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	<title>Council on Hemispheric Affairs &#187; European Union</title>
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	<link>http://www.coha.org</link>
	<description>COHA is an NGO specialized in monitoring Latin American and Canadian Relations for more than 30 years...</description>
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		<title>FMI: A la búsqueda de financiamiento en Brasil</title>
		<link>http://www.coha.org/fmi-a-la-busqueda-de-financiamiento-en-brasil/</link>
		<comments>http://www.coha.org/fmi-a-la-busqueda-de-financiamiento-en-brasil/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:09:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Español]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.coha.org/?p=15325</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Durante no poco tiempo fue Brasil un asiduo prestatario del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI), pero en esta ocasión se ha solicitado formalmente a la potencia sudamericana que se convierta en prestamista del Fondo: otra prueba incontrovertible del intercambio de roles protagónicos en el escenario internacional. Teniendo ello siempre presente, Christine Lagarde se reunió con la presidenta de Brasil Dilma Rousseff y su ministro de hacienda Guido Mantega durante su primer viaje a América Latina como directora gerente del FMI. Si bien aún se encuentran en negociación los pormenores de la propuesta crediticia, una vez concluida la reunión, las autoridades brasileñas declararon que Brasil extendería financiamiento al FMI a condición de que modifique su sistema de cuotas, expresadas en Derechos Especiales de Giro (DEG), la unidad de cuenta del FMI que determina el poder de voto del titular del activo. En la actualidad, Brasil posee 4.250,5 millones de DEG, que equivalen a 43.246 votos. Mediante esta reestructuración del sistema de cuotas, Brasil procura ampliar su esfera de influencia y asídesempeñar un papel de mayor importancia en la toma de decisiones del FMI, un objetivo se encuadra en la voluntad de Rousseff de demostrar su relevancia en la comunidad internacional. Mantega aclara [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Lagarde Meets with Rousseff and Mantega as Part of Her Visit to Latin America to Negotiate Brazil’s Lending to the IMF</title>
		<link>http://www.coha.org/lagarde-meets-with-rousseff-and-mantega-as-part-of-her-visit-to-latin-america-to-negotiate-brazil%e2%80%99s-lending-to-the-imf/</link>
		<comments>http://www.coha.org/lagarde-meets-with-rousseff-and-mantega-as-part-of-her-visit-to-latin-america-to-negotiate-brazil%e2%80%99s-lending-to-the-imf/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:01:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COHA Daily News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mexico]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.coha.org/?p=15307</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For many years, Brazil was a constant borrower of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but this time the country has been formally requested to lend funds to the IMF, which shows a remarkable shifting of power in the international scenario. With that in mind, Christine Lagarde held a meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her finance minister Guido Mantega as part of her first visit to Latin America as the IMF’s managing director. Although the details of the lending proposal are still in negotiation, after the aforementioned meeting, Brazil has indicated that it would lend to the IMF on the condition that it restructures its quota system. The quotas have been denominated as Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), which is the IMF’s unit of account and affords the quota-holders voting power. Currently, Brazil accounts for 4,250.5 million SDRs, which represent 43,246 votes. Therefore, the country seeks to increase its influence with the previously mentioned quota restructuring initiative and take a more central role in the IMF’s decision-making process, a goal that is consistent with Rousseff’s aims to expand Brazil’s “great country” campaign to flex its influence in the global community. According to Mantega, Brazil’s willingness to help is not only [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.coha.org/lagarde-meets-with-rousseff-and-mantega-as-part-of-her-visit-to-latin-america-to-negotiate-brazil%e2%80%99s-lending-to-the-imf/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Privatization Without Representation: Panamanian Doctors&#8217; Long Strike</title>
		<link>http://www.coha.org/privatization-without-representation-panamanian-doctors-continue-long-strike/</link>
		<comments>http://www.coha.org/privatization-without-representation-panamanian-doctors-continue-long-strike/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:54:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[COHA Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panama]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.coha.org/?p=15111</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Panamanian doctors, medical workers, and teachers ended a month-long strike on November 18 by signing a series of agreements with the Panamanian government about Bill 349, or the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Bill, which appeared to permit the government to privatize healthcare and education. The agreement would send the bill back to a &#8220;first reading,&#8221; which means, according to The Council on Hemispheric Affairs&#8217; interviews with journalist Eric Jackson of The Panama News, that the bill &#8220;dies unless brought up in a future legislative session.&#8221;  The Panamanian Society of General Medicine contended that Bill 349 would have &#8220;allow[ed]&#8230; a relaxation in the duties and obligations of the state, and [would] open&#8230; the door for basic services at the mercy of capital and not for the great majority.&#8221; Perhaps even more troubling, however, was the structure outlined by the bill for decision-making regarding PPPs, which would have given the president and several of his cabinet members unprecedented authority. This and other ramifications of the bill stand in direct contrast with the laws and regulations about PPPs characteristically found elsewhere in the world that guarantee at least minimal limitations and attempts at transparency. In Europe, for example, the role of PPPs is clearly [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Titling Scams and Suspicious Canal Bids: Panamanian Corruption Spreads to Land Holdings and Prominent Politicians</title>
		<link>http://www.coha.org/titling-scams-and-suspicious-canal-bids-panamanian-corruption-spreads-to-land-holdings-and-prominent-politicians/</link>
		<comments>http://www.coha.org/titling-scams-and-suspicious-canal-bids-panamanian-corruption-spreads-to-land-holdings-and-prominent-politicians/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:13:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[COHA Research]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Economic]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Environment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Panama]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.coha.org/?p=14876</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Endemic corruption in Panama&#8217;s government threatens to jeopardize the recently enacted free trade agreement with the United States and Panama&#8217;s economic strength. Highly publicized land titling scandals in Juan Hombrón, Paitilla, Costa del Este, and Chilibre, Panama, have raised questions about the alleged involvement of the administration of President Ricardo Martinelli and other government officials. Suspicions have arisen that the bidding process for the strategically important Panama Canal expansion program may have involved a tainted competition process among firms around the world. Introduction After the approval of the Panamanian free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States on October 12, 2011, President Ricardo Martinelli praised members of the United States Congress who had supported the pact, stating that “through their hard work and supportive pro-growth policies, Panamanians are building one of the strongest, most competitive economies in Latin America.”[1] With the lucrative Panama Canal expansion project and the recently passed FTA, in the next five years Panama is projected to have the highest rate of economic growth in Latin America.[2] Despite such growth, however, Panama’s economic and social development will most likely be crippled by the revelation of persistent government corruption, including major land titling and construction scandals. These concerns [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Peeling Back the Truth on Guatemalan Bananas</title>
		<link>http://www.coha.org/peeling-back-the-truth-on-the-guatemalan-banana-industry/</link>
		<comments>http://www.coha.org/peeling-back-the-truth-on-the-guatemalan-banana-industry/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:59:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[European Union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Free Trade]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Front Page]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guatemala]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Human Rights]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.coha.org/?p=9977</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[• More people eat bananas than apples and oranges combined • Bananas are one of Guatemala’s five main export items • Guatemala is the second most dangerous country in Latin America for trade unionists (July 2009, International Trade Union Confederation) “Tell me what you want me to do, and I will do it” The banana outsells apples and oranges combined.1 Ubiquitous in homes and supermarket shelves throughout the United States, the cultivation and distribution of bananas entails a grim reality of cartels, unions, and governments entangled in human rights abuses, price wars, and trade disputes. This is a familiar setting where the strong international buyer rules over the weak provincial seller. In Guatemala, for example, deeply entrenched multinational companies (MNCs) have continuously dominated trade while disadvantaged banana campesinos since the early 1800s have labored under miserable conditions and for wretched pay. This has prevented a truly free market in which farmers and workers would be allowed to bargain in good faith or with the same freedom and privileges as the MNCs. Commonly known, for good reasons, as Banana Republics in the 19th century,2 Central American countries like Guatemala granted companies from the U.S. and other Western nations market access to [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
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