This coming Monday Venezuelans will enjoy an entire week off to celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) instead of the normal Thursday-Friday break. One might think that in a country where more than 90% of the population is Catholic this would be cause for greater attendance at church. In reality, it will likely mean longer vacations […]
The recent US delegation visit to Mexico has once more stirred debate on Mexico’s war on drugs. Commentators, notably Jorge Castañeda, have used the occasion to repeat claims that the drug war is President Calderón’s fault, and headway in defeating the cartels should include “some sort of tacit deal with some cartels” while extending “the […]
Secretary of State Clinton leads an American delegation of cabinet officers, along with a few generals, to talks with their Mexican counterparts today. The meeting, slated for months, comes in the wake of the murder of three people in Juarez with employment ties to the American consulate there. US Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela, […]
President Hugo Chávez wants to place restrictions on the Internet in Venezuela after he criticized negative coverage from Noticiero Digital, a website generally opposing the government. The site had incorrectly reported the assassination of a top government official. Frustration with a false report is understandable. Any broader move to limit news sources, however, appears to […]
The good folks at Coca-Cola insist their product taste the same no matter if it is consumed from a soda fountain, can, plastic or glass bottle. That’s a saccharine claim, according to my palette. I’m not alone in my preference for the glass-bottled variety, a Popular Science study has concluded it the “most inert” of […]
This week, President Lula kicked off his tour of the Middle East, the first time a Brazilian head of state has been to Israel. His visit began on Sunday in Israel, and Lula will continue on to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian leaders and to Jordan to conclude his trip. In Israel, President […]
Late last month the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) released a lengthy report that described a weakening of democratic freedoms and rights in Venezuela. In its overview, the Commission stated that the country experiences: “political intolerance; the lack of independence of the branches of the State in dealing with the executive; constraints on freedom […]
In so many ways this event mirrored bilateral relations today, cordial, but increasingly thorny as an accumulating list of important issues, from immigration to international trade and non-proliferation, lead more and more Brazilians to the conclusion that the United States is part of the problem, not the solution.
United States immigration policy may not be very keen on welcoming Mexico’s huddled masses, but it has few qualms with Mexican entrepreneurs. E- and L-series visas offer a relatively quick path to legal immigration for Mexicans—provided they are willing to front the cash to open their own businesses. Capital investments of several hundred thousand dollars, […]
In Brazil, nicknames are very common, especially for famous people and even politicians. President Lula da Silva received his nickname when he was young, since the common nickname for Luiz, his given name, is Lula (similar to calling a person named Robert, Bob). However, given that lula means squid in Portuguese, the president has really […]
In a break with judicial procedure in Mexico and the United States drug kingpin Osiel Cárdenas, former head of the Gulf Cartel, was sentenced to 25 years in a secret hearing in Houston this week. He pled guilty to five counts, including drug dealing, money laundering, and attempted murder of federal agents. He also forfeited […]
Had the Brazilian government not insisted in its policy of engagement with Iran, despite the crescendo of criticism lodged by the likes of Oppenheimer, then everyone’s cards would already be on the table with little room for negotiations. Let’s just hope that the newcomer, Brazil, is holding the best card in the house.
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