· October, 2009

Stories about Latin America from October, 2009

Mexico: The Internet as a Necessity, not a Luxury

  22 October 2009

An increase in taxes was approved by the Chamber of Deputies of Mexico, including an special tax for Internet and cable services prompting online protests saying that the Internet is a necessity, and not a luxury.

Puerto Rico: Crime Solution?

  22 October 2009

If the majority of Puerto Rico's crime comes from the island's reputation as a drug smuggling transshipment point, Dondequiera suggests having “the travel and shipping authorities change Puerto Rico to become an International destination…that way, all of the travelers going between Puerto Rico and the United States would be forced...

Colombian film on petty theft wins National Documentary Award

  21 October 2009

In Square Eyes blog, a Colombian blog about TV, movies and shows, they bring us the trailer of Bagatelle, the winner of the National Documentary Award. Bagatelle shows the day to day happenings in the judicial system where petty criminals are brought to justice.

Ecuador: 7th Annual Gay Film Festival

  21 October 2009

Lesmode [es] is looking forward to the 7th Annual Gay Film Festival called “The Place Without Limts” to take place in 4 cities across Ecuador from November 21-28.

Cuba: Press Freedom Ranking

  20 October 2009

“Press conditions were considered worse only in Burma, Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea”: Uncommon Sense refers to the latest Reporters Without Borders index of press freedom around the world, noting that once again, Cuba is low on the list.

Cuba: Internet & Freedom

  20 October 2009

Generation Y makes a call for “freedom for Cuba” and thinks that the Internet is the way: “It occurs to me to use kilobytes, to take advantage of the cutting edge of a word that is also sharp and makes precepts grow more durable than the machete.”

Paraguay: The Kidnapping of Cattle Rancher

  20 October 2009

The recent kidnapping of cattle rancher Fidel Santiago Zavala in Paraguay [es] has attracted criticism to President Fernando Lugo for his lack of courage to combat crime, as well as proposals for laws allowing citizens to be armed writes José Angel López Barrios.

Cuba: Real-Time Aggregator Cubanoscope

  20 October 2009

Cubanoscope is a real-time news aggregator that publishes links to online newspapers, but also videos, tweets, and blogs about Cuba. The site was presented by David Chapet of Bloggers Cuba [es].

Argentina: Travelcamp Buenos Aires 2009

  19 October 2009

In Argentina, the First Travelcamp Buenos Aires took place on October 13. Jorge Gobbi of Blog de Viajes [es] summarizes the event, and states that one of the most controversial topics was the means to pay for travel because of the bank costs and credit card fees that increase the...

Honduras: Miracle Qualification to World Cup

  19 October 2009

Irina Orellana celebrates Honduras’ qualification to the 2010 World Cup [es] and writes that for those that do not believe in miracles, then the goal scored by the United States in extra time, which vaulted her side to the finals, proves that miracles do exist.

Puerto Rico: Reflections on the National Strike

  16 October 2009

On October 15, thousands of Puerto Ricans flooded the streets to protest the government's lay-off of around 17,000 government employees. Flows of information, opinions, videos and images traveled through the Puerto Rican blogosphere and twittersphere like lightning. Here are some of their reflections.

Cuba: Journalism Prize Winner Denied Permission to Leave Cuba

  16 October 2009

Yoani Sánchez, Cuban blogger writing in Generacion Y blog, was once again denied permission to leave the island nation of Cuba to go receive the 2009 Maria Moors Cabot journalism award. In a video, she asks immigration officials about her travel bans.

Bolivia: Diversity of its Image Abroad

  15 October 2009

Citizen of La Paz [es] is discouraged that much of Bolivia's image abroad continues to be the Andean region and points out that there is much more diversity to be marketed.

Cuba: Blog Marks First Anniversary

  15 October 2009

The Havana Times blog celebrates its first anniversary – Circles Robinson reflects on the accomplishments of the past year: “Contrary to what some might think, I didn’t ask anyone for permission to put out HT, and have never had anyone from…the government directly telling me what I should or shouldn’t...

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Gabriela Mesones Rojo
Gabriela Mesones Rojo is the Latin America Spanish-language editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Fernanda Canofre
Fernanda Canofre is the Brazil editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.