Weekly Roundup: Obama's Inauguration, Chávez's Referendum, and Slim's Investment

Latin America Looks to DC for Inauguration Day

Global attention, including from leaders in the Western Hemisphere, turned toward the January 20 inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. During a visit to Venezuela, President of Brazil Luis Inácio Lula da Silva called on the new administration to change U.S. policy toward the Americas, urging Obama to resolve the worldwide financial crisis and help the Latin American countries that depend on the U.S. market. In an interview last week with Univisión, Obama discussed hemispheric issues ranging from immigration to U.S. policy toward Cuba. He also talked about possible links between the Venezuelan government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (better known as the FARC), prompting President Hugo Chávez to say that Obama had “the same stench” as outgoing leader George W. Bush. Bolivian officials welcomed the change and voiced hope for improved relations between La Paz and Washington.

TIME magazine’s Tim Padgett writes about Obama’s chance to rethink U.S. relations with Latin America. A Semana analysis wonders at the future of U.S.-Colombia relations as the presidency shifts from Bush, who championed President Álvaro Uribe as a top hemispheric ally, to Obama, who has been hesitant over the approval of a bilateral trade agreement.

PBS’ Worldfocus went to Nicaragua to discuss views of the United States, reporting that Nicaraguans desire warmer ties during the Obama presidency.

Read an AS/COA analysis about hemispheric expectations for President Barack Obama.

Economy Eclipses Immigration for Hispanics

A new Pew Hispanic Center study found that Latinos consider the economy to be the top priority for the incoming U.S. administration. Immigration, considered a matter of high importance for the Hispanic electorate, took the number six spot, with education, health care, national security, and the environment ranking higher. The survey also found that more than 70 percent of participants believe President Barack Obama will have “a successful first term.”

A new Americas Quarterly blog post takes a look at recent talk by the new president, his cabinet, and congressional leaders committing to swift immigration reform.

FMLN Makes Gains in El Salvador

Seventeen years after the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) laid down its weapons at the end of a civil war and became a political party, it claimed victory in January 18 legislative elections. Although the FMLN lost the mayoralty of San Salvador, the party gained a stronger foothold in the legislative assembly and was projected to win most of the 262 municipal posts up for grabs.

The outcome of Sunday’s vote has been seen as an indicator of the March 15 presidential elections. FMLN candidate and former TV journalist Mauricio Funes currently leads in polls over the opposing candidate Rodrigo Avila of the governing Alianza Republicana Nacionalista party.

Chávez for Life?

The Chicago Tribune covers the announcement by the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez that it plans to hold a February 15 referendum allowing indefinite reelection. “Chávez wants to try again, and fast, because Venezuelans are beginning to realize his 21st Century socialism isn't getting the job done,” according to the editorial. Earlier this week, marchers protesting the referendum were, under Chávez’s orders, attacked with tear gas. A pro-Chávez group claimed responsibility for tear gas fired at the Vatican’s diplomatic headquarters in Caracas Monday.

Lula Stops in Bolivia, Venezuela

President of Brazil Luis Inácio Lula da Silva stopped in Venezuela late last week, where he and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez inked a series of accords. Lula also signaled that he expects the Brazilian congress to approve Venezuela’s membership in Mercosur.

Before his stop in Venezuela, Lula visited Bolivia, where he announced an investment of $1.1 billion in the Andean country’s natural gas industry at a time when La Paz has had difficulty meeting Brazilian and Argentine demand. Brazil’s president also said his government would prioritize legalizing undocumented Bolivians working in his country and he agreed to support the fight against drug trafficking in Bolivia, which expelled the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in 2008.

Jump in December Job Losses Hits Brazil

Brazil’s Labor Ministry reported Monday that the country experienced its highest number of job losses since 1999 last month as the global financial crisis struck. More than 654,000 jobs dried up in December. However, the ministry also reported that, despite the losses, Brazil added more than 1.45 million workers last year.

Pemex Announces Steep Oil Production Decline

Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog reports that Mexico’s national oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) stands ready to report its sharpest production decline since the end of the Second World War, challenging U.S. President Barack Obama’s pledge to weaken dependence on oil from the Middle East (Mexico is Washington’s third largest supplier of oil.). But the post wonders if the woes could usher in bigger reforms for Pemex: “Royal Dutch Shell has a big oil find called Perdido in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, just 20 miles north of Mexican waters. How long before Mexico invites them to explore on their side of the watery border?”

Read AS/COA coverage of 2008 Pemex reforms.

Mexican Official Rejects Failed State Claims

At the end of December, the U.S. Joint Forces Command released its 2008 Joint Operating Environment report, warning that “two large and important states bear consideration for a rapid and sudden collapse: Pakistan and Mexico.” Patricia Espinosa, Mexico’s foreign minister, has since countered the claim, telling the Financial Times that “Mexico is not a failed state” and arguing that the government has succeeded in damaging drug cartels’ operations.

Mexican blogger and letraslibres.com founder Leon Krauze writes in PostGlobal that, while Mexico may be on its way toward failed-nation status, “Mexican democracy has been maturing steadily” and that Mexican voters have the chance to demand accountability from politicians in the July midterm elections.

Read recent AS/COA coverage about rising violence in Mexico.

LatAm Leaders Agree on Security Cooperation

Panama’s President Martín Torrijos hosted Presidents Felipe Calderón of Mexico, Alvaro Colom of Guatemala, and Álvaro Uribe of Colombia last week for a security summit where the four leaders unveiled a 10-point statement with the goal of targeting drug trafficking. The presidents agreed to exchange information, assist each other with training, and cooperate in criminal prosecutions. They also invited other leaders in the region to participate.

Ecuador Considers Renegotiating Defaulted Bonds

Quito has begun investigating the possibility of repurchasing defaulted sovereign bonds due in 2012 and 2030, bringing relief to some bond holders. Finance Minister Maria Elsa Viteri also announced last week that an interest payment had been authorized on a bond due 2015, Bloomberg reports.

Former Chilean Air Force Commander Detained

Retired General Ramon Vega was arrested on graft charges and the mishandling of $15 million in the 1994 purchase of military aircrafts to the Belgian government. Three other former officers were also detained with Vega following years of investigations, according to El Mercurio.
 
Revolving Door at Peru’s Finance Ministry

Peru’s Finance Minister Luis Valdivieso resigned after six months in office, at a time when the country braces for an economic slowdown in 2009. Mercopress reports that Valdivieso left the post for a high-level international post. President Alan García swore in prior Finance Minister Luis Carranza to replace Valdivieso.

Argentina Leads Regional Think Tank Ranking

Revista Perspectiva’s blog summarizes which Latin America-based think tanks made the list in a recent University of Pennsylvania ranking of the world’s top centers. With 122 institutions, Argentina has the most think tanks in the region and two Argentine centers—Consejo Argentino Relaciones Internacionales and the Council for International Relations—tied for the first place spot. Think tanks in Argentina, Chile, and Brazil dominated the top ten places in the list.

Fernández de Kirchner to Cuba, Caracas

Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner visited Cuba this week, where she signed 11 bilateral agreements ranging from cooperation on natural disaster management to agriculture to biotechnology. She will head on to Venezuela to meet with President Hugo Chávez.

Fidel Down for the Count…Maybe

Last week, rumors swirled once again over whether former Cuban President Fidel Castro’s health had taken a nosedive. The Miami Herald’s Cuban Colada blog reported that Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez sought to put an end to the gossip by saying he had received a letter from Castro days earlier. As Foreign Policy blogger Joshua Keating posited a few days before the Obama inauguration, “The eleventh U.S. president since Castro took power will enter office next week and I have a feeling he won't want to miss it.”

Slim’s NYT Investment

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim entered into an agreement Tuesday to invest $250 million in the New York Times. Businessweek reports that, while the Times Co. “owns what is likely the world’s most renowned journalistic franchise,” the company, like others in the newspaper industry, suffers from shrinking ad revenues. In November, those revenues fell by nearly 21 percent. While Slim will not gain representation on the company’s board or special voting rights, his financial infusion may help refinance the Times Co.’s debt. The New York Post, known for employing puns in its headlines, reported on Slim’s investment under the quip “Brother, Can You Spare a Times.”