Latin America News Review

Latin America news roundup - November 1, 2009

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti speaks during a news conference at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa October 29, 2009. Micheletti said on Thursday he was ready to sign a deal to resolve the country's political crisis that could include a return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya to power. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas (HONDURAS POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY CONFLICT)

TOP STORY - New Reports Demolish Justifications for Ouster of Zelaya (Counterpunch)

Bolivia - Morales Speaks of Closer Bolivia-U.S. Relations (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Cuba - Cuba tops the class in UN development report (Green Left Weekly)

Ecuador - Ecuador Concerned Over Spying Ahead of Talks with Colombia (Latin American Herald Tribune)

Honduras - Solution or Stall? (The Nation)

United States - The Washington Post's 2002 "reporting" on Iran (Salon)

United States - "What journalists are supposed to do" (Salon)

United States - Real men don't read D.C. pundits (Salon)

Venezuela - Venezuela, Brazil sign cooperation agreements (Xinhua)

Venezuela - Chavez Compares Brazil's Lula to Jesus and Sees Venezuela in Mercosur (Brazzil Magazine)

Latin America news roundup - October 12, 2009

Supporters of ousted President Manuel Zelaya shout during a protest in Hato De En Medio neighbourhood in Tegucigalpa October 10, 2009. Honduras' de facto leaders have imposed a new law that limits media freedom after shutting down two broadcasters critical of the post-coup government. The government of Roberto Micheletti has not fulfilled a pledge to revoke emergency measures that last month closed Radio Globo and Canal 36, which had supported ousted Zelaya. REUTERS/Henry Romero (HONDURAS POLITICS CONFLICT)

TOP STORY - Honduras de facto leader further restricts media (Reuters)

Colombia - Council on Hemispheric Affairs Hosts Event Honoring Alejandro Santos of the Colombian Newsweekly Semana, on Friday, October 16 (COHA)

Colombia - 900 Peasants Flee Fighting in Southwestern Colombia (Latin America Herald Tribune)

Honduras - Zelaya supporters blast Honduras media crackdown (AFP)

Uruguay - Ex-guerrilla who sought to overthrow state is now set to run it (Irish Times)

United States - Accusing Obama critics of "standing with the terrorists" (Salon)

United States - Noam Chomsky’s works banned at prison camps (Miami Herald)

United States - The system let Obama be president. But he still may not be able to beat it (Guardian)

World - A second Great Depression is still possible (Financial Times)

Venezuela - Documentary screening of Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela (Thursday 29th October/Bristol)

Second Latin America news roundup - October 11, 2009

TOP STORY - What does Chavez think of Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial? (Haaretz.com)

Argentina - Argentina's Menem charged with obstructing bomb probe (AFP)

Colombia - Consolation prize (Tlaxcala)

El Salvador - Anti-Gay Reform Fails in Congress (IPS)

El Salvador - Funes address to United Nations (Tim's El Salvador Blog)

Honduras - Protests continue despite more killings (21st Century Socialism)

Mexico - La Jornada at 25 (CounterPunch)

United States - Salon Radio: Rep. Alan Grayson on de-funding corrupt defense contractors (Salon)

United States - Is Henry Kissinger a War Criminal? (suite101.com)

World - Iran: More accomplished in one day of negotiations than in 8 years of threats (Salon)

Honduras: A picture that's worth 10,000 words

Coup leader Roberto Micheletti, left, decorates a soldier Saturday as part of the Day of the Soldier in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. (Eduardo Verdugo, The Associated Press)

Latin America news roundup - October 11, 2009

Honduras' de facto President Roberto Micheletti (R) poses with U.S. senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) after a private meeting at the Presidential House in Tegucigalpa October 2, 2009. Micheletti met on Friday with a delegation of U.S. lawmakers who have called on the Obama administration to stop supporting the return of ousted President Manuel Zelaya.
REUTERS/Henry Romero (HONDURAS POLITICS CONFLICT)

TOP STORY - Are Republicans Breaking US Law in Honduras? (Counterpunch)

Brazil - South African President Jacob Zuma leads delegation to Brazil (SouthAfrica.info)

Brazil - Brazil ruling party candidate free of cancer-doctors (Reuters)

Honduras - Youth and Union Members Targeted by Coup Violence (Americas Program, Center for International Policy)

Honduras - Colombian Free Trade: Exporting Death Squads to Honduras (Huffington Post)

Honduras - Honduras imposes media restrictions (Al Jazeera)

United States - Atilio Boron on Obama’s prize (Machetera)

Venezuela - Hugo Chavez on Obama and the "Recalcitrant Right" (Huffington Post)

World - A new role for the IMF? (Monthly Review)

World - Talking about Iran on the TV (Salon)

Words of wisdom from the secretary of international relations of Brazil's Workers' Party

Valter Pomar, secretary of international relations, Workers’ Party (PT) of Brazil

By Valter Pomar

Links

October 10, 2009 -- It has become commonplace to say that there are two lefts in Latin America: one would be “carnivore”, the other “vegetarian”; one would be radical, the other moderate; one would be revolutionary, the other reformist; one would be socialist, the other capitalist.

Dichotomous definitions of this kind are made by spokespersons (official or unofficial) of the US State Department, with the explicit purpose of bringing about discord in the Latin American left, making it fight itself rather than its common enemies...

(click here to view entire report)

Latin America news roundup - October 10, 2009

Brazil's Chief of Staff Dilma Rousseff (L) is blessed in front of the Bonfim Church in Salvador, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, October 9, 2009. Medical tests have confirmed that Rousseff, the expected ruling-party candidate for Brazil's presidential election next year, is free of cancer after recent treatment, her doctors said in September. REUTERS/Marco Aurelio Martins/Ag. A Tarde (BRAZIL POLITICS HEALTH) BRAZIL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN BRAZIL

TOP STORY - Brazil PMDB Says It'll Back Govt Pres Candidate, Seek VP Slot (Wall Street Journal)

Colombia - Talking About Peace in the Middle of War (IPS)

Costa Rica - Income Tax Reform May Get New Life (Tico Times)

Ecuador - CONAIE and Correa Begin Dialogue (Upside Down World)

Honduras - Uprising defies coup regime as repression grows (Green Left Weekly)

Honduras - Honduras and the battle for the Americas (Green Left Weekly)

Latin America - South-South Radio from Caracas to Africa (Inter Press Service)

Latin America - Q&A: "Latin America Faces a Tough Balancing Act" (Inter Press Service)

United States - Obama's Nobel Peace Prize (Salon)

World - Fearmongering over the Iranian nuclear 'threat' (Morning Star)

Second Latin America news roundup - October 9, 2009

Bolivia's President Evo Morales greets supporters in hometown of Orinoca, Bolivia, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009. Morales inaugurated a new soccer field during his visit. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

TOP STORY - Three-in-Five Bolivians Satisfied with Morales (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

Bolivia - In a spooky development, mainstream financial newswire actually does its job for a change and reports facts about Evonomy (Inca Kola News)

Brazil - Lula, Brazil's president, is focus of upcoming film (Los Angeles Times)

Honduras - 100 Days of Repression and Resistance (Truthout)

Honduras - Interview with Juan Barahona, leader of the National Resistance Front Against the Coup (Links)

Honduras - NGOs and Faith Groups Call on Honduran Government: Respect Civil Liberties and Human Rights (Latin America Working Group)

Honduras - Honduras' Zelaya demands civil liberties be restored (AFP)

Latin America - Chomsky’s Lectern: Coups, UNASUR and the U.S. (Z Magazine)

United States - Obama Is "Incompetent" and the U.S. Is a "Madhouse": An Exclusive Interview With Gore Vidal (Huffington Post)

World - Old Habits at the IMF (Dollars & Sense)

Latin America news roundup - October 9, 2009

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives for a gala dinner at the Royal Palace in Stockholm, Sweden Tuesday October 6 2009. (AP photo/Scanpix Sweden/Fredrik Sandberg)

TOP STORY - Three-in-Four Brazilians Happy with Lula (Angus Reid Global Monitor)

Argentina - Beloved folk singer for whom Argentinians did cry (New York Times)

Bolivia - Bolivian leader joins in tribute to Che Guevara (Associated Press)

Brazil - Rousseff to step down early for 2010 race (Reuters)

Honduras - Zelaya Condemns Radio Host’s Comments on Holocaust (Bloomberg)

Mexico - The Failure of The War on Drugs (Borderzine)

United States - Noam Chomsky: Crisis and Hope in the Age of Obama (FogCityJournal.com)

United States - Obama Undeserving of Nobel Peace Prize (The Progressive)

World - The IMF's misguided new mission (Guardian)

World - IMF Loan Policies Worsening Crisis, NGOs Say (Inter Press Service)

Second Latin America news roundup - October 8, 2009

TOP STORY - Piedad Cordoba is being stigmatized: Liberal Party (Colombia Reports)

Colombia - Colombia, the United States and the Massacre at El Salado: Conspiracy of Silence? (National Security Archive)

Honduras - Honduran Coup Regime in Crisis (The Nation)

Honduras - Opportunities and Risks in Honduras (Foreign Policy in Focus)

Latin America - Latin America and Caribbean Region Pledge to End the Neglect (End the Neglect)

Latin America - The Empire Retreats (Americas Program, Center for International Policy)

United States - A historian's account of Democrats and Bush-era war crimes (Salon)

Venezuela - Venezuela and Ecuador Advance Bilateral Integration and Cooperation (Venezuelanalysis)

Venezuela - 33 Years since Plane Tragedy: Venezuela Reiterates Demand that U.S. Extradite Posada Carriles (Venezuelanalysis)

World - Amid the global economic crisis, China rises (Associated Press)

Latin America news roundup - October 8, 2009

TOP STORY - State Department Cable says Colombian Army Responsible for Palace of Justice Deaths, Disappearances (The National Security Archive)

Chile - Promises to the Disappeared: Art in the Wake of Chile’s 9-11 (WorldUp)

Colombia - Colombia’s Cordoba Contending for Nobel Peace Prize (Bloomberg)

Costa Rica - Ex President sentenced to 5 years of prison for corruption charges (Global Voices online)

Cuba - A Late September Morning With Fidel (Counterpunch)

Ecuador - Correa asks Colombia where FARC camps are (Colombia Reports)

Latin America - Reflections on a Decade of Civic Revolutions in Latin America (The Nation)

Latin America - Inequality remains L. America's great challenge: ECLAC (Xinhua)

United States - Naomi Klein in Conversation With Michael Moore (The Nation)

World - Regulation: Doubts over political resolve for reform (Financial Times)

Latin America news roundup - September 27, 2009

Honduras' ousted President Manuel Zelaya gestures during a news conference inside the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa September 27, 2009. The de facto government of Honduras denied entry on Sunday to an Organization of American States delegation and threatened to close Brazil's embassy, where Zelaya has taken refuge. Hours earlier, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he would ignore a 10-day deadline set by Micheletti to decide what to do with Zelaya, who is holed up with his family and some supporters in Brazil's embassy in the capital. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido (HONDURAS POLITICS)

TOP STORY - Brazil rejects Honduras ultimatum over Zelaya (Reuters)

Chile - Victor Jara: Canto Libre (The Rebel Kind)

Honduras - Honduras issues decree to suspend some rights, media (Reuters)

Honduras - Honduras Bars Diplomats as Political Crisis Grows (New York Times)

South America - Bank of South to Grow to $20 Billion Capital, Rodriguez Says (Bloomberg)

South America - Africa, South America pledge new era of cooperation (AFP)

United States - Our war-loving Foreign Policy Community hasn't gone anywhere (Salon)

United States - David Brooks: our nation's premier expert warrior (Salon)

United States - Should any Iraq lessons be applied to Iran? (Salon)

Venezuela - There Is Much to Do: An Interview with Hugo Chavez (The Nation)

Correction on CNN interview with Lula

I originally wrote that CNN scrubbed Lula's self-description as a socialist in its made-for-TV version of an interview, but I was mistaken. The clip was simply moved to a different segment of the broadcast. My apologies.

By Justin Delacour

Latin America News Review

September 25, 2009

Below is an interesting CNN interview with Lula.

Hugo Chavez at the UN

Hugo Chavez with Larry King

By some crazy coincidence, CNN uses a translator with a very strong accent for this short interview

Latin America news roundup - September 23, 2009

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaks at the 64th session of the General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

TOP STORY - At U.N., Brazil's Lula demands Zelaya reinstatement (Reuters)

Honduras - What Some US Reporters Don't Get About Brazil and the Honduras Crisis (The Field)

Honduras - Brazil: actions against Honduras embassy not tolerable (Reuters)

Honduras - Spinning resistance as vandalism (Honduras Coup 2009)

Honduras - Zelaya's Brazilian Gambit (Counterpunch)

Honduras - Spoiling Manuel Zelaya's homecoming (Guardian)

Honduras - Hillary: Now Is the Time to Restore President Zelaya (Huffington Post)

Honduras - PANAMAX 2009 and Honduras: Did They or Didn’t They Attend the Annual War Games? (COHA)

Honduras - Canada and Honduras: Act Now (COHA)

Honduras - Zelaya Returns, Micheletti Unleashes Repression (Docudharma)

Zelaya's return to Honduras met with force

Ousted president makes surprise return to the capital, coup government responds with vicious crackdown

Real News

September 22, 2009

Eighty-six days after he was summarily kidnapped and forced out of the country by the military, and on his third attempt to return, ousted Honduran president Manuel Zelaya appeared at the Brazilian embassy in the capital city of Tegucigalpa on Monday morning. Hondurans flooded into the streets to support his return, to which the coup regime responded by instituting a curfew. When thousands of Hondurans refused to adhere to return to their homes, the regime resorted to brute force.

Produced by Jesse Freeston.

Bio

Óscar Estrada is a filmmaker and radio producer from the Honduran capital of Tegucigalpa. He works with the organization Arte Acción, and has written several screenplays for narrative films and documentaries. Oscar splits his time between Honduras and the U.S., where he is an associate producer for May I Speak Freely Media, a project that produces media on human rights issues in Honduras.

You can find Óscar’s updates on the Honduran coup on Adrienne Pine’s website: www.quotha.net

Sandra Cuffe is an independent journalist and photographer from Montréal, Canada. She contributes regularly to The Dominion magazine in Canada, and Latin American political newsletter, Upside Down World.

You can find her photos from Honduras at: http://flickr.com/photos/lavagabunda

The lies of Roberto Micheletti (and Lanny Davis)

Honduras' de facto leader Roberto Micheletti talks during a meeting with businessmen inside the presidential residence in Tegucigalpa September 22, 2009. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas (HONDURAS POLITICS)

By "RAJ"

Honduras Coup 2009

September 22, 2009

Excerpt from report:

In a column published in the Washinton Post today, he [Micheletti] wrote: "Coups do not allow freedom of assembly. They do not guarantee freedom of the press, much less respect for human rights. In Hoduras, these freedoms remain intact and vibrant."

I'm sure that was written by his PR firm, Lanny Davis, several days ago, because everything it says about Honduras is false, and was false when written. Constitutional guarantees have been suspended via a de facto government decree, including the right of assembly, freedom of the press, and the Interamerican Human Rights commission today decried their lack of respect for human rights over the last 24 hours. Lanny Davis doesn't mind bending the truth for his clients, as he showed in his "debate" with Greg Grandin on the Democracy Now website...

(click here to view entire report)