John Enders' Blog

Latin America: Most Dangerous Place for Journalists

2012-01-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

According to the International Press Institute's "Death Watch" report, Latin American in 2011 was the most dangerous region to practice journalism. Mexico was the most dangerous country. In my opinion, contributing factors included the 'war on drugs,' the overall climate of inpunity prevalent in many countries, and the attitude of many of those in leadership positions that blames the media for their problems. To see the report and the group's web site:

http://www.freemedia.at/home/singleview/article/new-deadly-trends-for-journalists-in-2011-103-killed.html

Cuba-USA relations: Time to Grow up

2011-12-10T06:20:00.001-08:00

A flotilla of boats from Miami tied to the so-called Democracy Movement of exiled Cuban activists set off fireworks yesterday in waters just beyond Cuba's territorial boundary. It was a provocative and aggressive act that should not be tolerated without comment by the U.S. Department of State.
Cuban-American relations present problems and opportunities to American policy makers and their Cuban counterparts. Since the 1959 Cuban Revolution, we have maintained a 'special' (read especially bad) relationship with Cuba, its people and its government. Viewed for decades through a Cold War prism, it's well past time for a new, more mature and less bombastic, antagonistic relationship to exist.
Neither government has the courage nor the maturity to build such a relationship. The U.S. government bows to the political demands of a large and overly powerful Cuban exile lobby in Florida and elsewhere that will never allow a 'normal' relationship with Castro's Cuba. The Cuban government for its own political and demagogic purposes benefits from having a large and imperialistic enemy 90 miles to the north.
Washington, D.C. should make clear it does not support unproductive and aggressive acts like that conducted by the flotilla. And Cuba's regime should halt its encouragement of those who harass opponents of the government and beat and intimidate Cuban and international media.
As much as possible, both nations ought to pursue the normalization of relations, without conditions. Lacking the maturity to do so, it increasingly appears that the only way for such a relationship to grow and develop is for both governments to get out of the way so that people -- individuals, families and organizations -- can move forward in healing this 50-plus-year rift. It's time.

Things for Which I am Thankful in 2011

2011-11-24T06:41:00.001-08:00

* That Mother Nature and the Earth do not go along withour notions of how they should behave.
* That I was raised as a Christian, still believe in thepresence of some sort of ‘god,’ but am now more pagan than not.
*  That animals, especially my dog and my cat, love me unconditionally.
*  That within the last year I met the army officer whocaught Che Guevara.
*  That I do not live in a Middle Eastern country.
*  That a Republican is not in the White House and theDemocrats do not control Congress.
*  That I am one of the “1%,” not in the USA but in theworld as a whole, and that I am well-enough informed to know it and wonder why.
*  That my prostate is small enough that I can still pee,my eyes are good enough to still see, and the arthritis in my thumbs still notso bad that I cannot write without voice-recognition software.
*  That my children are healthy and intelligent and havenot pushed me out of their lives.
*  That I have a magnificent old boat and know how tosail her.
*  That my wife is a hottie.
*  That I did not shoot heroin or do meth when I wasyounger, but smoked lots of pot and did psilocybin.
*  That some people around the world seem to be waking upto the madness of the ‘war on drugs.’
*  That there is a Southern Hemisphere.
*  That the redneck gene is recessive.
* That my extended family is only marginallydysfunctional and most of them have forgiven me for my youthful stupidities.
* That I have begun to appreciate the true nature of friendshipand the redemptive power of love.

Judicial Vote in Bolivia: A First

2011-10-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

Bolivia continues to stumble its way toward a fuller and more complete democracy. The country continues deeply divided over Evo Morales's government and its goals, and today's election of judges nationwide, even though it is a first for the country, may turn out to be less democratizing than the government claims. The results of the vote -- in which opponents are promoting a "nulo" or "null" or "no" vote on ballots to show opposition to Morales's socialist agenda -- will be most interesting to see.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-1529474

2011-09-07T07:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/09/02/2388115/venezuelas-chavez-finishes-3rd.html

Chavez fights for his life
I must hand it to this fellow. He's gutsy, brash, arrogant and powerful, and he will not concede to his enemies or adversaries. Much like Fidel Castro, Chavez has changed the political landscape in Latin America -- whether you like his politics or not.

Ortega as U.S. informer?

2011-06-27T11:29:00.000-07:00

A new cable released by Wikileaks appears to indicate that Nicaragua's president and former Sandinista comandante Daniel Ortega has become so concerned about "radical" elements in Honduras and elsewhere that he spoke with a top U.S. State Department official about it and confirmed to him that Honduran leftists were seeking arms from Nicaragua during the 2009 Honduran coup. The more things change, the more they...
See the cable here.

"The global war on drugs has failed..." (MUST READ)

2011-06-03T09:07:00.000-07:00

The Global Commission on Drug Policy has issued its much-awaited report on drug policies around the world. The conclusion of the report: "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world."
This is a must read for all. The conclusions of this panel, made up of distinguished persons from around the world and across the ideological spectrum (Carlos Fuentes, Ernest Zedillo, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, George P. Shultz, Javier Solana, Kofi Annan, Mario Vargas Llosa, Paul Volcker, Richard Branson, Ruth Dreifuss, etc.) are impossible to ignore. This should be a wake-up call to the world.
Now, one key question remains: Given the failed policies of the "war on drugs," are the vested interests that are part of that "war" (police, the criminal-justice bureaucracy, criminal organizations, the prison industry, etc.) now so powerful, their interests so entrenched and resistance so strong that the adoption of sane policies will be impossible?

Foreign sanctions, again...

2011-05-25T08:49:00.001-07:00

The Venezuelan government, predictably, reacted harshly to the Obama Administration's decision to impose rather toothless sanctions on PDVSA. Caracas really has no option; it cannot stop its sales of oil to the United States. The income from such sales is crucial to keeping the Chavez government in power.

Foreign sanctions. A dumb thing to do.

2011-05-24T07:55:00.000-07:00

The U.S. government plans to sanction the Venezuelan state-run oil company for doing business with Iran. Who gave the U.S. government the right to tell foreign companies, or foreign governments, what they can and cannot do?
I am not a fan of autocrat Hugo Chavez or his so-called "21st Century Bolivarian Socialism," nor do I think Simon Bolivar would have been. But why does America continue its crusade to force others to do what we think is right?

Obama: Change Will Not be Denied

2011-05-19T09:24:00.001-07:00

What role will America play in these revolutionary changes around the world? That is THE question. For decades we have been a major pillar of support of many dictators around the world. That must change, and it is changing. But will that last? This is the OTHER question.

2011-05-03T02:41:00.000-07:00

Bolivia journalist's body found

2011-04-23T05:32:00.000-07:00

The body of David Niño de Guzman, missing in La Paz since 19 April, has been found in La Paz. An explosive charge was apparently used to kill him.

Niño de Guzman was the news director for Agencia de Noticias Fides (ANF), Bolivia’s oldest and most important news agency. He worked for 16 years for various media outlets in Bolivia. He was 42, married and the father of two.

Reporters Without Borders urged investigators not to rule out the possibility that he was killed in connection with his work. Media associations in Bolivia called on the government, which does not have a successful history of investigating crime, to thoroughly investigate the death. Bolivia's Vice-President, Alvaro Garcia Linera, called on the police to move quickly to clarify the case.

Garcia Linera's cynicism is astounding: The first thing he should do is tell President Evo Morales to stop his constant attacks on the Bolivian media. Morales, like Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, regularly describes the press as his principal "enemy."

Attacks against journalists in Bolivia are constant and increasing. The Morales government has helped to create an environment where impunity abounds and respect for the rule of law is undermined.

Obama's speech on Latin America

2011-03-22T05:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/03/21/remarks-president-obama-latin-america-santiago-chilePresident Obama's speech on Latin America, given at La Moneda palace in Santiago de Chile, is worth reading.

Alan Gross case may focus attention on "The Five"

2011-03-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

Five Cubans have been in prison in the United States for 12 years for spying on anti-Castro terror groups in the U.S. They are know as "los cinco," the five, and are considered heroes inside Cuba. The case of American Alan Gross -- arrested, tried and convicted for delivering computers to expand Internet access inside Cuba as part of what the Cubans say was "a subversive project of the U.S. government that aimed to destroy the revolution" -- may focus new attention the "los cinco" and on U.S.-Cuban relations in general.
The Cubans object to a USAID program to expand democracy in Latin America. The Americans believe it is their right to promote democracy wherever they want. Cuba sees the program as an attempt to undermine their system of government. They just might be right.
One would hope that Washington now uses the Gross case to open talks with Havana on an exchange of prisoners. That is most certainly what Cuba hopes for.

Obama's neglect of Latin America

2011-03-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

President Obama's neglect of Latin America is about to end, unless the federal government shuts down over the budget battle and he is forced to postpone his scheduled trip next week. Obama attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad, but has not visited any of the other nations of the region. It's the usual and customary practice of all U.S. presidents of neglecting those countries and peoples who live in our own neighborhood because of other pressing concerns in more "important" regions of the world. I've always believed that you should help your neighbors first, and wonder why we spend many billions of dollars each year in aid to Israel and Egypt (not to mention to fund our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan), while we fail to take advantage of the natural affinity many Latin Americans have for the United States. Stupid policy with inevitable results.
A "Marshall Plan" for the Americas would be less expensive than neglect in the long run, and would help our neighbors grow and prosper, the best way to undermine fanatics, ideologues and revolutionaries.
Here's Obama's planned agenda for the three countries on the itinerary. http://americasquarterly.org/node/2296 The decision to visit Brazil, Chile and El Salvador indicates a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of the changes underway in the region. That's likely to be the result of having a Chilean-American as sub-secretary for Western hemisphere affairs.
http://americasquarterly.org/node/2296

Venezuela and ALBA as Libya mediator

2011-03-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

President Hugo Chavez's proposal that ALBA countries mediate a peaceful solution to the crisis in Libya has found little or no resonance in the United States or Europe, but it should. Although Chavez, an ally and self-described "friend" of the Libya dictator, might not be viewed by many as the appropriate middle-man to achieve results in this case, he may be just that. After all, Nixon went to China, right. If Chavez and his allies in the other ALBA countries can achieve the right end, which is the peaceful EXIT from Libya of Qaddafi, this might be one way to avoid more bloodshed and suffering in Libya. However, the result needs to be this: Libya's leader is removed from power and tried in an international court of justice for crimes against his people. It's unlikely that's what Chavez has in mind, but who knows? That might be the ultimate end of such mediation.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2011/03/04/venezuela_says_libya_oks_chavez_mediation_plan/

UPDATE: War on Drugs, the View from Washington

2011-03-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

The "war on drugs" as seen from Washington, D.C. Here's the Department of State's annual report card on how the world's nations are doing to fight narcotics trafficking around the world, and some of the issues involved. There is some great information here, though readers should remember that the State Department has been known to bend information to fit America's overall political/policy goals. One interesting observation: The only major country that is not included in the report? The United States of America.

The attraction of socialism

2011-02-19T10:39:00.000-08:00

Millions live with nothing, fighting for food and water, health and education and dignity, excluded from the mainstream economy or at the bottom of its steep ladder. Is it any wonder, then, that when a leader comes along and promises them food, education, a minimal subsistence income, perhaps even housing, that they jump at the call? Some of those leaders even follow through with those promises. If they are lucky, their revolutionary government benefits from external sources of income. That's the case in Venezuela (oil), Bolivia (gas), Peru (minerals), Brazil (just about everything). While much of the money is wasted on inefficient plans, endemic corruption or just plain stupid ideas, some of it is spent on those who need it. That helps to explain why many people, especially the poor and one-time powerless, support socialist leaders such as Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Lula da Silva, et.al. We need to understand where they are coming from before we can begin to tell them what we think is best.

Venezuela and the FARC

2011-02-17T06:43:00.000-08:00

Today, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley took a question about Venezuela´s connection to the rebels in Colombia:

QUESTION: Valenzuela said that Venezuela continues to support the FARC. What concrete evidence do you have to back that up?

MR. CROWLEY: Venezuela and its activities – it remains a matter of concern. We have voiced our longstanding concerns about Venezuelan support for the FARC. We stand by what Assistant Secretary Valenzuela said.

Sorry, but that´s just not good enough. He was asked for evidence, and was given none. That doesn´t work for me. The U.S. government should release publicly information it has about Hugo Chavez´s connections the FARC, and shut up. I happen to believe that Chavez plays it both ways: he has been supportive of attempts to topple former President Uribe, but he´s quieted down a lot since Uribe left office.

Report on Press Freedom: the Americas

2011-02-15T15:42:00.001-08:00

http://www.cpj.org/2011/02/attacks-on-the-press-2010-americas-analysis.php

A visit to Hugo Chavez's hometown

2011-02-13T19:49:00.000-08:00

Today I visited Sabaneta, Venezuela, the hometown of President Hugo Chavez. My driver and I were followed most of the time by a man in a white pickup truck, monitoring where we went and who we talked to. My intention was to speak with locals who support the president in his own homeland. Mostly, I was met by opponents; they are always easier to find and to get to speak. Some were taking video of the man following us; they had their camera confiscated and the last I saw of them they were standing in the door of the police station on the plaza.

One man, however, did speak to me about his support for Chavez and why, despite its problems, he is still behind the Bolivarian Revolution of Hugo Chavez, now 12 years running. He's the man on the left. His friend is an opponent of the regime and the secretary general of the Copei party in Sabaneta. This is a highly unusual scene in Venezuela: political opponents remaining friends. Most Chavistas and anti-Chavistas appear to be embittered enemies, attempting to destroy one another. They could take a lesson from these two gentlemen.

The political situation in Barinas is unique. The governor of Barinas is a brother of Chavez. The mayor of Sabaneta also is a brother of the president.

When we returned to Barinas I checked out of my hotel and into another one. Several hours later the desk receptionist phoned my room to tell me someone in a white pickup had come asking if I was registered there. They said I wasn't. I'm not sure why they wanted to help me. Later, someone on a motorcycle came to ask again. It's the first time I've been followed or monitored since the Garcia Meza dictatorship in Bolivia. I'm unsure what they seek to do or what their goal might be. I'll be leaving Barinas tomorrow for Merida.

U.S. policy toward Latin America

2011-01-07T11:32:00.001-08:00

Arturo Valenzuela's speech today at the Brookings Institution. http://www.state.gov/p/wha/rls/rm/2011/154105.htm

Hydrocarbon irony: Bolivia's government reaps what it sowed

2011-01-03T07:24:00.000-08:00

There is a high degree of irony in the fact that the socialist government of Evo Morales in Bolivia has been faced in recent days with the greatest threat to its hold on power as a direct result of attempts to reduce gasoline subsidies. A presidential decree to that effect was rescinded after widespread and violent protests erupted around the country as gas prices rose 80 percent and more in some places to international levels. Morales's government said it could no longer afford to subsidize the fuel prices, reflecting policies that sounded more like the IMF than the Socialist International.
Unlike many anti-Evo protests in the past, which centered in the south and east of the country where more conservative elements are strongest, these recent protests have been organized and conducted by groups across the nation, including poor and working-class people of the cities and the countryside, Evo's base.
It was the hydrocarbon policies of President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada in 2002-2003 that brought down his government and Morales to power. When Sanchez de Lozada announced the government intended to export natural gas to the United States and Mexico via Chile, Morales and his followers used that as an organizing tool to create protests and blockades that eventually led to violence that forced the then-president to resign. Bolivia's hydrocarbon sector is fully nationalized, and production and export levels, as well as prices, cannot be blamed on foreign interests or corporations. Mismanagement and lack of investment are endemic and home-grown.
Morales has a firmer grip on power than any president in recent memory in Bolivia. But the recent protests, and his government's dithering over the gasoline-price issue, have weakened the government, undermining its claim that it governs "for the people" and that its policies are superior to those of the capitalist world.

Hugo by Decree

2010-12-18T08:13:00.000-08:00

The long road away from democratic rule in Venezuela took another turn today as the national legislature, dominated by the followers of President Hugo Chavez, granted him decree powers. Rule-by-decree is an old tradition in Latin America, so how he uses this power may not have as much effect as his opponents fear. Presidential powers are often much stronger in those nations with an Iberian political tradition. And in case Americans are tempted to think they are above such things, remember that the president of the United States has the power to issue presidential orders and directives, some of which are secret and never known.

Wikileaks and Latin America

2010-12-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

Bolivia's vice-president, Alvaro Garcia Linera, has made his personal website a "mirror" site for Wikileaks. Garcia Linera is an old-fashioned Trotskyite and one of the powers behind the Evo Morales throne, and he harbors a visceral hatred of the United States and a web of mysterious motivations and relations. He says the reason he has put up the Wikileaks mirror site is to illustrate how interventionist the U.S. government is in the region.
From my reading of the cables related to Bolivia, I see something else: an intense desire to build some sort of relationship with Evo; a growing importance of the role of Brazil in maintaining stability and peace in a very volatile region, and a high degree of restraint on the part of American diplomats.
(Note: I also see a substantial change in the nature and substance of U.S. policy in the region since President Obama took office. The Bush years were clearly different.)
For Facebook users, Garcia Linera's FB page is here.

U.S. Diplomacy and Wikileaks Outrage

2010-12-05T09:42:00.000-08:00

The Wikileaks release of secret and confidential U.S. diplomatic cables has been far less embarrassing than many would have assumed. Certainly there are some diplomats who are bumblers: How can there not be when many ambassadorships are given out after each presidential election based on campaign contributions or political debts of one sort or another? But what is most surprising to me is the largely high-quality level of political analysis contained in many of the cables, and the frankness with which it is presented. That's refreshing. (See Hillary Clinton's comments on this here.)
In Latin America, the most striking cable was from U.S. Ambassador Hugo Llorens in Honduras in the immediate aftermath of the coup by the Honduras military and conservative political leadership. Radicals throughout the region blamed the U.S. for backing the coup. That was nonsense, and the Llorens cable was a clear condemnation of the illegality of the removal of Manuel Zelaya from the country. (see this analysis of the Honduras cable). Only when the issue got politicized and became a political football in the U.S. Congress, with Republicans and others pushing for the U.S. to back conservatives in Honduras, did the whole mess go awry.
It used to be that there were so many foreign journalists in the field that diplomats often would read our reports in order to better inform themselves, even about countries or issues, events or personalities for whom they were responsible. Today, however, well-informed foreign correspondents are few and far between, and editors and journalists around the world are reading State Department cables to find out what's really happening. That's a worrisome trend, since government sources always are to be viewed with appropriate skepticism. Another sign of the changing times.
One thing that has not changed is the motivation behind Wikileaks' release of the documents, and that of his supporters. It seems clear to me that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is an anarchist who believes that all government is bad and that undermining the actions of government is akin to a heroic act. Not since the early years of the 20th century, before the Russian Revolution and World War I, has anarchism had such a following around the world and anarchists such an impact on world events. Anarchists will take pride in that; the rest of us should shudder.

U.S. "involvement" in Honduras Coup

2010-11-29T06:31:00.000-08:00

It was widely believed among left circles that the United States was involved in the coup against Honduran President Manuel Zelaya. This leaked cable from the U.S. ambassador in Tegucigalpa to the White House and State Department officials outlining the coup and actions taken should clarify the government's role somewhat: See this file.

Press Freedom and Violence in Latin America

2010-11-12T07:26:00.000-08:00

The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA-SIP in Spanish) issued its final report on 11.11.10 on press freedoms in the region, issuing a number of resolutions and releasing the full document after the organization's national congress. The group is based in Miami and represents newspaper owners and publishers at major newspaper outlets in the United States and the major countries of Latin America. Latin American leftists consider it a CIA front, but that's a huge over-simplification of a long and complicated history.
(Disclaimer: I received a IAPA-SIP fellowship to live and work in Chile in 1978-79).
IAPA-SIP was particularly critical of moves by some governments in the region (Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Argentina, for example) to control or muzzle the media. It is also increasingly concerned with violence against individual journalists, including murders and beatings, from drug dealers and other criminal gangs and in some cases forces associated with governments. For the full report, links to individual country segments and specific resolutions, see this link.
Regarding violence against journalists, the American Society of Newspaper Editors, in conjunction with IAPA-SIP, will hold a two-day meeting in early December at the University of Texas - El Paso to discuss ways that media can protect journalists along the U.S.-Mexico border and related issues. Eleven journalists have been killed in Mexico so far this year covering the drug-related and gang-related violence in that country. For the story, click here.

Gun Trafficking and Mexico

2010-11-10T11:44:00.000-08:00

The Justice Department's inspector general has issued a report on the U.S. government program administered by ATF to intercept guns moving across the southern border into Mexico. It's not a pretty picture. Read it here.

Cuba: the Great Dilemma

2010-11-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

Cuban leaders face a dilemma: How to revamp the nation's disastrous economic system without giving over full political control to the people. In other words, how to reform its socialist economy and make it productive, while at the same time retaining enough state control to maintain the centralized authority of Havana in all things political. It's the key to the changes that are happening in Cuba now, and probably the thorniest political process underway in Latin America. This AP story gives some of the background.
The role of the United States government is central in all this. Washington has been the key bogey-man in Cuban history, attempting over the decades since the Cuban Revolution to undermine the country's leaders, kill them if necessary. How Washington approaches this process now underway on the island is hugely important. To date, the anti-Castro Cuban refugee community in the U.S. has held sway over American policy toward the island government. That should not be allowed to continue.
As I have said before, the goal should be the full normalization of diplomatic relations between Havana and Washington, with no preconditions on either side. If we can have proper relations with China, why not Cuba, our closest neighbor in the Caribbean?

Do health policies and international politics mix?

2010-11-08T10:51:00.000-08:00

This AP story on the recent cholera outbreak in Haiti asks an important question: Is it health or politics that is governing the decision-making process on that island? You cannot have policies without the accompanying politics, of course, but Haitians are appropriately asking whether local and international authorities are doing their best to get to the bottom of what caused the spread of this deadly disease. Some suspect that U.N. peacekeeping soldiers brought the infection from Nepal. See this CDC site for details on cholera in general, and this site for updates on the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
Here's another good story on the Council on Foreign Relations website by a Pulitzer winning former reporter, now a fellow with the council, on the same subject.

Chilean miner captures media spotlight at NYC marathon

2010-11-08T05:38:00.000-08:00

Edison Pena, one of the rescued Chilean miners, ran the New York City Marathon on Sunday, and finished in under six hours, his personal goal. Meanwhile, he stole the show and reveled in the media spotlight.
As with most stories in Latin America, once the novelty wears off few will continue to pay attention to Chile, or mining, or the region as a whole. The history of mining and mine safety, throughout the Third World and even in the United States, is one of lax safety standards, multiple deaths and rural poverty. With the more-developed-world's endless appetite for minerals and metals, there is much work to be done to make mines safe for miners in China, India, the nations of Africa and elsewhere.
To read about the marathon: http://marathon.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/into-the-sunlight-and-onto-the-streets-of-new-york-the-miner-perseveres/?ref=global-home
To see what's new in U.S. mine safety: http://www.msha.gov/

Latest Chapter in a Long, Sad Tale

2010-10-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez this week ordered the nationalization of the Venezuelan operations of Owens-Illinois, the Ohio-based manufacturer of glass products. Some might remember the kidnapping in the mid-1970s of Owens-Illinois exec William Niehous, who was held by his leftist captors for three years. Some of those kidnappers are now in the government. See this interesting follow-up report in the Toledo Blade newspaper from August 2004.
Latin American Herald Tribune - U.S. Firm Surprised by Venezuela Nationalization

Transparency: What Does It Mean?

2010-10-27T08:22:00.000-07:00

The organization Transparency International has released its 15th annual index of "perceived" levels of corruption in countries around the globe. See results. In Latin America, Venezuela is last at No. 164. Uruguay ranks the least corrupt, at No. 24, just below the United States and just above France. Brazil and Cuba are tied for No. 69. The most corrupt country? Somalia, of course.
Anyone interested in the report's methodology can click here.

The End of American Empire?

2010-10-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Hugo Chavez, Evo Morales, Daniel Ortega, the Castro brothers, Ecuador's Correa and several other leaders in Latin America all have something very much in common: Not only are they "anti-American," but they are all standing up to the "Empire of the North" (the USA) and speaking out about a need for a new world order no longer based on American hegemony. In this regard, they have a lot in common with Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other leaders in the Arab world. It is little wonder, then, that Ahmadinejad is warming up to these regional leaders. See this Christian Science Monitor story for a little background.
Americans do not like to think of themselves are imperialists, but that is more or less what we have created since the end of World War I: an American Empire. For decades we have held sway in the Middle East, dominated nations in Latin America, and considered ourselves the "world's only superpower." We often bully our way through multi-lateral agencies such as the United Nations and the Organization of American States, but things are changing. Slowly, ever so slowly, we are coming around to the fact that this is no longer a world dominated by America or its business interests. The result? Having to deal with countries like Iran, and having to put up with leaders like Chavez and Ortega, et.al.

Washington and Havana in small contact

2010-10-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

A small AP story tells about contact between a top U.S. official and the Cuban ambassador. Will the Cubans release the American they have in jail for handing out laptops?
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2010/10/18/sources_us_cuban_diplos_met_about_jailed_us_man/
Will the United States release the five Cubans in jail in the States for spying on Florida-based anti-Cuba terror suspects?
http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=52520
Who knows? All we can hope is that both governments act responsible and start dealing with binational issues in a respectful and mature manner, and not worry about the repercussions among small and increasingly irrelevant political splinter groups. The goal should be the full normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States.
Of course, there is this: Who is Francisco Chavez Abarca?

New Countries Are Born: Hello Korsou

2010-10-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

How often do we have new countries created? Colonialism's long history keeps offering us reminders of who conquered whom and which imperial powers were important 200 and 300 and 500 years ago. If we take the long view, the age of imperialism is still alive and well.
See this Reuters story from the (former) Netherlands Antilles: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2010/10/10/world/international-us-caribbean-islands.html?ref=world

"What is the Goal: Democracy or Control?" - a commentary on Bolivia's new anti-racism law

2010-10-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

Racism and discrimination are not acceptable. For that reason, societies around the globe have passed laws in the past century to make them illegal. Making them illegal is not a guarantee that racist and discriminatory attitudes and actions will end, but it is a good beginning and a clear indication that people find such attitudes and actions deplorable.

The law entitled “Lucha Contra el Racismo y Toda Forma de Discriminación” will not guarantee that racism and discrimination disappear from Bolivia. But the government of President Evo Morales is correct in saying that banks that refuse to take deposits from cholitas or five-star hotels that refuse to serve people of indigenous origins should not be allowed to do so.

But the law goes too far, and is a danger to Bolivia society. The government’s inclusion of articles that allow authorities to jail journalists and editors, and to close media outlets, is an attempt to control and intimidate the the media under the guise of fighting racism. That is why the press in Bolivia is opposed to the law, and that is why the law is a danger to Bolivian society.

Already, even before the law was passed, Bolivia’s media had grown accustomed to being intimidated and threatened by this president and his followers. More and more, the media in Bolivia begins to appear as it did during the dark days of the Garcia Meza-Arce Gomez dictatorship: afraid, cautious, self-censoring and timid. It is likely that that is what Morales and his closest followers desire. If you want to control the minds of a people, control their press. With that control, you can guarantee that dissident views, complaints against the system, and protests against tyrannical behavior by governors and bureaucrats never see the light of day. And you remove the most significant tool for organizing people’s protests: a free and viable press.

It is clear that Evo Morales has as little respect for the press as he does for the testicles of some of his futbol opponents. I assume that the “zona testicular” of Daniel Gustavo Cartagena has now returned to full health. However, the media in Bolivia may be faced with more threatening health challenges.

The government has said its mission is to destroy racism and discrimination. That is a laudable, worthy goal. But laws do not change attitudes. Does Evo Morales really believe that racism began in the Americas in 1492? That human rights abuses and discrimination against women and indigenous people were a creation of the Spanish conquerors? In fact, slavery, racism and sexism existed well before Colon arrived in the Caribe, Hernan Cortes defeated the Aztecs and Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro arrived in the Andes. The Inca was a god, most people were miserably poor and powerless, women were chattel and human rights were non-existent.

It is an irony that on the day that Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for opposing human rights abuses in China, Bolivia passed a law that is itself an abuse of human rights, the rights of people to know what is happening in their communities. Most articles of the law may be justified. But the articles dealing with the media should be repealed.

Racism exists, and it is wrong. A free press may violate some norms that the government believes it should not. That is the risk of having a free press. But if you do not believe in a free press, you do not believe in democracy. Democracy is a messy and imperfect system. But after many hundreds of years of trying, mankind has not found anything better. There are socialists and there are socialists. Some believe in democracy, and some do not. Those who do not, know that controlling the press is the only way they can maintain themselves in power. That is the real goal.

“Without freedom of expression, there is no democracy.”

U.N. Women - A new agency for the times or just one more bureaucracy?

2010-09-28T08:46:00.000-07:00

Almost lost in the news accounts last week from the United Nations General Assembly was the one about former-Chilean President Michelle Bachelet being appointed to head the new U.N. Women agency. Formally titled the "U.N. Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women," the agency was created last July and was the result of years of pressure from some U.N. member states and women's organizations.
The New York Times described Bachelet in this way: "59, the first female president of Chile, single mother of three and pediatrician, who survived prison torture, exile and the Pinochet regime to win the presidency in 2006." She left the presidency at the beginning of April of this year.
(From the Times): “Women are almost invisible in some places,” Ms. Bachelet said at the United Nations last Thursday. “They are second-class citizens. They are seen as people without rights. It is a shame for humanity.”
The creation of new U.N. agencies is not always the best way to solve problems or address important issues. Let's hope Bachelet can move forward on this front in an efficacious, cost-effective and useful way.She was an effective and popular president and appears to have the support of a wide array of states and groups around the world. Vamos a ver.

Latin America's wars of independence

2010-09-27T10:01:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, GlobalPost published an edited version of my story on the 200th anniversary of the Latin American wars of independence, which began in 1810 and lasted in some places until 1824. Here's the GP story.
If you're interested in reading the unedited 2,000-word version of the story, go to my website (www.johnenders.com).

Castro at the United Nations -- 50 Years On

2010-09-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

Fifty years ago today (26 Sept. 1960) Fidel Castro, who was leading the Cuban delegation to New York, addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations. During his speech, which lasted about four hours, he condemned American colonialism and imperialism in his country and throughout the region. He stayed in a hotel in Harlem, and met with Malcolm X, Langston Hughes and others. He was warmly greeted several times by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Half a century of bad relations with Castro. Time to move on.

Criminal violence and Latin America

2010-09-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

The headlines are constant: Drug violence and general criminality are rampant and endemic throughout Mexico and Central America and, increasingly, in various parts of South America. An AP story today talks about a Caribbean "crime wave" reputedly tied to U.S. deportations of convicted felon illegal migrants.
The picture is much bigger than this, more systemic. The United States has a culture of violence connected to a market for guns and a popular culture than romanticizes violence, gore and guns. We are exporting that culture wholesale around the world via the popular media (films, books, comic books, the Internet, video games, etc.). We also export weapons, and now deport felons, and our gang problem is now their gang problem, especially in Mexico and the central American capital cities. Why is it any surprise that our neighbors to the south are being inundated with our exports/deports? The problem is so overwhelming now that it will likely take decades to address and begin to resolve.

Obama at the United Nations

2010-09-23T07:30:00.000-07:00

Obama spoke to the UN General Assembly today and outlined some American policies regarding human rights, democracy and development. He criticized leaders around the world, including elected leaders, who are attempting to extend their terms beyond existing limits. Evo? Daniel? Hugo? He also criticized attacks by some on civil society.
Obama is in New York for three days' of meeting. He is expected to meet with Colombia's new president, among others.

2010-09-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

In 2000 the United Nations created the Millennium Development Goals designed to cut in half poverty in the world. This report summarizes the results of that work in 18 countries of Latin America.
Tomorrow (9.22.10) the UN secretary general is expected to announce new plans to direct aid specifically to assist women and girls in the developing world as a way to effectively make those goals more attainable.

Latin American independence at 200

2010-09-13T05:31:00.001-07:00

The Economist has published a special section on Latin America. It's got some good information. Read at this site.

Hugo Chavez: the new Bolivar

2010-07-23T09:15:00.000-07:00

Venezuela's defence minister

President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela long has been a thorn in the side of the United States and other non-socialist governments in the hemisphere and Europe. On 7.22.10 he broke off diplomatic relations with neighbor Colombia, after many months of threatening to do so. The conflict is over Chavez's support for the marxist revolutionaries cum drug traffickers operating in Colombia, who often take refuge and seek material and other support in the remote regions of western Venezuela, just across the border. Colombia's newly elected government, and its supporters in Washington, D.C., have called him out on it, offering concrete support for their accusations. He didn't like that. Like a strident teenager, he's jumping up and down now yelling about the enemy and threatening various forms of retaliation.
Thoughtfully, the Organization of American States and the United Nations are calling for restraint in this new flashpoint of regional conflict.
Chavez likens himself to Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan-born independence leader who became the best known of the generals fighting against Spanish rule in the Americas. Last week he even had exhumed the remains of Bolivar to prove the "Libertador" was assassinated by his enemies with arsenic. Those charges are pending.
Good background on this issue in today's Christian Science Monitor: see story.
The worse thing about all of this: Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer star and coach, got involved in the middle of the diplomatic row, used for political purposes by the New Bolivar. What a show! For more from inside Venezuela from a reputed and independent source, see this story in the newspaper Tal Cual (Spanish only).

The New Prohibition and Mexico's Drug Violence

2010-07-22T05:50:00.000-07:00

Violence in Mexico related to the trafficking in illicit drugs continues to spread and become ever-more ubiquitous. On July 21, 2010, it took a new form: a remote-controlled car bomb with a human decoy designed to attract police and first-responders. (see this Washington Post report). The 'war on drugs' continues to carry a heavy toll, mostly on Mexicans but also on migrants, families, police and the army, and on American society and the U.S. taxpayer.
Mexico is not alone, of course. The illicit drug mafias are active from the Arctic to Argentina, throughout Europe, Africa and Asia. But this is very close to home, and Americans ought to be more concerned. The violence and related arms trafficking are directly caused by the post-World War II mania regarding drug use and the increasingly strict criminal penalties for drug offenses.
In a decade or two we will look back on this failed "New Prohibition" as the disastrous social policy that it is. Those benefiting from the 'war on drugs' include the drug traffickers and the police and other government agencies on both sides of the border that have an interest in maintaining it in place. Huge and uncontrollable, poorly audited budgets, forfeiture assets and a built-in constituency in the policing and prison and related industries all comprise a system made up of interconnected multi-billion dollar businesses that have a strong stake in maintaining this New Prohibition. When will we come to our senses?
(For a comprehensive look at the drug industry worldwide, see this recent U.N. report).
(And for an interesting examination of how the drug traffic is impacting Brazil and its neighbors, see this story in World Politics Review).

Bolivian Coca: "the most maligned little leaf in the world"

2010-07-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

Irish Radio has this report on coca in Bolivia. It's well worth a listen.

Merida Initiative debated

2010-07-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

Billions of dollars spent and spending, thousands of lives lost and three cultures -- USA, Mexico and the International Border region -- impacted. And what's the real cost? Nobody knows. But in a new report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S.-Mexican joint 'war on drugs' comes under scrutiny. For the New York Times' report on the report, see this story. For a direct link to the GAO, click here.

Mexico's electoral results

2010-07-07T13:54:00.001-07:00

This guest column in the New York Times has a positive, yet thorough analysis of the recent results of elections in many of Mexico's states.

Mexico's PRI scores significant victories

2010-07-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

The PRI in Mexico used to be the only show in town. Today, it is either resurgent or barely hanging on in the face of strong major-party coalition opposition.
Here are two takes on yesterday's elections that might be somewhat confusing at first. But you either look at the glass as half full or half empty. Take your pick:
For Business Week/Bloomberg's take on things, see this story.
For the New York Times' take, see this story.
For a good take on reality, always read widely and don't believe anything you read.

Ciudad Juarez - Revisited

2010-06-30T08:03:00.000-07:00

A lot of "news" gets published regarding the U.S.-Mexico border, and Mexico's growing drugs and violence crisis. This report is the best and most thorough account by an American writer that I have read.

World Drug Report 2010

2010-06-25T09:43:00.001-07:00

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/WDR-2010.html
Some light reading about drug trafficking trends around the world.

Military v. civilian authority in the United States

2010-06-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, commenting on the McChrystal mess: “We do not have the right, nor should we ever assume the prerogative, to cast doubt upon the ability or mock the motives of our civilian leaders, elected or appointed. We are and must remain a neutral instrument of the state, accountable to and respectful of those leaders, no matter which party holds sway or which person holds a given office.”
I find this very troubling that the top military official in the U.S. feels the need to remind his fellow officers of the proper role of the military in a democracy. This would be the kind of statement one would hear from a general in Latin America, just days before he leads the coup that topples the elected president.
Perhaps this sounds crazy, but in a time when the U.S. is permanently at war, and many among our civilian leaders over and over show themselves to be incompetent and/or corrupt, and support for our military is very high while our civilian leaders lack such support, how possible might it be for a military coup to happen in the country? Sounds a bit like a science-fiction novel, no?

2010 Trafficking in Persons Report

2010-06-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Department of State has issued its 10th annual Trafficking in Persons Report. It's a hard read, but important information. See the 2010 Report here.

2010 Amnesty International Report

2010-05-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Amnesty International has been reporting on issues of human rights abuses around the globe since 1961. Here's its 2010 report on countries of the Americas. Note: scroll to the bottom to get specific country reports.

Cuba and its "political" prisoners

2010-05-27T08:59:00.000-07:00

This Knight Center report gives some insight into how complex the issue of "political prisoners" is in Cuba, and how the Raul Castro regime might be thinking of moving in the coming months.
Radio Netherlands also has this brief interview with a dissident author/journalist, which adds insight.

Communal "justice" in Bolivia

2010-05-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

The new Bolivian constitution passed by the socialist government of Evo Morales included new legal status for "communal justice" of indigenous groups throughout the country. Since the new law took effect at the beginning of the year there have been a number of "lynchings" in the country, including the murder of four policemen a few days ago by indigenous leaders in the Potosi area. The killers have declared a so-called "red zone" where government agents are no longer welcome. Evo will have his hands full dealing with this mess for years to come. There is something to be said for the "rule of law." See Spanish coverage at this link and this one.
For a historical look, in English, by the Cochabamba-based Democracy Center at the issue take a look at this blog post.

State dinners and distant diners: Mexico and the USA

2010-05-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

Mexico's president, Felipe Calderon, has begun a state visit to Washington. According to the news reports, immigration is at the top of the agenda for him and President Obama and other officials of both countries. But what's more important, and what the lower-level military and State Department officials will talk more about will be the drug trade and the violence inside Mexico that is overlapping the border and has its roots on this side as well. Arizona's immigration law is a side-show. The real problem is the flow of drugs northward, the flow of weapons southward, and the growing power of the criminal sindicates inside Mexico and other Central American and Latin American countries.
Until those problems are addressed at the root, state dinners and political shows won't mean much. Real reform of the drug laws and the gun laws in this country and in other consumer countries will need to be openly debated, including the legalization of drugs as the only way to undercut the power of the cartels by taking the criminal element out of the traffic, and strict controls on automatic and high-caliber weapons.
Calderon also will visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. tomorrow. It's just another sideshow, but symbolically important. Good Washington Post story here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/18/AR2010051805200.html

Climate Change and the Left

2010-04-29T10:38:00.000-07:00

Global climate change is rapidly becoming an issue in which we can clearly see that the old Left-Right divide is just too simplistic. The complexities of the divisions between the Left and Right, environmentalists and corporations, investors/developers and the poor, indigenous and ethnic majorities are harder to grasp and far more complex than most commentators, interested parties or journalists/writers would have us think. This article via Inter-Press Service, originally from its Tierramerica service, helps to show some of those strange divisions and complex confrontations between interests. Because Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia, is indigenous and a socialist, more than most leaders he is caught in the middle of this muddle.

CLIMATE CHANGE: Forests Not for Absorbing Carbon, Say Activists - IPS ipsnews.net

Posted using ShareThis

Where is Omar Torrijos When We Need Him?

2010-04-27T06:10:00.000-07:00

When the United States was still deeply involved in the Vietnam debacle, Europe was in flames and Che Guevara was just one year in the ground in Bolivia, Gen. Omar Torrijos seized power in 1968 in Panama. Back then, the canal was still U.S. owned and operated and there was a major American presence in the Canal Zone. Torrijos is most commonly remembered for the treaty he and President Jimmy Carter signed in 1977 to return the canal and the canal zone to Panamanian control, effective the last day of 1999. Torrijos's military and intelligence chief was a homely little tough guy named Manuel Noriega, and it was his job to keep dissent down and maintain good relations with the CIA and the DoD in Washington.
Noriega is a very good example of just how far friends of the United States can fell when they fall out of favor. After Torrijos died in a 1981 plane crash, the cause of which is still unknown but widely suspected, Noriega eventually assumed power. He had none of the charisma of his former boss but maintained strongman rule until he was overthrown following the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989. Although he was an agent of the U.S. government, his predilection for violence and his close ties to drug traffickers, including the Medellin Cartel in Colombia, were too much of an embarrassment to Washington.
After serving 20 years in a federal prison in Florida, Noriega has now been extradited to France, where he is to be tried on separate drug-related charges there. He will likely die in prison. His case raises an interesting question: If our legal system says that the accused cannot be tried twice for the same crimes, why is it that someone can be tried multiple times for the same crimes simply by sending them to another country?
The case raises an additional question: What kinds of "friends" does the United States have today around the world?

Evo Morales and Democracy Now

2010-04-23T09:03:00.000-07:00

Bolivian President Evo Morales, interviewed by Democracy Now's Amy Goodman, discusses the conflicts between indigenous desires for development and economic growth and some of the NGOs and nonprofit activist groups militating for no development, especially in the area of extractive industries. Most interesting is the split between the so-called "Left" groups. The issues are complex. It's not a simple left v. right dichotomy. Of course, that's often the case. Thanks to Goodman for her interview. It's too bad she didn't let him finish... View here.
For those who read Spanish, here's an early copy of the final declaration from the World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth.

Evo Morales blasts the polluting West, Coca Cola, chicken eaters

2010-04-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Most people in the world probably won't learn much about the World Peoples' Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth inaugurated yesterday by Bolivian President Evo Morales in Tiquipaya, Bolivia, just outside the city of Cochabamba. It's Morales's answer to the failed climate change conference held over the winter by the First World's leaders. He also is using it as a forum to condemn capitalism and the industrialized world and the failure of mankind to move decisively to do anything about resolving issues of pollution and climate change.
It is easy for those without any real responsibility to accuse those with it of doing nothing. When you stand outside of the problem, the answers always are much simpler and therefore it is easier for one to condemn. That said, it is important to realize that Third World or less-developed nations have had little say in the world's climate politics. They are standing on the sidelines while the industrialized world's leaders do little or nothing to address the issues.
However, Evo did little to add to his esteem when he claimed that men lose their hair and their virility and tend toward homosexuality when they eat too much hormone-injected chicken. (see this story) As I have said before, Evo Morales is very charismatic and represents a segment of the world's thinking, and he could be a great leader if he just stops listening to his inner-neanderthal and some of his more strident Trotskyite advisors and decides to educate himself better about life and the bigger world outside of his own limited experiences. (For Spanish story from Bolivia click here). For a more positive take on the meeting overall, read this story from Tierraamerica.

Morales also condemned Coca Cola, plastic bags and plates. The opposition in Bolivia and some commentators in the country observing the conference called on the president to get serious. The problem is, he is.

Drug violence in Mexico gets America's attention

2010-04-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

This op-ed piece in the April 12 edition of the Miami Herald by Sens. John Kerry and Robert Menendez is worth reading, including the following discussion.

Argentina and the U.S. Megaports Initiative

2010-04-14T08:50:00.000-07:00

The United States, after many years of languishing on the sidelines, is now taking a leading role in attempting to control nuclear proliferation into the hands of the bad guys (i.e. terrorists and/or rogue states). Hillary Clinton signed an agreement this week with Argentina that allows for the installation of radiation-detection equipment and "associated infrastructure" at the Port of Buenos Aires. For the State Department's explanation of what this program is about, see this official link.
The Megaports Initiative was begun in 2003. Closely associated with it is the National Lab system. See this brief link.
According to Clinton, 30 ports around the world are now included in the initiative, with others in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa in the works.

The signing of the agreement with Argentina coincided with the Nuclear Security Summit hosted by Washington this week. Also at that meeting it was announced that Ukraine and Chile had agreed to rid themselves of their stockpiles of highly-enriched uranium.

The Mexican-American Drug Dance

2010-03-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

Mexico has long been a source of illegal marijuana and transshipped cocaine and heroin consumed in the United States. Only lately has the industry and its resultant violence begun to have a dramatic and deepening impact on Mexico itself, however. Washington has begun to recognize this and timidly implements changes to its own border and anti-drug trafficking policies. And the Mexicans have begun to look at Uncle Sam with less defensive and xenophobic attitudes. That's not easy for a proud nation that had about a third of its territory stolen from it by the bullies to the north. The Economist -- the only serious and substantive English-language magazine dealing with international news -- has this good article on the Mexicans' changing attitudes regarding drugs and violence -- and collaboration with the gringos -- in its current issue.

Drugs Threat Assessment

2010-03-26T12:00:00.000-07:00

The U.S. Justice Department has issued its 2010 "National Drug Threat Assessment" report on illegal drugs.
It's worth looking at.

Mexico and United States amend drug war tactics

2010-03-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

The United States and Mexico are beginning to amend their disastrous and counter-productive drug war efforts along the border. It's about time. The continual, unstoppable flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. from Mexico and elsewhere, and the exploding levels of drug-related violence inside Mexico and especially along the border, have forced both countries to make serious changes in strategy. See this story in today's NYTs.
In the long run, however, much more substantial changes will be needed to undercut the power and influence of the drug cartels. It will be decades before it happens, but the legalization of most or all drugs will do more to undermine the mafias and end the violence than any other change that could be brought about. In the post-WWII era, the U.S.-Mexico border was largely open, with migrant workers and tourists easily crossing the border. That situation will never return, but there are major steps that could be taken to ease the tension and reduce the violence. The Obama Administration is taking the first steps in that direction now.
For more on the Merida Initiative, see this government site. And for Secretary of State Clinton's remarks on the issue, go here.

2009 Human Rights Country Reports

2010-03-13T06:58:00.001-08:00

The U.S. Department of State has issued its 2009 country reports on human rights. Here's the link.http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/index.htm

No crying for us, Argentina

2010-03-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

El Secreto de Sus Ojos has won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. A film by Juan Jose Campanella, the site for the Argentine film provides all the info you need.

Annual Drug Control Strategy Report

2010-03-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

The State Department has just issued its annual Drug Control Strategy Report.

Links cited between Spanish terrorists, Colombia guerrillas and Venezuela

2010-03-01T09:23:00.000-08:00

When accusations are made about possible links between terrorists around the world and leftist guerrillas or leftist governments in Latin America, the denunciations and denials often ring loud but empty. What do they say when a Spanish judge makes those same accusations, however, after a two-year investigation? We shall see.
The investigation is largely based on evidence collected from laptops seized at the scene of a Colombian military raid on a jungle hideout of the FARC, the Colombian guerrilla movement with ties to cocaine traffickers and, allegedly, the government of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. The raid took place in 2008.

The United States' foreign policy priorities

2010-02-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

Often a government's priorities are hidden deep inside it's budget. That is true for the United States as much as any other country. Today, Hillary Clinton spoke before the House's Foreign Affairs Committee in defense of the Obama Administration's request for $52.8 billion for the State Department and USAID, America's foreign policy apparatus. Here's the speech link.
What the foreign policy community is waiting for, of course, are the results of the government-wide review of U.S. foreign policy strategies and policies. But this budget request gives the clearest vision yet of the priorities the administration will follow in the coming year(s).
See the Executive Summary of the Fiscal 2011 budget request.

Human Rights in Venezuela

2010-02-24T12:27:00.000-08:00

The OAS's human rights commission today issued a report on rights in Venezuela. It criticizes the regime of Hugo Chavez for intimidating and threatening the rights of political opponents, labor leaders not aligned with the government, campesinos, women and indigenous groups. See the report.

An OAS without the U.S.?

2010-02-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

Latin America's leaders are meeting this week in Playa del Carmen in Mexico to discuss the possible formation of a new multilateral organization for the region that would exclude the United States and Canada. It's never a bad idea for political leaders to agree to talk more, and too much can be made of this exclusion of the U.S., in particular. Leaders rightfully resent the dominance of the U.S. historically in the affairs of the Organization of American States (OAS). Spanish story. English story.
Forming yet another organization to host negotiations and dialogue on a regional basis might make some anti-U.S. leaders feel better. But it will further alienate the American Right from the region and its centrists and center-left leaders who must be seen to stand up to the "hegemonists" in Washington, D.C.
Wouldn't it be better to just reform the OAS, and perhaps take its headquarters out of Washington?
The ongoing exclusion of Cuba from the OAS, and the recent suspension of Honduras from the organization, brings to light some of the OAS's weaknesses. OAS reform would be one additional way the Obama Administration could begin to correct some of the imbalances in the U.S. relationship with other countries of the hemisphere.

Report on press freedom - the Americas

2010-02-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

The Committee to Protect Journalists has issued its annual report on press freedom around the world. It's not heartening. For the section on the Americas, see this link.

Bolivia's "Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz" 'anti-corruption' law

2010-02-12T08:47:00.000-08:00

(Image Courtesy Marcelo Arispe)

Bolivia's Senate, dominated by the official Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party of President Evo Morales, is set to begin "debate" on the long-awaited government-sponsored "anti-corruption" legislation named for the murdered writer, journalist and political activist. He was killed by the followers of dictator Luis Garcia Meza in the early stages of the military coup of July 17, 1980, and his body never found.
The Senate's minority opposition has criticized the proposed law, as has the Bolivia-based nonprofit Transparencia Bolivia. The new law would be retroactive and, according to critics, would violate the presumption of innocence and other legal rights of those accused. In addition, the accused could be tried in absensia. Transparencia also says that to conduct an anti-corruption campaign from the executive branch of the government violates the separation of powers.
Since Morales was overwhelmingly re-elected in December, his government has supported land takeovers in rural parts of the country organized by indigenous groups and affecting wealthy landowners, and has accused a number of opposition politicians of crimes. A number of them, including a former presidential candidate and several top business leaders, have left the country in self-imposed exile to the United States, Peru and other countries.

Sealing Shift, Chávez Gives Contracts to Western Oil Companies - NYTimes.com

2010-02-11T10:51:00.000-08:00

Sealing Shift, Chávez Gives Contracts to Western Oil Companies - NYTimes.com

Distractions in Bolivia

2010-02-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

Felix Patzi, a member of Evo Morales's ruling MAS party, has been sentenced to make adobe bricks as punishment for drunken driving. He was also asked to resign as a candidate for mayor of La Paz by Morales. The election is next month.

Unfortunately, this sideshow is distracting attention from a more important process that's underway in Bolivia, the undermining by Morales and his followers of the concept of separation of powers. The new Congress, which took office in January, and which is dominated by a MAS super-majority, has just approved Morales's legislation to allow the president to appoint members of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has been essentially non-functioning for two years after its president and several other members were forced out of their seats by accusations of impropriety, brought by Morales's MAS party.

The ruling party and Morales claim that the justice system has been dominated by members of the country's oligarchy and is corrupt. To some extent, that may in fact be true. However, a justice system dominated by one party now in office is no less corrupt and no step forward.

2010-02-08T06:23:00.000-08:00

Laura Chinchilla has won the presidency in Costa Rica, adding to the trend in Latin America of electing women presidents in a traditionally male-dominated culture. She won with about 47 percent of the vote, well above the 40 percent required to win without a runoff in Costa Rica. Another big winner in the election was a new party, the Libertarian Movement, which came from nowhere and took 22 percent of the vote and likely will be a new power in the Congress. It's unlikely that Chinchilla's National Liberation Party, the old mainline party of Jose Maria Figueres, known to all as "Don Pepe," will be able to govern without forging a coalition with one of the lesser parties.
Most people think of Costa Rica as an ecological paradise and point to it as an example of how a nation and a people can overcome dictatorship and militarism. In 1948, Costa Ricans, led by Figueres, overthrew the military in a civil war that cost an estimated 2,000 dead. The new civilian regime abolished the military, dedicated funds to education and gave full political rights to women and blacks. Since a new constitution was enacted in 1953, Costa Rica has had more than a dozen presidential elections, including Sunday's.
Chinchilla was vice-president under outgoing leader Oscar Arias, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who helped negotiate an end to the U.S.-back bloody wars in Central America of the 1980s.
She says her primary goal is to battle the drug trafficking gangs that have made her country a transshipment point for drugs moving through Central America. Other significant and growing problems are the nation's economy and crime, although Costa Rica is still in better shape than its Central American neighbors.

Bolivia's Morales: a real revolutionary

2010-02-06T07:42:00.000-08:00

Whether you like what he's doing or not, Bolivia's Evo Morales is the real deal when it comes to trying to make revolutionary and lasting changes to a traditional society. This latest AP report outlines some of the dramatic changes he is trying to make regarding gender equity. Unfortunately, a number of the appointments he's made to key leadership positions, of both men and women, involve individuals with neither the skills nor the training to carry out their responsibilities. That bodes ill for the political and the economic progress of the country at a time when Bolivia needs technical skills more than it needs political posturing. Nevertheless, the manner in which Morales is shaking up the society is likely to be lasting though the road is bumpy. There are those who have argued that Morales simply wants to tear down the modern state and to take Bolivia back to the way it was 500 years ago. They will see these latest cabinet changes as further proof of that contention. I prefer to think that Morales simply continues to stumble his way through his presidency in an attempt to create a new Bolivian reality. He is doing both.

Latin America: 'Stable, but Challenged'

2010-02-05T10:48:00.000-08:00

The U.S. director of national intelligence has issued his annual threat assessment. Regarding Latin America, it says the region is "Challenged by Crime and Populism," and specifically refers to Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua. See the full 45-page report.

Venezuela's Hugo Chavez Celebrates Himself

2010-02-04T19:29:00.000-08:00

   Venezuela's populist president, who can only be called a demagogue, this week celebrated 11 years in office and the 18th anniversary of his attempted and unsuccessful military coup. He also told a radio station that he hoped to rule in Venezuela for another 11 years. That's unlikely. The rising sentiment of unrest and disaffection among many Venezuelans, and the increasingly harsh measures the Chavez government is having to take to put down protests, harkens back to other times in Venezuelan history, which has a long history of civil unrest.
   The country's economy is terribly managed. One of Latin America's major oil exporters is now seeking help from Cuba on the energy scene. It cannot produce enough electricity to light its cities, and the benefits from billions of dollars of income from oil are not reaching those most in need: the millions of poor and marginalized who get government handouts in order to support the Chavez regime. They are made more dependent each year.
   To be fair, of course, governments of all stripes and colors have mismanaged the oil-based economic engine of Venezuela for many decades, and corruption has always been a problem. Chavez is nothing new in that regard. But his restriction of press and civil freedoms, his disregard for the rule of law, his virtual one-man rule, his repression of opponents -- this so-called Bolivarian Revolution that is without any real revolutionary change -- do not bode well for the future of the country. The possibilities of peaceful change in Venezuela are scarce. Under Chavez, in 2010, they are growing more scarce each day.
   Venezuelans over many generations fought hard and bloody battles to establish democracy in their country. It was not perfect; democracy is not perfect anywhere. But today, Chavez mocks the democratic institutions of his own country and undermines the nation's progressive future, all in the name of a revolution that he has loudly proclaimed but is not carrying out.
   From the Library of Congress' "Country Studies" series, take a look at this chapter on "The Century of Caudillismo" about the rule of Juan Vicente Gomez, et.al. in Venezuela in the past century. Note this nugget: "Although he was not the last of Venezuela's dictators, analysts of contemporary Venezuelan society commonly cite Gómez's lengthy rule as the true line of demarcation between Venezuela's democratic present and its authoritarian past." Would that it were true.

Argentina, Peru win Oscar nominations

2010-02-03T13:47:00.000-08:00

The list of Oscar nominees this year is formidable, and Latin American filmmakers have been honored by two nominations in the Best Foreign Film category: Argentina's "El Secreto en Sus Ojos" (The Secret in Their Eyes), which harkens back to the military regime of the 1970s and '80s in that country, and Peru's La Teta Asustada (The Milk of Sorrow), a story about the social and psychological impacts of the bloody Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path) uprising in Peru in the 1980s and early 1990s.

About the former, the Hollywood Reporter review described it in this way: "A riveting Argentine thriller spiked with witty dialogue and poignant love stories, "The Secret in Their Eyes" interweaves the personal lives of a team of state prosecutors with a manhunt spanning 25 years."

The latter is described this way by a Bloomberg reviewer: "Directed by Claudia Llosa, the film stars Magaly Solier as Fausta, who suffers from a disease she believes is transmitted through the breast milk of women who were raped in the Shining Path’s war of terror in Peru. Her life starts to change direction after her mother dies and she goes to live in Lima"

The subject matter is not light, but then neither is reality in Latin America. These are films worth seeing, and their nomination by the U.S. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a nod toward the production values and important stories in the region.

Arrogant Americans 0, Haiti 1

2010-02-02T04:38:00.000-08:00

The group of American baptists who went to Haiti to "save the children" by shuttling them across the border to the Dominican Republic is the latest example of the arrogance of Americans who think they know what's best for Latin Americans, as well as those who do whatever they do in the name of their personal God. Christians and other evangelizing groups are everywhere, spreading their own gospel "truths" and "converting" the natives. It's the old colonial mentality at its best, often under the guise of "doing good."
Perhaps the United Nations or the U.S. Congress could institute a ban on all missionaries... It would be a start.

U.S. stops receiving injured Haitians

2010-01-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

Is it any wonder that people around the world think Americans are only interested in money and profit? That we sometimes lack heart? Critically injured Haitians are being refused entry into the United States because the government first wants to clarify who will pay for their care. Amazing. What if that had happened in the days after 9/11? Or on D-Day? What are they thinking? Who made this decision? Hopefully it will be quickly resolved so that the world can see again that Americans are there to help, along with people of 100 nations.

State of the Union: Latin America goes missing

2010-01-27T19:33:00.000-08:00

President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech was unusual in its specificity and frankness, and to those who support him also uplifting.
However, if I'd written the speech I would have added a quick reference, beyond his very brief reference to immigration, to America's desire and willingness to work with our friends and our critics in Latin America.
The speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress, with the world watching and listening, was an opportunity for the president to discuss the problems of poverty, disease, drug trafficking, corruption and other real threats to democracy and peace, economic growth and social progress in the hemisphere. He could have taken this opportunity to add some meat to his promise to chart a new course in U.S. policy in the region. Unfortunately, he passed over the chance.
Perhaps we'll hear more once the all-government review of foreign policy and aid is concluded early this year.

Students 1, Chavez 0, and Evo Morales takes on the press

2010-01-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

While everyone in North America focuses (or not) on the Haiti disaster and some American tourists dumb enough to visit Machu Picchu during this month's record rainy season in the Andes, a lot else is going on in Latin America:
- Hugo Chavez appears to be losing control in his one-person demagogracy in Venezuela. His VP, very close to him, has abruptly resigned along with the VP's wife, who just happened to be the Environment Minister; University students are protesting his crackdown and shutting of the only serious opposition TV station in Caracas; and the oil-rich country cannot seem to generate enough electricity to light its capital.
- The Mexican economy continues on the skids as the state oil company hires more and more people to produce less and less oil, the drug gangs and the police terrorize the populace in some areas, tourism is down and popular discontentment with the political system up.
- Evo Morales in Bolivia has declared that country to be an indigenous socialist state, even though half its population is meztizo, and now wants to pass laws to control the press and keep the media "from lying."
- And, of course, there's the 86-year-old guy in Peru who had the wrong foot amputated and then doctors had to take the other one off too to stop an infection. Why's that news? Bad medical care is kinda the norm for most poor folks in the region.

Human Rights Watch and Latin America

2010-01-22T16:08:00.000-08:00

Human Rights Watch has just issued its 2010 report on the human rights situation over the past 12 months in more than 90 countries around the world. The basis of HRW's work is this: "Every government is at times tempted to violate human rights, but the global human rights movement has made sure that abuse carries a price." The full report is available as a pdf file here, but it's more than 600 pages long. Individual country reports are also downloadable. (see list). Unfortunately, the report often misses events that took place during December 2009, apparently due to the deadline of the report writers. Unfortunate.

Evo's inauguration

2010-01-21T06:32:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow (22 January) Evo Morales will be inaugurated for his second term as president of Bolivia. Today, there will be an indigenous ceremony held at the Kalasasaya temple at Tiwanaku, the pre-Inca Aymara site near Lake Titicaca. The presidents of Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela and Paraguay have confirmed their attendance at the inauguration. Leading the American delegation are Hilda Solis, the secretary of labor, and Maria Otero, the under-secretary of state for democracy and global affairs. Their presence is symbolic: Otero is a native of La Paz and the first Bolivian-American to serve in such a high office. She also is an expert in micro-finance. Solis specializes in environmental law and was the first Latina elected to the California Senate. Evo is the first indigenous Bolivian president, and has spoken a lot lately about saving Mother Earth, or Pacha Mama. He also is severely critical of the United States' efforts to promote democracy in his country and elsewhere around the region, and accuses the Yankees of involvement in plots and policies designed to topple him and to enforce U.S. hegemony in the western hemisphere. Also attending the ceremony will be John Creamer, who as charge d'affairs is the top U.S. diplomat in Bolivia. Creamer arrived after three years in Colombia, where he was very involved in that nation's 'war on drugs.'

"Fading polarization" in Latin America?

2010-01-20T12:16:00.001-08:00

Alexei Barrionuevo has an interesting and insightful analysis today in the New York Times. The headline writer covers it with "A Sign of Latin America’s Fading Polarization." I'm not so sure that the article supports the contention that Chile's recent election of a "right-wing" businessman, Sebastian Pinera, portends fading divisions in the region as a whole. In fact, as Michael Shifter of The Latin American Dialogue is quoted in the article: “Latin America is not swinging in one direction or another; it is swinging in many different directions at the same time." Polarization in the region seems to be rife, though I believe the "right" vs. "left" distinctions don't hold true the way they did during the Cold War. Barrionuevo's piece touches on this. There is still a huge degree of rhetorical division and polarization between mature pragmatic political leaders of the left, center and right -- such as Pinera, Lula da Silva in Brazil and Calderon in Mexico -- and the screaming anti-Yankee demagogues of the Bolivarian states, led by Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales. Anyway, trends in Latin America are always flimsy and short-lived. The pendulum swings back and forth and always has. See NYT's story.

U.N. report on indigenous peoples

2010-01-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

The United Nations has released a 238-page report called "State of the World's Indigenous Peoples." It's comprehensive, relatively balanced and well worth a read.
People of various ideological flavors will use it for their own purposes, but I think it fairly lays out the issues involved and some of the suggested ways of addressing the problems. See the full report.

Water Aid

2010-01-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

In Haiti, as in most parts of the under-developed world, clean and reliable sources of drinking water are often the key to survival. A suggestion: perhaps 10 percent of American foreign assistance ought to go straight to small nonprofit on-site groups that exclusively deal in creating potable water sources where they are needed. Simple, effective, with a huge long-term impact. See this Mercy Corps blog entry for more info.

Haiti Burning

2010-01-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

From Duvalier to Down the Road,
Port-au-Prince lies ruined and ripped off,
Blood and bones, bandages and gore,
Steeped in slavery and violence and more.
The tontons macoute did not cause this much pain.
Medicines and money are flowing wildly now,
But foreign aiders, no more than foreign raiders,
Will heal these wounds.
Search dogs won't find the dead children
Who will die of dysentery next year;
Water will not quench this thirst.
Doctors Without Borders, without a cause
Other than survival, soldier on in the stifling heat.
Haiti burns in 2010,
It was that way in 1910, and 1810.
The slaves will not go quietly back to their slave quarters;
One by one, immutable and free, they seek food, search for shelter,
Fighting over rolls of carpets and toasters.

Election in Chile

2010-01-16T11:05:00.000-08:00

Sunday's election in Chile will be something to celebrate, no matter who wins. The race pits former-President Eduardo Frei against millionaire businessman Sebastián Piñera. Whoever wins the election, Chile's path of democracy will continue. And whoever wins the election, he will have a major issue that needs addressing: how to reconcile the country's white majority with the growing claims for justice and land for the Indian Mapuche minority in the south. Violent confrontations and ongoing unrest call for decisive action on the part of the new government. For more see the Miami Herald story (Spanish only). For more information in English, go to Council of the Americas page.

Latin America: How Free is Free?

2010-01-14T10:04:00.000-08:00

Freedom House, which characterizes itself as "an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change, monitors the status of freedom around the world, and advocates for democracy and human rights," has released a summary of its 2010 Freedom in the World report. It categorizes countries as "Free," "Partly Free" and "Not Free" using a list of criteria. According to the summary: "Latin America experienced significant setbacks in 2009, particularly in Central America. Honduras lost its status as an electoral democracy due to a coup, and Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Venezuela also registered declines." The full report is due to be released this spring. Read the summary.

Devastation in Haiti: Some Lessons

2010-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

The devastation in and around Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, and the extreme difficulty aid workers and rescuers are having reaching the victims and survivors, bring to mind several questions and potential lessons: 1) If the American military and all its resources and might (including helicopters, bulldozers, earth-movers, C5s and C130s, medical and other personnel and supplies) were not so engaged in making war in several countries thousands of miles away, they might be available to do great good just several hundred miles south of our shores; and 2) If we had friendly, cooperative and respectful relations with Cuba, that country's thousands of fine doctors and other medical personnel would be available and able to assist in Haiti, which is just miles from their country. Cuppla thoughts, simply put, with vast ramifications, but I thought I'd put them out there for consideration.

Disaster in Haiti

2010-01-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

The worst earthquake to strike Haiti in modern times has apparently killed thousands and destroyed much of the island nation's infrastructure, including in the capital Port-au-Prince. All the world's media are now focused on the disaster, which is typical. After a few days, the headlines will stop and there will be a small handful of world media still covering the country and its ongoing troubles. The Miami Herald is one. For good coverage of the Caribbean, go to www.miamiherald.com or to the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/default.stm

Obama and Latin America

2010-01-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

This article in TNR by Jorge Castaneda, former Mexico foreign minister, on the Obama Administration's relations with Latin America, is well worth reading.

U.S. Foreign Aid Under a Spotlight

2010-01-08T09:25:00.000-08:00

The United States provides more than $40 billion per year to less-developed countries. That aid is under a government-wide review now, ordered by the Obama Administration. Some critics say the aid comes with too many strings attached. For more, see my latest GlobalPost story.