The November 2 midterm elections resulted in a new balance of power in Congress, most notably in the House of Representatives—now a Republican majority house. Domestic implications aside, the shift in power will have a significant effect on foreign policy initiatives, not least of which (for our purposes) is Cuba policy. First of all, the […]
After a considerable hiatus, I’m pleased to re-welcome you to the Cuba blog. We have lots of catching up to do, so let’s hop right to it. If you’re wondering what’s happened between Washington and Havana in the meantime, catch up with Anya Landau French on the Havana Note: Obama Fumbles on Cuba. You guessed […]
The victory by Dilma Rousseff’’s Worker’s Party (PT) marks the third consecutive failure by Brazil’s Social Democrat Party (PSDB) to regain the presidency, raising questions about the PSDB’s electoral strategy and the party’s place in Brazilian politics. In the aftermath of the presidential elections one voice has risen above all of the post-election chatter to […]
Tomorrow voters in California will decide whether or not to approve Proposition 19, legalizing marijuana in the state. The Atlantic magazine just published a transcript in which they ask five Mexico experts what they think the result might be on Mexico. Initially, the respondents’ opine on the parallel between Colombia and Mexico. Robert Bonner, former […]
Crosspost from the Media and Foreign Affairs Blog Some heavy hitters will be in New York City from all over the world on Tuesday, October 19 to discuss the crisis for journalists in Mexico: When: Tueday, October 19 Where: The Great Hall Cooper Union, 7 East 7th Street, New York City What time: 7 p.m. With readings […]
Anti-rape Campaign Nine months after doom’s day, the Haitian consciousness is perplexed, traumatized and scattered. Reality has settled in: there will neither be Moses nor his wand at the sea of debris. Sparks of progress are sporadic, but gradually painting a postmodern, post-quake impression. In addition, Haitians grow increasingly wary of parliament and presidential elections […]
Mudslides in the southern Mexico have killed at least 32 in recent days. In the worst disaster, on Wednesday a landslide killed 16 in the state of Chiapas. On Thursday, subsequent mudslides in rural highlands of Oaxaca state killed 11, including a pregnant woman and children. Other casualties are being reported. In recent weeks Mexico […]
“We’re in the midst of an international currency war,” declared Brazil’s Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, this past Monday. Minister Mantega was referring to Brazil’s ongoing struggle to maintain a competitive exchange rate for its exports as other developing nations aim for the same. Although most analysts have recognized the “currency war” for some time, Minister Mantega’s […]
From the Global Organized Crime Blog: Wordplay is an important skill for politicians and diplomats, who routinely solve dilemmas by substituting one phrase for another, replacing ‘hot-button’ words with language that may not change reality, but which invariably gives players the ‘wiggle-room’ they need to back-off, rethink, renegotiate, regroup, or retreat from battles plainly lost. […]
There’s a lot going on lately, and a fair number of calls to the Obama administration to take note and react to all of it. Nothing from Washington yet. First, the Cuban Labor Federation came right out and announced that 1 million public sector jobs were set to be eliminated, half of these by next […]
Brazil’s most popular politician in history is set to leave the presidency this year, ending nearly eight years at the helm of a government responsible for lifting over 20 million people out of poverty, maintaining Brazil’s economy booming during a global recession (with 2010 growth forecasted at 7.3%), and establishing Brazil as a regional […]
Beyond her displacement camps and their many obstacles, Haiti is taking some baby-steps towards her anticipated recovery. The long-awaited plans, gradually surfacing, offer a real glance into the paths that will lead the country away from its tumultuous past. While these steps may seem too insignificant for some news organizations to notice, Haitians whose lives […]
President Calderón’s PAN party is in a tough spot. Drug violence dominates media headlines, with many Mexican newspapers publishing extended obits of victims. For the most part, Mexico’s president explains the surging violence as proof-positive that the government’s crackdown is working. Regardless, many Mexicans care more about jobs and the economy than the drug gangs. […]
In recent days and weeks Fidel Castro has reappeared everywhere in Cuba—on television, on the radio, in the news—but he has made it, too, into international exchanges again. Ever the clever statesman, he is proving once more that he knows what to say and when to say it to participate in the most relevant international […]
“The mother came back, got her daughter and checked her daughter and she said, ‘her inside was so’ –she emphasized– ‘opened.’ Then she asked the daughter, ‘what happened to you?’ And the daughter said, ‘while I went to the bathroom there was this man Who held me and had sex with me’.” To say “Beginning […]