Weekly Roundup: Bolivia Votes, Petrobras Profits, Ticos' Carbon Neutral Plans

Morales Wins Vote, Calls for Unity

On Sunday, Bolivia held a national recall referendum in which voters chose for President Evo Morales and Vice President Álvaro García Linera to remain in office along with the Governors from Santa Cruz, Pando, Beni, Tarija, and Potosí. Governors from La Paz, Cochabamba, and Oruro were voted out of office. After his victory, Morales delivered remarks calling for more natural resource’ nationalizations, increased efforts to eradicate extreme poverty, and unity in a country facing deep political divisions between the western highlands and eastern lowlands.

Bloggers for the Cochabamba-based Democracy Center described the voting scene in several cities across Bolivia.

The Latin Business Chronicle reports on another victory for Morales: A New York’s federal court ruled in favor of Bolivia in the case against European investors that placed $85 million outside Bolivia at the time of the nationalization of local telephone company Entel.

Read an AS/COA interview with Bolivia expert and Florida International University’s Director of Latin America Eduardo Gamarra about Bolivia’s recall election.

Immigrants Integration Key for U.S. Businesses

The Washington Post takes a closer look at how U.S. companies support integration programs for legal immigrants. The article highlights AS/COA's new working group white paper U.S. Business and Hispanic Integration: Expanding the Economic Contributions of Immigrants. Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez also highlights the report, noting how the white paper demonstrates that “it makes economic sense to help Hispanic workers fully integrate into the U.S. economy.”

Petrobras’ Record Profits

Brazilian state oil company Petrobras posted $9.7 billion net profits in the first half of 2008—an increase of nearly 30 percent over the same period last year.

Aereolíneas Argentinas' Second Chance

In an effort to save the flagship airline Aerolíneas Argentinas, the government of President Christina Fernández de Kirchner recently decided to take control from Spanish Marsans tourism group. University of Pennsylvania’s UniversiaKnowledge highlights the takeover in the context of a continental wave of nationalizations led by Venezuela and Bolivia, and the challenges faced by an embattled Argentine government to transform the airline into a sound profitable operation.

Argentina’s Debt Rating Slips

After fears of slow economic growth and mistrust over inflation data presented by Kirchner on August 2, Standard & Poor’s lowered Argentina’s credit rating to B, putting the country at the same level as Paraguay and Jamaica, Bloomberg reports.

Life Sentence for Kidnappers Proposed in Mexico

Mexican President Felipe Calderón submitted a new bill to Mexico's Congress to authorize life imprisonment for kidnappers, covering cases in which criminals take children and disabled people hostage or mutilate kidnapping victims. This law serves as another way of fighting against drug kingpins who use kidnappings to finance activities, but the new law, if approved, must be paired a better law enforcement by the government, suggests a Foreign Policy Association blog.

The Coming Shortage of U.S. Workers

As a result of increased raids targeting undocumented workers, Mexican workers increasingly return home or look further north to Canada for opportunities, according to the Mexican Consul General of Phoenix Carlos Flores Vizcarra in a Los Angeles Times op-ed. He warns that more than 76 million baby boomers will retire in the next 30 years and the United States will then find itself looking toward Mexican immigrants to fill the job openings. However, Mexico will also face a shortage of labor in coming decades, lowering the number of workers available for the U.S. labor market.

Asylum for Gays in U.S. Proves Difficult

U.S. courts reject asylum requests for gay citizens of Latin American countries as legal recognition of gay rights in grow across the region, particularly Mexico, reports the Washington Post. “[T]here's been a turning point. The gay rights movement has started to make progress in Mexico, and it's a little harder to show" that asylum is warranted,” said Arthur Leonard, a Professor at New York Law School.

Highlighting Young Hispanic Leaders

In its August 2008 issue, Poder magazine profiles 20 brilliant Latino executives and entrepreneurs under the age of 40 who are at the forefront of their disciplines and laying groundwork for future Latino leaders. The list includes Dominican-American Pulitzer-award winner novelist Junot Díaz, Philarmonic Orchestra of the Americas Music Director Alondra de la Parra, and Univision’s Chief Strategy Officer Cesar Conde.

Americas Society hosts Alondra de la Parra and special guests on September 22 and Junot Díaz on October 17.

The Challenges for Paraguay’s New President

Newly elected President Fernando Lugo takes office on August 15 amid great expectations. Though identified as a leftist, Lugo has shown moderation in his cabinet choices, electing a mixture of centrist, leftists, and reformers. The Economist underlines that land ownership is his biggest challenge to tackle, noting that the new president plans to oversee an agrarian census: “He has also called for patience, noting that the constitution guarantees private property but also the right of all Paraguayans to a piece of land.”

Stronger Regulation Needed to Fight Inflation in Chile

Financial Times Latin America Editor Richard Lapper examines inflation concerns in Chile. The country’s Finance Minister Andrés Velasco—interviewed for the article—reflects on inflation fears in Chile and says that U.S. economic watchdogs are making the same mistakes Latin American financial regulators did two decades ago.

Speaking at AS/COA's annual Santiago conference on August 6, Chilean Minister of Finance Andrés Velasco presented a positive outlook for Chile's economy despite a global economic slowdown while acknowledging the challenges posed by rising inflation.

Latin American Media’s Dependency on Official Advertising

Colombia’s Semana magazine published an extensive report looking into the frequency with which government advertising is used to indirectly—sometimes directly—censure Latin American media and journalists. In a region where journalists receive very low salaries, they turn to government sponsors to maintain radio or television programs, and thus find themselves taking care about what they report out of fear of losing funding.

Ticos Build Plan to Become Carbon Neutral

BBC reports that Costa Rica is the only developing nation in the world pledging to transform its economy to become carbon neutral by 2021.The government stepped up reforestation efforts with a record of five million trees planted last year and a goal of seven million for 2008.

Due Process in El Salvador?

The hard line policies to curb violence in El Salvador have shown some success. But recently, judges and legal experts say that some legal provisions undermine the right to due process, reports IPS.

AS/COA’s Rule of Law Working Group published a report called Rule of Law, Economic Growth and Prosperity, which examines recommendations with the goal of strengthening the efficiency, predictability, and transparency of institutions critical to investment, economic growth, and prosperity in the region. The report is also available in Spanish.