First up is the buzz surrounding the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Argentina. As with around the world, there is marked anti-American (or anti-Bush?) sentiment, among other things:
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Long gone are the days of heavily armed revolutionaries wandering the jungles of Nicaragua or Bolivia and the cry of "Yankee Go Home!" on the streets of Latin America.
Since the end of the Cold War, military dictatorships have vanished and the region for the most part has embraced capitalism and American-style democracy. But that doesn't mean it's entirely at peace with "El Norte," its powerful northern neighbor.
When President Bush arrives this week at the Argentine seaside resort of Mar del Plata for the fourth Summit of the Americas, leftist activists, students, Indians and trade unionists will gather at a basketball stadium several miles away to protest everything from the war in Iraq to U.S. immigration policy to free trade deals.
"We think his policies are totally contrary to what we want for Latin America and are promoting genocide, domination of workers and their communities and the plundering of natural resources," said Argentine labor leader Juan Gonzalez, who is heading a protest "People's Summit" coinciding with Bush's visit Thursday through Saturday.
Groups to rally against Bush in Argentina
There is also a meeting of indigenous groups, and many important issues are going to be discussed at this summit.There also seems to be quite a political upheaval going on in Ecuador.. I hope to have more in the future on this, but I don't know much myself.. here's a beginning, though:
Quito, Oct 28 (Prensa Latina) The political conflict between Ecuador´s Executive and Legislative powers augmented Friday after the latter requested intervention of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the country.
The Government Minister Galo Chiriboga rejected the Congressional request, approved by 68 votes from 79 lawmakers, and emphasized that "Ecuadorians are able to reach agreements" without international interference.
After knowing the political blocs´ resolution, contrary to President Alfredo Palacio´s proposal to call for a referendum asking for a Constituent Assembly, Chiriboga pointed out that a solution to the crisis must be sought among Ecuadorians.
Political Crisis Deepens in Ecuador - Prensa Latina
Many South American countries are unhappy with the new FBI office that has been established in Paraguay:Asuncion, Oct 27 (Prensa Latina) The US FBI will run a permanent office from the US Embassy in the capital of Paraguay beginning in 2007, which will cooperate with local security in fighting crimes like drug traffic and kidnappings.
The office will serve as a bridge between US and Paraguayan authorities and monitor law enforcement, including access to databases and other information.
Asuncion becomes the 8th Latin American capital to host a "legal attaché", after Buenos Aires, Brasilia, Santiago de Chile, Caracas, Bogota, Panama and Mexico City, and 54th in the world.
More Information on Coming FBI Paraguay Office - Prensa Latina
Then there are the pieces of trade news...
Brazilians are protesting the ban on Brazilian beef following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, in a rather unique display:
Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets Thursday to try to show the rest of the world that Brazilian beef is safe — by roasting and eating 22,000 pounds of it.
More than 40 countries have banned Brazilian beef after the country's latest outbreak of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease earlier this month in the midwestern state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
Brazil has the world's largest commercial cattle herd, estimated at 190 million head, and is the world's leading beef exporter by volume. Foot-and-mouth disease, which also strikes sheep, pigs and goats, is a highly contagious viral illness that can be spread through minimal contact with infected animals, farm equipment or meat. The disease can be fatal in animals but does not harm humans.
The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Thousands in Brazil march to support beef
Meanwhile, there is some controversy on a lesser scale over the EU's ban on importation of wild birds, after two birds from Suriname were found to have Avian flu:The European Union’s announcement of a one month ban on the importation of wild birds is worrying exporters in Guyana and Suriname.Many are also worried about the fact that the EU is considering ending a longstanding sugar trade agreement with many former European colonies; some of the countries are dependant on their sugar trade and could be hit hard (including Guyana, which is within my scope):The ban came after two parrots in quarantine died of a deadly strain of the virus. The birds had been imported from Suriname.
The Guyana Wild Life Exporters Association is concerned about the effects the ban will have on jobs and on export earning.
thousands more sugar farmers in Mauritius and other former European colonies face a threat to their livelihoods, as the European Union plans a massive overhaul of its sugar policy, little changed in almost 40 years.The bloc is proposing to slash subsidies for sugar exports from African, Caribbean and Pacific ACP states by 39 percent over the next four years.
Beginning in July 2006, this will cut prices to 303 euros per tonne of sugar by 2008/9 from 524 euros now.
The move follows a World Trade Organisation ruling that the subsidies paid to European sugar producers -- and those in former colonies who have special access to EU markets -- constituted unfair trade.
But the 18-strong ACP group, which includes Mauritius, Fiji, Guyana, Swaziland, Jamaica, Barbados, Zambia and Kenya, says its developing economies are ill-equipped to deal with the cuts and warn of social upheaval if the reforms go ahead.
Editor's Choice News Article | Reuters.co.uk
Meanwhile, in a bit of good news, South American ministers of Tourism have agreed to work together to fight the sexual and commercial exploitation of children and adolescents:Rio - South American ministers of Tourism, gathered yesterday (26) at the World Forum of Tourism for Peace and Sustainable Development, decided to embark upon a joint campaign to prevent and combat the sexual and commercial exploitation of children and adolescents.And Venezuela and the ever-controversial Hugo Chavez is busily changing to try to push their new socialist government:
The campaign is scheduled to begin in December. And, according to the Brazilian minister of Tourism, Walfrido dos Mares Guia, it will be conducted in such a way that every tourist, domestic and foreign, will perceive that the countries are on their guard, ready for prevention, and with increasingly rigorous laws to punish those who wish to abuse children and adolescents," he emphasized.
According to the minister, it was an historical meeting, since it was the first time that ministers of Tourism from around the continent got together to discuss two basic questions: the integration of air travel between South American countries and the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.
According to a recent survey by the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 934 Brazilian cities were identified as hotbeds of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents for sexual ends, associated mainly with tourism, cargo transportation, and gasoline stations. Referring to the study, the minister commented that the problem is global in scope and that, for this reason, the country should not be ashamed. "What we have to do is confront it," he declared.
CARACAS, Venezuela - Firmly in power and his revolution now in overdrive, President Hugo Chávez is moving fast to transform Venezuela's economy by bucking free-market planning with what he calls 21st-century socialism: founding state companies, seizing abandoned private factories and establishing thousands of cooperatives and worker-run businesses.
Chávez Restyles Venezuela With '21st-Century Socialism' - New York Times
