Weekly Roundup: The PRD and Pemex, Colombia &aacute la Ireland, and Argentine Coup Memorials

Mexico’s PRD and Pemex

Less than two years after a victory by Mexican President Felipe Calderón of the Partido Acción Nacional  over rival Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the Partido Revolunción Democrática (PRD) brought calls of election fraud, the PRD finds itself mired in controversy over the election for a new party leader. Even as the battle for the party's leadership continues, the PRD election threatens to slow Calderón’s efforts to reform the state-owned oil company Pemex. The election returned López Obrador—who opposes opening Pemex to private investment—into the political forefront following the apparent victory of the candidate he backed to lead the PRD.

CSR and the NAFTA Debate

Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez suggests that, rather than reopening NAFTA negotiations, governments should support the corporate social responsibility (CSR) movement. Referring to the latest issue of Americas Quarterly and its coverage of CSR in the Western Hemisphere, Sanchez writes, “[I]t is in regions such as Latin America, with a tradition of monopolistic and oligarchic business practices and persistent inequality, where CSR is especially needed.”

In a new op-ed for the Calgary Herald, AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal outlines benefits drawn from the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada since the deal’s inception. "In a campaign about optimism and the promise of America, anti-NAFTA rhetoric simply doesn't fit," writes Segal. 

The Los Angeles Times takes a look at prospects for the biggest infrastructure project in Mexico’s history—a $4 billion seaport on the Baja peninsula. With bidding opening soon to fund the project, critics warn it faces multiple obstacles to its completion. But backers say the seaport, with a planned opening date of 2014, would rival ports in Los Angeles.  

In a speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain called Latin America and Canada “natural partners” of the United States in creating a democratic hemisphere that supports free trade and the rule of law. 

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady, Colombia’s Trade Minister Luis Guillermo Plata discusses how Colombia is looking to Ireland as a model for implementing successful economic policies, such as lowering the corporate tax rate to stimulate foreign investment. Plata also discussed improved security in Colombia and the importance of approval of the pending U.S.-Colombia free-trade agreement. 

During several 2007 AS/COA Latin American Cities Conferences, David Lovegrove, director of International Development Ireland delivered a presentation (PDF) about the success of the Irish model.

Treating the Symptoms of Violence

In Harvard University magazine ReVista, former Mayor of Cali Rodrigo Guerrero writes about integrating public health initiatives into anti-violence programs to boost security and the quality of life in Colombian cities. The latest issue of ReVista examines the daily threat of violence in Latin America. 

Argentina’s Agricultural Tariffs

During a Tuesday speech, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner maintained that her government would not change agricultural export tariffs, even as thousands of protesters demonstrated in Buenos Aires. After more than a week of strikes by farmers, some Argentine grocery stores are experiencing shortages of some food supplies.

Remembering Argentina’s Coup

Clarín looks at memorial services and events held across Argentina on the thirty-second anniversary of the coup, which placed a military regime in power for seven years beginning in 1976. Until 2005, amnesty laws protected the military and police accused of torture and murder during military rule; President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has urged bringing the accused to trial. 

Santiago announced intentions to invest some nine million dollars in clearing land mines placed along the Argentine, Bolivian, and Peruvian borders during the rule of now deceased Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet during 1970s territorial disputes.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva discussed his hopes to conclude the Doha round while European Commission’s President José Manuel Barroso visited Brasilia last week. However, Brazilian industry leaders remained skeptical about progress in achieving a multilateral deal. Lula and Barroso also discussed moving toward a quick resolution to tensions sparked after Madrid deported several Brazilians from its airport in early March. 

COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth co-authored a new article in Latin Business Chronicle focused on how the United States and Spain can work together to support prosperity and democracy in Latin America.

Andean Diplomacy Questions

In an interview with Newsweek, Ecuador’s Foreign Minister María Isabel Salvador talks about the recent standoff in the Andes after Colombia attacked a camp of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia on Ecuadorian soil. Quito has not yet set a date to restore full diplomatic ties with Bogota. 

An analysis in World Politics Review examines Raúl Castro’s quiet response to the Andean crisis and whether it signals a shift in Cuban foreign policy under the island’s new president.

Chávez Challenges IAPA

The government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, who failed to respond to an invitation to attend this year’s meeting of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), will instead stage a competing forum called the Latin American Meeting against Media Terrorism. IAPA, which holds its conference in Caracas on March 28, has openly criticized Chávez for suppressing press freedom. The Miami Herald takes a closer look at tightened control of the media in Venezuela.

A new report by GEM Global provides a worldwide survey of entrepreneurship in 2007, including sections focused on Latin America. The study finds that Peru and Colombia outpaced other countries in the region that were surveyed, and ranked second and third respectively in the top ten most entrepreneurial countries worldwide.