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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen, and NotiSur for Jan. 16-18
Chinese Government-Sponsored Trade, Commercial Project
in Quintana Roo Draws Strong Opposition in Mexico
A planned megaproject near Cancún, sponsored in part by
the Chinese government, has drawn strong opposition from a
number of federal and state legislators and has caused a
split in the Mexican business community. Furthermore, the
Dragon Mart project, modeled after a similar complex in
Dubai, has put President Enrique Peña Nieto’s
administration in a predicament. The controversy about
the facility comes at a time when the Mexican government
is promoting former trade secretary Herminio Blanco to
head the World Trade Organization (WTO).
- Carlos Navarro Read More
IACHR Orders El Salvador To Investigate Three-Decade-Old
El Mozote Massacre
An international court ruling on the infamous 1981 El
Mozote massacre has put new pressure on Salvadoran
authorities to stop turning a blind eye to widespread
human rights violations committed during the country’s
dozen-year civil war (1980-1992). The ruling, published
early last month by the Costa Rica-based Inter-American
Court of Human Rights (IACHR), ruled against the state of
El Salvador for its role in the macabre events of Dec.
11-13, 1981, when members of the Army’s now-defunct
Atlacatl Battalion slaughtered hundreds of campesinos in
and around the remote eastern village of El Mozote. The
IACHR described the three-day massacre as part of a
"systematic plan of repression" and found the state
"responsible for the violation of the right to life and
the right to personal integrity and private property."
- Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Read More
Petition Asks U.S. Government to Stem Flow of
High-Caliber Weapons to Mexico
Just days before US President Barack Obama unveiled a
package to reduce gun violence in the US, US Ambassador to
Mexico Anthony Wayne received a petition from nearly
54,000 Mexican and US residents urging the US government
to take more decisive steps to stem the flow of
high-caliber weapons to Mexico. Most signatures on the
petition addressed to Obama, US Vice President Joe Biden,
and Wayne were gathered in Mexico by the victim’s right’s
organization Movimiento por la Paz con Justicia y Dignidad
(MPJD) and other Mexican groups like Incide Social and
Evolución Mexicana. Some signatures were obtained by US
partners, including the Brady Center to Prevent Gun
Violence and the Center for International Policy (CIP).
- Carlos Navarro Read More
Paraguay Looks Ahead to Presidential Elections
In three months, Paraguay will hold a presidential
election, called by the de facto regime to clean up its
image. The regime was deeply damaged internationally by
the hasty June 22, 2012, coup, in which all political
parties participated, that toppled the constitutional,
democratic government of President Fernando Lugo. Barring
a political tsunami, businessman Horacio Cartes will win
the election. Multiple accusations and testimonies allege
that Cartes amassed his fortune and "paid for" his recent
full-bore entrance into politics with proceeds from money
laundering and smuggling. -
Andrés Gaudín Read More
Guatemala in Aftermath of November Earthquake
San Marcos, one of the departments in Guatemala with the
highest rates of poverty, suffered the most damage from a
magnitude 7.2 earthquake that occurred in the Central
American country on Nov. 7. The quake killed 44 people.
The Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de los
Desastres (CONRED) says that 33,951 people had to be
evacuated after the earthquake, 32,797 homes and 286
schools were damaged, and 11 schools were destroyed.
Although President Otto Pérez Molina promised a swift and
efficient reconstruction operation, aid has slowly
trickled through to San Marcos’ impoverished communities.
- Louisa Reynolds Read More
Criticism of Anti-Terrorism Bill in Peru
The possible approval of a bill to criminalize denying
terrorist acts or inciting others to commit such acts has
received significant criticism from those who consider it
ineffective as well as from those who see it as violating
freedom of speech. The law would set a prison sentence of
6 to 12 years for anyone who "publicly approves of,
justifies, denies, or minimizes the acts of terrorist
organizations" that have received a final court judgment
as well as anyone who incites others to commit terrorist
acts. The full Congress must debate the bill, but the last
plenary session ended on Dec. 14 without a debate and
legislators are now in recess until March.
- Elsa Chanduví Jaña Read More
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