Twitter: latamthought- Correa to attend Santos investidura, but legal issues in Ecuador to continue http://bit.ly/9G46Jt
- Who is Joran van der Sloot? http://bit.ly/bs9Iy1
- This claim is based on "internal polls" carried out in the days leading up to the election. Interview here: http://bit.ly/bXqqvu
- Interview w/Colombian pollsters says they knew the gap b/w Santos-Mockus would be very large, but weren't allowed to publish the results
- New Post: Business as Ideology http://bit.ly/ahUmki HT @bloggingsbyboz
Category Archives: Brazil
Colombian Trafficker Arrested in Rio
On 16 April, a joint task force of Brazilian and US agencies (including the Drug Enforcement Administration) arrested Nestor Caro Chapparo, aka Felipe, as he was leaving his luxury apartment in Rio’s upscale Copacabana neighborhood.
This is the second consecutive month Caro Chapparo has made headlines. Last month, a video was leaked showing a number of [...]
From Partner by Default to Partner of Choice: Shifting US Policy in Latin America
On March 26, US Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield said the US is close to signing bi-lateral military accords with two unspecified countries in Latin America.
In October 2009, following a failed attempt to keep the details secret, the US and Colombia hastily announced a deal allowing US troops and advisors to use seven military bases [...]
Also posted in Panama, United States Tagged Brazil, Diplomacy, drug war, U.S.-Latin America relations, United States 1 Comment
Interpol, the US, and Brazil
Brazil and the United States have had a troubled relationship in the past year, between a bitter trade feud, a high profile child abduction case, and currently, disagreements on Iran. But the latest international debacle between the two countries involves a powerful Brazilian politician and a New York lawyer.
It began in 2007, when the Manhattan [...]
Also posted in United States Tagged Brazil, corruption, international law, law, New York, Sao Paulo 1 Comment
Brazil’s Tax and Debt Burden
Brazil is in bloom, economically speaking, and the international media has stirred up a frenzy of excitement about the robust and ever-expanding Brazilian economy. But as I’ve written several times before, this trend of stability and wealth mixed with blind optimism is not necessarily sustainable in the long run, and if [...]
Brazil’s nuclear initiatives: what should be done about them?
Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim recently declared that he is against additional inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and restrictions regarding selling uranium to other countries, a key ingredient for developing nuclear energy and nuclear armament. Indeed, Brazil has so far refused to sign an amended version of the NPT, the so-called additional [...]
Posted in Brazil Tagged Angra, Brazil, Iran, Nelson Jobim, Nuclear Issues, Nuclear Submarine Leave a comment
Paraguay’s Anti-Terrorist Group and the US
On 4 November 2009, the United States announced they would donate US$1.39 million in equipment towards the formation of an elite unit of highly trained troops in the Paraguayan army. Backed by US funding (sources put the total amount of the expedition at US$3 million) and training from SOUTHCOM, the troops are trained in counterterrorism [...]
Also posted in Paraguay, United States Tagged border issues, Fernando Lugo, security, Terrorism 1 Comment
Violence in Rio de Janeiro and Brazil’s Image Gap
Though we were a bit slow on the uptake, LatAmThought recently published an article on World Politics Review analyzing the impact of the internationally-newsworthy violence in Rio de Janeiro during the weekend of 17 October 2009.
The article analyzes the “image gap” between Brazil’s emerging status as a global leader and harsher domestic realities and looks at [...]
Also posted in Latin America Leave a comment
The Dangers of Prison Transfers
The (dare I say, even sarcastically) classic 1997 movie Con Air is based on the premise of a prison transfer gone awry. In the movie, a group of criminals hijack the airplane on which they are being transported from one prison to another. The movie highlights the dangerous nature of violent criminals and their ability [...]
Brazilian Oil PR Bonanza
Though there are a variety big issues in Brazil right now, mostly involving the Sarney corruption scandal and the Senate’s Internet censorship during the upcoming elections, there is another issue, one of President Lula’s pet projects and evidently one of the federal government’s top priorities: oil.
Petrobras, the state-run petroleum company, has long been a leader [...]
The Skeletons in Brazil’s Closet