Weekly Roundup: EPN's German Interview, Colombia's Cyber Efforts, Chile's FDI Boom

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Mexican Prez Talks Crime-Fighting, Poverty Alleviation with German News Outlet

In a new interview, Germany’s Spiegel asks Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto point-blank questions on topics ranging from how his government plans to rein in violence to the Institutional Revolutionary Party’s return to power to what Europe can learn from Latin America.

What Guatemala’s Ríos Montt Trial Means for Latin America

Law professor Naomi Roht-Arriaza takes a look at what the genocide trial of Guatemala’s former general Efraín Ríos Montt represents for Latin American prosecution of human rights violations. “While the trial in Guatemala still faces many obstacles, it is part of an overall regional trend toward prosecution and away from amnesty laws,” she writes.

After Chávez? The Fate of Latin America’s Left

Mystery continues to surround the health of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, raising questions about who would fill his shoes as the region’s overarching leftist leader and leaving in doubt the fate of the Latin American left. In an article for ForeignPolicy.com, Independent Institute’s Álvaro Vargas Llosa writes: “Several Latin American leaders would like to succeed him, but no one meets the necessary conditions: Cuba's blessing, a fat wallet, a country that carries enough demographic, political and economic weight, potent charisma, a willingness to take almost limitless risks, and sufficient autocratic control to allow him or her to devote major time to permanent revolution away from home.”

Colombia Bolsters Cyber Security

Analyst James Bosworth writes about recent Colombian-U.S. military cyber-security cooperation, citing an Infosurhoy.com article about Bogota’s creation of a dedicated government cyber unit. However, while collaboration is important, writes Bosworth, it should involve civilian as well as military institutions.

Black Gold in Colombia: Oil Flows Hit Record Output

Colombia produced a record average of 1.01 million barrels of oil per day in January, the Mines and Energy Ministry announced this week. The Andean country’s oil production more than doubled over the past seven years, and oil output averaged 940,000 barrels a day last year.

Ecuador’s Vice President Pushes Access for the Disabled

Vice President of Ecuador Lenin Moreno, who is paraplegic, has helped turn Ecuador into “one of Latin America’s most advanced countries for disabled people,” reports GlobalPost. With Moreno’s efforts, the government installed wheelchair ramps in cities and began giving monthly stipends to the severely disabled. Moreno also helped pen a law that requires companies to reserve 4 percent of openings for people with disabilities.

CELAC: A “Cruel Joke” on Democracy?

In an article for Project Syndicate, former Chilean Finance Minister Andrés Velasco evaluates the lack of Latin American leadership in light of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit in January. At the meeting, Cuba took over the pro-tempore presidency of the organization—one intended to promote democracy in the region. “Imagine a meeting at which claims to defend democracy were something more than a cruel joke,” writes Velasco. “Is that too much to ask?”

Foreign Investment Pours into Chile

A recent report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development finds that Chile pushed past Mexico to become Latin America’s second biggest FDI destination in 2012, after the Southern Cone country saw an increase of 52.7 percent on 2011 while investment in Mexico dropped 16 percent in the same period.

Apple to Lose iPhone Trademark in Brazil

Reuters and Folha de São Paulo reported this week that the Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property plans to give a Brazilian electronics company the exclusive trademark to the iPhone name. The company, called Gradiente, applied for the rights before Apple launched the iPhone, but didn’t put its own iPhone on the market until December 2012. Gradiente’s trademark rights would extend through 2018.

Peru’s First Lady Favored Candidate

A recent Datum poll shows that 49 percent of Peruvians would support First Lady Nadine Heredia if she ran for president in the 2016 elections. But consecutive presidential terms are not permitted in Peru, and 60 percent of respondents believe the first lady’s candidacy would constitute a form of reelection.

Baby Doc Ditches Human Rights Hearing in Haiti

Former Haitian President Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier skipped a February 7 hearing in Port-au-Prince, claiming he could not attend because the date coincided with the anniversary of his 1987 overthrow. An appeals court judge said Duvalier, who faces charges of crimes against humanity and corruption, must appear in court on February 21.

U.S. Flights to Cuba Cancelled after Lack of Demand

The Miami Herald reports that U.S. flights to Cuba have been cut back due to lack of interest following “vastly overblown predictions of a boom in demand.” Airlines halted a Los Angeles-to-Havana flight as well as two flights from Tampa, drawing down the number of weekly U.S.-Cuba flights from 60 to 45.