Stories about Latin America from July, 2006
Chile, Argentina: One Laptop per Child
Tomás Pollak writes that the Organization of American States supports Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop per Child plan as a solution to the digital divide throughout Latin America (ES). Meanwhile, Ariel Vercelli has posted an audio file (mp3 and ogg) of a recent discussion about implementing One Laptop per Child in...
Ecuador, Venezuela: Chavez Visits Quito
Journalist C.J. Schexnayder gives some context to his recently published article on Hugo Chavez's visit to Ecuador.
Argentina: New Blog Aggregator
Buzzear (ES) is a new aggregator of the “buzz” in Argentina's blogosphere.
Global Food Blog Report #25
#1: From Malaysia, Tham Jiak on Tastes of YesterLife: If one's life can be determine by food preferences, I believe that I might be an Indian in my past life. As much as I love Chinese cuisines, I am strangely drawn towards Indian food, my five senses transfix on the...
Bolivia: Indigenous Studies Versus Global Competitiveness
Jaime Escalante, the real life Bolivian math teacher portrayed by Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver, argues that too much emphasis on indigenous language and education will take away from the global competitiveness of Bolivian students.
Venezuela: Hitch-biking
David, who is riding his bike through Central and South America is now in Caracas, describes his ride through Venezuela: “Hitching with a bike turned out to be very easy – I caught 17 different rides, and my longest wait was 45 minutes. To be sure, my method was foolproof...
Mexico: Unresolved and Forgotten Elections
Ceci Connolly says that the public at large is starting to lose interest in Mexico's unresolved election. Ana Maria Salazar claims that a recent interview in the New York Times shows that Lopez Obrador is trying to change his image abroad. And political pundit “Enigma” tries to dissect “the fall...
Mexico: Buses Burn in Oaxaca
Mark in Mexico says that striking teachers commandeered three city buses in front of Benito Juárez University on Sunday, slashed their tires, and shattered their windows. In an update post, he says one of the buses was burned and that “the respected newpaper Reforma from Mexico City seems to be...
Peru: Workshop on Blogs and Journalism
Jose Antonio Vilca summarizes his participation in the Workshop Seminar of Blogs and Journalism (ES) held at the National Association of Journalists of Peru.
Venezuela, Belarus: Chavez Meets Lukashenko
Daniel Duquenal tries to make sense of Chavez's visit to Belarus where he met with Lukashenko. Duquenal also translates an excerpt about Western Hemispheric leaders from a recent interview with Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes.
Brazilians Debate an Overexposed Crime in the Mainstream Media and Blogosphere
Suzane von Richthofen, 22, her former boyfriend Daniel Cravinhos and his brother Cristian have each been found guilty of murdering her parents in October 2002 and have been sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison. The case has caught worldwide attention because Manfred von Richthofen, the murdered father, was the...
Much Ado About Lay Fung in Peru
The case of “Lay Fung,” [often written “Lay Fun”] a 4-year old Rottweiler watchdog that had been accused of murdering a suspected car thief in the parking lot he was entrusted to watch over, quickly turned into a media sensation throughout Peru and the country's bloggers were eager to voice...
Latin America: Mercorsur Summit
The Mercosur summit ended with Hugo and Fidel stealing the limelight says Erwin Cifuentes. Greg Weeks sorts out the implications of Venezuela's new membership in the trade bloc. Finally, Ricardo Carreón argues that Mexico could and should become the trade organizations first non-South American member.
Argentina: 3D Buenos Aires in Google Earth
Like Julian Gallo, Jeff Barry can't help but play around with the 3D modeling of Buenos Aires for Google Earth.
Guatemala: Migration Documentary
Patrick posts a clip from Luis Argueta's most recent documentary, “And There I Am Documenting Silent Voices,” which follows the stories of Guatemalans who emigrate to the U.S.
Peru: Localized Ubuntu
Lima-based blog Sin Papel says there is no reason to buy a pirated version of Windows XP (ES) now that Peruvians have their own localized version of Ubuntu Linux. 100 free installation discs were handed out at a recent presentation.
Venezuela: Skypecast on Economic Collapse
Francisco sits down with political economist Jonathan DiJohn for a skypecast on Venezuela's economic collapse.
Mexico: The Never-ending Election
Alina Rocha Menocal says that “if there is no vote-by-vote recount, the next president risks being haunted by the unfinished business of 2006 throughout his term in office and further alienating an already polarised citizenry.” Boz's Friday poll numbers, however, reveal that “60% [of Mexicans] believe that a full recount...
Panama: When a Totuma could be useful
Panajane of Panama City describes where Macalucia and Totuma go hand in hand.
Chile: Investigating Internet Activism
Why is Chile such a hot-bed of internet-based activism? More importantly, how can the Chilean experience inform grassroots internet activism in other countries? Those two questions are driving Mary Joyce's visit to Santiago, where she is investigating various efforts underway to create a more active civil society using the internet.
What Salvadoran bloggers are saying — volunteer edition
Typically my bi-weekly posts concentrate on what native Salvadorans are writing in their blogs about their country. This time I will concentrate on the blogs of people volunteering their time in El Salvador. A blogger who goes by the handle Jefferson, has started a blog to chronicle his time in...