News from Latin America

Race, class, films and health care in Latin America.

poster — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:29:25 +0000

Long blog post here from a native Argentine and photographer who muses on race, class, films and health care in Latin America.

Be Afraid!

poster — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 20:38:00 +0000

The Boston Globe as an article that is a great example of selling fear. Titled “With Latin America veering left, peril for U.S.” the article says that “America’s influence in our own neighborhood will be a key challenge for the next president.” Okay, that is fair enough. The article then goes on to give a laundry list of Latin American leaders. Other than Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez’s connection to Iran, the article leaves out the part about why the U.S. is in “peril” from these nations and their leftist leaders. It seems that any county that has an honest policy difference with the U.S. is somehow a threat.

Chomsky on Latin American Policy & Economics

poster — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 05:18:25 +0000

The rise of alternatives to the IMF and the World Bank are particularly important right now with the global banking crisis caused by the subprime mortgage fiasco in the U.S. Most of the talk in the U.S. is about recession but the more interesting and more important issue is how the lending scandals and the fall of the dollar will reshape global macroeconomics. Viewed from this perspective the creation of alternative institutions such as the Bank of the South are particularly important. Global instability means these types of institutions are even more important and have the chance to take root as significant alternatives to the status quo. This Chomsky interview provides some nice perspective on the importance of this new institution.

The Problems of Indigenous Rights in Bolivia

poster — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:40:16 +0000

Fascinating read in today’s Washington Post on indigenous rights in Bolivia. The Morales government is trying to enact a law granting greater legal autonomy for indigenous communities to prosecute crimes. The article describes fears that the law will be used to carry out vigilante justice. It even mentions cases of lynching. I wonder if such lynching is really a part of the indigenous community and if creating community justice will increase such activity. Couldn’t community justice systems provide a fast and fair outlet for such emotions and actually reduce vigilantism?

Why I wish I lived in New York: El Museo del Barrio

poster — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:11:14 +0000

A very interesting exhibit has just opened at El Museo del Barrio in New York. “Arte No Es Vida: Actions by Artists of the Americas, 1960-2000,” displays conceptual art, much of it political, from well known and unknown (at least in the U.S.) artists. During a period of vioence and political instability, much of it by oppressive right wing governments, conceptional art in the Latin America was something that mattered in a way that it never has in the United States.

Review of the exhibit from the New York Times: When the Conceptual Was Political

blogs:
El Museo Del Barrio Landmark Exhibition: ARTE NO ES VIDA – Actions by Artists of the Americas 1960-2000

GET SOME ART IN YOUR LIFE!!!!

War between Colombia and Venezuela?

poster — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 05:06:24 +0000

Some saber rattling has been going on in Latin America recently between Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe. Its seems unlikely that these two countries would go to war; there just isn’t enough to gain on either side. But the two leaders do represent two very different ideologies so the idea of conflict is at least interesting to think about.

U.S. ecologists and the environment in South America

poster — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:06:34 +0000

I think it is great that rich liberals from the U.S. are saving the planet, one developing country at a time.

Obama, Clinton and the Media

poster — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 12:57:21 +0000

Enough of this black-brown divide story the media keeps running with. News sources such as this, this, and this have been all over the fact that Latinos favor Hillary over Obama. They are trying to play it as Latinos not liking Obama because he is Black. Now I’m not saying that everything is always smooth sailing between Latinos and blacks or that there isn’t sometimes resentment between blacks and Latinos. But in this case the tension seems to be over blown. The fact is that Latinos have every reason to vote for Hillary. Bill was a great president for Latinos in many respects. Bill Clinton was the had two Latino Cabinet members serving simultaneously. The economy was good for Latinos in the 90s. Obama, coming from the Midwest, doesn’t have the relationship with the major Latino media markets on the two coasts. In short the issue isn’t black versus brown but one candidate who has a relationship with an interest group and has worked at developing that relationship over time and another candidate who hasn’t had the time to build that relationship.

What a load of shit: “U.S. trade pact vital to Colombia reforms”

poster — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 21:17:05 +0000

U.S. officials claim that a free trade agreement with Columbia is essential to supporting the government of Uribe in his fight against the rebels. The free trade agreement has precious little to do with the fighting between FARC and the government. Free trade may produce a few jobs but not many and none that will replace high paying drug smuggling and kidnapping, not to mention that supports of Uribe do plenty of that themselves. All the Bush administration gives is vague rhetoric about how free trade is essential. I actually support free trade in theory but when it is done for false reason and is promoted as a cure all democracy and reasonable debate are undermined.

Source: Washington Post (English)

Halliburton in Mexico

poster — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:37:53 +0000

Halliburton, the shady, cronie-capitalist U.S. company formerly lead by Dick Chaney , announces major contracts for oil exploitation in Mexico.

Sources:

La Jornada (Spanish)

Bloomburg (English)