Monthly Archives: August 2008

President Martin Torrijos’ Velvet Panamanian Coup

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Fellow Aviva Elzufon
August 28, 2008

For more information on this piece over the Labor Day weekend, please call 202-215-3473. Torrijos uses subterfuge to militarize the National Security Posture. Patriots rally on September 3 against Torrijos’ wanton indifference to democratic procedures. State Department is conspicuously silent over Torrijos’ plots. On September 3, a number of Panamanian civic groups and political movements have scheduled a nationwide protest against the recently enacted five-pronged National Security Reform package. President Martin Torrijos and his...

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BancoSol: Mission Drift in Microfinance Institutions

This analysis was prepared by Jenna Barzelay
August 27, 2008

Microfinance, a “trickle-up,” market-based approach to poverty alleviation, is a hotly contested subject in the field of development. Most microfinance organizations in less-developed countries tackle the effective exclusion of the poor from financial capital by providing credit at low interest rates to foster entrepreneurship and development. Although each loan is small, they provide clients with enough accessible capital to start a small business and purchase raw materials. The income generated through these businesses can...

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Searching for Solutions to Mexico’s Skyrocketing Violence

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Amy Coonradt
August 26, 2008

(To be posted later today: President Martin Torrijos’ Velvet Auto-Golpe in Panama) On August 21, Mexican President Felipe Calderón Hinojosa held a security summit at the National Palace. In attendance were the Mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, and Mexico’s thirty-one state governors. Those in attendance, represented most of the nation’s political parties, were still able to display a stunning show of relative harmony and cooperation in the face of dangerously mounting violence brought...

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Morales wins referendum but opposition hits back

August 26, 2008

Published by The Real News Network Produced by Zaa Nkweta ZAA NKWETA (VOICEOVER): Bolivian President Evo Morales accused government opponents on Wednesday of forcing the poor to strike, as he spoke in response to general strikes in five provincial capitals this week. EVO MORALES, BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): … the people that have a lot of money have called for strikes, they are forcing the poor to strike, but those people that have a...

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Diplomatic scene is changing in the U.S. backyard

August 25, 2008

Published by A.M. Costa Rica By the A.M. Costa Rica wire service The recent decision to reestablish the U.S. Fourth Fleet in the Caribbean Sea and South Atlantic Ocean has raised concerns about military intervention in Latin America at a time when many analysts say the region is distancing itself from the United States. U.S. defense officials describe last month’s reactivation of the Fourth Fleet as an organizational move that will provide maritime security,...

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