The nationalized Venezuelan oil contractors Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean.

This week's big story: Chavez's nationalizing the oil contractors, removing books from public libraries, threatening Globovision, all for the purpose of consolidating power around himself, which was the subject of this morning's podcast. See the links under Venezuela below.

Another big story: while the OAS aims to legitimize the Cuban regime by granting it membership in the organization, the Cuban government rejected the idea via an article by Fidel Castro in Granma, the official organ of the Cuban Communist Party.

In other news, Peru is also granting asylum to Bolivian ministers who oppose Evo Morales. as you may recall, Peru recently granted political asylum to Venezuelan opposition leader Manuel Rosales.

ARGENTINA
U.S. Government Funds $400,000 Study on Gay Sex in Argentina Bars

BARBADOS
Commentary: Thompson's immigration declaration too harsh

BRAZIL
At least 31 dead, 50,000 homeless in Brazil flooding

Vale iron ore train in N. Brazil halted by floods

COLOMBIA
Colombia and Venezuela: Latin America Bond and Currency Preview

CUBA
At the Melia Cohiba

Castro le teme al huracán Obama

The OAS, Cuba and Memory Loss

Cuba Doesn't Belong in a Democratic Club
Castro's apologists make a move at the OAS.

ECUADOR
Deep in the Jungle, Ecuador Targets the FARC. Let’s hope so.

Ecuador's Correa until 2017?

FALKLANDS ISLANDS
A Small Place
Nearly half the Falkland Islanders are immigrants. What draws people to a grim chunk of rock in the South Atlantic?

GUATEMALA
Spanish think tank awards Manuel Ayau for his exemplary lifework in the defense of liberty



MEXICO
After Dems Bailout, GM To Move Out of US

The cracks opened up by the flu: As the swine-flu outbreak appears to subside, Mexico is left to contemplate the cost and to ponder the authorities’ response

MONTSERRAT
Frogs flown from Montserrat to flee deadly fungus

PANAMA
Panama and the decline of the Sao Paolo forum

Panama bucks the Latin American left

Super 09: A supermarket king defeats the Left

PARAGUAY
Paternity Makes Punch Line of Paraguay President

El video "personal" de Lugo



More!



PERU
Peru's Garcia Gives Asylum to Bolivian Ministers -- Bolivia's Morales Calls Garcia “Vulgar”

Nadine Heredia, esposa de Ollanta, recibe dinero de diario 'chavista'

Crime in Peru: Printing Money
Quantitative easing in a new capital of counterfeiting

VENEZUELA
Chavez accelerates the pace of destruction of Venezuela, taking over oil service companies.

Chávez Seizes Assets of Oil Contractors

Venezuela: Chavez's government seizes oil contractors Photos here

Chavez latest seizures will likely reduce production

Chávez seizures fuel Venezuela oil fears

El Día Mundial de la Libertad de Expresión visto desde los barrios

You do not need to be an economist to know that things are not going well in Venezuela

Globovision shakes chavismo early this morning

Eurocámara apoya a "perseguidos" venezolanos

María Conchita busca "desenmascarar" a Chávez

Venezuelans aim to kick crime out

Trade unions in Venezuela: Socialism v labour. Curbing opposition to chavismo

Hugo Chávez Attacks Media Opponents Again, Threatens to Withdraw Their Licenses

Special thanks to Maggie and the Baron. Congratulations to Eneas Biglione on his Leadership Award

The “Who painted it?” Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your post included in next week's Carnival please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.


I chose the "Who painted it?" theme for today's Carnival since it's yet another sign of the current administration's ignorance of the history and traditions of the region. "You have a marvelous virgin!" indeed.

LATIN AMERICA
Central America: An Emerging Role in the Drug Trade

The 'Axis of Lula' vs. the 'Axis of Hugo'

Nuclear Watchdog Inks South America Deals, U.S. Congress Should Scrutinize Closely

“New Eve” encounters her snakes?

Changes in Earnings in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico: Disentangling the Forces Behind Pro-Poor Change in Labor Markets

Biden travels South

Commentary: Can fading Caribbean island-states thrive in the world of alternative energy?

Latin political calendar puts recovery at risk

Americas summit's draft declaration is hard to take seriously

Has the G-20 Learned the Lesson?

ARGENTINA
Argentina's election: The Kirchners make a dash for it, Hoping it’s not the exit

BOLIVIA
Bolivia Military Makes Biggest Drug Bust in a Decade

BRAZIL
Lula knows he screwed up on Venezuela and Chavez

Via The Anchoress "Excommunication" in Brazil

Rogues Gallery – the PMDB Comes "Clean" at Last

Governors under fire: A rash of impeachment cases against state governors is probably a good sign

COLOMBIA
FARC plot to kill Colombia defense minister foiled

A un año de la muerte del "faraon" de las FARC

Colombia's FARC Drops Condition For Hostage Negotiations

The siege of “Mono Jojoy”

CUBA
Youth unemployment

No AARP in Cuba

Embargo stays but 'review' of bans is on

Ahhh..That Fiendish “Blockade!”

Rodolfo Barthelemy Cobas and Alejandro Jiménez Blanco, Cuban Political Prisoners of the Week, 3/29/09

ECUADOR
Correa Threatens Jail for Spreading Rumors on Ecuador Currency

Ecuador's Correa Rejects De-Dollarization; Warns On Rumors

Ecuador's Correa: Dolarization Stays

Correa Leads Ecuador Electoral Vote

EL SALVADOR
Obama curtails successful drug interdiction program in El Salvador

MEXICO
Another Blooper... Hillary Lays Flowers at Our Lady of Guadalupe Shrine Asks "Who Painted It?"

Washington continues to play ostrich about Mexico

A Mexican standoff with reality

The Southern Neighbor

LOWRY: The big truck turnaround
Teamsters prove borders can be policed, despite treaties

Mexico Goes Medieval

Mexico's Juarez surge is working so far

Via Instapundit Obama targets flow of guns, profits from U.S. to Mexico

Via Instapundit, Drug cartels' new weaponry means war

Army desertions hurting Mexico's war on drugs

US to Boost Forces on Mexico Border

Mexico's Dinosaurs Exploit the Crisis
A cautionary tale for those who see an opportunity to take over key elements of the economy.

Hezbollah uses Mexican drug routes into the US.

Hillary's Mexican Reality Check

John Kerry:
Mexico's war must be our war
Helping Mexico take on the drug cartels helps us, but the effort will require unprecedented cooperation between our two countries.

NICARAGUA
The Many Stories of Carlos Fernando Chamorro

PUERTO RICO
Jury clears Puerto Rico police in Marine's beating

Puerto Rico Gets a Little Richer With New Quarter from U.S. Mint

VENEZUELA
Tirofijo honored in Caracas

Yes, Hugo cheated

Venezuela's budget cuts
Hard landing: President Chávez’s spending cuts will bite deeper than he admits

As expected swap market ground to a halt, here is why…

Venezuela to take over 30 fishing boats

Panic in the swap market

Alí, meet Bernie. Bernie, Alí.

Special thanks to Ada, Dymphna and the Baron, Eneas, Maggie and SamK.

The week's posts and podcasts:
If you can call it "vindication"
Hezbollah using Mexican drug routes into the US
"We won't pay for their crisis"
Hiding the story with the headlines
More on Lula's "people with blue eyes"
Lula: “White people with blue eyes” created the financial crisis
Venezuelan Military Takes Control of Transportation Hubs
Clinton: US shares blame for Mexican drug war
Today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern: Argentina Downgraded to Kazakhstan on Foreign Fund Restrictions
At Real Clear World
Lula's 'White People with Blue Eyes' Spices Up G20
Venezuelan Military Takes Control of Transportation Hubs

The first Monday in March Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links added, please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

Don't miss this afternoon's podcast at 2PM. My guest will be Michael Moynihan.

LATIN AMERICA
The Stanford affair: An $8 billion scandal goes a long way
The allegation of an $8 billion fraud against Sir Allen Stanford is causing financial worries across the region, not least in Antigua, home to his main bank

Del "Informe Mattarollo" a la increible corrupcion en YPFB

Piracy of movies, songs thriving in Latin America

ARGENTINA
Argentine Creditors Said to Swap 3.5 Billion Pesos of Loans

BELIZE
New scholarship holders from Belize to study in Cuba

BRAZIL
The Brazilian Amazon: Preventing pillage in the rainforest
A scheme to regularise land holdings in the Amazon forest faces many obstacles

COLOMBIA
En fotos: estas son las cavernas donde se escondía el ‘mono Jojoy’

Via IBD blog, Colombian VP: Add ecological devastation to cocaine's toll

Spies in trouble: The domestic-intelligence agency is caught misbehaving again

Video: Colombia discovers Farc hideouts

CUBA
Castro's New Republican Friends

Arturo Magín Colomar Puig, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 3/1/09

Ill Castro 'takes walk in Havana'

Jeff Spicoli speaks…

Sanctions, Keeping Things in Perspective

The new Che, same as old

Raúl welcomes special French envoy

ECUADOR
Ecuador's Borja Says Dollarisation is 'Faltering.´ I Wonder What He Means -- Do These Ecuadorean Officials Want a Weaker Currency Than the Dollar?

Ecuador Profits from Dirty Financial & Drug Crimes

Meltdown response: Ecuador erects trade barriers, WTO fears spread of protectionism; Ecuador's response to crisis appears to be world's toughest

MARTINIQUE
French PM says order to be maintained in Martinique

MEXICO
Mexico needs Obama's eye

Mexico’s Foreign Embassies: A Terror Threat to America?
Travelers from Muslim countries are bribing Mexican foreign service workers for travel documents that will get them access to the U.S.

A Stimulus Plan for Mexican Gangsters
Obama's promise not to crack down on medical-marijuana use raises the stakes for traffickers.

PUERTO RICO
In Puerto Rico, Less Is So Much More

UBS in Puerto Rico Pension Gets Fee Bonanza Seen as Conflicted

VENEZUELA
Journalists in Venezuela

Bananas

Leftist Hero Hugo Chavez Takes Control of Rice Plants

Food supply is tied to Brazil, Argentina and Colombia
From 2005 to 2008, the value of food imports heightened 299 percent

Command economy fails in Venezuela

Chavez sends army to rice plants
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has ordered the army to take control of all rice processing plants in the country.

Arria versus Weisbrot: Debate at American University

What to Do about Hugo Chávez: Venezuela’s Challenge to Security in the Americas

Chavez Orders Takeover of Venezuelan Rice Mills

Chávez, Ahmadinejad y la nueva "crisis de los misiles”

Chavez, Now and Forever? Plus today's Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

My article, Chavez, Now and Forever? on Hugo Chavez's referendum victory, is up at Real Clear World. Please read it and leave a comment.

The Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Undoubtedly the big story of the week is yesterday's Venezuelan referendum. Please scroll down to the Venezuela section for a roundup of posts and articles.

ARGENTINA
El día después

BOLIVIA
U.S. rancher at center stage in Bolivia land dispute

BRAZIL
Brazil's oil industry: Plunging in
Petrobras sets some ambitious targets

COLOMBIA
“The ‘Intellectual Bloc’ of the FARC”

IDEAGlobal Sees Mexico, Colombia Debt Prices Under Fire Due to U.S. Recession. Colombia Bond Yields Should Rise Further

CUBA
Te toca a tí

1971-2009: The Grey Millennium

Cuban human rights activist jailed

ECUADOR
Out of Ecuador, A Latin Lesson for Obama

'Difficult' for Ecuador to pay debt interest: minister

HAITI
Rebuilding Haiti: Weighed down by disasters
A modest success for the United Nations is threatened by nature and lassitude

MEXICO
Warrior in Drug Fight Soon Becomes a Victim
Mexican General Seized, Slain in Cancun

Video: Las parteras de Santa Teresa

1530: Tangaxuan II, the last Tarasco ruler

Via Instapundit, What does Slim want?

NICARAGUA
The pathetic political situation that is Nicaragua

VENEZUELA
Dictatorial reforms

NY Times: Chavez victory injects "fresh vibrancy into his socialist-inspired revolution"

Leftist Political Parties & Power

Welcome To The Revolution- No Term Limits For Chavez

Chavez Wins

Dictator for Life

No More Term Limits for Venezuela’s Chavez

Bye Bye Venezuela: Chavez Wins Referendum, Gets to Run Again

POLICE BEHIND SYNAGOGUE ATTACKS IN VENEZUELA

Chavez reports attempted coup

Views of Venezuela's Chavez Have Hardened in the Region -- and at Home

Chavez tries Mugabe style 'democracy'

Venezuela Expels EU Lawmaker for Comments on Election

Telling Venezuela how to vote
Hugo Chávez is abusing the resources of his petrostate to fund a campaign to ensure his presidential term is extended

Chavez Delays Valentine's Day for Referendum, Promises a Whole Week of Lovin Starting Monday

Venezuela opposition complains of Chavez tactics

Journalists' Association asks government to halt attacks

Hugo Chávez's Venezuela: Oblivious to the coming storm
In his first decade Hugo Chávez has presided over social programmes, inflation, crime and rising intolerance. Venezuelans will pay the price in years to come

Chávez Decisively Wins Bid to End Term Limits

Mr. Chávez vs. the Jews
With George W. Bush gone, Venezuela's strongman has found new enemies.

AMERICAN POLITICS
Chavez and Obama

Chavez power grab: is this our future, too?

IMMIGRATION
16 illegals sue Arizona rancher
Claim violation of rights as they crossed his land

Mending Fences

For more Carnival goodness
Shiny happy dhimmi - #13



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The second Monday in February Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in the Carnival, please email me, faustaw2 “at” gmail “dot” com.

While Venezuela remains in the news since this week precedes next Sunday’s constitutional referendum, there are good news from the region. I’ll talk in today’s podcast at 11AM Eastern about how Uruguay’s favorable business environment is attracting foreign investment, and there are other stories – check top story under the Latin America header for more.

LATIN AMERICA
Tables turned: Latin America’s lesson for west

Latin America and the financial crisis

M.E. Times: Hezbollah in Latin America

TURKEY AIMS FOR USD 20 BLN TRADE VOLUME WITH SOUTH AMERICA

Latin America's Quiet Revolution
An unprecedented political and economic transformation is under way in most of the region

Populism: The Illusion that Won’t Go Away

ARGENTINA
Argentine seminary ousts Holocaust denier as leader

BOLIVIA
U.S. needs to end 'imperial attitude,' Bolivian says

BRAZIL
Bailing out...Brazil?

COLOMBIA
Ten new species of amphibian discovered in Colombia
A spiky orange rain frog and three poison frogs are among 10 new species of amphibian discovered in Colombia, scientists have revealed.

The FARC’s cynical stunt

FARC Hostage Released After 7 Years



FARC slaughtered 300 hostages (via IBD blog)

CUBA
Honoring victims of Castro, Che

Cuba’s Castro arrives in Moscow for talks - Financial Times

Omauris Rondón Rivero, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 2/8/09

Two agendas

You don’t say…

ECUADOR
“Caso Chauvín comprueba relaciones de Quito con FARC”

Correa Expels Sanity, Comity and Legitimacy

MEXICO
Mexican army runs joint patrols with Tijuana police

PANAMA
Es un milagro

Mexican Carrying $430,000 Arrested in Panama

PERU
Chinese mining group to invest 1 bln dollars in Peru

PUERTO RICO
Six Americans missing after plane crashes off Puerto Rico

Pregnant tourist kidnapped, killed

VENEZUELA
Central Bank musings: Printing money and going bankrupt

Allanada casa del estudiante Miguel Ponte y se lo llevan detenido

Campaña antisemita desde Venezuela

Chavez: Another Vote Possible on Term Limits

Chávez's biggest opponent: what's not on a dinner table
Food shortages and high prices are vexing Venezuela as President Hugo Chávez asks his countrymen to let him run for reelection indefinitely

Kristallnacht in Caracas

Venezuela detains 11 suspects, including 7 police officers, in synagogue attacks (via LGF Linkviewer)

Chavismo's Amazing Self-Refuting Referendum Argument

Un ejercito al servicio de Hugo Chavez - por Casto Ocando

Venezuela behind on payments to oil contractors

The NO march in Caracas

Preso por horas por hacer campaña por el “No”

Venezuela campaign gets rough

Grenade explodes at anti-Chavez party headquarters

US POLITICS
Pass the Colombia Free Trade Agreement

United States of Argentina
How inflation turned a rising power into a pauper

IMMIGRATION
LAT's Song Wails Dirge for Illegal Immigrant's Woes

Special thanks to Ada, Eneas, the Baron, Kate, Larwyn, Maggie and SamK.

This week’s posts and podcasts
Ecuador expels US embassy employee, and loses investor
Venezuelan blogger detained by police tells of his ordeal
Fidel Castro says Obama’s Cuba policy “lost its virginity”: 15 Minutes of Latin America
Venezuelan blogger detained by police
Ten killed in Brazilian slum raid: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Chavez’s 10th anniversary: Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America
Bolivia’s lithium: Today’s 15 Minutes on Latin America

At Real Clear World
Of Beef and Money in Uruguay
Chávez’s 10th
A tale of two forums





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The Argentinian economy Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted

Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's top stop stories:
Venezuela's support of Hamas, and Argentina's bleak economic outlook.

Last week Chavez expelled the Israeli ambassador to Caracas. Yesterday he was threatening to expel the American Charge d'Affaires in Caracas, John Caulfield, for going to a wedding in Puerto Rico. Chavez claims Caulfield was plotting against him...at the wedding.

Argentina's economic outlook is bleak, and not likely to improve over the short term. While the country has been invited to the G20 summit and may be distancing itself from Caracas's influence, government spending is out of control,

Argentina’s Ministry of Economics estimated in midsummer that the country was carrying about $150 billion in debt. The government has been borrowing from anyone who will lend — namely, the captive domestic bond market and regional ally Venezuela — at high interest rates to fund its populist programs, which include steep energy subsidies and the outright nationalization of six (now seven, counting Aerolineas) companies. Payments on Argentina’s debt will total more than $10 billion in the first six months of 2009 alone. At the same time, the government is assuming more and more responsibilities across the board and shows no sign of halting.

Because the 2009 government budget did not take the nationalized pension funds into account, it appeared at first blush that the government might have secured for itself some means of taking the bite out of debt payments with that appropriation. Given that the original budget was based on highly optimistic economic performance forecasts — the global downturn and the decline of Argentina’s agriculture industry notwithstanding –- it was possible to argue that the move was relatively prudent, despite the jitters felt by investors.

But the reality is that Fernandez is increasing spending at such a rate that the administration will quickly burn through the extra cash. This is not typical debt manipulation, but rather, as investors had feared, the outright commandeering of Argentines’ retirement savings to prop up the government’s populist policies.

Setting aside the emotional and financial impact to Argentine workers as they contemplate their futures, the government has ensnared itself in an accounting dilemma. If spending continues in the face of falling revenue and limited credit, Buenos Aires eventually will hit a wall. And so far, its only recourse has been to liquidate what few financial assets remain in-country. Although there could yet be a grand scheme that will compensate for this problem, the government has shown no evidence thus far that one exists. The odds of an outright debt default and a return to the economic crisis of 2002 are growing.

I'll be talking about Argentina's economy in today's podcast at 11AM Eastern.

LATIN AMERICA
The world of the FARC (Part I: Europe)

The world of the FARC (Part II: America)

Going South

Battle for Influence in Latin America

Political Risk Bulletin from Market Memorandum

Spain's Bets Sour in Latin America

ANTIGUA
Cuban-trained doctors in Antigua denied enrollment as medical practitioners

The Antigua Sun reported that the Antigua and Barbuda Medical Registration Board (MRB) refused to register the documents because, according to the Chairman of the MRB, David Dorset, the requirements were not satisfied that they could practice medicine by themselves.

Additionally Dorset said the applicants had not proven their entitlement to practice medicine in another country. Therefore, they would not be registered in Antigua and Barbuda under the Medical Act.

ARGENTINA
Housing in Argentina. Misery in their midst: A fight over an iconic shantytown

BOLIVIA
Sospechosa liberacion de narcos vinculados al MAS

BRAZIL
Lula's last lap: A freakishly popular president has only a year left before electioneering curtails his mandate. He will spend it reacting rather than reforming

COLOMBIA
Third term temptation: Álvaro Uribe pushes his luck

COSTA RICA
Death toll rises to 9 from Costa Rica quake

CUBA
Like Generation Y, Penultimos Dias got hacked.

The humble

Charts and figures

Change stirring in Cuba

Via The Real Cuba, Havana Cuba, 1930s



Cincuenta años de revolución cubana --2ª parte--



DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Dominican Republic buys eight planes from Brazil

ECUADOR
Ecuador: Using OPEC Cuts to Take Over the Energy Sector

Ecuador is willing to talk with Colombia

Ecuador 14 January: The Studfather

More Financial Crimes Underway in Correa's Ecuador

JAMAICA
Jamaican residents forced to flee homes in face of violence

MEXICO
Via Instapundit, New reports about Mexico, the failing state on our border

Ten of Mexico's Most Notorious Drug Traffickers Extradited to U.S.

NICARAGUA
Ortega se apoya en Chavez y se enfrenta al mundo

PANAMA
Mail Going Outside of Panama

PERU
Peru: As corrupt as ever

PUERTO RICO
Puerto Rico union leaders meet with Economic Advisory Panel

Puerto Rico expands coastal reserve

ST KITTS-NEVIS
Return of the noose: St Kitts has just hanged its first man for a decade and believes it is the only way to beat violent crime

VENEZUELA
Dictatorship for Dummies: Learn how to quash dissent Chávez-style.

Moneda virtual “Sucre” será aprobada en diciembre por el ALBA

Crece el apoyo a Chávez en el Medio Oriente

Government reduces travel quotas for Venezuelan residents Travelers can take out even fewer dollars in order to conserve its US currency reserves.

Israeli Ambassador Expelled from Venezuela

Israeli Ambassador Booted by Hugo Chavez

According to this report, the embassies are closing Las últimas palabras del Embajador de Israel antes de su partida

Embajador Israel
by noticias24

El Loco outreach suspended in Boston

AP: Turkey Holds Iran Shipment to Venezuela

An open letter to the more than 100 Latin American "experts" who criticized the report on Venezuela by Human Rights Watch

Kristallnacht in Caracas?

Venezuela reducing oil to US refineries on OPEC cut

Via IBD: Drilling stops in 17 oilfields
The suspension affected oilrigs in Anaco, El Tigre and Campo Boscán

Crudo venezolano cerró la semana al alza con un precio de US$37.62

US POLITICS
Eric Holder and the FALN Pardons

10 Points for President-Elect Obama's Latin America Strategy

Special thanks to Ada, the Baron, Eneas, Kate, Larwyn, Maggie and Maria.

These week's posts and podcasts:
The Jews Face a Double Standard
Venezuela expels Israeli ambassador to protest Gaza offensive
Turkey holds Iranian explosives heading to Venezuela, transition purgatory, and other news items
At Real Clear World:
Argentina's Outlook: Bleak
Bolivia Launches State-Run Media
Podcasts:
Tango
Latin America and Israel
Venezuela expels the Israeli ambassador to protest Gaza offensive, and other headlines from Venezuela
Humberto Fontova talks about the Cuban Communist revolution: 15 Minutes on Latin America
Argentina runs out of change: 15 Minutes on Latin America



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The first 2009 Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in next Monday's Carnival please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

Last week Cuba celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Communist revolution. Please check the posts listed under Cuba below for a roundup of articles and posts.

Tomorrow at 11AM Humberto Fontova will be my podcast guest and he'll talk about the anniversary; in today's podcast I'll touch on Bolivia's new TV station, sponsored by Iran and Venezuela, Argentina's change shortage, and other headlines.



ANTIGUA-BARBUDA
Antigua-Barbuda opposition criticises PM for taking funds from Venezuela

ARGENTINA
Argentina Is Short of Cash – Literally
Spare some change?

Buenos Aires Becomes IT-Wise
Buenos Aires invites ITC businesses to set up in its forthcoming world-class Technology District.

BELIZE
US Southern Command donates equpment to Belize

Equipment valued at US$27,000 was recently handed over to Belize's National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO). Ceremonies were held at NEMO’s Warehouse in Belmopan.

The equipment includes more than 500 folding beds commonly referred to as cots and more than 100 sleeping bags. This most recent donation is from the United States Southern Command, based in Miami.

On hand to make the presentation was United States Ambassador to Belize, Robert Deiter. In making the presentation, Deiter said the US, in assisting in the area of management this year alone, made other donations recently to the Belize Defence Force and the National Coast Guard, in addition to training in several villages across the country.

Deiter stated that he is proud of his Mission’s work with NEMO in a region where disasters can and do strike/

BOLIVIA
Catholics oppose Bolivia control freak government

Morales inaugurará diario y canal del Estado con ayuda de Irán y Venezuela

BRAZIL
The samba beat, with missteps: It may be the rising power in the Americas but Brazil is finding that diplomatic ambition can prompt resentment



Confiança da indústria é a menor desde outubro de 1998, diz FGV Business confidence at its lowest since October 1998, via Market Memorandum

CHILE
Chile, interest rates, inflation, Bachelet and the central bank

COLOMBIA
Colombia mata a un Jefe de Finanzas de las FARC y a sus 4 escoltas Colombia kills FARC finance boss and his 4 bodyguards.

Colombia's Leader Digs In
After U.S.-Backed Successes, Uribe Weighs Extending Reign

Helping the Hostage-Takers: Switzerland and the Reyes Computer Files (English translation)

CUBA
Abused

50 years with Fidel Castro: how many more years of misery for Latin America?

MSM Report Card for stories about 50th Anniversary of Cuban Revolution

Grief Marks Anniversary of Triumph of Castro, via The Corner

Cuban Stalinism at 50--and the Media Lies Continue

Cuba's Long Black Spring: Video

Castro’s Cuba at 50

“It goes without saying”

One hell of an achievement

Shame on U.S. Media for Idolizing Che Guevara

Cuban Stalinism at 50--and the Media Lies Continue

The Cuban revolution at 50: Heroic myth and prosaic failure

Ill winds: Hurricanes have added to the woes of the downturn



Where’s the “patria o muerte”?

WaPo's Booth Hails 'Half-Century of Revolution' in Cuba

Commemorating 50 Lousy Years

Two new films out this month give the full Hollywood treatment to two very different military and political heroes.

Castro's One 'Hell' of an Achievement

In Cuba, Cellphone Calls Go Unanswered
Growing Ranks Use Coveted Device for Less Costly Paging, Texts

Communism, Socialism Paradise, Cuba

Humberto Becerra Alfonso, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 1/4/09

Historia de una jinetera

ECUADOR
Equador determina pagamento de parte da dívida com o BNDES Ecuador paid $28.1 million of its $243 million loan to Brazil’s National Economic and Social Development Bank Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES), while Rafael Correa still says the loan is “illegal.” (h/t Market Memorandum)

MEXICO
In Mexico, Hope Lies With the Voters Leon Krauze’s Segunda Edicion broadcasts today at 2PM Mountain time.

Mexicanas sucumben al “sex appeal” de los narcos

Mexican criminal insurgency may spread to US

NICARAGUA
Nicaragua’s broken democracy

PANAMA
Home invasion in Boquerón

Elogia en La Habana a la revolución cubana Panamanian president Martín Torrijos praises the Cuban revolution in Havana.

PARAGUAY
¿El pueblo del Che Guevara? - por Eduardo Quintana

PERU
Shining Path Terrorists Threaten to Expand Attacks in Peru

PUERTO RICO
Trump development in Puerto Rico to be eco-friendly

Yahoo says Puerto Rico in top ten of world's favourite destinations

ST KITTS-NEVIS
Hanging them high: Don’t bother to reform, just execute

VENEZUELA
An open letter to the critics of the HRW report on Venezuela

2008: the year Hugo Chavez lost his democratic fig leaf

Socialism with cheap oil: Hugo Chávez embarks on a race against the impending impact of world recession

Venezuela halves travelers dollar allowance to $2,500

Chavez After the Oil Boom, also at Caracas Chronicles

The Wizards of Oil: As prices fall, so do the ambitions of Vladimir, Hugo and Mahmoud.

Tras 10 años de Gobierno, se le ocurre “reducir la dependencia del petróleo”

Estos son los nuevos aviones que comprará Hugo Chávez

US POLITICS
Housing Push for Hispanics Spawns Wave of Foreclosures

This week’s podcasts and posts
Denny and “the governor of all Puerto Ricans”
The disaster that is the Cuban revolution
Two photos
At Real Clear World Blog: Venezuela: 2008 in Review
Cuba: A Photograph as Metaphor




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The Brazilian diplomacy Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Cross-posted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your posts included in the next Carnival, please email me, faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big story: Brazil continues its ascendance as a diplomatic powerhouse for the hemisphere. Last week thirty-three countries met in Brazil for the first Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development. Today president Lula hosts French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who's visting the country to bring about bilateral cooperation in several areas, including the production of defense submarines. I'll be discussing Sarko's visit in today's podcast at 11AM Eastern, which you can listen to here.

LATIN AMERICA
Via Pat, Latin America’s Deafening Silence by Jorge Castañeda.

Interesting post (in Spanish) on the UnoAmérica pro-democracy NGO meeting in Bogota; their website here.

Only in Argentina

ARGENTINA
Nestor Kirchner is unwell

Argentina and the drug trade

Confuso triple juego hispano-ruso-argentino

ATFA Condemns Ecuador's Debt Default Decision Defaulting on Foreign Debt

Austroraptor cabazai: They Just Don't Make Big Scary Dinosaurs Like They Once Did

Argentina Seizes Assets of Iranian Terrorist-Diplomat

BELIZE
Commentary: One Belizean's perspective on agreement between Belize and Guatemala

BRAZIL
Slide show: Brazilians in Ireland

Comments on Bloomberg News' Brazil Defence Story

Brazil Fails to Earmark Budget Money for Sovereign Wealth Fund

CHILE
FruityRumPunch update

COLOMBIA
Pass FTA and amend Plan Colombia

Combined with a revamped Plan Colombia, the FTA can then promote both human rights and the overall quality of life in Colombia. One of the loudest proponents for the FTA is Asocolflores, Colombia's flower exporters association. Dependent on the U.S. market, its companies employ 200,000 Colombians. This and other export industries create jobs and opportunities that provide poor Colombians alternatives to growing coca, the plant used to make cocaine.

Real change will not come from bulletproof armor, helicopters, and tanks, but will depend on Colombia's institutional capabilities and the economic opportunities it can offer its citizens. The United States should focus Plan Colombia on improving justice and human rights, and pass the FTA to improve economic opportunities for both countries' citizens. President-elect Obama's campaign promised change; our regional partners could use some, too.

COSTA RICA
New World Post-pandemic Reforestation Helped Start Little Ice Age, Say Scientists

CUBA
Russian warships bound for Cuba in new show of strength

Blogger and Castro kin clash on the Web

EL SALVADOR
Will El Salvador Veer Left?

MEXICO
Iraq is safer than Mexico

Mexico - US – Italy cocaine connection

NICARAGUA
Now Nicaragua can't just blame the Empire

PANAMA
The Dry Season Has Arrived

PARAGUAY
¿Quiere Lugo imitar a Salvador Allende? - ABC Color

PUERTO RICO
Pharma-Bio acquires assets and operations in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico governor elect heads to New York to meet with credit agencies

TOBAGO
Now that the price of fuel is down, airline carriers are returning to the region: Non-stop Delta service returns to Tobago

VENEZUELA
OPEC cuts production, Venezuela lies, oil drops yet again

The Chavez permanent show: 170 hours of cadena

HRW v Hugo Chavez et sycophants

Yet another Russia-Venezuela joint venture: Government to install gold refinery at Las Cristinas – Venezuela

Chavez After the Oil Boom

Chavez Latin America Allies Escalate Rhetoric on Debt

Venezuela's foreign policy loses its gas

AMERICAN POLITICS
Fixing Border Security

ENTERTAINMENT
Che Guevara was a murderer and your t-shirt is not cool

Special thanks to Ada, the Baron, Eneas, Larwyn, Maria, Maggie and SamK.

This week’s posts and podcasts
Iran using Venezuela ties to duck UN sanctions
Latin America: Summits and Crisis, at Real Clear World blog
Report: Drug cartels move beyond borders
From the Mexican war zone: Kidnapping Negotiator Is Now a Victim in Mexico
Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development excludes Bush, as China, Russia loom







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The Ecuador default Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

Crossposted
Welcome to the Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean. If you would like your links included, please email me: faustaw2 "at" gmail "dot" com.

This week's big news: Ecuador defaults on its foreign debt, basically because it doesn't want to:

And while developing world economies have taken a sharp turn for the worse in recent months, Ecuador is ceasing payments not because the oil-rich country cannot afford to pay but because it has made a political decision not to.

The default is Ecuador’s second in a decade and seventh in its 178-year history. More links and posts below.

LATIN AMERICA
The Real Latin-American Left: One We Can Work With

Caracas Russians, Managua Misrule

Latin American Democrats Need U.S. Support
Free trade is one way to help prevent the resurgence of autocracy in the region.

ARGENTINA
Economic Storm Batters Argentina's Breadbasket
Sharp Price Drop Brings Sudden End To Good Times

BOLIVIA
Observatorio de Medios de Bolivia reveló que suman 245 los ataques a periodistas en el último año; alarmante crecimiento desde septiembre de 2008

Evo admite que la Unasur no es plenamente legal

Via American Digest, “Coca Si, Cocaina No”. Let’s hope Aldana Cohen is better informed about his topic than he is about Coca Cola. Coca Cola hasn’t contained any cocaine since 1929.

BRAZIL
Israel's El Al plans direct flights to Brazil

CHILE
A heroic pooch

COLOMBIA
Alleged Colombian coke kingpin in U.S.

Reputed one-time Colombian cocaine kingpin Diego Leon Montoya Sanchez is in Florida after being extradited from his South American homeland, U.S. officials say.

Known as "Don Diego," Montoya Sanchez allegedly once commanded the North Valley cartel, a narco-trafficking empire that exported at least 1.2 million pounds of cocaine to the United States. But Friday he was sitting in a tiny federal jail cell in Miami, The Miami Herald reported.

U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta said the Colombian's extradition marked a historic point in efforts by the United States to smash the vast cartel, saying Montoya Sanchez's arrest was the most significant since the convictions of brothers Gilberto and Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela, the 1980s leaders of Colombia's Cali cartel.

CUBA
Allegations of Biological Weapons Research in Cuba Need Clearing Up

Guantanamo’s Jihad: The Show Begins…

Elián González marks his 15th birthday

¿Cumpleaños o aniversario?

Obama Should Put the Castros in Their Place

Vladimir Alejo Miranda, Cuban Political Prisoner of the Week, 12/14/08

Buques rusos atracarán en Cuba por primera vez desde caída de URSS Russian ships landing in Cuba for the first time since the fall of the USSR. Russian navy: Russian warships to visit Cuba

ECUADOR
The return of the 1980s?

Ecuador decides to stiff creditors

ECUADOR DEFAULTS ON FOREIGN DEBT

Ecuador Default May Hit ‘True Monsters’ Harder Than Argentina

What Did the U.S. Congress Do With Correa's Propagandists and Ministra Viteri?

HAITI
Nutritional value of World Food Program rice distributed in Haiti questioned

MEXICO
Arrested: Suspected Killers of Sheriff’s Deputy. But Was It Ordered by the Mexican Mafia?

Mexico: Growing Terror and Close to Collapse

NICARAGUA
More backyard fun

PARAGUAY
Urgent prayer request

PERU
Innocents Die in the Drug War

PUERTO RICO
Who let the big cat out of the bag? Puerto Rico searches for panther prowling suburbs

Wildlife officials patrolled streets and undeveloped lots in a sort of suburban safari Sunday, searching for a nocturnal predator that has mauled a sheep, ripped apart chickens and dominated newspaper headlines in the tropical U.S. territory since last week.

I didn't know there were any sheep or chickens in Rio Piedras, either.

VENEZUELA
Miguel Octavio was part of a Round Table discussion at the White House on Human Rights Day

Systematic abuse and compulsive lies

A great Venezuelan gets an award

The ultimate idiotic conspiracy theory: The US created credit crisis to get back at Hugo and other revolutionaries

Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape

Venezuela Debt Rating Outlook Cut to Negative by S&P

Black-Out Blights Venezuela for the 4th Time This Year
Power Outage in Caracas Brings Out Social Traits

Via Brazilian Neocon, Jaime Bayly on Chavez's Alo Presidente's diarrhea program, part 1 (in Spanish)


Part 2


AMERICAN POLITICS
Texas Hispanics upset with Democrats

ENTERTAINMENT
Killer Chic: Hollywood’s sick love affair with Che Guevara

Che what

Special thanks to Ada, Baron B., Eneas, Larwyn and Maggie.

This week's podcasts and posts
Obama makes it to the Nativity scene
Soderbergh’s Chegasm





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