Dominican-Haitian Immigration Dispute; Concerns Grow about GMO soy in South America; Mexico Holds 'Black Friday' Sales Weekend

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for November 20-22

Chile's Former President Michelle Bachelet Zeroes In on Second Term with Decisive First-Round Win

Opposition candidate and former President Michelle Bachelet (2006-2010) cruised to victory in Chile’s Nov. 17 first-round presidential election, scooping up nearly twice as many votes as her closest rival, Evelyn Matthei of the governing Alianza coalition, and sending the rest of the crowded field packing. Bachelet, leader of the center-left Nueva Mayoría coalition, won nearly 47% of the vote, well ahead of Matthei (25%) but short of the 50% mark needed to win the presidency outright. "We knew the challenge of winning in just one round would be complicated. We gave it our all and came very close to doing it," she told reporters following the Nov. 17 vote. -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar Read More

Questions Raised Throughout South America Regarding Use and Abuse of Agrochemicals

What began as a straight-forward journalistic investigation into modern farming practices in Argentina has turned into something of a regional rallying cry for critics of the US-based firm Monsanto and other large multinational agricultural firms involved in the production of genetically modified (transgenic) seeds and potent agrochemicals, which tend to be used hand in hand with those seeds. Critics worry about the adverse effects Monsanto products such as Roundup--a powerful and widely used herbicide made with the chemical glyphosate--could be having on humans, animals, plant life, water supplies, and the environment in general.  -Andrés Gaudín  Read More



Haiti and the Dominican Republic at Odds Because Ruling Deprives Persons of Haitian Descent of Dominican Citizenship

Two months ago, after Juliana Disguise-Pierre, a Dominican national of Haitian descent and the mother of four, appealed for having been deprived by the Dominican Republic’s Junta Central Electoral (JCE) of Dominican identification and voter cards, the country’s Tribunal Constitucional (TC) issued a ruling that has placed that country and Haiti, its Caribbean-island neighbor, at odds. In its Sept. 25 decision, the TC does not recognize as Dominican citizens persons born as of 1929 of foreign parents "in transit" or with irregular immigration status in the Dominican Republic. The  measure overwhelmingly applies to daughters and sons of Haitian nationals, the largest foreign community settled on Dominican soil. Different estimates put the total of Haitian-Dominicans at more than 200,000, while the rest of citizens of foreign descent number some 35,000. -George Rodríguez   Read More

Mexico’s "Black Friday" Campaign Boosts Consumption Ahead of Holiday Season 

In what some observers have described as a "government-supported Black Friday," retailers in Mexico sponsored the third annual El Buen Fin sales-promotion weekend, offering deep discounts and favorable interest terms on consumer goods and services. The campaign, started in 2011 under President Felipe Calderón’s administration, was intended to revive the economy by encouraging consumption. The federal government supports the effort by providing some funding for promotional activities and giving government workers their Christmas bonus in advance. Any retailer can participate in the effort by simply registering on a Web site created by several business organizations and the Secretaría de Economía (SE). The program has its share of critics, which point out that the campaign causes many families to incur unnecessary debts. -Carlos Navarro  Read More

Congress Includes Special Fund for Border States in 2014 Budget 

The inclusion of a special fund to help residents of northern states that border the US helped ensure easy passage for the 2014 expenditures budget (Presupuesto de Egresos de la Federación) in the Chamber of Deputies. The budget—approved by wide margin of 441 to 26 with four abstentions—obtained support from the majority of the deputies from the center-right Partido Acción Nacional (PAN). The PAN had adamantly opposed President Enrique Peña Nieto's proposal to charge a uniform value-added tax (impuesto al valor agregado, IVA) of 16% to all states in Mexico. The northern states were previously charged an IVA of 11%. -Carlos Navarro   Read More

Guatemalan Army Intervenes in Customs Offices to Curb Smuggling

With falling tax revenues attributed to smuggling, President Otto Pérez Molina decided that five of the country’s 12 customs offices would be temporarily taken over by the military in an effort to curb corruption. The legality of the measure has been disputed, and even business representatives, those most affected by smuggling, argue that this is not a viable long-term solution. -Louisa Reynolds   Read More