brazil's presidential biopic: Lula, sanitised

A film for the campaign trail

ONCE upon a time it was considered indecent to turn living people into myths, or even into films, with too much haste. The cycle seems to be shorter now. Gandhi had to wait until 34 years after his death before he appeared on cinema screens around the world. George Bush junior, by contrast, was the victim of an Oliver Stone biopic during the last year of his presidency. Now a Brazilian director, Fabio Barreto, has done the same for Brazil’s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, as he starts his final year of office.

“Lula, Son of Brazil” is the tale of a poor boy made good, his flaws left on the cutting table and his virtues in close-up. Since Lula hopes to secure the election of his chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, in October, it is controversial. The film “promotes the worship of a political myth,” said Eugenio Bucci, a critic and journalism professor. Before it was even released Veja, a magazine, pointed out that many of the companies that funded its production (the most expensive in the history of Brazilian cinema) have either won or hope to win contracts from the government. ...

Honduras's new president: Lobo alone

Picking up the post-coup pieces

EVER since Manuel Zelaya was ousted last June as the president of Honduras in a military coup backed by the courts and Congress, the putsch’s leaders have been playing for time. The de facto government’s sole policy has been to survive the seven months left of Mr Zelaya’s term and let an elected successor pick up the pieces. On January 27th that successor, Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo, will be sworn in. He takes over a country that is diplomatically isolated, economically battered and socially and politically polarised.

As a candidate Mr Lobo was evasive, speaking little about the coup and its aftermath. As president his first task will be to gain recognition of his legitimacy, both abroad and at home. His election in November was widely seen as free and fair. But the coup’s leaders have done nothing to ease reconciliation. They have spent their final days in office congratulating themselves: the legislature voted to make the de facto president, Roberto Micheletti, a congressman for life, and granted permanent security details to some 50 top officials at taxpayers’ expense. ...

Chile's presidential election: Piñera promises a gallop

After 20 years, a move to the right

WHEN the centre-left Concertacion coalition won power in Chile 20 years ago, its epoch-making victory signified the end of the Pinochet dictatorship and the restoration of democracy. When it finally lost the presidency in a run-off election on January 17th its defeat seemed almost prosaic. Sebastian Pinera, a wealthy businessman and economist, won 51.6% of the vote for the conservative opposition, narrowly defeating the Concertacion’s Eduardo Frei. But Mr Pinera was elected with fewer votes (just 43% of the electorate) than any president since 1990. Many of the Concertacion’s voters simply stayed at home.

So Chile has not moved radically to the right, it has tired of the Concertacion. That is partly a tribute to the coalition’s achievements. As well as rising prosperity—since 1990 income per head has almost trebled in terms of purchasing power, to $14,299—these include political stability and some strong democratic institutions. Chileans have gradually come to take all of this for granted. That made them less susceptible to the Concertacion’s campaign claim that “it’s not all the same [who governs]”. ...

A Canadian misunderstanding: Just history

A magazine’s Scunthorpe problem

CANADIANS have long been proud of the industrious beaver, an animal capable of cutting down 216 trees a year with its teeth and of surviving the long winter in a purpose-built lodge made of mud, twigs and bark. The largest rodent in North America is a national emblem. The first Canadian postage stamp, the 1851 Three-Penny Beaver, carried its image. And one of Canada’s oldest magazines carries its name.

But soon it will not. From April The Beaver will be renamed. A journal of popular history founded in 1920 by the Hudson Bay Company to celebrate its 250th anniversary, it is now owned by others. Its evocation of the fur that had made the trading company’s fortunes no longer struck the right note—especially since the word has become slang for female pubic hair. ...

Post-earthquake chaos in Haiti: A massive relief effort limps into gear

The world’s attempt to aid Haitians stumbles against extraordinary difficulties of transport and communications

IN ONE of the ramshackle tent cities that have sprouted in open spaces all across Port-au-Prince, Isa Longchamp, a dishevelled and dejected eight-year-old girl, starts to whimper. After losing her mother when the Haitian capital was devastated by the earthquake of January 12th, she is now struggling to survive. Batted aside when hundreds of desperate victims of the disaster swarmed around aid workers handing out a batch of supplies earlier in the day, she is still hungry. She depends on the charity of her new neighbours. But at least she is alive, and fairly healthy.

Her home now is a precarious lean-to made from a couple of stained, fraying sheets tied to some sticks. She shares it with what remains of her family. Not far away other earthquake survivors wail in agony in a makeshift hospital. Field surgery is performed with rudimentary equipment and morphine is scarce. Many of the injured have died because of a lack of medical supplies. ...

Haiti's earthquake: Catastrophe in the Caribbean

One of the world’s most vulnerable countries is devastated by a murderous earthquake

IF THERE is one country in the Americas that cannot afford to suffer a natural disaster, it is dirt-poor and politically fragile Haiti. In 2008 four tropical storms killed 800 people, left 1m of the 9m population homeless and wiped out 15% of the economy. But the earthquake that devastated the country, including Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, just before 5.00pm on January 12th was a yet crueller blow.

Many died—how many nobody will know until Haiti’s people and the rescue workers who began arriving the next day have completed the grim task of picking through the choking mounds of rubble and concrete. But by the morning of January 14th they were talking of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of lives lost as schools, hospitals, houses, offices, shops and the cathedral and the headquarters of the United Nations mission collapsed in those 45 murderous seconds. The president, Rene Preval, as stunned and dazed as the people seeking refuge in the streets, said simply, “It is a catastrophe.” ...

Venezuela's devaluation: The weakening of the “strong bolívar”

In a harsher world Venezuela faces a reckoning

OFFICIALLY it is an “exchange-rate adjustment” to make the country more competitive. But Venezuelans have been here before, and they know what to do. Within hours of a presidential decree on January 8th devaluing the currency by up to 50%, long queues formed outside household-appliance shops in Caracas, the capital. The minority with a little spare cash wanted to swap it as fast as possible for something of more durable value.

Burned into Venezuelans’ collective memory is “Black Friday” in 1983, an earlier devaluation that marked the demise of what had been for decades one of the world’s most stable currencies. In a seeming attempt to hark back to that earlier era of prosperity, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s leftist president, first fixed the currency in 2005 and two years ago relaunched it with three fewer zeroes as the “strong bolivar”, at 2.15 to the dollar. ...

Ecuador's president: Smile turns to frown

Blackouts of power and news

Correction to this article

IN THE three years since he came to office, Rafael Correa has promised that his “Christian socialism” will provide Ecuadoreans with the good life where “neoliberalism” failed. A big increase in social spending, paid for at first by a high oil price and then by defaulting on debt, brought Mr Correa popular acclaim. He steered through a new constitution and last year had himself re-elected under it. He seemed to be defying his country’s recent history, in which the previous three elected presidents had failed to complete their terms. ...

Canada without Parliament: Halted in mid-debate

Stephen Harper is counting on Canadians’ complacency as he rewrites the rules of his country’s politics to weaken legislative scrutiny

THE timing said everything. Stephen Harper, the prime minister, chose December 30th, the day five Canadians were killed in Afghanistan and when the public and the media were further distracted by the announcement of the country’s all-important Olympic ice-hockey team, to let his spokesman reveal that Parliament would remain closed until March 3rd, instead of returning as usual, after its Christmas break, in the last week of January.

Mr Harper turned a customary recess into prorogation. This means that all committees in both houses are disbanded and government bills die, no matter how close they are to approval. The prime minister, who heads a Conservative minority government, clearly reckoned that giving legislators an extra winter break, during which they might visit the Winter Olympics (in Vancouver between February 12th and 28th), would not bother Canadians much. ...

Argentina's bank grab: The reserves, or your job

The president’s ultimatum to her Central Bank chief

TO SUSTAIN its expansionary fiscal policies, Cristina Fernandez’s government has developed an insatiable hunger for other people’s cash. First she ramped up taxes on farmers, then last year she nationalised private pension funds. Now she is trying to lay her hands on the Central Bank’s foreign-currency reserves.

Last month she issued a decree transferring $6.6 billion of the reserves to a fund to service the public debt. Although the government has run a (now diminishing) fiscal surplus for years, it cannot borrow freely in international capital markets. This is both because investors mistrust its policies and because it has yet to settle with bondholders who boycotted a previous debt restructuring in 2005 under Nestor Kirchner, Ms Fernandez’s predecessor and husband. ...

Lula and the generals: Don't look back

The army blocks a truth commission

IT IS 25 years since Brazil moved from dictatorship to democracy, but its army remains surprisingly unreformed. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was rudely reminded of this just before Christmas when he signed a decree calling for a truth commission to investigate torture, killings and disappearances during military rule between 1964 and 1985. Within 24 hours the heads of the three armed forces threatened to resign along with Nelson Jobim, the defence minister. Lula seemed quick to retreat. He was reported as saying the government would think again.

Argentina and Chile have not only had such commissions, but have jailed many former military officers. Brazil’s dictators were less bloodthirsty. Even so, 300-400 leftist opponents were killed or disappeared under the military regime and several thousand were tortured. But before gradually handing power back to civilians, the generals passed a blanket amnesty for “political crimes” by the government and by armed leftist groups. Their successors have allowed only limited civilian control over military affairs. ...

A Mexican cult: Death in holy orders

Syncretism in the era of the drug baron

Correction to this article

THE statue looks at first like a narrow, windowless office building towering over the skyline of Tultitlan, a working-class suburb of Mexico City. In fact it is of Santa Muerte (“Holy Death”), the image of a skeleton, clad in hood and tunic and bearing a scythe and globe, that some 2m Mexicans are said to worship. Surrounding it are three small altars, one placed there after the man who paid for the statue, Jonathan Legaria, murdered in 2008 aged just 26. ...

The Economist: The Americas
The Americas

 

Best Mexico City Sights
Many travelers flying into Mexico have connecting flights in Mexico City. The majority of them are anxious to get on another plane to their final destination as quickly as possible, and never see more of Mexico City than the Benito Juarez International Airport and what they can glimpse out of the plane window.

Admittedly, everything in Mexico City is on a grand scale. With its 680 years of history; urban sprawl that covers over 1500 square miles; and population hovering around 20 million, the city can be intimidating, but those who do venture into the nation's capital may be pleasantly surprised by all the city has to offer.

If you'll be flying into Mexico City, consider spending a few days before continuing on to your final destination. Some time spent exploring this city can be a great complement to your trip. This list of the Mexico City sights you shouldn't miss will help you make the most of your time.

More about Mexico City:

• Mexico City Walking Tour
• Take the Mexico City Turibus
• Frida and Diego's Mexico City

Best Mexico City Sights originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 08:00:08.

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Candlemas in Mexico - Día de la Candelaria
Today is Groundhog Day in the United States, and folks concerned about the weather of the coming weeks will be looking to see if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow or not, but in Mexico, this is Día de la Candelari­a (Candlemas), a religious holiday that marks the end of the Christmas season in the church calendar. On this day folks dress up figures of the baby Jesus and take them to the church to be blessed. It's also a time to get together with friends and family to eat tamales - provided by whoever got the baby Jesus figurine in the Kings Day bread. Read more about Día de la Candelaria, and see our Candlemas photo gallery.

Candlemas in Mexico - Día de la Candelaria originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 09:06:49.

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New Entry Requirements for Canadians Traveling to Mexico
As yet Canadian citizens have not been required to present a passport when traveling to Mexico, although since January 2007 it has been required for entry to the United States. As of March 1st that's going to change. According to the passport Canada website:

"As of March 1st, 2010, all Canadian citizens will need a valid passport to enter Mexico. Canadian citizens without a valid passport will not be allowed entry into Mexico and will be returned to Canada."

So if you're planning a trip to Mexico, don't delay - get a passport now!

See entry requirements for US citizens: Do I need a passport?
More info about Mexico entry requirements for Canadians.

New Entry Requirements for Canadians Traveling to Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 18:51:03.

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Mexico Vacation Deals
We suffered through some chilly weather during the past few weeks, but I'm happy to say that the cold front here in Mexico has passed and we're now back to our usual warmer temperatures. If the weather is still cold where you are, you might be thinking about taking a beach getaway, and this is a great time to do it. Expedia is offering a deal for 30% off of stays of three nights or more to various destinations in Mexico, including Acapulco, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. To take advantage of this offer, book your trip by February 2nd for travel before March 31. Check out these travel deals from Expedia.com.

Mexico Vacation Deals originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Thursday, January 21st, 2010 at 00:44:31.

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Register Your Trip

The tragedy in Haiti is a stark reminder that bad things can happen to us anywhere, and it's a good idea to always take precautions. One thing that you can do when traveling that can make a difference in the case of an emergency, is to register your trip with the government of your country. You can usually do this online by simply filling out a secure online form with your travel plans and contact information while abroad, and contact information for your family or friends back home. You should also leave an itinerary, including local contact information and expected time and date of return, with a friend or family member.

By registering your trip, you help the embassy or consulate locate you when you might need them the most. Registration is voluntary and costs nothing, but it should be a big part of your travel planning and security.
-from the US Department of State

Whether you're a U.S. citizen, Canadian, or the citizen of another country, find out how to register your trip.

Register Your Trip originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 09:00:34.

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Carnival in Mexico
Carnival this year will take place from February 10 to 16, and if you'd like to experience the revelry of Mardi Gras, consider Mexico. Several Mexican destinations have exuberant celebrations featuring parades, concerts and fairs. Travel to Mexico during Carnival can give you the chance to see how Mexicans party - and join in the fun! - plus you can sample food, see unique performances and listen to music. Find out where to celebrate Carnaval in Mexico, and more information about how Mexico celebrates Carnaval.

_{Photo courtesy of Merida's Comite del Carnaval}

Carnival in Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 09:00:10.

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Cold Front in Mexico

If you'll be heading to Mexico in the next few days, be sure to pack a sweater in with your warm weather clothes. We're expecting a cold front that will probably bring steep drops in temperatures across the country. Northern and central Mexico will be most affected by this cold front, with temperatures below freezing in some areas. The states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Zacatecas are taking precautions, in some cases delaying the return of school children to classes.

Check current weather for Mexican cities, or read more about the weather in Mexico.

Cold Front in Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 23:42:57.

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Kings Day - Día de Reyes
Santa may have come and gone, but Mexican children are still awaiting the visit of the three kings - so the holidays in Mexico aren't over quite yet! January 6th is Three Kings Day, known as the Día de Reyes. It is customary to eat Rosca de Reyes, a sweet bread shaped like a wreath, with candied fruit on top, and a figurine of a baby Jesus baked inside. The person who finds the figurine is expected to host a party on Día de la Candelaria, Candlemas, celebrated on February 2nd.

Read more:

• Kings Day - Día de Reyes
• Other events in January

_{Photo of Rosca de Reyes by Christian Frausto Bernal, licensed under Creative Commons}

Kings Day - Día de Reyes originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Sunday, January 3rd, 2010 at 11:00:33.

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Mexico Travel in 2009

2009 was a difficult year for Mexico's tourism industry. The new strain of influenza, new passport requirements and fears of violence hampered travel to Mexico this past year, but things are looking up and 2010 promises to be a great year for travel to Mexico.

Read more...

Mexico Travel in 2009 originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 15:16:12.

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Relationship Rescue at Casa Velas

If one of your New Years resolutions is to improve your relationship, planning a romantic Mexico vacation may be the perfect way to get the year off to the right start. Casa Velas is offering a "Relationship Rescue" package which will allow you to rekindle the romance, whether you're honeymooners or have been together for many years.

The package includes accommodation in a luxurious Grand Class Suite with a private plunge pool or Jacuzzi, a moonlight couples massage, a romantic candlelight dinner on the beach, unlimited use of the hydrotherapy area of Casa Velas' spa, as well as 24-hour room service, French champagne and chocolate covered strawberries delivered to your room. A la carte gourmet dining, private beach club, premium international liquor brands, mini bar, and all taxes and gratuities are also included. Rates for this package are $299 USD per person, per night, with a minimum stay of three nights.

Casa Velas is an adults-only boutique hotel located just north of Puerto Vallarta. It belongs to the Leading Hotels of the World group, and is a recipient of the AAA Four Diamond Award. Visit their website: Casa Velas

_{Photo courtesy Casa Velas}

Relationship Rescue at Casa Velas originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 14:25:13.

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About Mexico Travel
Mexico Travel

 

Alternate Suggestions for Chile Tourism

What NOT to Do in Chile (matadortrips.com): "Matador's destination expert on Chile lays out the country's avoidable attractions...and what you should do instead."

Listing the most attractive and crowded destinations during the summer season, the author suggests alternate locations that are often uncrowded and very scenic.

In addition, the author suggests "shoulder season" activities and alternate activities for food, shopping, transportation and language tips.

Do you agree? Or have additional tips for the visitor to Chile? Add your comments below.

View of Cerro Aconcagua, viewed from Santiago area, is displayed with the kind permission of Brian Pearson of Santiago Adventures, Ltda.

Alternate Suggestions for Chile Tourism originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 13:29:08.

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Another Blackout Hits Brazil

New Blackout Hits Rio's Popular Tourist Spot (foxnews.com): "Rio de Janeiro's posh beach neighborhoods lost power for hours in sweltering summer weather Tuesday, prompting restaurants to toss out spoiled food and business owners to send their employees home.

The outage came two weeks after a massive blackout left more than 60 million people in the dark and raised questions about the nation's ability to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio."

In addition to these power outtages and the inconvenience they cause, tourism now and between the Olympic Games might be impacted in various locations in Brazil.

This view of Copacabana by night thanks to ClipArt.com.

Adding more trouble and trauma, Violent storms, tornado kill 16 in South America (www.usatoday.com):"A violent storm that spawned a tornado and mudslides killed at least 16 people across northern Argentina and southern Brazil, authorities said Tuesday. Dozens were injured in the winds and hail as their homes were destroyed.
At least 10 died in Argentina, said Ricardo Veselka, civil defense director for the town of San Pedro, where the twister hit."

Another Blackout Hits Brazil originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 15:55:09.

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New Tourism Deal Between Argentina, Brazil and Isra

Tourism agreement to be signed between Israel and Argentina (www.jpost.com):"Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and his Argentinean counterpart Carlos Enrique Meyer will sign a tourism agreement in the near future, after Misezhnikov, who was accompanying President Shimon Peres on his South American tour, said on Tuesday that "Israel considers Argentina to be a country with great tourism potential."

This adds to the services when "In May 2009, El Al began to operate a direct flight route between Tel Aviv and Sao Paolo," Brazil's economic center.

Meyer said he aspires to promote code-sharing agreements on the Brazil-Israel route and encourage the inception of direct flights between Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv." Lots of potential tourism options!
However, Argentina authorizes industrywide air fare hike (Reuters)
which might affect travel plans.

View of Buenos Aires's iconic Obelisk and Avenida 9 de Julio is displayed with the kind permision of Roberto Ingledew.

View of a busy street in São Paulo is displayed with the kind permission of Ron Miller - author of Escape from the Happy Cannibal.

New Tourism Deal Between Argentina, Brazil and Isra originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 06:08:30.

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Travel Tips for Brazil and Peru

Shoulder Seasoning South-American Style
(away.com): "When it comes to countries, we don't play favorites. So consider the information parsed in the stories below to be light fare for your larger South American banquet--a glimpse into the continent's largest country, and an exploration of one of its most mystic, mythical, and physically taxing locales.

Take a look at our off-season guides to Peru and Brazil, where tropic climes and sporadic rains reduce prices and crowds, and then explore the rest of our coverage on the entirety of South America. Then all that's left is to plan your trip and curse the fact that vacations can last for only so long..."

Check out the overview of off-season travel, and zero in on the topics and destinations that most appeal to you in Brazil and Peru.

View of Itacare Beach in Bahia is displayed with the kind permission of
Luis Veiga / Getty Images.

View of the Anascocha Trail through the Peruvian Andes is displayed with the kind permission of Ariana Svenson - Apus Peru. You can learn more about this isolated area by reading Christmas Hiking In Peru.

Travel Tips for Brazil and Peru originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 12:18:56.

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"Guyana is a Rare Opportunity for Travellers"

Tourism professionals say Guyana is a rare opportunity for travellers (caribbeannetnews): "Guyana played host to an esteemed group of tourism professionals - tour operators, researchers, journalists, and conservationists - on a product familiarization trip spotlighting the South American country's nature and cultural tourism activities. The participants were all seasoned world travelers and their feedback places Guyana on par with other top nature destinations.

The trip featured birding, wildlife watching and cultural activities in Georgetown, Kaieteur Falls, Karanambu Lodge, Caiman House at Yupukari Village, Rock View Lodge, Aranaputa Village, Surama Village and Eco-Lodge, Fair View Village, Iwokrama River Lodge, Atta Rainforest Lodge and Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, and Baganara Island Resort."

Explore Guyana with a view to your own familiarization tour.

View of Kaieteur Falls, a favorite destination in Guyana, is displayed with the kind permission of Bill Curtsinger / Getty Images.

"Guyana is a Rare Opportunity for Travellers" originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 06:27:38.

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Biking in Peru: Trip Reports

There's more to this feature about biking in Peru than just the Lake Titicaca: The Bike Tour (livinginperu.com).

There are blogs about rides in and around Cumbe Mayo in Abancay, Traveling the Milky Way in Cajamarca, Cuzco, El Refugio de Francesca in Ancash, Chasing the Sun from Lima to sunnier spots, Lambayeque, Back Road from Cajamarca to Chachapoyas, Ballestas islands and an overall view of biking in Peru.

View of Santa Apolonia Church in Cajamarca is displayed with the kind permission of Paul Kennedy / Getty Images.

Biking in Peru: Trip Reports originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 06:00:37.

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Hot Tips for 2010 South American Travel

Adventure holidays: hot tips for 2010 (guardian.co.uk) "We asked the experts to reveal the trips they are most excited about - from Papua New Guinea's jungles to Greenland's ice floes."

Two of South America's locations made the list: Off the beaten track in Northern Peru and Island-hopping in The Falkland Islands.

View of the adobe pyramid of Huaca del Sol is displayed with the kind permission of Peter and Jackie Main.

Hot Tips for 2010 South American Travel originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 19:45:45.

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Cholitas in La Paz battle it out

The author describes an entertaining evening at a wrestling match in the Los Altos section of La Paz in which women, called cholitas tackle each other and male contestants in free-for-all matches: Slammin' ma'ams win over the fans (brisbanetimes.com)

Included are some recommendations for reasonable accommodations.

Cholitas in La Paz battle it out originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 06:00:06.

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Meatless in Argentina

With descriptions of meals, photos and some suggestions, the author asks: Can a Vegetarian Survive in Argentina? (concierge.com)

And the answer is Yes! Take a look at more traditional Recipes from Argentina for ideas and you can always ask to have a vegetarian dish prepared for you.

Meatless in Argentina originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 16:14:23.

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Power Outage in Brazil and Paraguay

Brazil blackouts hit up to 60M, spur Olympic fears (AP): "Brazil emerged Wednesday from a widespread power outage that plunged as many as 60 million people into darkness for hours, prompting security fears and concern from residents about another black eye for a country hosting the 2016 Olympic Games."

Paraguay, who shares the power from the Itaipu dam, the world's second biggest hydroelectric producer, also lost country-wide power, but for a much shorter time.

View of the Itapu dam thanks to ArtToday.com. For more views, browse through Sampling of Paraguay.

Power Outage in Brazil and Paraguay originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 13:49:19.

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About South America Travel
South America Travel