Stories about Latin America from September, 2007
Ecuador: Undecided Voters for Constituent Assembly Vote
Ecuador Elige [ES] asks “have you decided?” in regards to Sunday's elections of representatives to the Constituent Assembly noting that the latest poll shows a 38% level of undecided voters.
Colombia: The Story of Arturito
Andrea Rojas Cartagena, a participant in Medellin's Hiperbarrio project, tells the story of Arturito in her blog aptly named Historias de Personas [ES].
Bolivia: Photo ID Requested for Ahmadinejad Arrival
El Alto blogger Mario Duran of Palabras Libres [ES] was repeatedly asked for identification by government officials when trying to take pictures of the arrival of Iranian president Ahmadinejad near the Bolivian international airport. Duran did manage to snap some photos of the caravan and of the welcoming crowd and...
Chile: Decision for Nuclear Energy
Marcelo Aliaga of Bloggeando la Vida [ES] writes that in light of recent studies that Chile will soon need to decide whether or not to adopt nuclear energy.
Ecuador: Feeling the Earthquake
De Todo Un Poco [ES], Nelson Piedra [ES] and Aqui Vamos de Nuevo [ES] all recorded their experiences with the recent earthquake the struck Colombia near the Ecuador border.
Honduras: Corruption Perceptions
Aaron Ortiz of Pensieve reflects on Honduras’ score in the current Transparency International's corruption perceptions index.
Colombia: Blogs y Polas 3
Medallo Bloguero [ES] posts pictures of the recent Blogs y Polas 3 blogger get-together.
Costa Rica: Frustrations with Telecommunications
Competition in telecommunications is supposed to lower fees and improve service. However, Fusil de Chispas [ES] does not see it that way and provides examples of customer complaints.
Chile: Microsoft's School of the Future in Peñalolén
Luis Ramirez writes about Microsoft's new “School of the Future” that was launched in the municipality of Peñalolén, which is only one in 12 schools that will implement this educational model. The special report can be found on the blog Un Computador por Niñ@ [ES].
Bolivia: Evo Morales on the Daily Show
President Evo Morales of Bolivia became only the 2nd sitting president to appear on the Daily Show, a popular comedy show that focuses on current events. During his visit to New York City for the United Nations Summit, Morales sat down with host Jon Stewart and through the use of translator spoke about his ideas for his country and for the world. However, many bloggers thought that the comedic nature of the program became lost in the translation and that many of Morales' statements sounded too good to be true.
Cuba, Jamaica: Under Siege in Burma
Uncommon Sense blogs about the struggle in Burma, while Montego Bay Day By Day says: “Freedom is not a thing that is earned. It is a right that is obtained at the very moment that one is deemed alive.”
Iran:Che Guevara's children visited Iran
Amin Taghikhani says that Che Guevara's two children came to Iran and met with Iranian officials last week.The blogger writes[Fa] “do Che Guevara's children know that thousands of Marxists have been executed by Islamic Republic!”
Peru: Dangerous Construction
The Peruvian government has relaxed norms for the construction of buildings arguing that the deregulation will speed up construction and reduce bureaucracy. However, Desde el Tercer Piso [ES] counters that it might make buildings less safe especially in regards to earthquakes.
Venezuela: Personal Constitutional Reforms
Luis Carlos Díaz of Periodismo de Paz [ES] provides his own version of Constitutional reforms with 40 brief and straight to the point articles open for debate.
Argentina: Public Transportation News
Viaje Como el Orto [ES] is a blog devoted to news about public transportation in Buenos Aires. In addition, the site receives personal testimonies from individuals that have experiences difficulties with the system.
Peru: Negligence Leads to Turtles’ Demise
Juan Arellano is saddened about the negligence shown by local government officials in Peru that allowed for the illegal commercialization of turtles [ES] and their eggs in a protected nature reserve.
Argentina: Rodriguez Saá Campaign Ad
De Todo Un Poco [ES] is appalled by a recent campaign advertisement by Presidential candidate Alberto Rodriguez Saá and that “if it didn't air on television, I would have thought it was a joke.” He also posts a video of the ad in question.
Peru: Sculpture For Victims Defaced
A memorial called the “Crying Eye” remembers the approximately 70,000 people that died due to armed conflict in Peru. Hypathia's Daughter posts pictures of this sculpture in Lima, which was recently defaced.
Paraguay: Dealings of Petropar
From Paraguay, Zoopolitica [ES] writes about the transactions by the petroleum company Petropar and that “in any other serious country, this would be a national scandal, with resignations, accusations and jail.”
Ecuador: Campaign Messages on Hi5
Cronicaero [ES] is continuing to receive candidates’ campaign messages on his Hi5 social networking profile.
Bolivia: Evo on the Daily Show
Bolivian blogs Pronto*, Barrio Flores and Blogs de Bolivia [ES] are anticipating the appearance of Bolivian President Evo Morales on the popular U.S. program the Daily Show.
About our Latin America coverage
Melissa Vida is the Latin America Spanish-language editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
Fernanda Canofre is the Brazil editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
