Stories about Latin America from April, 2011
Ecuador: Twitter Campaign Gives President Correa ‘the Finger’
It started as a Twitter campaign, and now many Ecuadorians are posting photos of themselves showing the middle finger. Why? To ridicule the idea that you could be arrested for something as simple as raising a finger.
Argentina: Writer Ernesto Sabato Dies at Age 99
Argentine writer Ernesto Sabato passed away on April 30 at age 99. Buenos Aires Herald describes him as “one of the most influential writers in Argentine literature and author of the trilogy of novels, ‘The Tunnel’ (1948), ‘Of Heroes and Graves’ (1961) and ‘Abadon, the Exterminator’ (1974).” His readers are...
Cuba: Silvio and Pablo
In Juan sin nada [es], Juan Orlando Pérez analyzes the state of affairs in Cuba through the politics of famous nueva trova musicians and composers Silvio Rodríguez and Pablo Milanés.
Cuba: Reflection on the Communist Party Congress
Blogger and journalist Elaine Díaz reflects [es]on the VI Congress of the Communist Party: “[…] The future Cuba should be built ‘by all and for the good of all’ from a horizontal and open relationship between the historical avant-garde that made possible the 1959 triumph and the new generation of...
Puerto Rico: Puerto Rican Rock Music
The Latin American music blog Club Fonograma [es] reviews the amazing music of Puerto Rican alternative rock bands Balún and Dávila 666.
Colombia on Red Alert After Heavy Rains
Colombia is on red alert due to heavy rains. Residents of 28 departments suffer extreme hardship: flooding, landslides and sudden increase in rivers and streams have left more than three million five hundred thousand victims.
Cuba: Ferrer Held
According to Uncommon Sense and Babalu, Dr. Darsi Ferrer and other activists were arrested today “during a protest in which they were calling for the Castro dictatorship to allow Cubans to travel freely, among other demands.”
Cuba: Bosch Dies
Cuban bloggers note the passing of Orlando Bosch, with Machetera saying: “There are good terrorists and bad ones, and clearly the mainstream media have settled on the fiction that Bosch is the former, so he gets to be a ‘militant’.”
Peru: Second Electoral Round Kicks Off
A few weeks before the second round of elections in Peru, the choice between candidates Ollanta Humala and Keiko Fujimori, the growing polarisation in Peruvian society, and ultimately from the electorate, is as notable in the press as it is on social networks.
Honduras to Implement ‘One Laptop Per Child’ Program
RNS in Honduras Politics and Culture says that the plan to give one XO laptop to every child in Honduras “would be ideal for deployment in Honduras.” However, the blogger shows some skepticism: “At the actual cost [$199], the original $3 million investment would buy 15075 XO laptops, not the...
Brazil: School Bullying and the Realengo Massacre
On 7 April 2011, twelve adolescents at the Tasso da Silveira City School in the west of Rio de Janeiro were shot dead. The culprit was ex-pupil, Wellington Menezes de Oliveira, 23, who then turned the gun on himself. The growing speculation about the killer’s profile, in both the blogosphere and traditional media, raised the issue of bullying in Brazilian society.
Mexico: Senate Approves Political Reform
The Mexican Senate approved “La reforma política,” a political reform that Aguachile describes as “immensely significant.” Aguachile lists the sections included in the reform and adds: “Of course, this does not mean the reform has passed; it will now move on to the Chamber of Deputies, and then for ratification...
Ecuador: Poll Results Show President Correa Leading in Referendum
Bloggings by Boz reports: “Polls from Santiago Perez and Cedatos-Gallup suggest Correa will win on all ten questions of the referendum taking place on May 7,” adding that, “For Correa, the specifics about the reforms are secondary to the larger issue of winning.”
Cuba: Bloggers Reflect on Reforms at Communist Party Congress
The sixth congress of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC), which was recently held in Havana, may have marked a major turning point for the Cuban economic system, and for Cuban society at large. Bloggers in Cuba, and those who follow Cuba from other parts of the world, offered a diverse range of reactions.
Colombia's Harsh Winter
Global Voices author Lully Posada writes in equinoXio [es] about winter in Colombia and the strong rains that have left more than 3 million victims.
Panama: Challanges for the LGBT Community
Blogger Erasmo Prado R. [es] writes about the challenges the Panamanian LGBT community is currently facing.
Cuba: Right to the Internet
“Any ‘supposition’ about what a farmer should do on Google, or in the furrow, is called control over the free actions of another, personal choice and individual freedom”: Octavo Cerco wonders “why it’s a problem to assume access to the Internet as a 21st Century human right.”
Cuba: The “Queen of Incredulity”
1Click2Cuba profiles Claudia Cadelo, “one of the best-known members of the Cuban blogging community.”
Peru: Hydroelectric Projects in the Amazon Under Discussion Again
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requested the suspension of Brazil's Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, reopening the debate in Peru on similar projects and their impact on the Peruvian Amazon communities. In Peru, the most publicized hydroelectric megaprojects are the Inambari and Pakitzapango centrals, included in the Peru-Brazil Energy Agreement signed last year.
Mexico: 51 Kidnapped Migrants Rescued in Tamaulipas
Gancho reports that “Federal Police rescued 51 kidnapped migrants in Tamaulipas today [April 26], days after they saved another 68 in the same state. Such rescues were not common before the discovery of scores and scores of dead bodies last week in San Fernando, and now we've had two in...
Guatemala: Remembering the Death of Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera
In Central American Politics, Mike writes: “On this date [April 26] in 1998, Roman Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi Conedera was found bludgeoned to death in his residence in Guatemala City. […] The Catholic Church and the people of Guatemala are still waiting for justice in the bishop's death.”