RSSHat in hand, senior Colombian representatives arrived in Washington on February 24 to begin a lobbying blitz, yet were reluctant to acknowledge that their country is currently embroiled in a pervasive corruption scandal which discredits even the usually teflon-coated Uribe administration. Taking par[...]
Archive for February, 2009
Bolivia’s Morales Struts His Stuff as Strategist and Adept Politician
- Recent referendum triumph affords Morales government more scope and additional clout - The president works to find a balance between satisfying the resource-rich eastern provinces and fulfilling his socialist economic mission - Morales differs greatly in terms of leadership style from close friend[...]
An Uncertain Presidential Hand: Whatever Happened to the Fernández-Kirchner Political Touch?
- President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner declares an agricultural state of emergency which ends up providing inadequate relief for struggling Argentine farmers - Farm owners continue demonstrations in opposition to the Fernández administration’s failure to respond appropriately to rising c[...]
Awá Massacre Highlights Desperate Need for Fresh Approach to Drugs in Colombia
Early this month, a brutal massacre of Awá indigenous people left 27 dead in Colombia’s southern Pacific region of Nariño. According to various media sources, 17 were killed in an armed attack on February 4, during which 120 community members were captured and held against their will. Ten mo[...]
Surely Globalization Doesn’t Rhyme with the Environment? Conservation and Market Based Instruments in the Amazon Rainforest
Ever since its opening to the double edged sword known as “development,” debates over the Amazon rainforest repeatedly have degraded into an international tragi-comedy of hypocrisy and shirked responsibilities. Development’s fate, in reality, has been shaped by two contradictory trends: on th[...]
Recommended for COHA’s Readership: Brazilian Foreign Policy After the Cold War
- Comprehensive study examining Brazilian foreign policy by COHA Senior Research Fellow Sean W. Burges, published by the University Press of Florida - Burges’ work explains how and why Brazil has been building its role as a leader in South America and the global South - Research for the book d[...]
Brazil – Lula’s Last Year in Review and Future Expectations
- Brazil had a strong 2008 and will continue to rise in the global hierarchy despite setbacks caused by the world financial crisis - New ties to China, Russia, and other quasi-super power nations show Brazil trying to balance relations between Latin America and extra-hemispheric emerging markets In [...]
Parading Towards Equality: Transcolombia Awakes
Ever since 1513, when the Conquistador Vasco Nuñez de Balboa decided to set his dogs on 40 Quarequa indigenous people for engaging in transvestism and homosexual acts, Colombia´s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) sector has enjoyed a stressful relationship with the dominant society. Fo[...]
Is Chavez on his way to dictatorship?
February 23, 2009 Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday won a referendum eliminating term limits opening a way for him run again as president in 2012 and possibly for many years to come. There are mixed feelings across the globe towards Chavez, some love him and others hate him. Some analysts b[...]
Opportunities and Obstacles for Obama in Latin America
By Michael Rose February 20, 2009 In a definitive policy speech on Latin American relations at a Cuban American National Foundation luncheon on May 23, 2008, President Barack Obama promised to “pursue aggressive, principled, and sustained diplomacy in the Americas from Day One.” In a January 15 [...]