Controversial Election in Honduras; Mexico Multi-Party Political Agreement in Danger; Progressive Ties Wither in Southern Cone

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for December 4-6

Assailants Torch Human Rights Archives As Pressure Against El Salvador’s Amnesty Law Mounts

An intimidating pre-dawn attack on a San Salvador human rights organization has turned new attention to the still divisive legacy of El Salvador’s dozen-year civil war (1980-1992), which involved numerous abuses and atrocities and resulted in an estimated 75,000 deaths and 8,000 disappearances. Many of the missing were children whose parents were killed or who--in the mayhem of conflict--were separated from their families and scattered to unknown whereabouts. Others were snatched by military personnel or scuttled into orphanages and later adopted, often by families in the US and Europe. Benjamin Witte-Lebhar   Read More

Honduran Elections Turn Chaotic; Both Favorites Declare Themselves President-elect

The Nov. 24 election in Honduras went on with no upsets, a considerably high turnout, and calls from different sectors for parties--both leaders and followers--to respect results. The immediate results were far from conclusive, with Xiomara Castro of the center-left Partido Libertad y Refundación (LIBRE) and Juan Orlando Hernández of the ruling rightist Partido Nacional (PN) both claiming victory The Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) ultimately declared the election in favor of Hernández, but Castro and LIBRE denounced the PN's victory was the result of massive fraud. Furthemore, the opposition accused the TSE of manipulating the final numbers. George Rodríguez    Read More

Progressive Ties Wither in Southern Cone

The process of regional integration, which blossomed in the last half of the last decade as South American countries created effective and powerful regional organizations, has stagnated, admit progressive leaders in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Uruguay who had supported cooperation. Although many blame the resurgence of right-wing governments for the backsliding, some analysts say that it’s no surprise that the reversal happened in the wake of the deaths of former Presidents Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) of Argentina in October 2010 and Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) of Venezuela in March 2013 . Both leaders were driving forces behind efforts to get South American countries to work together. Andrés Gaudín    Read More

Center-left Party Withdraws from Pacto por México, Threatening Viability of Political Agreement

Just days before the one-year anniversary of the Pacto por México, the agreement by the major parties to push for significant political and economic reforms in Mexico has begun to unravel. On Dec. 1, the center-left Partido de la Revolución Democrática (PRD) announced that it was withdrawing from the agreement because of differences regarding the strategy of the two other partners to push through energy reforms before the end of the year. The PRD made the decision after learning that the governing Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) and the conservative opposition Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) have reportedly been negotiating behind the scenes to push through a legislative package to overhaul Mexico’s energy industry to allow greater private participation in the state-run oil company PEMEX. Carlos Navarro   Read More

PEMEX Helps Broker Agreement Between Argentine Government, Spanish Energy Company Repsol

In a move that could benefit Mexico’s state-run oil company PEMEX, Spain’s energy company Repsol and the Argentine government reached an agreement that compensates the Spanish company for losses incurred during the renationalization of its Argentine subsidiary in May 2012 (NotiSur, May 4, 2012). PEMEX, which owns almost a 10% share in Repsol, helped broker the agreement, subsequently approved by the Spanish company’s board of directors. Argentina agreed to compensate Repsol the equivalent of about US$5 billion in bonds denominated in dollars and guaranteed by the government. Carlos Navarro   Read More

Breakthrough in Colombia Peace Talks Opposed by Far Right, Applauded By Everyone Else

Colombia is divided into two, though far from equally sized, camps regarding ongoing peace talks between the government and guerilla leaders. While a large majority supports the process, a small but powerful far-right sector is doing all it can to ensure that the violence, which has as already plagued the country for half a century, continues. Andrés Gaudín    Read More

Summary of Pacific Alliance Meeting in Colombia; 'Kirchnerismo' Still Popular in Argentina; Abortion Controversy in El Salvador

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Articles in SourceMex, NotiCen and NotiSur for May 29-31

Pacific Alliance Will Eliminate Tariffs for 90% of Goods

The Alianza del Pacífico (AP), a bloc that includes Colombia, Peru, Mexico, and Chile, will eliminate tariffs for 90% of goods and services exchanged among them from June 30 onward. The aim is for tariffs to eventually be phased out completely. During its seventh summit held in Cali, Colombia, on May 23, important steps were taken toward achieving regional integration, including eliminating tariffs among members, incorporating new members as observers, and signing a free-trade agreement (FTA) between Colombia and Costa Rica. -Louisa Reynolds  Read More

Mexico, Chile Reach Agreement on Beef Inspections Ahead of Pacific Alliance Meeting in Colombia
On May 21, the governments of Chile and Mexico signed a memorandum of understanding that committed the two countries to harmonize their meat-inspection procedures, a move that could eventually lead to an increase in exports of Mexican meat to the South American country. The measure, while insignificant on its own, was an important symbolic step in consolidating commitments by Chile and Mexico before the Seventh Pacific Alliance (Alianza del Pacífico) Summit in Cali, Colombia, on May 23. The meat-inspection agreement signed by Chilean Agriculture Minister Luis Mayol Bouchon and Mexican Agriculture Secretary Enrique Martínez y Martínez represents the commitment of the two countries to remove nontariff trade barriers for agricultural products.  -Carlos Navarro    Read More

Peruvian Government Gives In to Pressure From Right

The Peruvian government's interest in acquiring the assets that the Spanish transnational oil company Repsol was selling in Peru, which included La Pampilla refinery, a network of more than 200 service stations, and a gas bottling plant, brought a heated reaction from rightest parties and media as well as business leaders who saw the move as a statist threat to the economy. On April 22, President Ollanta Humala met in the government palace in Lima with Spaniard Antonio Brufau, Repsol president and CEO. The next day, national newspapers reported the beginning of negotiations for the government to acquire Repsol. The news unleashed a major controversy between opposition sectors that consider the state a bad entrepreneur and those who see the government initiative as an opportunity to contribute to the country's energy security.  -Elsa Chanduví Jaña   Read More

Despite Elite's Opposition, Kirchnerismo Still Has Wide Popular Support in Argentina

Ten years after former President Néstor Kirchner (2003-2007) began his political project, which his wife, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, continued after his death in 2010, and five months before the Oct. 27 legislative elections, the political climate for Argentines continues to be exhaustingly tense, with an opposition that has the backing of all the powers that be. Amid a virulent smear campaign, based on unproven daily allegations of corruption, the government continues to enjoy high approval ratings, and the opposition--a collection of parties that range from progressive to various degrees of centrist to the far right--is unable to weave a unifying program that can electorally challenge the continuation of "Kirchnerismo." -Andrés Gaudín  Read More

Passions Flare Regarding El Salvador’s No-Exceptions Abortion Policy

The plight of a pregnant Salvadoran woman known only as "Beatriz" has drawn outrage from abroad and rekindled a raging debate at home regarding El Salvador’s zero-tolerance approach to abortion. Beatriz (not her real name), who is now more than five months pregnant, suffers from lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease that has already caused serious damage to her kidneys. The fetus she is carrying is also unwell: it has been diagnosed as anencephalic, meaning it is missing part of its skull and brain and will almost surely die either before or shortly after delivery. Doctors at San Salvador’s Hospital Nacional de Maternidad have been hoping for months to perform what they believe could be a life-saving abortion. So far, however, they have held off--out of fear that they, and Beatriz, could end up in jail for violating El Salvador’s total ban on abortions. -Benjamin Witte-Lebhar    Read More

Unrest in Michoacán Forces Federal Government to Assume All Law-Enforcement Duties

 On the campaign trail and just before and after his election, President Enrique Peña Nieto promised to take a totally new approach in Mexico’s efforts to combat criminal organizations. For the new president, the goal was to stop the seemingly out-of-control violence and not necessarily to stop the flow of drugs to the US, which was the primary target of his predecessor, ex-President Felipe Calderón. But Peña Nieto inherited some of the problems prevalent during the Calderón administration, including the reality that stopping violence might not be possible without going after the criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking. This was especially evident in the western state of Michoacán, where growing civil unrest in the last few weeks forced the Peña Nieto government to take full control of law-enforcement activities in the state in May.  -Carlos Navarro  Read More