Spike in Lime Prices in Mexico Linked to Disease, Unrest in Key Growing Areas

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Article from SourceMex, April 23

The basket of basic consumer goods is an important measure to determine the affordability of the cost of basic goods and services for the poorest families in Mexico. The basket tracks the price of almost 100 products, including corn, beans, wheat flour, instant coffee, powdered chocolate, toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry soap, and much more. One product that is part of the basket but often gets little attention is the green Persian lime, known in Mexico as limón verde. Reports from the government’s statistics office (Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía, INEGI) and other agencies indicate that the price of limes increased by as much as 200% in the first three months of the year, because of a combination of disease, bad weather during key development stages, high insecurity in some of the producing states, and seasonal factors. Carlos Navarro Read More

Argentina, Mexico Discuss Increased Cooperation in Motor Vehicle, Auto Parts Sectors

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Article from SourceMex, April 23

More than a year after Argentina and Mexico resolved a major trade disagreement regarding automobiles, the two countries are ready to take their bilateral relationship to a new level. In a meeting with Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo in Mexico City in late March, Argentine Industry Minister Débora Giorgi proposed that Mexico and Argentina join with Brazil to expand and integrate their auto parts industries. Giorgi’s willingness to offer such a bold plan is a strong indication that Mexico and Argentina have emerged from a rocky period in their bilateral relationship less than two years ago, when Argentina threatened to withdraw from a trade agreement that the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) negotiated with Mexico in 2002. Carlos Navarro Read More

Guatemalan Former President Alfonso Portillo Admits He Accepted Bribes from Taiwan

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Article from NotiCen, April 24

Taiwan's policies toward Central America are under intense scrutiny, particularly recent allegations that the Asian country bribed Guatemalan and Salvadoran leaders. On March 18, former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo (2000-2004) told a Federal District Court in Manhattan that he accepted US$1.5 million in bribes from the Taiwanese government in exchange for his country’s continued diplomatic recognition of the island in its long-standing dispute with China. As Portillo’s trial in the US unfolds, former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores (2000-2004) faces a congressional inquiry in his country for allegedly misusing millions of dollars in funds from Taiwan. Flores has admitted receiving checks worth US$10 million from Taiwan during the last two years of his administration but insists they were not for his personal use. Louisa Reynolds Read More

El Salvador’s Gang Truce Hanging By Thread

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Article from NotiCen, April 24

The government of outgoing President Mauricio Funes appears to have turned its back once and for all on a controversial gang "truce" it helped broker more than two years ago. Initially hailed as a success, the peculiar pact--signed by imprisoned leaders of the street gangs Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18--which is split into two factions--helped cut El Salvador’s homicide figures by almost half, from an average of 12 per day in 2011 to 6.8 per day last year, according to the Policía Nacional Civil (PNC). So far this year, however, killings have been on the rise, prompting government officials to issue a string of disparaging remarks about the truce, which is being treated more and more as a lost cause. "In practical terms, it no longer exists," PNC Director Rigoberto Pleités, a Funes appointee, said in early March. Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Read More

Media Concentration Threatens Press Freedom in Peru

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Article from NotiSur, April 125

Peruvians have been debating the danger that media concentration poses to democracy and free expression for nearly eight months. The announcement on Aug. 23, 2013, that Grupo El Comercio would buy 54% of the stock of Empresa Periodística Nacional (Epensa), a company that owns four dailies, sparked the debate. The acquisition would give the Comercio media company control of 78% of daily newspaper sales and 77% of the advertising market. Before the sale, it operated 49% of Peruvian print media. Elsa Chanduví Jaña Read More

Uruguayan President José Mujica Agrees to Host Guantánamo Bay Detainees

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Article from NotiSur, April 25

Uruguay is expected to receive a group of between eight and 10 prisoners from the US military’s Guantánamo Bay detention camp in southeastern Cuba. The decision follows a series of long conversations between Uruguayan President José Mujica and his US counterpart, President Barack Obama. The talks had been kept strictly confidential until March 20, when Mujica decided to leak the story to the opposition weekly Búsqueda. The US Ambassador in Montevideo Julissa Reynoso later confirmed that negotiations had taken place. Uruguayan press sources suggest other countries around the world may also be in talks to accept as refugees the more than 100 detainees still being kept at the infamous prison, which is within the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base in an area the US military has occupied since 1903. Andrés Gaudín Read More

LADB Perspective - While former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was likening water-boarding terrorists to baptizing terrorists, President Obama, via several Latin American leaders, may have found a route to begin the downscaling of the detention center in Guantanamo Bay. Even though Mr. Obama’s campaign promises to close the detention centers have largely been marginalized post-election season, a deal between the U.S. and Uruguay in particular may offer a route for those who support the closing of the prison. Uruguayan President José Mujica has offered to accept between 8 and 10 prisoners as asylum seekers based upon, according to Mr. Mujica, “humanitarian reasons.”  There are approximately 120 inmates in Guantanamo who have been refused a trial. If Uruguay does indeed accept these prisoners, it opens a route for Mr. Obama and his supporters to circumvent the deadlocked Congress’s approval. While the US media and the political opposition has yet to confront this issue, the Uruguayan opposition parties have already pounced upon Mr. Mujica’s offer, painting it as publicity for Mr. Mujica and his party. Mr. Mujica, however, was jailed in total isolation for 13 years during the dictatorship of the 1970s and 1980s. It is difficult to believe that someone who spent more than a decade imprisoned alone would propose an offer like this simple for publicity. If this becomes an issue in U.S. politics, it is highly unlikely that Mr. Obama’s opponents – politicians and media alike – will not see this as further executive overreach.  -Joe Leestma

Judge Declares Full Bankruptcy for Mexicana, Orders Airline to Sell Assets

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Article from SourceMex, April 16

The airline has not flown an airplane in almost four years, and yet Mexicana remains the subject of front-page headlines. In what could finally spell the end for the beleaguered air carrier, a federal judge declared Mexicana in a "state of bankruptcy," which means that the company’s assets must be sold to meet obligations to creditors. The decision announced by Federal Judge Edith Alarcón in early April also includes the company’s two discount commuter airlines Aerovias Caribe (Click) and Mexicana Inter (Link). The judge’s decision marks the beginning of the end for an airline that has been a fixture in the Mexican transportation scene since 1921. Carlos Navarro Read More

Money and Democracy: the Dangers of Unregulated Campaign Finance

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Article from NotiCen, April 17

Money was no object for Manuel de Jesús Castillo, a former congressman who ran for mayor in Guatemala’s department of Jutiapa in 2007. Manolito wooed voters by raffling cars, houses, horses, and cell phones, donating ambulances to the local health clinic, and throwing lavish parties where alcohol flowed and copious amounts of free food were distributed. The Manolito case highlighted one of the greatest perils associated with unregulated political finance in Latin America: an increase in campaigns funded by organized crime and a rising tide of violence as mafias use their muscle to secure the victory of their candidates. The study "Funding of Political Parties in Latin America," published by the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2011, also cites the election campaigns of former Presidents Jaime Paz Zamora in Bolivia, Ernesto Samper in Colombia, and Ernesto Pérez Balladares in Panama in the 1990s as some of the clearest examples of the penetration of drug cartels in election campaigns, a risk that is particularly acute in a context in which most Latin American countries have decentralized the voting process and local politics plays an increasingly important role. Louisa Reynolds Read More

How to Become Costa Rica's President in Three Awesome Steps

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Article from NotiCen, April 17

The underdog in the bid for the presidential nomination for the opposition center-left Partido Acción Ciudadana (PAC), political scientist and university professor Luis Guillermo Solís, last year scored the first of three surprise political wins in a row when he became the party’s hopeful for the 2014 election. Just as he did for his party’s primary, the presidential candidate who started off basically known to academia, journalists, and international organizations rolled up his sleeves and geared up for some hard work. The result was the second surprise victory, when, despite poll estimates that did not give him much of a chance, early results of the elections on Feb. 2 placed him first, followed by Johnny Araya of the ruling social democratic Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), who came in second, after having led polls. April 6 came, and with it Luis Guillermo’s third election surprise: a landslide victory margin of more than 55 points. George Rodríguez Read More

Indigenous Rights Key Factor Behind Court’s Decision to Prohibit Additional Genetically Altered Soy in Campeche State

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Article from SourceMex, April 16

Opponents of the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Mexico scored a victory in mid-March when a federal court ordered the federal government to rescind a permit to plant genetically engineered soy plants in Campeche state. In issuing the landmark decision, the Juzgado Segundo de Distrito ruled that the government violated the constitutional rights of three Mayan communities by not consulting them before approving the cultivation of 253,000 hectares of GMO soybeans. The ruling was based on a complaint filed by the Mayan municipalities of Pack-Chen and Cancabchen and the Colectivo Apícola de los Chenes, which said the GMO seeds threatened traditional honey production in the three communities. Carlos Navarro Read More

Prosecutors Stumble In Ecuador’s First Truth Commission Trials

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Article from NotiSur, April 18

Relatives of human rights victims have been disappointed by initial efforts to pursue the perpetrators of crimes documented in clear detail by the government’s Comisión de la Verdad (truth commission), which was formed seven years ago and, in 2010, released a comprehensive report regarding state-sponsored rights abuses committed between 1984 and 2008. Proceedings in one of the cases have been stalled because two of the defendants fled the country. Another case fell apart because prosecutors failed to collect sufficient evidence--a recurring problem with the various truth-commission crimes, some of which took place decades ago. State prosecutors aren’t even looking into a number of human rights cases, according to groups like Fuerza del Mar, which represents family members of people allegedly killed by US military personnel operating between 1999 and 2009 in the Pacific port city of Manta. Luis Ángel Saavedra Read More

LADB Perspective - The state-sponsored violence that plagued much of Latin America in the 20^th century continues to create political and social impasses well into the present. This week in NotiSur, both articles, one focusing on Argentina, the other on Ecuador, look at how contemporary societies are dealing with the violence of the past. Since re-emerging as a democratic state in 1983, Argentina has been a vocal supporter of prosecuting human rights abusers during its own “military-civil” government of the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to death squad leaders, torturers, and military commanders, Argentina is now seeking to put judges, bankers, and media owners that were in collusion with the junta on trial as well. Recently, Ecuador has just begun its own respective trials against state-sponsored rights abuses committed between 1984 and 2008. However, the inexperience of Ecuador’s prosecutors is obvious – two of the defendants fled the country and poor, insufficient evidence was a recurring problem.

These trials also highlight differing opinions. On one hand, victims and victim’s families seek truth, justice, and compensation for the illegal violence perpetrated against them. They seek to put the guilty parties on trial and break the pattern of amnesty given to many perpetrators of violence. On the other hand, however, are the younger generations with little or no memories of the violence of the 20^th century, who desire to spend precious resources on moving forward and developing the future. Are these to views exclusive to each other? Or is there a way to find justice in the past while still looking to the future? - Joe Leestma

Argentine Officers, Bankers, Business Owners Face Human Rights Abuse Trials

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Article from NotiSur, April 18

Argentina broke ground in the history of its human rights policy Feb. 17 when it opened the "trial of the judges"--the first instance of this type of criminal justice proceeding. Four former judges who had served during the 1976-1983 dictatorship as well as during the first three administrations of the democratic era--those of former Presidents Raúl Alfonsín (1983-1989) and Carlos Menem (1989-1999)--plus 34 military officers have been charged with crimes against humanity under a program aimed at reconstructing what happened to 207 individuals, who had been tortured, killed, disappeared, or who were victims of sexual violence. This is the first time that sexual vaiolence in relation to the regime has been dealt with as a crime. Andrés Gaudín Read More

LADB Perspective - The state-sponsored violence that plagued much of Latin America in the 20^th century continues to create political and social impasses well into the present. This week in NotiSur, both articles, one focusing on Argentina, the other on Ecuador, look at how contemporary societies are dealing with the violence of the past. Since re-emerging as a democratic state in 1983, Argentina has been a vocal supporter of prosecuting human rights abusers during its own “military-civil” government of the 1970s and 1980s. In addition to death squad leaders, torturers, and military commanders, Argentina is now seeking to put judges, bankers, and media owners that were in collusion with the junta on trial as well. Recently, Ecuador has just begun its own respective trials against state-sponsored rights abuses committed between 1984 and 2008. However, the inexperience of Ecuador’s prosecutors is obvious – two of the defendants fled the country and poor, insufficient evidence was a recurring problem.

These trials also highlight differing opinions. On one hand, victims and victim’s families seek truth, justice, and compensation for the illegal violence perpetrated against them. They seek to put the guilty parties on trial and break the pattern of amnesty given to many perpetrators of violence. On the other hand, however, are the younger generations with little or no memories of the violence of the 20^th century, who desire to spend precious resources on moving forward and developing the future. Are these to views exclusive to each other? Or is there a way to find justice in the past while still looking to the future? - Joe Leestma

New Electoral Watchdog Agency Starts Work Under Cloud of Suspicion

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Article from SourceMex, April 9

The Congress approved comprehensive election reforms in 2011 and 2013 with the intention of creating greater transparency in the voting process in Mexico and allowing greater direct citizen participation in the electoral process. The new laws have resulted in a few improvements in the country’s electoral structure, including the right of candidates not affiliated with any political party to run for office and a provision that allows for citizen consultations. Critics say, however, that the new structure did not bring transformation to Mexico’s political landscape; only token changes along with major obstacles to the democratic process. One change introduced by the 2013 reforms was to replace the electoral watchdog agency, the Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE), with a more independent and transparent agency called the Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE). Critics have also suggested that the INE will differ little from the IFE, since the new institute appears to be serving the interests of the establishment political parties, particularly the governing Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). Carlos Navarro Read More

Work Resumes on Panama Canal Enlargement but Key Issues Remain Unresolved

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Article from NotiCen, April 10

The Spanish-led consortium Grupo Unidos por el Canal (GUPC) resumed work on the expansion of the Panama Canal on Feb. 20, after a bitter dispute with the Autoridad del Canal de Panamá (ACP), the autonomous agency that manages the canal, was finally resolved. The expansion of the canal was originally expected to cost around US$5.25 billion but the GUPC argued that it had encountered unforeseen additional expenses that would increase the cost of the project to almost US$7 billion, setting off an acrimonious feud with the ACP, which insisted that the consortium should abide by the terms of the contract. After the two parties failed to reach an agreement, the project ground to a halt on Jan. 20. After a war of words between the two parties and weeks of legal wrangling, the consortium and the ACP agreed that each side would pay US$100 million needed for the project to resume while insurer Zurich will convert a US$400 million deposit into a loan. Louisa Reynolds Read More

U.S. Producers Seek Countervailing Duty on Imports of Mexican Sugar

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Article from SourceMex, April 9

The dispute between the US and Mexico on sugar trade has erupted again following a request by the American Sugar Coalition (ASC) to the US government to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties against imports of Mexican sugar. In a petition filed before the US International Trade Commission (ITC), the ASC alleges that the Mexican government is subsidizing sugar production, costing the US sugar industry about US$1 billion in net income for the 2013-2014 crop year. The complaint points out that government subsidies have resulted in a bumper sugarcane crop and large surplus of sugar in Mexico, which has led the Mexican industry to increase exports significantly. Mexico produced a record crop of 7 million tons of sugar in 2012-2013 Carlos Navarro Read More

IACHR On-Site Visit Fails to Make Progress on Plight of Haitian Migrants

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Article from NotiCen, April 10

In late December 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) visited the Dominican Republic to investigate alleged human rights violations committed after the country’s Tribunal Constitucional issued ruling 168/13. These on-site visits seek to ascertain whether it is true that a human rights violation has been committed and are a mechanism generally used by international organizations, such as the Organization of American States (OAS), which the IACHR is part of. However, as political analyst César Medina points out, the recommendations issued following these visits "are not legally binding for the Dominican Republic or even for the multilateral organization that issues them, in this case the OAS, and they interfere with sovereignty issues that are nonnegotiable for member states." Crosby Girón Read More

Eager To Cash In, South America’s Soy-Producing Nations Ignore Monoculture’s Many Risks

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Article from NotiSur, April 11

The Southern Cone’s five transgenic-soy-producing countries--Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay--together grow more than 50 million hectares (500,000 sq km) of the oilseed, nearly all of which is exported to Europe and Asia, where it is used to feed livestock and, in the specific case of China, to produce different types of oils. South American environmental organizations say the soy industry destroys forests, pollutes the water, soil, and air, and pushes small-scale farmers off their land. Many economists are critical of the soy frenzy as well, saying the decision to dedicate vast stretches of land to a single crop is both short-sighted and risky, since it makes all five countries overly dependent on a single product and a on single market, China, which consumes nearly 80% of the region’s soy production. Andrés Gaudín Read More

LADB Perspective: In what seems like an echo from the dependency theorists of the 20th century, monoculture agriculture and a heavy reliance on a foreign market – in this instance China – have created a common cause for alarm by both economists and environmentalists. Economists, on one side of the issue, warn that an over-dependence on a single crop – soybeans – and a single market – China – is “both short-sighted and risky.” This also has ramifications for the progressive developments of the predominantly left-leaning Southern Cone, where Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Bolivia are still governed by administrations who came to power during the ‘Pink Tide,’ a term used to describe the turn towards the center-left during the early 21st century. While these states have been using the massive windfalls from recent soybean harvest to fund social programs and help combat wealth disparity, the ongoing economic events in Venezuela serve as a cautionary tale of how over-dependence on a single export product – petroleum in Venezuela’s case – and radical market engineering can create fragile and unsustainable national economies. While the economies of Argentina and Brazil are better diversified and the economies of Uruguay and Bolivia much smaller and manageable, these states are evermore eager to expand soy production regardless of the risks.

 Environmentalists, on the other side are also worried about the risks that GMO crops pose to the environment and lasting viability of agriculture in the Southern Cone. The risks of monoculture have long been apparent, from susceptibility to a single pest to being over-reliant on specific weather conditions, yet they appear to present little deterrence. Recent storms and floods in the Southern Cone could end up costing Argentina 3 million tons of soybeans, which amounts to approximately 5% of the entire annual harvest. Changes in soil condition over time may also serve to turn this “cause for celebration” into short-term boom, leaving state dependent on soybeans with poor soil and unsupportable social welfare programs. And while non-native crops, such as soybeans, are not at risk in South America to lose genetic diversity, the persistent loss of forest puts many native species – both flora and fauna – at great risk. Lastly, the huge tracks of land required for a high profit margin on soybeans have been forcing small land holders into destitution and homelessness. If this consolidation of arable land continues, we may the increase in the political influence of such organizations such as the MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra [Landless Worker’s Movement]) in Brazil.

 While the windfalls from recent soybean harvests have no doubt been beneficial to many in their respective societies, the worries of economists and environmentalists alike should be cause for further analyses of the short-term benefits and long-term risks of such agricultural policies. -Joe Leestma

Climate Change, Mining Threaten Chile's Unprotected Glaciers

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Article from NotiSur, April 11

A prolonged rain deficit and a memorable media maneuver by the high-profile environmental group Greenpeace have together sparked an upsurge in public interest regarding Chile’s world-class collection of glaciers. Chile, home to an estimated 82% of South America’s glaciers, relies on the mountaintop ice packs as a vital source of fresh water, particularly in times of drought. Right now is one of those times. The coastal country is coming off its driest year since 1998 and third driest since 1866, according to the government’s Dirección Meteorológica. Worse yet, 2013 was Chile’s fourth drier-than-average year in a row, prompting authorities to declare official states of escasez hídrica (water shortage) in numerous districts throughout the central part of the country, from the semi-arid Región de Coquimbo, approximately 400 km north of Santiago, south to the normally green Región de Maule. Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Read More

Protests, Misinformation Fail To Force Regime Change In Venezuela

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Article from NotiSur, April 4

Venezuela’s conservative opposition--for all the help it has received from major national and international media outlets, which have taken the right’s message, amplified it, and spread it far and wide--has so far failed in its campaign to topple the constitutional government of President Nicolás Maduro. Not only that, but its big push, after gaining some early momentum, now appears to be losing ground. Andrés Gaudín Read More

President Daniel Ortega Sets Sights on Nicaragua’s Forestry Resources

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Article from NotiCen, April 3

Having just put the finishing touches on a power-enhancing overhaul of the Nicaraguan Constitution, President Daniel Ortega is now looking to extend control of yet another area of the country’s government apparatus: forestry administration. In a bill presented to the Asamblea Legislativa (AL) in February, the president’s office outlined a plan to take over all of the state’s various forest-management functions. Among other things, the reform will give Ortega power to decide which forest-based industries and logging companies operate where. The Ortega administration is selling the proposal as a way to promote "the rational and sustainable use of the forests" and thus crack down on "extraordinary" deforestation, which is affecting large sections of the country, including its many nature reserves (there are more than 70 in Nicaragua). Critics question whether the president’s close ties to ALBA Forestal, a joint Nicaraguan-Venezuelan logging company, may also be driving the decision. Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Read More

Illegal Cigarette Trade Linked to Paraguay’s President

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Article from NotiSur, April 4

A team of agents from the Netherlands' Special Police Task Force (SPT) spent the second week of February in Bogotá to exchange information and, together with Colombian authorities, analyze the movement of contraband Paraguayan cigarettes. The illegal trafficking, which has become increasingly overt, allegedly involves Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes directly. European investigators say major cigarette shipments legally imported to the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao, two former Dutch colonies that are now autonomous territories, end up in the hands of the Colombian mafia now controlling nearly 20% of the Colombian market. Andrés Gaudín Read More

Historically Troubled Haiti-Dominican Republic Relations Seem Improving

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Article from NotiCen, April 3

After two high-level bilateral meetings this year, the historically troubled Haiti-Dominican Republic relations seem on the way to being fixed--or at least to starting the process. The improvement follows last year’s controversial Tribunal Constitucional (TC) ruling aimed at stripping Dominican citizenship from persons born in the Dominican Republic after 1929 to undocumented immigrants, a measure affecting mostly Haitians. The first encounter was held on Jan. 8 in the northeastern Haitian border town of Ouanaminthe. After more than seven hours of talks, a Joint Declaration was issued, saying that "a good portion of the meeting was devoted to the migration issue" and that the dialogue had taken place with "serenity and mutual respect." As had been agreed, the second meeting took place on Feb. 3 in the southwestern Dominican border province of Independencia. Dominican Minister of the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo then told reporters that agreements were reached in several areas, including that of immigration. George Rodríguez Read More

Mexican Armed Forces Kill Two Top Leaders of Caballeros Templarios

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Article from SourceMex, April 2

President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration has taken decisive steps to weaken the country’s top criminal organizations by capturing or killing its leaders. In the two latest actions, military personnel killed two of the top leaders of the Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar) in separate incidents. In early March, Nazario Moreno González, also known as El Chayo, was killed by soldiers near Tumbiscatio in Michoacán. A few weeks later, authorities tracked Enrique Plancarte Solís to a house he rented in the community of Colón in Querétaro state. Plancarte Solís, considered the cartel’s second in command, was killed by the Mexican military just a few steps from city hall. Carlos Navarro Read More

Mexico Opens Huge Solar-Power Plant in Baja California Sur State

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Article from SourceMex, April 2

Mexico inaugurated one of the largest solar plants in Latin America in March 2014, although there is a difference of opinion on whether this is actually the largest solar-energy generation facility in the hemisphere. Still, the construction of the Aura Solar I photovoltaic power plant is a giant step forward in developing alternative energy in Mexico. The plant will be equipped with 32,000 solar panels spread out over 100 hectares. The energy captured by the solar panels would be transferred to a substation, which would produce 39 MW of energy for the city of La Paz. Carlos Navarro Read More