Fourteen Years Later, a Verdict Against Chilean Intelligence Officers Implicated in Disappearance of U.S. Citizens

A judge in Chile has sentenced a pair of former intelligence officers for their roles in the deaths of two US citizens, Charles Horman and Frank Teruggi, who were seized, tortured, and executed shortly after the 1973 coup that ousted Socialist President Salvador Allende (1970-1973) and set in motion a 17-year dictatorship led by Gen. Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990).

The ruling, issued Jan. 9 but not made public until three weeks later, comes 14 years after investigative Judge Jorge Zepeda first took up the case and more than four decades after the crimes, which were immortalized in the 1982 award-winning Hollywood film Missing, took place.

Missing, by famed Greek director Costa-Gavras, was based on the book The Execution of Charles Horman: An American Sacrifice, published in 1978. Author Thomas Hauser wrote the book in collaboration with Horman’s widow, Joyce, and father, Ed Horman, who flew to Chile shortly after his son’s disappearance and searched desperately to locate him.  Read Benjamin Witte-Lebhar's full article about the recent judicial decisions in Chile in this week's edition of NotiSur   Below is the trailer to Missing.



Also in LADB on March 11-13

• Ecuadoran Opposition Struggles to Unify 
• Former Senator Arely Gómez González Becomes Second Woman to Head Attorney General’s Office  
• Mexican Authorities Arrest Top Leaders of Zetas, Caballeros Templarios 
  
• Outcome Of Salvadoran Municipal, Legislative Elections Still Unclear  
• Petroleum Exploration Project Could Threaten Belizean Barrier Reef

Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

A Virtual Museum About Corruption in Paraguay

Their names are Ana Calvo, Dave Mac Cruz, Manuel Rolón, Sara Torres, Edgar Brando Almada,Pau Benabarre. Their task is to use illustrated satire to fight corruption in Paraguay. A more accurate description of what they do is to record instances of corruption in the South American country through their illustrations, which are housed at the non-profit Museo de la Corrupción. 

Given Paraguay's colorful (for lack of a better word) history of corruption, it seems natural that such an innovative and creative method of retaining collective memory of public corruption cases would emerge from alumni of the Guapa School of Creativity in Asunción. (Read more about reent cases of corruption in Paraguay in this week's edition of NotiSur). Founded in 2013, the school draws artists and students from various sectors of the community, including students at the Bellas Artes de Asunción, urban graffiti artists as well as professionals in graphic design firms.

For their own reasons, the six current artists that comprise the work of el Museo de la Corrupción came to create work for this not-for-profit collective because it offered them the capacity to work toward social and political change in a collaborative atmosphere, where artists from all walks of life come together to create a project with a singular theme. When you look at their body of work, what you see is as much about the actual history of corruption in their country as it is about themselves: born in the 80s and early 90s, tired of hearing the same old stories without seeing any change, and willing to bring their unique, contemporary styles to the table to pursue their collective dreams of seeing a corruption-free Paraguay.

After a turbulent first half of the 20th century in which Paraguay often found itself on the losing end of conflicts, with Bolivia and amongst its own parties, the struggling nation fell into the hands of a dictator, Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled from 1954 to 1989. Although the 70s and 80s were decades of expansion, just like in Chile, Argentina and Brazil, it was also a time of brutal dictatorial violence in which human rights were routinely and grossly violated in the same of national security and suppression of subversives. This environment of post-dictatorial corruption amongst political leaders projecting a supposedly renovated, civilian elected state, which was in plain reality marred by constant episodes of electoral fraud and corruption at the highest levels.

In the first seven hours of existence, the digital museum was visited 38,000 times as online media platforms began spreading the word. El Museo de la Corrupcion was launched in conjunction with the 2013 International Anti-Corruption Day observed each 9th of December.

The site is conceived and designed in line with the movement of social and political movements on social media. The interface is clean, minimalist and very easy to navigate, while the opening images are strikingly colorful, complete with captions that are concise and poignant.

The end effect is a feeling very similar to being in an actual museum, spacious, with the white walls and the room silent contemplation. They expect to have a physical site for the museum up soon, and have launched an app to access the museum and its exhibitions on mobile devices.

David Mac Cruz, one of the Museum’s illustrators, told El Mundo in October of last year that “although some of the crimes brought to life in these works can seem surreal or ironic, the intention of the Museum is not to create humor, as corruption is serious,” but rather to expose how the reality of these crimes are such that an informative portrayal of what has happened can seem exaggerated and abstract.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB on Feb. 11-13

• Guatemalan Court Sentences Former Police Chief for Assault on Spanish Embassy
• Reform Bills, "Pentagate" Scandal Spell Double Trouble For Chile’s Reeling Right
• Gubernatorial Elections in June include Troubled States of Guerrero and Michoacán
• Monarch Butterfly Populations Recover Modestly from 2014
• Coffee Between Costa Rica's Attorney General and a Vice Minister Turns into Political Storm

Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

The Environmental and Political Reasons Behind the Decision to Halt the Dragon Mart Project

Transnational project  in Quintana Roo Photo: Jake Sandler

The Dragon Mart megaproject in Quintana Roo state is on life support.  A couple of weeks ago, the federal environmental protection agency (Procuraduría Federal de Protección al Ambiente, PROFEPA) determined that the project--funded largely by Chinese interests--was causing too much damage to the fragile ecosystem of the area.  In addition to halting the project, developers were ordered to pay a fine and restitution 20 million pesos.  Read more in the most recent issue of SourceMex.

Quintana Roo’s Endangered Deciduous Jungle
The actual environmental transgressions cited by PROFEPA have mostly to do with violations of NORMA 059, which protects native Mexican species of flora and fauna. In particular, the Dragon Mart developers have been cited for violating the law’s ‘Anthropogenic’ clause, which evaluates changes in the use of soil and their impacts on human settlement.

The wetlands, mangroves and swamps most affected on the property known as “El Tucán” are not heavily populated. However, they contain some of the region’s most important and endangered ‘deciduous jungle’ species and ecosystems. Despite the heavy handed environmental protection policies on the part of the federal government, many critics speculate whether or not there is more behind the recent decision to halt Dragon Mart’s development; as articles such as this one in El Economista show, Quintana Roo is the same state where transnational interests in planting transgenic soy have superseded legitimate opposition. Others have sought to prove that a political dispute between Peña Nieto and Vicente Fox is actually what is behind the recent decision.

A Mexican-owned development?
Juan Carlos López Rodríguez, director of the Dragon Mart Cancun megaproject, has repeatedly stated that the company behind this project, Real Estate Dragon Mart Cancun SA de CV, is a Mexican company, founded in Monterrey and funded by 90% Mexican capital. A recent article in the daily business newspaper El Economista explains the company’s ownership in more detail: 45% is actually owned by Real Estate Dragon Mart Cancun, while another 45% is owned by Monterrey-Cancun Mart (of which Lopez Rodriguez is partner). Finally, the other 10% is accounted for by Chinese magnate Hao Feng, president of Chinamex, a company interested in introducing Chinese products throughout the world, and the same company that brought the first Dragon Mart to Dubai in 2003. As the name of Feng’s company suggests, ever since its founding in 2000, this Chinese firm has had its eyes on Mexico, particularly those places most visited by international tourists and businesses. That was the first year of Vicente Fox’s presidency, under which Lopez Rodriguez was involved in a China investment scandal while serving as a customs officer.

Speculation of a PRI power play against PAN
Reports have surfaced that  individuals linked to Fox are involved in 90% of the investment.  Among the names mentioned are José Luis Salas Cacho, ex-director of Maritime Transportation, and Manuel Bribiesca Sahagún, son of former first lady and Vicente Fox’s wife Marta Sahagún. So, is it possible that President Enrique Peña Nieto's administration is wielding its power via PROFEPA to land a blow in what is actually a decades-old power struggle between the PAN and PRI? However, you consider this situation, it is hard for the public to ignore the incestuous relationship between Dragon Mart investors and former PAN functionaries under Fox. Meanwhile, environmentalists and local community leaders in Cancun are praising the federal government’s decision as a victory for the land and for the rights of the region’s inhabitants.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB on Jan. 28-30

• German-Manufactured Assault Rifles Recovered from Local Police in Guerrero in Aftermath of Student Massacre
• New Stage of Relations Between Washington and Havana Triggers Expectations of Cuban People
• Ecuadoran Government Rescinds Property Loan, Sparking Confrontation with Indigenous Group
• Government Unveils Anti-Crime Strategy As El Salvador’s Homicide Rate Soars
• Honor Court Ruling Highlights Uruguay’s Many Military Pension Perks

Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Zones for Economic Development and Honduras’ Sovereignty for Sale

The Zones for Economic Development (ZEDEs), commonly promoted by the Honduran government as "model cities," are set to become a reality in the near future, as domestic and international investors and developers plan to break ground in coming months. The project is supported by a two-year feasibility study, which South Korean investors completed in November of last year on the first planned ZEDE. That "model city" would be located on the Pacific coast near the border of Honduras with El Salvador and Nicaragua, in a community called Zacate Grande – an island connected to the mainland by a highway. For more on the South Korean study, as well as the threats of human rights violations due to government land seizures and other aspects of ZEDE law, see  last week’s edition of NotiCen.



Even though residents of Zacate Grande have fended off attempts by domestic and international investors and their own national government to seize their land in the interest of future development, the threats posed by ZEDEs are unlike any in the past. As international human rights expert Erika Piquero writes in the Latin Correspondent, ZEDE law presents investors and corporations with the unique ability to work within a separate legislative system, with its own laws, courts, infrastructure, tax law and equipped with an ability to evict inhabitants of land slated for development.

Opponents, proponents offer their views
The opposition points out that the creation of ZEDEs is akin to selling off the country’s sovereignty bit by bit, and terribly violating the human rights of the nation’s most oppressed and marginalized peoples.

The government and the project’s neoliberal supporters stand by the project’s main objective: ZEDEs will spur an unprecedented amount of development and economic growth, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and lifting the nation out of its perpetual state of poverty and underdevelopment.

Opposition leaders, critics, human rights activists and community counter tha this this “development” will only benefit the already wealthy investors; in much the same way as similar schemes have in the past.

A predominantly indigenous, Afro-indigenous community

Photo: Rick Wunderman, Wikimedia Commons

To put the dispute in perspective, it is useful to review the history of the area. Zacate Grande, a predominantly indigenous and Afro-indigenous community, was uninhabited until the 1920s when its current inhabitants were displaced from the mainland. A highway was constructed in the 1970s with plans to develop the beautiful coastline in sight. Some of the nation’s most wealthy individuals have had their hand on local land titles for decades, and now the opening of the ZEDEs is presenting an unprecedented opportunity.

Even though Honduras has signed most major international accords on human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples, the ZEDEs would suspend basic rights like habeas corpus and other internationally recognized rights. Mixed with Honduras’ checkered past in respecting human rights law, many critics are hoping this plan more model cities and economic development does not plunge the communities within these zones into a state of lawlessness, where the whims of investors and corporations literally run the courthouse.

With many human rights activists and academics linking the creation of ZEDEs more to patterns of Honduran militarization than to actual neoliberal plans for development, we may begin to see a situation where military and security forces are literally and legally acting as a strong arm force for the interests of investment, maintaining ‘order’ in these fantastical economic zones, and perhaps physically removing people from their land.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB on Jan. 14-16 

• Veracruz Continues to Live Up to Reputation as Dangerous State for Journalists
• Insecurity Takes Back Seat to Immigration at Recent Summit Between Presidents Enrique Peña Nieto and Barack Obama
• Transparency Concerns Regarding Election of  Guatemala's Comptroller General
• Peru’s New Youth Employment Law Sparks Protests, Calls For Repeal
• Venezuelans United Against U.S. Sanctions

Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

PEMEX and Shari’ah Law

Photo: Magister Mathematica, Wikimedia Commons

Mexico’s state-run oil company PEMEX, hurting from the global decline in oil prices, is looking for new ways to raise capital. In an attempt to spur new international investment in 2015, the Mexican government is considering the possibility of issuing Sukuk Bonds, a type of bond compliant with Shari’ah law (Islamic moral code). Because Shari’ah law forbids the charging or paying of interest, certain Islamic governments and financial institutions that seek to invest in global markets will only do so if Sukuk bonds are issued in the place of conventional bonds. Responding to the rapid growth of wealth and investment among the Islamic monarch member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Sukuk bonds have grown tremendously over the last 10 years.

According to Scotiabank’s Sukuk division, total outstanding Sukuk rose from US$8 billion in 2003 to well over US$243 billion in 2012. Together, the GCC and Malaysia account for over 90% of all issued Sukuk bonds. By issuing Sukuk bonds to lure Muslim investors, the Mexican government would be joining the UK, the US, Canada, Thailand, Singapore and Sri Lanka in a rising global trend of government-issued Sukuk bonds. Mexico would be the first Latin American country to issue Sukuk bonds. For more on PEMEX’s plans to boost investment, see the Nov. 19 issue of SourceMex.

The difference between sukuk and conventional bonds
Conventional bonds are paid back with interest, while sukuk bonds are paid back with a share of assets. Because the payment of interest is prohibited in shari’ah law, Sukuk bonds skirt around that prohibition by replacing interest payments with a promise to share profits. Essentially, purchasing a Sukuk bond is much more like purchasing shares in a company, while a conventional bond represents the purchase of debt to be repaid with matured interest.

Photo: Akif Sahin. Flickr

 Why does shari’ah law forbid interest?
The prohibition of interest, or Riba as it is called under sharia law, is rooted in the writing of the Quran. Saleh Majid, a lawyer representing Islamic Banking laws in Germany and the UK, explains that the prohibition of Riba came gradually, and is based on an interpretation of Verse 2:275, which states that “Allah permitted the sale and forbade Riba,” and that “Every loan which attracts benefit is Riba.”

The principle underlying this prohibition is the need to prevent usury, or the accumulation of unearned accretion of capital… essentially what we call loansharking. Due to varying interpretations of the Quranic verse, and varying methods of implementing it in modern law, each Islamic government has its own particularities. Even Jewish and Christian scripture discourages the use of interest on loans. In fact European banking laws have much to do with the rise of Islam and its medieval conquests. As it turns out, Sukuk is the plural of the Arabic sakk, translated to the medieval French, “cheque”, or our modern word “check”.

-Jake Sandler

Also in LADB on Nov. 19-21....

• Mexican Senate Appoints New Human Rights Ombud in Wake of Guerrero Crisis
• Nicaragua Pushes Ahead with Eco-Friendly Overhaul of Electricity Sector
• Killing of Two Paraguayan Journalists Highlights Narco-Corruption Issue
• Peruvian Business Associations Hoping to Hack Away at Workers’ Rights
• Planned Container Terminal in Costa Rican Port Brings Second Strike in Two Years

  Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Tejas Verdes

Memorial to Victims of the Dirty War in Chile  (Museum of Memory and Human Rights)

Tejas Verdes served as a hotel resort for wealthy residents of Santiago until 1973, when dictator Chilean dictators Augusto Pinochet took over the site to use for torture and murder of opponents of his regime. Tejas Verdes, which means "green roofs," is located near the coastal towns of Santo Domingo and San Antonio (about an 1 1/2 hours drive from Santiago).  When the Pinochet regime took over the site, authorities converted music rooms and lounges into torture chambers. Thus, Tejas Verdes became one of more than 1,000 sites used by the dictatorship to torture and murder opponents of the regime. The use of Tejas Verdes  for torture and murder continued until mid-1974.

The Pinochet regime appointed Manuel Contreras to oversee the torture and murder operations at Tejas Verdes. Contreras, who would later rise to become head of the infamous Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional (DINA), hired several collaborators, including Army Col. Cristian  Labbé, who went on to become mayor of the Santiago suburb of of Providencia.  Labbé's role in Tejas Verdes came to the forefront again this month, when  an appeals court judge indicted him for his alleged involvement in a string of concentration-camp killings, including those at Tejas Verdes. (Read More in the Nov. 14 issue of NotiSur)  The indictment comes just a few months after authorities  discovered of human remains at Tejas Verdes.

Book describes Tejas Verdes
There is plenty of material to document what occurred at Tejas Verdes. The camp was the subject of survivor Hernan Valdes’ 1974 book, Tejas Verdes: Diario de un campo de concentracion en Chile, which was published in Spain and drew much international attention to the Pinochet regime. Much of the pretext of the detention, torture and mass murder was that the detainees, suspected of being communists or otherwise subversive, represented a threat to the state.

The memories of those times are in many ways still fresh for much of Chile, and still very much a part of national politics. Among those affected by the brutality of the concentration camps are Chilean President Michel Bachelet and her mother, Angela Jeria, who were themselves arrested and taken to another camp, called Villa Grimaldi. Bachelet’s father, Alberto Bachelet, was a general who was held captive and tortured to death for opposing the coup that toppled Allende. 

-Jake Sandler


Also in LADB on Nov. 12-14....

• Ebola Sets Off Alarm in Central America but Experts Say Region Prepared to Avert Arrival of Virus
• California Judge Throws Out Panamanian Ex-Dictator Manuel Noriega’s Lawsuit Against Game Creator
• Pollsters Face Scrutiny In Wake Of Uruguay’s FA-Dominated General Elections
• President Enrique Peña Nieto Cancels Concession for Mexico City-Querétaro High-Speed Rail Line
• Guerrero Tragedy Reopens Debate on Legalizing Drug Production

 Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Is the Proposed Nicaragua Canal Scientifcally Sound?

You've heard the expression "the devil is in the details." Details about President Daniel Ortega's ambitious cross-country canal have been scarce, even though Nicaragua's Asamblea Nacional approved the project two years ago and HKND (Hong Kong Nicaraguan Canal Development Investment Company) was chosen as the developer in mid-2013.  

While there was skepticism, opponents--and supporters--did not know how to react to the waterway--known as the Gran Canal Interoceánico de Nicaragua (GCIN)--except in the vaguest of terms. The Ortega administration did offer some information about the project nearly a year before the actual route was released by HKND. But hen the government was confronted with the question of why officials failed on such a high level to consult with any of the communities involved, they explained that because the route was yet unknown, they could not consult with any communities in particular.

This fall,  HKND  released details of the project,including the exact route is for the waterway that will connect the Caribbean to the Pacific Oceans. This information has allowed  scientists and environmental researchersto publish their first informed assessments of the project. Both the Academia de Ciencas de Nicaragua  (ACN) and Centro Humboldt, a leading non-government environmental research center based in Managua, have highlighted the immense environmental, and socioeconomic repercussions that will inevitably result from the construction of the Gran Canal Interoceánico de Nicaragua (GCIN).

The ACN report argues that the project will cause incredible damage to biodiversity and natural and  aquifers as well infringe as the collective rights and well-being of many communities, including some that reside within protected, semi-autonomous regions. There is a “Message to the Nation” in the final section, which explains that the ACN “applauds all efforts for national economic development,” but also also urgently recommends “that such national projects should always pay close attention to all possible unintended consequences… and to follow the suggestions of relevant environmental, social and economic studies of impact.”

Without explicitly opposing the concept of the canal, the ACN report directs its criticisms at the specific plan proposed by HKND and brings the Chinese firm and the Nicaraguan government to task for failing to heed suggestions from environmental experts and community leaders.

A separate  report published by Víctor Campos, sub-director of Centro Humboldt, provides further information about the obvious and prolonged impacts that the canal will inevitably have on the fresh water supply in Lago de Nicaragua as well as the fragile biodiversity in the Cerro Silva Natural Reserve, an area that is also home to indigenous communities. These communities were not consulted despite the plan’s stipulations for the right to acquire whatever land HKND finds necessary.

At the end of Campos’ response, he too makes no explicit opposition to the idea of a canal in general, but leaves the nation with a list of suggestions and conclusions that include,”1. The best route will not pass through the Lago de Nicaragua; 2. That there has been a decision made at the National level to systemically ignore the voices of qualified scientists and experts; and 3. Eventually, Nicaraguans will be able to influence the decisions of the nation, but as of now, they will not be able to influence the decisions of this company and their enterprise.”

Both reports, which come from science-based entities, made the point that, aside from the proven and inevitable environmental and socioeconomic repercussions of the construction, much of the current problem lies outside the realm of science and environmental research itself. Both reports suggest the problem lies in the lack of transparency in the process. The national government and HKND failed to  make crucial information available to the public, failed to consult with the communities that will be directly displaced and affected, and ignored loud opposition from experts in scientific research.

-Jake Sandler


Also in LADB This Week...
Contrasting Elections in Bolivia and Peru 
While Evo Morales breezed through re-election as president of Bolivia, the trends in the Peruvian municipal and regional elections were less uniform. In the Peruvian results, Lima Mayor Susana Villarán came in a distant third, losing the race to former mayor Luis Castañeda Lossio.

A Social-Media Activist Loses Her Life in Mexico
The campaign by social-media activists to shine the spotlight on the activities of organized crime and on police and official corruption in Tamaulipas took a tragic turn when María del Rosario Fuentes Rubio one of the leaders of the Twitter-based community Valor por Tamaulipas was kidnapped and murdered.

More Trouble for Mexico's Largest Bank
Mexico’s largest lender, Grupo Banamex, is in deep financial and legal trouble with the Mexican and US governments for its handling of fraudulent loans to Oceanografía, a contractor that provided services to the state-run oil company PEMEX

A True Reform or a Charade for Police in Honduras?
The Dirección de Evaluación e Investigación de la Carrera Policial (DIECP) has provided the Ministerio Público (MP) with some 100 files on approximately 200 investigated members of the Honduran Policía Nacional (PN) as part of a slowly ongoing process officially aimed at cleansing the deeply corrupt force. But Honduran human rights activist Bertha Oliva counters, saying the results of the police-cleansing process launched in May 2012, during former President Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo’s administration (2010-2014), adds up to zero.  See more in this week's issue of NotiCen


Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Colombian Peace Process Feels Different

Photo from Caguan Peace Talks,  Wikimedia Commons

"Members of the security forces and their families have been given equal footing alongside members of the guerrilla and their families [in cases where] both groups suffered harm or had their rights substantially impaired as a consequence of gross human rights violations." - Committee that selected victims to testify at Havana Peace Talks

The Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) appear closer than ever to a peace agreement after 50 years of conflict. The ongoing talks, which have taken place in Havana, could lead to substantive change. According to the British non-governmental organization Justice for Colombia, several earlier attempts to achieve peace have failed, including the Caguan Peace Talks in 1998-2002. 

What is difference this time around? The Colombian government has made a concerted effort to enter this round of talks, the first after many violent years, with a tone of mutual respect, rather than one of superiority. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is demonstrating that respect in several ways, through the location of the meeting in Havana, through the composition of the panel, and most importantly, through the inclusion of and focus on testimonials of war victims from both sides of the half-century of conflict.

Although the Santos government does maintain positive relations with Cuba, Havana has an even tighter connection with the FARC, which has maintained a firm alliance with Marxist-Leninist philosophy since its beginnings during agrarian movements of the early 1960s .With a more or less neutral ground established, Santos sent his highest ranking military official, General Javier Florez, to meet face to face with the FARC leaders, a message that the Colombian administration respects the legitimacy of the group. This gesture also opens the door for FARC guerillas to lay down their weapons and reenter society without fear of being exterminated.

Finally, the inclusion of victims’ testimonials have taken center stage, stirring up heavy emotions on both sides. The presence of victims at the peace talks represent an acknowledgement that grave injustices have been committed by both sides, not just by the FARC guerillas. A great deal of tension surrounds the failure of the government’s right-wing factions to accept responsibility for the alleged crimes and human rights violations. However, Santos’ negotiating team has emphasized that a goal for these talks is to “satisfy the victims’ rights to truth, remembrance, justice and the admission of responsibilities. Andrés Gaudín addresses the role of the testimonials in the Havana peace talks in this week’s issue of NotiSur.  See additional coverage of the talks in Granma,the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Cuba.

 -Jake Sandler

Also in LADB this week.... 
Guatemala’s Plan to Privatize Tax-collection System:  President Otto Pérez has proposed a plan to privatize the country’s tax-collection system to try increase tax revenues, which have fallen below target. Louisa Reynolds tells us about opposition to the plan and related questions of corruption in the latest issue of NotiCen..

Costa Rica: The Report before the Report: Before making public his account of the first 100 days of his administration, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís repeatedly said he was going to tell Costa Ricans the state in which he found the country and what his government’s roadmap would be. The opposition prevented Solís from presenting his findings to Congress, so he released the report before an audience of close to 1,000 members of civil-society sectors. Read more from George Rodríguez in NotiCen.

Cartel of Cartels in Mexico: Four of the most notorious and ruthless drug cartels in Mexico have apparently proposed joining forces rather than fighting each other in turf battles. Intelligence reports from the US and Mexican governments indicate that leaders from the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), the Carrillo Fuentes organization (also known as the Juárez cartel), the Beltrán Leyva cartel, and the Zetas held a meeting in the city of Piedras Negras in Coahuila to discuss the possibility of forming some sort of alliance. The latest issue of SourceMex provides more details.

Mexican Court Upholds Ban on GMO Corn. A Mexican federal court handed multinational seed companies another setback with a ruling against the Swiss-based seed company Syngenta, which had appealed a ban on the use of genetically modified (GM) corn in Mexico. Carlos Navarro expands on this development in the latest edition of SourceMex.

Brazilian Elections. The untimely death of Partido Socialista Brasileiro (PSB) candidate Eduardo Campos has added a new dynamic to the Brazilian elections. Campos' replacement Marina Silva could actually prove to be a more formidable opponent to President Dilma Rousseff (Partido de Trabalhadores, PT), and conservative challenger Aécio Neves (Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB). Silva has a broad base of support thanks to her politics and biography. Her sustainability credentials appeal to urban leftist intellectuals and progressive youth. Gregory Scruggs tells us more about the upcoming Brazilian elections in the latest edition of NotiSur.

 Follow us on Twitter @LADBatUNM

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Excuse Me, Dear Sinaloa Congress...You are Suppressing Freedom of the Press

"After weighing the arguments against the new law, we determined that a change was needed.,"said  state legislative leader Jesús Enrique Hernández Chávez. 'We saw the real possibility that the work of the professional news media could be negatively affected." Hernández Chávez acknowledged that the legislature did not look at the Ley Mordaza closely on the day it was approved because it was one of many pieces of legislation that came before the legislature before recess, and legislators did not have time to "notice those kinds of details."

Did Gov. Mario López Valdez manage to slip a piece of legislation by the Sinaloa Congress that would  prohibit  news organizations from recording videos or taking photographs at the scene of a crime or interviewing anyone directly associated with an incident? The legislature claims it was too busy passing several bills before recess to notice that the restrictive measure had been slipped into the legislative agenda. Did Gov. López Valdez and the legislators think that the media in Sinaloa would not react to the directive? There was a loud outcry from a coalition led by the Asociación de Periodistas de Sinaloa, A.C. and other organizations that promote freedom of expression, including the Mexican affiliate of Article 19. The controversy  forced the legislature to review its actions and then promise to rescind the measure during an upcoming special session.

And Gov. López Valdez? He claimed he made a mistake in pushing the initiative, and that it was not his intention to suppress free speech.  Read more about this issue in this week's edition of SourceMex.

Also in LADB This Week....

Energy Policy
Energy Policy was very much in the minds of  decision-makers in Mexico and Costa Rica. A key consideration in both countries was how to reduce the cost of electrical power, which could help promote economic growth. In Mexico, the Congress approved the secondary laws to implement energy reforms, which could bring greater investment into development of gas extraction and transportation.  A greater domestic supply of natural gas could reduce the cost of operation for power plants.  The Secretaría de Energía created a handy section on its Web site with specifics of the Energy Reform.

In Costa Rica, a member of the center-left  Frente Amplio (FA) is proposing that the Costa Rican government renew efforts to join the Petrocaribe initiative, which could provide the Central American country with lower-cost fuels via Venezuela.  Read more from George Rodríguez in NotiCen.  Here is the official Petrocaribe Web site..

Illegal Trafficking of Weapons
A photograph delivered to the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung’s newsroom showing a Colombian policeman pointing a "made in Germany" pistol recently sparked an investigative-journalism project. The investigation is now beginning to show that both Germany and the US are involved in the weapons trade. Germany’s laws explicitly prohibit exporting any weapons to countries 1) experiencing internal armed conflicts, 2) with security forces accused of "excessive" use of force in applying repressive measures (being trigger-happy or allowing extrajudicial executions), or 3) where recurrent human rights violations have been proven. Colombia has ranked first in all three criteria for more than 50 years.  So how are weapons from Germany making their way into Colombia?  Read more from Andrés Gaudín in NotiSur.

Staying Power
Many leaders come to office with high expectations, but at some point during their tenure in office their popularity is eroded because they have failed to meet expectations and/or/campaign promises. Sometimes the problem is that the unity that brought them to office has given way to inflighting within their coalitions. This is what is happening in Chile to President Michelle Bachelet, who took office in March 2014.  Read more from Benjamin Witte-Lebhar in NotiSur.

In Guatemala, President Otto Pérez Molina would like to extend his mandate beyond the end of his term in 2016.  The Guatemalan president has called for a constitutional reform that would allow him to stay in office an additional two years until 2018. The problem is that the the Guatemalan Constitution contains a number of articles that cannot be changed, known as artículos pétreos,which include those establishing a four-year period in office.  Read more from Louisa Reynolds in NotiCen.


-Carlos Navarro

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Economic Development, Energy Needs Clash with Environmental Protection, Right of Communities to Control Natural Resources

Photo: Carlos Navarro

In March 1977, the United Nations Water Conference recognized water as a right for the first time declaring that “All peoples, whatever their stage of development and social and economic conditions, have the right to have access to drinking water in quan tities and of a quality equal to their basic needs”.

The right to protect water and natural resources has become a source of conflict in many countries in Latin America.  Four countries--Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Panama--have had to struggle or are struggling with a decision regarding this precious natural resource. Environmental advocates and indigenous communities are among hose opposing the privatization of water or the development of huge water-related projects.  The government and the business sector are on the other side. They see the large-scale projects as a means to promote development/and or create sources of energy for the country. The results have been mixed.

Let's examine each of the conflicts.

Chile. In June, the government’s Comité de Ministros—the top of the bureaucratic totem pole for decisions regarding development projects—voted unanimously to reject the polemical HidroAysén power project, a multibillion-dollar hydroelectric complex planned for a mostly untouched area of Chile's far-southern Región de Aysén.  The ruling ended years of on-again, off-again legal limbo regarding the costly venture, which its corporate backers—Endesa (51%), a Spanish-Italian energy giant, and Colbún (49%), a privately owned Chilean utility—first unveiled in 2007.  Read More in Read More  from Benjamin Witte-Lebhar in NotiSur, July 11, 2014

Ecuador: A march staged by Ecuador’s indigenous movement—the second during President Rafael Correa’s time in office—was so small that, instead of influencing the government, it showed the indigenous movement to be weak and fragmented. A water law, as this set of regulations for the use and administration of a natural resource that the Ecuadoran Constitution classifies as a human right is known, was approved by 103 of the Asamblea Nacional’s 137 members despite ongoing debate since the bill was proposed in 2009. Read More  from Luis Ángel Saavedra in NotiSur, July 18, 2014

Panama: Panama’s newly elected President Juan Carlos Varela, who took office on July 1, comes to power amid a drought-sparked energy crisis that has highlighted the perils of depending heavily on hydroelectric power at a time when rain patterns have become increasingly erratic as a result of climate change. Panama’s new government has stated that it wishes to review the contract awarded by the former administration to Brazilian company Norberto Odebrecht for construction of the Chan II hydroelectric dam on the Río Changuinola, in the northern province of Bocas del Toro. Representatives of the Ngöbe indigenous group have reiterated their opposition to the project and have complained that Varela has not met with them to discuss his plans for Chan II. Read More from Louisa Reynolds in NotiCen, July 24, 2014

Peru: The  Congress on July 11 passed a packet of laws to promote investment and reactivate the economy despite numerous national and international criticisms that labeled the proposal a blow to the country’s environmental structure, control, and management. The new regulations basically relax sanctions for environmental violations. Iván Lanegra, former intercultural vice minister, told the newspaper La República, "Clearly, reducing fines implies less environmental protection and, worse yet, dismantling environmental protection is done with a law called "Investment Promotion," which increases the risk that it could be interpreted to mean environmental policy is being used to attract investment, which is precisely what should not be done."  Read more from Elsa Chanduví Jaña in NotiSur, July 25, 2014

Also in LADB the Past Two Weeks...
In Mexico, a federal court granted bankruptcy protection to PEMEX contractor Oceanografía,, the federal government reduced estimates for the number of disappeared, President Enrique Peña Nieto created an office to manage immigration policies along the southern border, and several states  have approved a ban on the use of animals in circus performances, thanks to the efforts of the Partido Verde Ecologista de México (PVEM)

In Central America, Salvadoran President Salvador Sánchez Cerén made a pair of early overtures to human rights victims, raising hopes that his presidency, which began just last month, might usher in an era of greater accountability regarding the many abuses and atrocities committed during the country’s dozen-year civil war (1980-1992)...Guatemala's Congress approved a nonbinding resolution that denies that genocide was committed during the country’s 36-year civil war and calls for "national reconciliation."And President Daniel Ortega added a new item to his already bulging portfolio of powers: direct command of the Policía Nacional (PN), Nicaragua’s 12,000-strong national police force.

In South America,.the Paraguayan government and business leaders moved to encourage more investments from already economically dominant Brazil, and political infighting fueled a standoff between the Venezuelan government and the oposition
 
-Carlos Navarro

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Holograms for Cuban Cigars

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Cuba is perfecting holographic seals to prevent the sale of counterfeit cigars, which the international black market offers to visitors for a paltry sum compared to prices determined by the official marketing network. Today, any tourist walking down the street in Havana, a major tourist destination, will probably hear three deals whispered in their ear: sex, habanos, and rum. However, sometimes those cigars are imitations made from low-quality leaves.  -from NotiCen, July 10, 2014

How can you tell if that famous habano cigar you bought from a street vendor in Havana or in the cigar store in Zurich or Buenos Aires is real? If you're a regular tourist--and not a connoisseur--you might not know until you  actually light up.  

Cigars are serious business in Cuba, and the government is very keen on ensuring that the prized habanos are of the highest quality That's why authorities are in the process of developing  holographic seals to prevent the sale of counterfeit cigars. The effort is directed not as much at the domestic market but international markets. "Cuban tobacco remains one  the fundamental sources for millions of dollars in income for the island, is a source of employment for more than 150,000 farmers, and generates impressive sales in the more remote parts of the world,"  Read more from Daniel Vázquez in this week's issue of NotiCen.  And there is more information about this prized product in The Cuban Cigar Website

Also in LADB This Week
One of the most significant developments in South America in recent weeks (and no, it's not the FIFA World Cup!) is the decision of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's administration to cancel the polemical HidroAysén power project, a multibillion-dollar hydroelectric complex planned for a mostly untouched area of Chile's far-southern Región de Aysén. The ruling ended years of on-again, off-again legal limbo regarding the costly venture/

In Mexico,  the Congress approved the secondary laws that allow the government to implement reforms to the telecommunications sector.  But there are mixed opinions on whether the changes will truly benefit the citizenry.  Some international organizations like the OECD believe reforms to the telecommunications, energy and other sectors are essential to help the Mexican economy grow.

In Costa Rica, one of the issues is to maintain the Central American country secure. That is why Costa Rican authorities are continuing with an effort of cooperation with Colombia and the United States. 

Finally, in Argentina, the courts have initiated legal proceedings against journalists and media companies accused of working with the Argentine dictators in 1976-1983 to broadcast, both in and outside Argentina, a false, bucolic image of a nation whose dictators were committed to "re-educating the subversives in order to return them to society mentally sound."

-Carlos Navarro

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

The Ball Rolls in a Different Direction

Image by Pumbaa80, on Wikimedia Commons

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff appeared  on national television to defend the World Cup against the principal critiques from protesters, that the money spent on the mega-event should have been used for education and health care, among other needs. She  said public resources for the tournament stadiums amounted to R$8 billion (US$3.6 billion), while national, state, and local investments in education and health care from 2010, the year stadium construction began, through 2013 amounted to R$1.7 trillion (US$76.2 billion), or 212 times as much.

Michael Amaro, a programmer from Itaborái, a municipality in greater Rio, was unconvinced. "The government spent R$1.3 trillion on health care and education and it’s still as bad as it is? It’s not 10% as efficient as it should be," he said.  -from NotiSur, June 20, 2014


Chances are most of the fans of fútbol in the United States who are watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup associate the event with the great play on the field, especially the Latin American teams.  Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica have played especially well, and Mexico scored some points with the fans back home by earning a tie with the host country Brazil (one of the favorites to win the tournament). Brazilian fans are somewhat disappointed with their team's performance, but the host country remains in good shape to advance to the next round, as does its chief rival and neighbor Argentina.

Outside of its soccer fortunes, Brazil has earned mixed marks when it comes to organizing the event.  The South American country was late with completion of many of its sports venues, and there were numerous complaints that some of the infrastructure that caters to tourists was subpar. And yet, the actual games have been well organized, so the image that Brazil is presenting to the world on balance appears to be positive.

For ordinary Brazilians, there are also mixed feelings. The intense pride in their team is unmistaken, with many Brazilians wearing green and gold and blue on the streets and in the dozen or so venues where the games are being played. But there is discontent below the surface. In his article in NotiSur entitled "World Cup Begins with Diminished Protests, Increased Security, and Debates Over Legacy," Gregory Scruggs discusses how many ordinary Brazilians continue to protest the government's decision to spend money on the World Cup instead of devoting resources to education, health care and other social services.  Read More

Also in LADB this week...
Across the continent in Chile, President Michelle Bachelet has been very busy during her first three months in office. The center-left leader has already submitted a bill to overhaul the national tax system and another to do away with Chile’s much-maligned parliamentary election rules, and she has proposed a handful of education reforms. In May, she traveled to Argentina. The month before, she coordinated responses to not one, but two natural disasters: a powerful April 1 earthquake in the north followed two weeks later by a devastating firestorm in the port city of Valparaíso. 

Another newly installed president is Salvador Sánchez Cerén, El Salvador’s first "guerrilla" president, Sánchez Cerén takes over a a deeply divided country that is facing a resurgence of crime.  Crime is also major topic in the other article in NotiCen, which examines the increase in the increasing deaths of journalists in Honduras.  In SourceMex, we review the decision of state-run oil company PEMEX to sell off most of its shares in Spanish oil company Repsol and the ongoing efforts in Mexico to address gun-related violence (A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court might help).

-Carlos Navarro

(Subscription required to read full LADB articles. Click here for subscription information)

Mob Violence Intrudes into Argentine Penal Code Debate

(Subscription required to read full articles. Click here for subscription information)

Article from NotiSur, May 9

All Argentina is now riveted by 12 cases of mob violence precisely when leading Argentine jurists--of all political stripes and from all academic institutions--have drafted a revision to the country’s virtually obsolete 100-year-old Penal Code. Congressional approval of the proposed legal revision is pending. On March 22, a mob of 50 people in the central city of Rosario killed an 18-year-old masonry worker by kicking his body and head after an unidentified person in the middle of the street screamed that the youth had stolen a purse. Following that brutal event, eleven other cases that left victims either dead or gravely wounded and the perpetrators at large have been reported throughout the country, including one in an upper-class Buenos Aires neighborhood. Andrés Gaudín Read More

El Salvador’s Gang Truce Hanging By Thread

(Subscription required to read full articles. Click here for subscription information)

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

Protests Continue in Brazil; Mexico Cancels Refinery Project; El Salvador Deals with Deaths of Sea Turtles

(Subscription required to read full articles. Click here for subscription information)

Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for November 6-8

Venezuela Opens Way for Paraguay to Return to MERCOSUR

After a 16-month rupture in diplomatic relations with Paraguay, the Venezuelan government has reopened binational dialogue. In mid-October Foreign Minister Elías Jaua traveled to Asunción to resolve the reopening of respective embassies and the naming of new ambassadors. In other gestures of rapprochement, on Oct. 30, Jaua invited the Paraguayan government to participate in a ministerial summit of the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes "to give him an embrace by phone." Maduro also urged other members of the trade alliance to "urgently bring the fellow nation of Paraguay back to the fold. -Andrés Gaudín   Read More

Rio Teachers Strike Sharpens Brazilian Protest Scene

Four months after the June protests in Brazil brought hundreds of thousands to the streets in a national airing of grievances, such mass demonstrations persist albeit on a smaller, more-focused scale. At the same time, marches continue to conclude with violent clashes between police and protesters. This trend is a result of both a tougher line by authorities as well as a proportionally larger use of black-bloc tactics, whereby masked protesters wearing black pursue direct action to destroy symbolic physical property such as banks, media vehicles, and police cars. The outcome has been widespread destruction of public and private property, mass arrests of civilians, injuries to protesters, and chaotic scenes on the streets of Brazil’s major cities, principally Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Brasília. -Gregory Scruggs Read More

President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Government Launches Major Operation against Caballeros Templarios Cartel in Michoacán State

In early November, the Secretaría de Defensa Nacional (SEDENA) and the federal police assumed control of the port of Lázaro Cárdenas in Michoacán state, in an effort to root out massive corruption and cripple the operations of the Caballeros Templarios (Knights Templar) drug cartel at one of Mexico’s largest seaports. The federal operation at Lázaro Cárdenas came just days after assailants—presumably members of the Knights Templar--damaged several electrical power plants owned by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE), triggering blackouts in at least nine cities. The destruction of the CFE plants was followed by attacks on several gasoline stations. Analysts said the attacks might have been intended as a show of power by the cartels to citizen groups, which have risen in resistance to the cartel, and to the government. -Carlos Navarro Read More

Scores Of Endangered Sea Turtles Wash Up Dead Along Salvadoran Beaches

Conservationists and government authorities are pointing their fingers in very different directions following a recent die-off of sea turtles, hundreds of which have washed up on El Salvador’s shoreline in recent weeks. In mid October, fishers operating along the Pacific beach of El Pimental, in the department of La Paz, reported finding some 100 dead turtles in a single day. Partially decomposed corpses have also littered the beaches of San Diego, El Amatal, and Toluca in the nearby department of La Libertad. Officially, more than 200 turtles died during a troubling three-week span that began in late September, the Ministerio de Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN) reported late last month. Environmental groups suspect the real number of turtle deaths is higher still. Most of the dead animals were olive ridley and green turtles, according to MARN. Two other sea turtle species, leatherbacks and hawksbills, are also present in El Salvador. -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar  Read More

President Enrique Peña Nieto’s Administration Apparently Cancels Construction of New Refinery in Hidalgo State

Without much fanfare, President Enrique Peña Nieto’s administration appears to have put the brakes on an ambitious project to construct the Bicentenario refinery in Tula, Hidalgo state. The facility--one of the largest investment projects launched during former President Felipe Calderón’s administration—was to be constructed next to an existing refinery in Tula. The project was intended to boost Mexico’s capacity to refine crude oil and reduce reliance on imports of gasoline and other fuels. Mexico at present imports about 50% of the gasoline consumed domestically, even though the country is a major producer of crude oil. The fate of the project became apparent with the release of the 2014-2018 business plan for the state-run oil company PEMEX, which left out the facility. -Carlos Navarro Read More

Still Wounded by 2009 Coup, Honduras Heads for Elections that End Historic Bipartisanship

Honduras is headed for its first elections since the much-questioned vote four years ago, within the framework of widespread repression under the de facto regime set up through the bloody 2009 coup that shook this poverty-stricken country to its very foundations and caused deep, unhealed wounds. The vote was held five months after the illegal political-military action that on June 28, 2009, brought to an abrupt end to President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya’s populist government, constitutionally scheduled to finish the following January. Zelaya's wife, Xiomara Castro, is the only woman in the eight-candidate presidential race, which includes the coup’s military leader, former head of the Fuerzas Armadas of Honduras and retired Gen. Romeo Vásquez of the rightist Alianza Patrótica (AP). -George Rodríguez   Read More