Ideas That Shape (ITS)

Venezuela

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:17 +0000

Turmoil regarding the April 14 presidential elections continues to grip Venezuela. President Maduro’s new government has passed a motion that denied members of the opposition party to speak in the chamber until they publicly recognized Nicolas Maduro as the Venezuelan president. A physical altercation between government and opposition leaders broke out after opposition leaders attempted to protest the ban. Head of Parliament Diosdado Cabello has stated that opposition members will not be welcome to speak in the chamber until they “recognise the authorities, the institutions of the republic, the sovereign will of our people”. New developments have been revealed regarding the post-election violence that killed at least 9 people in the streets of Venezuela. Retired general and former Chavez ally Antonio Rivera has been arrested under charges of inciting post-election violence and coordinating protestors. Authorities advise that Rivera was one of the individuals behind the protests that resulted in multiple deaths and has been charged with conspiracy and public instigation – a move which opposition members are calling this arrest a “crackdown on dissent” from the disputed government. Lastly, President Nicolas Maduro has made allegations that former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is behind a plot to assassinate him. No details of the alleged plot have been released but former President Uribe has dismissed the allegations as “childish” and has challenged President Maduro to repeat the elections to eliminate any questions of corruption. (May 04, 2013 BBC; May 01, 2013 Al Jazeera; April 30, 2013 Al Jazeera).

Bolivia

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:15 +0000

Bolivian courts have ruled that Bolivian President Evo Morales can legally seek a third term in office despite the 2009 constitution only allowing for a single re-election. The ruling stated that Morales’ 2005 term as president could not be held under scrutiny of the constitution that was implemented in 2009. This, the court states, would mean that Morales’ campaign in 2014 would count as his first re-election to the presidency – a move which critics say only exhibits Morales’ influence on the Bolivian courts. President Morales stated that he has made the decision to expel the US Agency for International Development (USAID) at a May Day rally La Paz, Bolivia after US Secretary of State John Kerry referred to Latin America as “the backyard” of the US. President Morales stated that the agencies endeavours have been political rather than social, and that they have manipulated the Bolivian people. USAID officials have ‘deeply regretted’ the Bolivian President’s decision and plan to protest its implementation. (April 30, 2013 Al Jazeera; April 30, 2013 BBC; May 01, 2013 BBC; May 01, 2013 BBC)

Colombia

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:12 +0000

Peace talks in Havana, Cuba between the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla group continue progress on the topic of Agrarian Land Reform – the first of five points on the peace talks’ agenda. The talks appear to have yielded an initial draft agreement for the land reform issue and outlines methods of distribution of land and rural development. Despite the government’s frustration that the talks are progressing too slowly, the FARC seems pleased and advised that they are happy with how quickly the negotiations are developing. Once the issue of land reform is concluded, the peace talks can progress to other topics such as compensation for war victims, ending the conflict, drug trafficking, and legal status for FARC members. The possibility of ending their rebellion and becoming a legitimate political party has sparked concerns amongst FARC officials who fear that their leaders may face the same persecution that the M-19 group faced after reaching a peace accord with the government. (May 03, 2013 BAH; April 28, 2013 Al Jazeera)

Brazil

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:08 +0000

Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff has cut her visit to Argentina short after new information has revealed large discrepancies regarding trade between both countries. President Rouseff and Argentine President Christina Fernandez had met during a summit to discuss the slowing trade between both countries. The summit revealed that the Argentine government has not complied with agreements reached in past meetings and summits regarding barriers to trade within Argentina. The trade tensions have caused a decrease in political communication as well as a large drop of Brazilian investment in Argentina since the previous years. Brazil has also topped the list for Google’s Transparency Report as the highest requestor to censor online content. Google reports that nearly 43% of all its requests to censor content came from Brazilian court-ordered mandates in the time span between July and December 2012. Since the previous reporting period the amount of content removal requests has skyrocketed to 265% of their previous reporting period – a phenomenon that is being attributed to the upcoming elections and international sporting events. (May 04, 2013 MercoPress; April 25, 2013 UT)

Argentina

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:06 +0000

UN Special Rapporteur Gabriela Knaul has urged the Argentine government to reconsider recently proposed bill that provides the national government greater control over the judiciary. Rapporteur Knaul stated that the “selection of Magistrates Council members via political parties… contradict[s] with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)”. The Argentine government has responded by blasting the UN representative and dismissed her concerns as “unprofessional” and “ignorant”. The remarks come after the Argentine national government proposed and passed a bill which outlined that members of the judiciary would be chosen by the interim government. This move was met by critics who denounced the government’s attempt at further controlling the judiciary and massive protests through the streets of Argentine cities. (April 30, 2013 BAH; May 01, 2013 MercoPress)

Uruguay

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:03 +0000

Uruguayan Vice-President Danilo Astori has stated that Uruguayan-Argentine bilateral trade relations, like Brazil, are at a critically low level. The Argentine protectionist policies have slowed trade between the two countries to a halt which Vice-President Astori says violets the treaty of Asuncion – the summit which founded Mercosur. Uruguayan officials say they are currently looking at other alternatives for trade including increased ties with Brazil and possible joint ventures with China. (May 04, 2013 MercoPress)

Chile

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:19:00 +0000

Presidential-Candidate Laurence Golborne, the ruling Centre-Right Coalition’s best hope of winning the November 17^th election, has stepped down from his candidacy after multiple financial scandals. The financial scandals regard his former business career and his personal finances. Golborne was the Chilean mining minister in 2010 and oversaw the rescue of the 33 miners trapped in the Atacama Desert. Economic minister Pablo Longueira has been named as his replacement in the presidential race but does not control the same popularity as Golborne. Former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet maintains the position as the election’s frontrunner. (April 29, 2013 ST; May 01, 2013 The Economist)

Ecuador:

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:18:58 +0000

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has announced that he intends to finalize agreements with the European Union regarding increased bilateral trade. This came just before the Ecuadorian President announced that he will also be in talk to become a full-fledged member of Mercosur within the next 8 to 10 months. Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota is also in Ecuador to discuss increased bilateral trade between the two countries – specifically in the region of digital television, agriculture, bi-fuels, environment, employment, public health and social development. (May 02, 2013 MercoPress; May 4, 2013 AFP)

Paraguay

Joseph Lerner — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:18:55 +0000

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has made an unprecedented move by making a phone call to Paraguayan President-Elect Horacio Cartes. The conversation revolved around the topic of reinitiating a relationship between both countries which fell apart last year following the impeachment of former Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo and the Venezuelan people’s support for the new Paraguayan government. Despite Cartes’ past with charges on corruption and connections to drug dealing, Seeds for Democracy – a local anti-corruption watchdog – is hoping that he will implement strong changes to curb corruption within the country. The country ranked 150 out of 174 countries in an anti-corruption report last year, a score which Seeds for Democracy hopes Cartes can and will improve. Lastly, a large outbreak of Dengue fever has broken out in Paraguay following a massive drop in the country’s pesticide controls. The disease has already killed 45 people and no new methods outside of eliminating mosquitoes in the region have been released to combat the disease. (April 24, 2013 MercoPress; May 03, 2013 TRF; April 30, 2013 Al Jazeera)