Weekly Roundup: Hillary in Mexico, Strikes in Argentina, and Vazquez in China

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Mexico on March 25 and 26, marking the first in a series of visits there by members of President Barack Obama’s administration. (Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder head down next week and Obama himself will visit next month). Clinton’s trip comes at a time when there have been speed bumps in U.S.-Mexican trade relations. Last week, Mexico slapped tariffs on $2.4 billion worth of U.S. commercial goods in retaliation for Washington’s cancellation of a cross-border trucking program. “The Mexicans have made very clear that the next move has to be from the United States, because it's the United States that didn't implement the provisions of NAFTA like we said we would,” said COA’s Eric Farnsworth on American Public Media’s Marketplace this morning.

Security cooperation under the Merida Initiative will be a top issue during the secretary’s trip. A day before Clinton’s departure, the Department of Homeland Security unveiled a new plan that aims to secure the Southwestern border at a time of growing fear that violence related to organized crime could spill into the United States. As the Christian Science Monitor reports, the plan recognizes cross-border smuggling—both drug smuggling from Mexico and arms trafficking from the United States—as a two-way street requiring bilateral cooperation.

“Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s trip to Mexico this week is a good time to examine the misconception that Mexico is, or is on the point of becoming, a ‘failed state.’” writes Enrique Krauze, editor of magazine Letras Libres in The New York Times. In the op-ed, Krauze lays out ways in which “Mexico has demonstrated an impressive capacity to overcome crises.”

Ana Maria Salazar will serve as an embedded blogger accompanying Clinton’s delegation and will liveblog the secretary’s trip in English and Spanish.

In advance of Clinto’s trip to Mexico, State Department’s Dipnote blog asked readers to weigh in what they view as the “most important aspect of the U.S.-Mexico relationship.”

Read AS/COA analysis of the truck and tariff dispute as well as the new border security plan.

Argentina: Farmers Strike Again

A year after strikes paralyzed roads across Argentina for several weeks, farmers have set up roadblocks again. Last year, the protests arose after the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner proposed a tax increase on soy exports. The export tax failed to win approval in Argentine Congress. Now farmers—hit hard by a severe drought and tumbling commodity prices—are calling on the Fernández de Kirchner administration to lower export taxes.

Latin American Thought blog suggests the strikers seek to weaken the administration’s hand at a time when Fernández de Kirchner has called for early legislative elections, in June instead of October. A decision to change the election date must be made by Congress by March 28.

Kirchner and Lula Meet to Boost Relations

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner visited Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacío Lula da Silva on March 20 to smooth trade differences and boost bilateral economic cooperation. Recent demands of import licenses on more than 200 Brazilian products from Argentina and similar measures proposed in Brazil to restrict Argentine goods have raised eyebrows in the business community. “Our economies must be the industrial locomotives for Mercosur and the rest of the continent,” Lula said as he downplayed the rift and called for strategic alliances.

Four days after the meeting, Argentina announced intentions to borrow $700 million from Brazil to buy 20 planes from Embraer, Brazil’s aircraft-manufacturer, for state-owned Aerolíneas Argentinas.

Lula on Obama, the Financial Crisis, and Brazil’s Rise

Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria interviewed Brazilian leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—“probably the most popular leader in the world”—during Lula’s recent visit to New York and Washington. In the Q&A, Lula talks about his hopes for the new U.S. administration, success with lifting millions of Brazilians out of poverty, and says the financial crisis could “wake us up.”

SouthAm Security Shift: A U.S.-Brazilian Partnership

In an analysis for International Relations and Security Network, Samuel Logan suggests that U.S. engagement with South America on security matters could shift from Plan Colombia to a partnership with Brazil. While he says “Washington still needs Colombia,” the mid-March meeting between Presidents Barack Obama and Luíz Inacio Lula da Silva was a breakthrough at a time when “Brazil has taken a demonstrable step forward towards investing in regional security.”

Funes: Left Like Lula?

Foreign Policy’s Passport blog wonders if Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez could be “losing his touch.” despite concerns over whether El Salvador’s President-elect Mauricio Funes could pull the country dramatically to the left, he has already met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon. Funes’ first official visit will be to Brazil rather than Venezuela.

Uribistas Push for 2010 Reelection

Semana analyzes the latest moves by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe’s supporters in Colombia’s Senate to pave the way for his reelection. Uribistas have work arduously to include explicit language into an amendment that would allow Uribe to run for reelection in 2010, rather than in 2014 as previously approved. If this amendment gains approval, the public will vote on it in a referendum. The opposition would then likely push for a boycott, calling on voters to abstain by leaving ballots blank.

Uruguay’s Vasquez Visits, Signs Pacts with China

During a visit to China this week, Uruguayan President Tabaré Vasquez met with China’s president and prime minister, signing nine trade and investment agreements, reports Infolatam. The visit came two months after the China’s speaker of parliament, Wu Bangguo, traveled to Montevideo. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $1.68 billion in 2008.

Fujimori’s Daughter Would Pardon Dad

The Washington Post reports that, even as the human rights trial of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori nears its final days, it could come undone because of the defendant’s weakening health. Meanwhile, his daughter Keiko Fujimori may run for president in the 2011 race. The congresswoman is a major contender according to some polls. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she says she would pardon her father if she wins the presidency.

Correa Travels to Paraguay

In an effort to strengthen commercial ties with Asunción, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa visited Paraguay for two days. Correa and his Paraguayan counterpart Fernando Lugo exchanged awards and discussed integration in Latin America, El Universo reports.

Cubans Await the Dollar Influx

El País reports that Cuba hopes to experience an inflow of somewhere between $300 million and $500 million as a result of an Obama administration move to end limits on remittances sent by Cuban Americans to relatives on the island. The change came in a spending bill that also ease travel restrictions for Cuban Americans who wish to visit family members in Cuba. The report estimates that 2.3 million tourists visit Cuba each year. With the change to travel limits, this number could increase by 2 million.

Two More Cuban VPs Dismissed

Although they were ousted on March 2, Havana waited until Tuesday to announce the dismissal of two long-serving vice presidents, Pedro Miret and Osmany Cienfueguos. No reason was given for their dismissals or the delayed announcement.

Earlier this month, Cuban President Raúl Castro reshuffled his cabinet and replaced stalwarts from his brother Fidel’s government. Fidel appears to have supported the removal of Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque and Cabinet Secretary Carlos Lage, saying they had been seduced by “the honey of power.”

Ponzi Scheme Scandal Rocks Dominican Republic

A real estate scam led to the disappearance of up to $170 million from 2,500 American and Canadian investors in the Dominican Republic. A Canadian businessman and his son have been sued in Miami and Turks and Caicos Islands’ courts. Prosecutors say Frederick and Derek Elliot used the money to pay for luxury items as a yacht, private jet, and gambling.

IDB Turns 50

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a general assembly meeting in Medellín, Colombia. The gathering comes as the IDB seeks funds from its members and makes efforts to jump-start credit flows in many countries facing the worst of the financial crisis. El Espectador reports that IDB’s President Luis Alberto Moreno pledged a line of credit of $18 billion for Latin American countries in financial distress and celebrated China’s recent membership to the bank.

Americas Quarterly blogger Anastasia Moloney writes that the IDB conference highlights the tremendous transformation that Medellín has undergone in the last 20 years. A series of public works and cutting-edge architecture in some of the most depressed communities has changed what used to be the most violent city in the world into a vibrant and organized hub.

Bank of the South to Launch Finally?

Financial Times details Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s intentions to launch the long-delayed Bank of the South. The new entity has been in the works since late 2007 and has faced numerous false starts. Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Uruguay are the other funding members pledging $10 billion as start-up capital. If launched, the bank will serve as an alternative credit source from traditional multilateral banks like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

The Battle over Gallo Pinto
 
GlobalPost weighs in on the great debate over whether Nicaragua or Costa Rica can lay claim to being the birthplace of gallo pinto, a breakfast dish of rice and beans. “If quantity counts, this month Costa Rica laid waste to the competition,” according to the report, which covered National Gallo Pinto Day. Some 50,000 Ticos ate 3,300 pounds of rice and 2,640 beans.