Argentina’s president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has worn black every day since her husband died in October 2010. Last night—as she delivered a speech amid rising tensions between Argentina and the United Kingdom over …
Latin America
Must-Reads from Around the World: Feb. 8, 2012
Iowa Beckons – Communist Party mouthpiece China Daily muses the impact of Vice-President Xi Jinping’s U.S. visit next week. While its news story quotes experts saying it “will help China-U.S. ties fly clear of U.S. election year …
A Repulsive Children’s Crusade in Venezuela – But Hope for a Civil Presidential Campaign?
It is a disgusting picture. Seated beneath a mural of Jesus Christ holding a gun, three children covering their faces with political bandanas brandish assault rifles as an adult proudly stands beside them. The photo, taken in a …
Must Reads from Around the World: Feb. 3, 2012
Al Shabaab Splintering – Foreign Affairs investigates the splintering of the al-Qaeda-linked militant group, al Shabaab, in Somalia and its potential fallout for the West. “In a sense, with the gains made in recent months, there …
Must Reads from Around the World: Jan. 27, 2012
Geopolitics – Foreign Policy takes an astute look at how Iran – contrary to its own initial hopes and others’ fears – has failed to benefit from the Arab Spring. “In fact, Iran’s regional position has taken a big hit,” Colin H. …
Candidate Capriles: Could This Man Defeat Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez?
To explain why left-wing Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has stayed in power for 13 years, fans and foes alike point out that he controls the western hemisphere’s largest oil reserves. But he’s also been blessed with what is …
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Obama to Brazil: Send Us Your Affluent, Money-Spending Masses
If I were a restaurant owner, I might cut back a bit on Coca-Cola and stock some Guaraná. That’s the favorite soft drink in Brazil, whose tourists, propelled by the emerging giant’s roaring economy, have been spending money …
Republic of Jamaica: Why Ditching the British Queen Isn’t Enough
Jamaicans don’t have a lot to celebrate as they mark their golden anniversary of independence this year. Their unemployment rate is almost twice that of the Caribbean region as a whole; their government is still reeling from a …
Ahmadinejad Goes on Tour: What’s Iran’s Agenda in Latin America?
In 2006, the same year Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez called then U.S. President George W. Bush “the devil” at the U.N., Chávez and his oil-rich, anti-U.S. revolution were looking for new ways to kick Washington in the …
Rise of the Magi: On Three Kings Day, Believers and Atheists Should Call a Truce
On Jan. 6, kids all over the Spanish-speaking world will get Christmas toys. Not from Santa Claus but from Los Reyes Magos — the Magi, a.k.a. the Wise Men or Three Kings, who according to Biblical tradition followed a star to …
Not So Apocalypto: What the Mayan Calendar Tells Us About Latin America in 2012
According to scholars, the fact the Mayan calendar ends by the winter solstice of 2012 is not an omen of the apocalypse, but a rather savvy political move by an ancient monarch. To that end, Global Spin offers its predictions for …
Is Latin America’s Boom Over? A Pall, Personal and Economic, Falls Over a Regional Summit
A pall was cast over the summit of Mercosur nations in Uruguay this week when Iván Heyn, Argentina’s Undersecretary for Foreign Trade, was found dead, hanged with a belt in his Montevideo hotel room. Heyn, only 34, was a …