Weekly Roundup: Hispanic Homeownership, Bank of the South, and LatAm Economic Bright Spots

Leaders of the Americas Weigh in at Washington Conference

Council of the Americas hosts its 39th Washington Conference on the Americas at the U.S. State Department on Wednesday. Speakers include Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Calderón, Mexican Finance Minister Agustín Carstens, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, and OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza. Access a conference agenda and full list of speakers.

COA is partnering with the U.S. State Department to provide live video streams of remarks by U.S. Asst. Secretary of State of Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas Shannon and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State. Visit http://townhall.america.gov/ for a digital town hall with discussion boards about their presentations.

The conference kicked off March 12 with Chairman’s Award given to U.S. Congressman Elliot Engel. Access a summary and audio of the awards ceremony, including Engel’s remarks about the Summit of the Americas and drug/arms trafficking eradication efforts.

Check back at www.as-coa.org for ongoing coverage of the Washington Conference, including summaries of remarks.

A/H1N1 and Mexican Elections Intersect

The handling of the headline-grabbing flu outbreak could play a role in the outcome of Mexico’s July 5 legislative elections. World Politics Review looks at how Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s friends and foes seek to spin the government’s handling of the crisis, “with the former calling it measured and timely, and the latter dismissing it as overheated and late in coming. The narrative that wins out will determine pole position ahead of the elections.”

New figures published in Mexico’s El Universal show how each of the three main political parties are faring in terms of voter preference in the wake of the outbreak. The Institutional Revolutionary Party gained at 32.6 percent, the governing National Action Plan dropped to 26.6 percent, and the Party of the Democratic Revolution fell to 9.5 percent.

Former Argentine President Confirms Congressional Bid

Nestor Kirchner, former Argentine president and husband of current head-of-state Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, formally announced his candidacy for a congressional seat ahead of Argentina’s June mid-term elections. His victory would help his wife’s governing party in terms of congressional clout. An Angus Reid analysis reports that the power duo currently command approval ratings that fall below 30 percent, in large part because of the country’s economic woes. Still, the article points out, they enjoy strong support from labor unions and their party does not face unified opposition.

In Guatemala: A Lawyer, an Assassination, and a Video

A Guatemalan lawyer killed Sunday alleged in a video released posthumously that his assassination was orchestrated by the government of President Álvaro Colom. Rosenberg represented a banker killed in March who had charged the government with corruption at a state-owned bank. The president responded to the video by rejecting the accusation, saying it was an attempt to destabilize the country. The president’s spokesperson announced an international investigation would link the lawyer’s death to organized crime. Guatemala has asked for a UN agency and the FBI to investigate the crime.

Chávez's Government Expropriates Land

During the Sunday airing of his television program Aló Presidente, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced the expropriation of nearly 25,000 acres of land in the southwestern state of Barinas. Chávez said that the land should be seized as it was used by the wealthy for weekend vacation homes on farmland. The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas also reports that Chávez threatened the withdrawal of licenses for private media firms that “trample the truth and incite war.”

Read an AS/COA analysis of the Venezuelan government’s recent steps to nationalize assets of oil service companies.

Bank of the South Gets Off the Ground?

Argentine, Bolivian, Brazilian, Ecuadorian, Paraguayan, Uruguayan, and Venezuelan finance ministers met in Buenos Aires last week to put the finishing touches on an agreement to launch the Bank of the South with $7 billion in capital. “We’ve closed all pending issues and therefore this is the last ministerial meeting on the subject,” said Argentine Finance Minister Carlos Fernández, reports Mercopress. Still, the agreement requires approval from the seven founding countries. The Bank, originally suggested by Venezuelan President Higo Chávez, was proposed in 2007.

Chilean Elections Heat Up

Surveys show a tight race for Chile’s upcoming presidential elections. With neither opposition Alianza candidate Sebastian Piñera nor Concertación candidate and former president Eduardo Frei commanding an absolute majority, elections could head to a second round after the initial one in December 2009. This runs contrary to predictions that Piñera would win handily. A piece by Patricio Navia in Poder examines why Frei has returned to favor after a presidency marked by a recession and accusations of absent leadership.

Meanwhile, potential candidate Marco Enríquez-Ominami surged to garner 14 percent in recent polls. The young Partido Socialista politician is still collecting signatures and must resign from his party, which is part of the Concertación coalition, before running as an independent candidate.

Brazil Takes Online Budget Transparency Step

The Chamber of Deputies in Brazil passed a bill that would require all government agencies to publish budget and spending information online. The bill awaits signature by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Voter Views on Uribe Reelection, 2010 Race in Colombia

Semana offers the latest Gallup figures about which way Colombians lean on upcoming elections. The survey shows most would vote in favor of allowing President Álvaro Uribe to seek reelection. Figures also show former Mayor of Medellín Sergio Fajardo polling strong as a presidential candidate, as well as Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos. Hat tip to a post on Bloggings by boz, which suggests Fajardo could give Uribe a run for his money.

Colombia Sees Rise in Prosecutions of Rape as Weapon of War

The Christian Science Monitor reports about the increase in the number of prosecutions for rape as weapon of war by lawyers tasked to carry out Colombia’s Justice and Peace Law. While the number of such cases numbered 12 in 2007, it now stands at 228.

Morales Lashes out at Peru over Asylum for Former Bolivian Minister

Latin American Herald Tribune reports that Bolivian President Evo Morales railed against his Peruvian counterpart Alan Garcia after Lima granted political asylum to a former Bolivian minister charged for civilian deaths stemming from a military crackdown on protesters during the administration of Bolivian leader Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada.

Checking in at a Bolivian Checkpoint

A PBS World Focus video takes viewers through a drug checkpoint in Bolivia’s Yungas region. The story is accompanied by a video about coca farming and anti-drug efforts in the Andean country. 

IMF Reports Rewards for Stronger LatAm Fundamentals

The International Monetary Fund’s regional survey on the Western Hemisphere says the financial crisis “is posing a test” for Latin American economies but that the region prepared itself, which will “will help contain the damage from the global crisis and speed up the region’s recovery.” Blogger Vitoria Saddi summarizes the report, including an overview of stimulus packages.

Join AS/COA in New York on June 1 for the program “The Financial Crisis and Latin America: Green or Black Clouds?”

LatAm Private Equity Industry Gets a Leg Up

Financial Times reports that, even though Latin America’s private equity makes up a small portion of the global industry, it could emerge “in better shape than bigger counterparts in the US and Europe.” The article attributes this to moves in Brazil, Peru, and Colombia by pension funds “investing in local buy-out, venture capital and infrastructure groups.”

Panama’s Martinelli Unveils Cabinet

The soon-to-be President of Panama Ricardo Martinelli announced a majority of his cabinet members, whom he described as “new faces, young figures, and independents who can transform the country.” Infolatam offers a rundown of the new cabinet members who will make up Martinelli’s administration when he takes office July 1.

Hispanic Homeownership Harmed with Burst of Housing Bubble

A new study by the Pew Hispanic Center looks at the gap in homeownership existing between whites and minorities as well as immigrants. Between 1995 and 2005, homeownership rose at a faster rater for Latino households than for any other group. Throughout that period, the gap persisted. While nearly 75 percent of whites owned homes in 2008, fewer than 49 percent of Hispanics did. Moreover, mortgage rates for Hispanic homeowners averaged 2.5 percent higher than for whites in 2007.

A Year after Iowa Raid, Postville and Guatemalan Town Feel the Pain

The Chicago Tribune revisits the immigration raid of a Postville, Iowa meatpacking plant a year later, taking a close look at a Guatemalan town affected by the deportations. Residents of San Jose, Guatemala, began heading to Postville for work a decade ago. Last year’s deportations coupled with the financial downturn have hit the town.

The raid also inflicted deep wounds in Postville, which faces high levels of unemployment, a shrinking population, and closure of the plant, reports The Los Angeles Times.