Weekly Roundup: LatAm Poverty, Mexico's Body Count, and a Chinese Loan

Canada’s Liberal Party Renews Leadership

Following a political standoff that led Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party to suspend parliament to avoid potentially being forced out of office, the Liberal Party took steps to choose a new leader who would replace Stéphane Dion before Canada’s Parliament returns to session at the end of January. Academic and author Michael Ignatieff, who earned nine honorary degrees and has spent much of his professional career abroad, is poised to lead the party and could become prime minister.

The Toronto Star urges Ignatieff and the Liberals to focus on grassroots efforts, fundraising and policymaking if they hope for future electoral victories. The conservative National Post criticized Ignatieff as an intellectual who has “arbitrarily shifted views on foreign policy and human ethics.” An op-ed in the Globe & Mail suggests recent politics in Canada could result in a slowdown in military rebuilding efforts that would leave Canada’s military force in “Kandahar in 2011 with its personnel and equipment battered and bruised.”

Read an AS/COA analysis of Harper’s decision to suspend parliament.

Body Count More than Doubles in Mexico

Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Medina-Mora reported that drug-related murders have thus far risen 117 percent in 2008 compared with last year’s figures, the New York Times reports. Medina-Mora referred to the cartels as “criminal organizations that don’t have limits” and that command a high degree of intimidation given tactics including torture and dismemberment. El Universal offers multimedia coverage of how violence permeates all levels of Mexican society. A Los Angeles Times op-ed points out that the death rate stemming from Mexico’s drug violence “rivals death tolls in Iraq.”

On Tuesday Mexico’s Congress approved measures to boost police powers, including allowance for using undercover agents and taped conversations as evidence.

Fernández de Kirchner Inks Deals with Russia

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner visited Russia this week, where she signed several agreements involving Russia’s Lukoil and Argentina’s state energy giant Enarsa. Lukoil is also expected to begin a joint venture with Repsol and explore Argentina’s continental platform for deep-sea and natural gas reserves.

Success for Argentine Gun Exchange Program

A successful gun exchange program in Argentina collected over 100,000 guns and 720,000 munitions of multiple calibers since July 2007. The Argentine Disarmament Network initiative was born after a teenager opened fired and killed three classmates in 2004. The program hoped to recover 35,000 and 45,000 guns but managed to collect more than double that figure.

Brazilians Protest Massive Disappearances

CNN reports about a protests taking place on Rio de Janeiro beaches to draw attention to widespread disappearances in the city resulting from a war between drug traffickers and hit squads. The organization ONG Rio de Paz, which staged a cemetery on the sand, estimates that as many as 9,000 people have disappeared from Rio since the beginning of 2007.

A Boost for Employee Training in Brazil

The Washington Post examines how, faced with a lack of skilled workers and engineers in particular, Brazilian firms such as Vale and Embraer have created their own educational programs to train employees. The article notes that, “[d]espite being one of the world's most populous countries, Brazil does not have a single university ranked in the top 100 internationally.” Through training programs that fill the gap, Brazilian companies attract new workers.

China to Offer Brazil Oil Loan

Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy Edison Lobão announced that Beijing plans to loan $10 billion to state firm Petrobras for offshore exploration in a pre-salt layer to uncover huge oil reserves. The minister said that further funding may come from the United Arab Emirates as well as Japanese and Canadian firms, but warned that developing the oil fields will be profitable only if the crude prices remain above $30 billion a barrel.

Read a recent AS/COA update on Asia-Latin America ties.

Credit Crisis Hits Brazilian Farmers

In an audio slideshow, the Financial Times’ Jonathan Wheatley examines the possibility that Brazil may have to bail out struggling farmers “who are suffering their own version of the subprime crisis as they struggle to pay off over-extended credit.”

EU Extends Trade Preferences to LatAm Countries

As part of move to give several developing countries duty-free access to the European market on 6400 tariff lines, the European Union expanded trade preferences to Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Perú, and Venezuela until 2011, Agencia Peruana de Noticias reports. The EU extends Generalized System of Preferences to “vulnerable developing countries” that have implemented specified human and labor rights conventions.

Who’s Most Financially Vulnerable in LatAm?

In an interview with Reuters, Eurasia Group’s Christopher Garman says Latin American growth opportunities have taken a hit as a result of the global financial crisis, leading to dropping commodity prices, the credit crunch, and lower exports. He forecasts that Argentina, Venezuela, and Ecuador will have the most vulnerable economies in 2009.

Slight Decrease in LatAm Poverty Levels

The UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean unveiled a new study showing that poverty levels in the region dropped by 0.9 percent, resulting in 2 million fewer people living in poverty. However, the number of people living in extreme poverty increased by 3 million. The report also says poverty reduction efforts in 2009 will be hindered by the global financial downturn, with countries depending on remittances and the U.S. economy most likely to be the most negatively affected.

Hispanic Media Turns 200

New America Media commemorates the bicentennial of Latino press in the United States with an interview featuring publisher Juan Gonzales and journalism Professor Felix Gutierrez. Hispanic media got its start in New Orleans in 1808 with the creation of El Misisipi, the first newspaper owned by and directed to native Spanish speakers north of the Rio Grande.

Top Migration Issues in 2008

The Migration Policy Institute offers a 10-point report on the top migration issues of 2008 as well as analysis on the most visible challenges immigrants and lawmakers will face in 2009. Topics include the ultimate lack of discussion about immigration in the 2008 presidential election, border fences, shifting remittance patterns, and “the recession proof race for highly skilled migrants.”

Learn more about AS/COA’s Hispanic Integration Initiative.

Tancredo No More

BBC’s Rebeca Logan writes about the imminent retirement from U.S. Congress of Tom Tancredo, one of the Republican Party’s most outspoken foes of immigration. His anti-immigrant postures gained visibility in the Bush years and gave him a solid voter base in his home state Colorado. Tancredo ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 but dropped out early in the race. His focus on speaking out against illegal immigration shaped the race for the Republican nomination, yet the matter eventually fell from high on the issue priority list in the White House race.

Forecasting Obama’s Cuba Policy

EFE reports on remarks delivered by AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth at the Casa de América in Madrid, where he predicted that the next U.S. administration likely will soften Washington’s Cuba policy but probably won’t drop an embargo in the near future.

Read Farnsworth’s prepared remarks discussing the impact of the U.S. election on Canada, Mexico, and Spain.

Cuban Exile and Catholic Church Coordinate Relief Efforts

MSNBC reports on Cuban dissident and Brothers to the Rescue founder José Basulto, who spearheaded humanitarian efforts to send food and health supplies to hurricane-ravaged Cuba using the Catholic Church as a channel. He recently contributed $100,000 to this cause by selling a small plane used in 1996 to rescue Cuban rafters.

Guatemala, Belize Agree to Compromise

A 150-year-old territorial dispute between Guatemala and Belize may soon be settled. The two countries signed an agreement at the OAS Monday that will send the case to the International Court of Justice and could resolve the location of the border between the two countries. Guatemala has maintained a claim on part of Belize’s territory.

Signs of Weakening Sandinista-Church Ties

Although the Sandinistas and the Catholic Church were far from allies in the 1980s, President Daniel Ortega strengthened ties with Christians, helping him coast to a victory in 2006. But, as the Nica Times reports, “the Catholic Church has grown increasingly concerned with the government's use of religious symbols for political purposes,” particularly in the wake of charges of electoral fraud in November municipal elections.

How the Climate Crisis Affects Latin America

A new World Bank report recommends that the international community turn to Latin America for ways to tackle the climate crisis, saying, “The region is in a position to lead middle income countries in reducing emissions from deforestation, breaking the impasse on hydropower development, improving energy efficiency, and transforming urban transport.” The report also looks at the toll of environmental degradation on the region, predicting that Latin American agricultural productivity could fall by as much as 50 percent by 2100.