Latest posts by Silvia Viñas from January, 2011
Honduras: New WikiLeaks Cables Reveal US Involvement in Honduran Politics
“The cables that Wikileaks have been releasing about Honduras, and that in the uproar over Tunisia and Egypt have been ignored by the mainstream media, make the level of US involvement in Honduran politics starkly clear. Very few people care at the moment,” writes Aaron Ortiz in his blog Pensive.
Guatemala: The Left Unites During Election Year
Central American Politics reports that leaders from Guatemalan left-leaning parties have met with “representatives from the country's social organizations, unions, and peasant and environmental groups” to try to form a Broad Front for this year's legislative and presidential elections.
Comparing Mexico to Egypt
Rich, in The Mex Files, compares the situation in Egypt with Mexico's past and present. He concludes asking, “what will happen if the Mexicans decide it is time for a giant leap in Mexican power, in which the people of the largest Spanish-speaking nation demand that they be allowed to...
Venezuela: Cholera Cases on the Rise
During a wedding held in the Dominican Republic, a group of Venezuelans were diagnosed with symptoms of cholera after eating contaminated food. What were initially 13 cases has increased rapidly within a few days; the most recent reports speak of 135 people treated for cholera.
Could Nicaragua experience “the Egypt and Tunisia phenomenon”?
In an interview with El Nuevo Diario [es], Global Voices author Rodrigo Peñalba was asked [es] if the phenomenon seen in Egypt and Tunisia is “far from the national reality” and if netizens would respond in the same way. He concludes that the newspaper, instead of asking “could this happen...
Mexico: Relatives of Children Killed and Injured in Nursery Fire Seek Justice
On June 2009 a fire killed 49 children in a nursery in the city of Hermosillo. Erwn C. reports that this week 23 people “related to children either killed or injured in the fire” participated in a hunger strike demanding that the government investigate the case. The strike ended when...
El Salvador: Court System Employees End Strike
Judiciary workers have concluded a week-long strike requesting higher salaries. Voices from El Salvador's Weblog summarizes how the strike ended and its impact.
Bolivia: Coca-Chewing Protests Held Around the Country
Pablo Andrés Rivero [es] and J.F. String blog about recent demonstrations held in several cities in Bolivia to overturn a UN ban on coca-leaf chewing.
Ecuador: Blog Competition Focusing on Public Safety
Ecuadorian bloggers are encouraged to participate in a Blog Competition [es] organized by the Guayaquil Canton to, “encourage the use of blogs as a platform for expression of ideas by discussing proposals related to public safety in the canton.” Visit the site [es] for more details and follow the competition on Facebook and Twitter.
Chile's “Green Revolution”: Fighting Coal Mining in Isla Riesco
Daniel Arellano [es] writes about Chile's “Green Revolution”: Environmental activists and concerned citizens are trying to raise awareness about 5 coal mining projects and the effects they would have on Isla Riesco, an island in the southernmost region of Chile.
Peru: Discussing Gay Marriage During a Presidential Campaign Year
Carlos A. Quiroz discusses gay marriage in Peru in a video in his blog Peruanista [es]. Peruvians are debating equal marriage in the wake of this year's presidential elections.
Latin American Presidents to Follow on Twitter
Christian Espinosa in Cobertura Digital [es] ranks the top 5 Latin American presidents with the most followers on Twitter. He also shares other information on the use of Twitter by different Latin American administrations.
Argentina: Experimenting with Natural Dyes
Jade Scully blogs about the experiments with natural dyes that are taking place in The Argentine National Institute for Industrial Technology (INTI).
Colombia: A Trip to a Spanish Inquisition Museum in Cartagena
In Raising Miro on the Road of Life, “A single mom & son's travel blog & podcast,” Lainie writes about their visit to the Palace of the Inquisition in Cartagena, Colombia.
Mexico: The Passing of Indigenous Rights Supporter Bishop Samuel Ruiz
Bishop Samuel Ruiz passed away this morning. Tim Johnson explains: “Ruiz […] started the Fray Bartolome de las Casas Human Rights Center out of his diocese, and played an instrumental role in keeping the Zapatista uprising that erupted in 1994 from flaring into broader violence. Ruiz’s work on behalf of...
El Salvador: Transparency Law Stalled
A law that, “would have required government institutions, and private entities tied to the state, to make information available to the public without, necessarily, a formal request, by establishing an accessible database of information,” is stalled, as reported by Voices from El Salvador's Weblog.
Guatemala: Former President on Trial on Embezzlement Charges
Central American Politics writes about the trial of former Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo, “currently on trial in Guatemala on embezzlement charges.”
El Salvador: Court System Employees on Strike Demand Higher Salaries
Court system employees have been on strike demanding raises for five days. Tim explains that, “As a consequence, more than a thousand court hearings have been cancelled, bodies have gone unidentified in the forensic medicine office, and more than 87 prisoners have been released for failure to have an initial...
“Showdown” between US and Bolivia over UN coca ban
J.F. String in Hemispheric Brief reports: “An international showdown between the US and Bolivia has officially begun. The matter under dispute: whether or not an international ban on coca-leaf chewing should be pulled from the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.”
Mexico: A blog by and for female football fans
Pamboleras [es] is a Mexican blog written by and for women who love “the most beautiful sport on earth”: football [soccer].
Ecuador: Photos of the Rainforest
Carla Badillo shares photos of her trip to the Ecuadorian rainforest.
