As expected, former heads of state and senior ministers are the principal candidates to become the new Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS). Former President of El Salvador Francisco Flores, Chile’s Minister of the Interior José Miguel Insulza and Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez are considered the front runners. While all three contenders bring different qualities to the job, it is unlikely that any of them can shape the OAS...
Secrecy shrouding Brazil’s nuclear capabilities, suspected technological advances and provocative statements made by Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his presidential campaign alarmed U.S. nuclear control advocates. But, according to Secretary of State Colin Powell, future nuclear weapons proliferation by Brasilia no longer is a distinct possibility. Could Haiti be the missing ingredient? The Bush administration now vehemently denies accusations by notable critics, like the Washington Post, which questioned why Brazil feels a need...
Embroiled in the oil-for-food scandal and amidst calls for his resignation, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has failed to give MINUSTAH, the Brazilian-led UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the necessary military and political direction required to halt the post-coup violence plaguing the country. Annan apparently made a decision earlier this year to dispense with fair play and side with Secretary of State Colin Powell’s slanted script for engineering Aristide’s exodus from the country and refusing...
Corruption emerges as a major hemispheric characteristic. A below-the-surface battle has broken out in the race to be the next Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) after previously-elected Miguel Angel Rodríguez stunned the regional organization by resigning from his post on October 15. Rodríguez had been caught up in a scandal involving a $2.2 million bribe by a French cell-phone giant while president of Costa Rica. Rodriguez’s resignation once again raises the...
The ‘Switzerland of the Western Hemisphere’ is being severely shaken by numerous allegations of political corruption. At least three former presidents have been accused of heavy involvement in bribery scandals, with possibly more to come if the 1970s and 80s are scrutinized. Current President Abel Pacheco and numerous other government officials are also under investigation. On October 8, former Costa Rican president Miguel Angel Rodríguez resigned as Secretary-General of the Organization of American States...
