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Weekly Roundup: Brazil's Education Plan, U.S.-Cuba Travel, CentAm's Child Migrants

Ecuador's legislature passes major water legislation, the UN releases new figures on drug production, and Peru's president announces a new cabinet shake-up. Read these stories and more.

U.S. Homeland Security to send more agents to border amid child-migrant surge. Speaking before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee on June 24, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced the dispatch of 115 agents to Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas to address the wave of around 52,000 migrant children that have crossed the border this year. He’s also considering sending an additional 150 border patrol agents. “How we treat the children, in particular, is a reflection of our laws and our values," he said. Honduran First Lady Ana García de Hernández flew to Texas to assess the situation, given that many of the migrants come from the Central American country. The Los Angeles Times reports that as a result of the crisis, the Obama administration will postpone plans to unveil a more lenient deportation policy. 

Find out more about the issues driving migration from Central America in a US News & World Report article by Carin Zissis.

Brazil’s Rousseff approves new education plan. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff signed the country’s new National Education Plan on June 26. The law includes 20 goals, one of which is to invest 10 percent of GDP in education. The plan also calls for universal pre-kindergarten and to abolish illiteracy. Legislation passed last year earmarking 75 percent of oil royalties and 50 percent of pre-salt royalties for education “allows the goals of the plan to become a reality,” said the president.

More investment in education was a demand during last year’s protests in Brazil. Watch a video and find out why these demonstrations were a turning point from The Economist’s Michael Reid.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala announces cabinet shake-up. On June 23, José Gallardo Ku, Gonzalo Gutiérrez, and Daniel Urresti were sworn in as minister of transportation and communications, foreign minister, and interior minister, respectively. The switch follows the previous ministers’ resignations; former Interior Minister Walter Alban cited personal reasons for leaving, while Foreign Minister Eda Rivas and Minister of Transportation Carlos Rivas did not disclose details. Humala has dealt with numerous cabinet shake-ups since the start of his administration in 2011, including the appointment of six different interior ministers.

Read more about the cabinet challenges that Ollanta’s administration has faced.

Number of U.S. travelers to Cuba reaches record levels. Almost 600,000 people traveled from the United States to Cuba in 2013, most of them Cuban-Americans, reports NPR.​ Plus, a growing numbers of Cubans are visiting the United States as a result of loosened travel restrictions by the Cuban government last year. Travelers are helping fuel businesses on the island, and remittances now reach about $5 billion a year.

Learn about what the United States can do to encourage entrepreneurship in Cuba in April action memo.

Ecuador passes bill bringing water resources under government control. On June 24, Ecuador’s National Assembly approved a bill making water a state-controlled resource. The bill aligns with the country’s 2008 constitution, which mandates government oversight of so-called strategic resources. The bill awaits President Rafael Correa’s approval; he is expected to sign. However, several indigenous groups are protesting the proposal, saying it should include protections for communities located near water sources.

Get a visual breakdown on water usage and sources in Latin America.

Coca cultivation in South America hits historic low. On June 26, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime released its annual World Drug Report, noting global cocaine availability fell in the medium-term due in part to record-low coca cultivation levels in South America. At the end of 2012, coca crops covered a global net area of 516 square miles, down 14 percent from the previous year.

In Colombia, coca cultivation fell 25 percent from 2011 to 2012, and coca crops decreased by 6.9 percent and 3.3 percent in Peru and Bolivia, respectively. However, InSight Crime points out that trafficking of pre-cursor chemicals used to make drugs is on the rise in the region. Only 12 percent of global pre-cursor chemical seizures between 2002 and 2012 took place in South America, but the region accounted for 60 percent of global seizures between 2007 and 2012.

Find out why Peru’s coca cultivation has gone down.