Weekly Roundup: El Salvador's Elections, Colombia's Tax Reform, CARICOM's Future

LatAm Remittances Reach $61 Billion in 2011

The Multilateral Investment Fund’s annual remittances report found that Latin Americans sent $61 billion to their countries of origin from abroad last year, a 6 percent increase from 2010. Mexico received the largest share at $22.7 billion, followed by Guatemala at $4.3 billion. Brazil was the only country that saw a decline in remittances; inflows fell 5 percent, due to migrants returning home. In fact, Brazilian migrant transfers—the value of a worker returning to his country of origin—increased 51 percent in 2011 and exceeded remittances for the first time.

Mexican Senate Passes Legislation to Protect Journalists

The Mexican Senate unanimously passed a constitutional amendment Tuesday that makes all attacks on journalists a federal crime. The amendment must pass in 17 of Mexico’s 31 state legislatures and be signed by the president before becoming law. The Committee to Protect Journalists’ blog says this means cases concerning crimes against journalists will be prosecuted by the “typically less corrupt and more effective federal police,” rather than local authorities. CPJ’s statistics show that 40 journalists have died or disappeared in Mexico since 2006, and threats against journalists prompted Freedom House to label Mexico’s press “not free” in 2011. 

TPP Negotiations Show Progress; Mexico Presses to Enter Group

A series of meetings held in Melbourne, Australia, March 2 to 9 concluded the eleventh round of negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a proposed free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. A press release from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the nine countries made “strong headway” and “notable progress” during the negotiations. Meanwhile, on March 9, Mexican Deputy Finance Minister Francisco de Rosenzweig met with members of the Mexican Institute of Foreign Trade Executives to push for Mexico’s entry into TPP negotiations.

Brazilian Ministers Head to Mexico to Hash out Auto Accord

Brazil and Mexico will decide whether to maintain a 2002 free trade agreement for cars, as both sides square off over new terms. On Friday, Brazil said it would require a $1.4 billion quota on Mexican auto imports over the next three years—a quota Mexico did not agree with. In an effort to conclude negotiations, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota and Trade Minister Fernando Pimentel will meet with Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Patricia Espinosa and Secretary of the Economy Bruno Ferrari in Mexico City on March 14. 

Read about the auto agreement in an AS/COA Online News Analysis.

ARENA Wins Slim Majority in Salvadoran Elections

During El Salvador’s legislative and municipal elections on Sunday, the conservative Nationalist Republican Alliance (ARENA) party won 33 out of 84 seats in the National Assembly, defeating the congressional majority of the ruling party, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). ARENA also held on to the coveted mayoralty of San Salvador. The FMLN captured 31 congressional seats, though it had hoped to gain a supermajority in order to push through controversial congressional reforms.

Read an AS/COA Online News Analysis about the Salvadoran election.

Zelaya Registers New Political Party in Honduras

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya returned to Honduras in May 2011 and is also seeking a return to the political arena. On March 14, he registered a new Honduran political party called Liberty and Re-Foundation Party (Libre). The party will pave the way for his wife, Xiomara Castro, to run for president in November 2013. Primary elections will take place this year in May.

Costa Rica and Nicaragua Coordinate on Border Patrol

Following the orders of a March 2011 ruling by the International Court of Justice, security officials from Costa Rica and Nicaragua met last week in San Jose to discuss border cooperation along the San Juan River. The officials agreed to create working groups and protocols at the border that will “form a unified front against the common enemy of organized crime, contraband, drug and human trafficking, and other crimes,” announced Costa Rican Security Vice Minister Walter Navarro. Though the two countries remain engaged in a border dispute over the Isla Calero, the meeting was described as “successful” and “cordial.”

Caribbean Nations Struggle to Save CARICOM

Leaders of the 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) met in Suriname last week with concerns about the group’s future. With contributions down as member states grapple with the financial crisis, CARICOM struggles to make ends meet. Faced with the prospect of a collapse, members voted to move quickly to implement fundamental changes to the group’s finances in an effort to save the 40-year-old body.  CARICOM’s survival is important, argues Bloggings by Boz’s James Bosworth, because “[w]hile no nation in the Caribbean is particularly influential on its own, the fact that they almost always vote and speak with one voice at international forums gives them strength.”

Dominican Republic Presidential Race Narrows

Two new polls show a tightening race between favorite Danilo Medina of the center-right Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) and former President Hipólito Mejía of the center-left Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) for the May presidential election. A March Gallup poll puts Medina at 48.7 percent of the vote, compared to Mejía’s 45.2 percent. A Greenberg poll shows an even narrower race, with Medina at 47 percent and Mejía at 46 percent. In December, Medina enjoyed a lead of nearly 13 points.  A second round seems likely, since one candidate must win 50 percent of the vote in order to avoid a runoff.

Cuban Cardinal Addresses Flock ahead of Papal Visit

Archbishop of Havana Cardinal Jaime Ortega addressed Cuba last night about the upcoming papal visit. In a half-hour televised address, Ortega said the pope was impressed by the religious fervor shown by Cubans in celebrations marking the four-hundredth anniversary of the island's patron, the Virgin of Charity of Cobre. Ortega said the faith shown by Cubans was "dormant, perhaps a little erased, but present in the heart of the people."

Florida Seeks to Penalize Companies with Cuba Ties

The Miami Herald reports that Florida lawmakers passed legislation this session barring local governments from contracting with companies that do business with Cuba and Syria. The law could affect Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, which seeks contracts in Miami through its U.S.-based subsidiary, but also engages in infrastructure projects in Cuba. While the bill passed near unanimously in the Florida legislature, analysts debate if it is constitutional. "If there is no federal law making it illegal to do business with Cuba or Syria, state law can't make it so," said one constitutional law professor.

Test Case: How Latino Vote Could Sway U.S. Election

Taking the experience of Phoenix City Councilman Daniel Valenzuela as an example, NPR’s All Things Considered looks at the role the Latino vote will play in the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. Valenzuela, a Democrat, won in a traditionally Republican district by increasing Latino voter turnout by 488 percent and appealing to issues important to the Latino community. “Latinos like the ones who voted in Phoenix—people who had never voted before—could turn out across the country in such numbers this year that they might hold the power to swing the presidential election,” reports NPR. Polls last week by Fox News showed Latinos favoring Democrats due to the perceived anti-immigration stance of the Republican presidential contenders.

State Department Hosts First Press Briefing in Spanish

Due to interest from Spanish-speaking media outlets in Latin America and the United States, the U.S. State Department held its first press briefing in Spanish on March 8.  Acting Assistant Secretary Mike Hammer fielded questions en español on both Latin American and global foreign policy issues. 

Hillary Clinton to Travel to Brazil in April

On Monday, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Roberta Jacobson announced that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would travel to Rio de Janeiro on April 16 after the Summit of the Americas concludes in Colombia. Clinton’s trip will also follow Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s April 9 visit to Washington, DC. The Brazil visit will “explore further ways to expand our bilateral and trilateral cooperation on regional and global issues,” Jacobson explained. Clinton will also participate in meetings for the Global Partnership Dialogue, a series of bilateral United States-Brazil discussions, as well as the Open Government Partnership, a multilateral initiative to promote transparency. 

Rousseff’s Latest Government Shake-up

On March 9, President Dilma Rousseff decided to replace the minister of agricultural development. Criticized by activists for the Rousseff administration’s lack of attention to agrarian reform, Afonso Florence left Rousseff’s cabinet. Rousseff named Pepe Vargas—a close ally and fellow Worker’s Party member—to the post. On March 12, Rousseff replaced the head of the Senate, appointing Senator Eduardo Braga to replace Senator Romero Jucá. The next day, she decided to remove Congressman Cândido Vaccarezza as the head of the House of Representatives as well, and appointed Congressman Arlindo Chinaglia to take his place. Rousseff explained that she wants to start a rotation system for congressional leadership. The change comes amid rising tension between Rousseff and her congressional coalition after the Senate rejected her choice for the head the country’s transportation agency last week. 

On Friday, Rousseff nominated civil engineer Magda Maria de Regina Chambriard to head Brazil’s National Agency of Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels. This means that women now dominate Brazil’s oil sector, after Maria das Graças Foster assumed the presidency of Petrobras in February. Chambriard is awaiting approval from the Senate.

First Brazilian Dictatorship Prosecution Announced

On Tuesday, Brazilian prosecutors announced they would bring charges against former Colonel Sebastião Curió Rodrigues de Moura, accused of the kidnapping, torture, and disappearance of five guerrillas in 1974. It would be the first criminal trial for human rights abuses committed during Brazil’s military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. Despite the passage of a 2011 law to set up a truth commission to investigate dictatorship-era crimes, a 1979 amnesty law is still in effect, protecting offenders from standing trial for crimes committed during the military regime. However, prosecutors say Moura’s trial falls outside of the period covered by the amnesty law, since the bodies were never found—making it a crime that continues to this day.

Brazilian Export Market Relies on Six Products

Brazil’s exports are increasingly dependent on a small group of commodities: coffee, iron, meat, petroleum, soy, and sugar made up 47.1 percent of the total value of exports in 2011. In 2006, these six products only accounted for 28.4 percent of exports. Brazil exported $256 billion worth of goods last year.

Colombia Proposes New Tax Reform

Juan Carlos Echeverry, Colombia’s finance minister, will present a tax reform bill to Congress next week. Pending President Juan Manuel Santos’ approval, this tax reform would be Colombia’s sixth in the last 10 years. The minister hopes to make the system more just as under the current law, wealthy taxpayers can end up paying less than minimum wage workers, and some businesses use loopholes to avoid taxes altogether. The bill faces opposition from industries that enjoy tax incentives, though the government hopes to gain their support by offering an overall corporate tax-rate reduction. Tax revenue accounted for 13.6 percent of Colombia’s GDP last year. 

Chávez’s Health Still under Scrutiny

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez expects to return to Venezuela this week from Cuba, after undergoing surgery two weeks ago for a cancer recurrence. Though he said he was in good spirits, the president admitted he would slow down after his most recent operation. "Unfortunately you are not going to see that much of me. I'm forced to confront this new situation, to rethink my personal agenda and take better care of myself," he told reporters. Nevertheless, the exact type of cancer and real state of Chávez’s health are still matters of speculation in Venezuela, especially given the presidential election in October. 

Read an AS/COA Online News Analysis exploring the political ramifications of Chávez’s health.

Narcotics Report Spotlights Argentine Money Laundering

The State Department released its annual International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR) last week. The two volume report details efforts by the world’s countries to control drug trafficking and related activities such as money laundering and financial crimes. Of note is Argentina’s first-time inclusion in the “Countries of Primary Concern” section for money laundering. “[N]umerous observers, both international and within Argentina, have said that the country's financial system is a site for laundering money from drugs trafficking, corruption, and contraband” reports InsightCrime. 

Argentina Investigates Dictatorship Economic Crimes

After pursuing prosecutions against those responsible for human rights abuses during Argentina’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, the country recently began a new series of investigations: economic abuses. The Secretariat of Human Rights is studying 600 cases of “poultry companies, textile factories, wineries, printing presses, steelworks, paper factories and banks” that were taken over, stolen, or terminated during the military regime. One of the businessmen filing a lawsuit for the takeover of his companies told IPS: "The physical, moral and economic damages that were inflicted on us are inestimable.” 

Chile Ranks High on Global Billionaires List

Last week’s release of the world’s richest billionaires by Forbes magazine shows Chile in sixth place worldwide in the number of billionaires, behind the United States, Russia, Germany, Mexico, and Brazil. CIPER Chile calls this an “anomaly,” as Chile is a much smaller economy in terms of GDP than those five, and surpasses much larger economies such as Japan or China. “In no other country in the world are so few families able to amass so much wealth in relation to the country in which they live,” the author adds, and asks what consequences this has for Latin America’s second-most unequal country. 

Guaraní Dominates in Paraguay

The New York Times reports on the use of the indigenous language Guaraní in Paraguay. The language is official along with Spanish, and is spoken by nearly 90 percent of Paraguayans, even though indigenous Guaraní people make up only 5 percent of Paraguay’s population. Guaraní survived due to Paraguay’s unique history, though some worry it could be dying out, with author and Guaraní-language television host Ramón Silva declaring that “Guaraní is in intensive care.” 

Canada: New Job Destination for Recent UK Grads

With limited job prospects in the United Kingdom, recent college graduates there are increasingly applying to a working holiday program in Canada, where the labor market is stronger, reports The Guardian. The one-year stint allows graduates to work in a range of industries, from retail to hospitality. This year, the Canadian government opened 5,350 slots and received an "unprecedented number of applications."