Latin America

Venezuela to install 30,000 surveillance cameras

Venezuela is installing 30,000 surveillance cameras to crack down on rampant crime, officials said Wednesday. Most of the Chinese-made equipment will be put up in the capital Caracas. Some is already in place in a municipality within the Caracas metropolitan area as part of a pilot program. The equipment, manufactured by Chinese company CEIEC, will be delivered to Venezuela under cooperation agreements agreed by Caracas and Beijing. The information picked up by the devices will be made available to police for use in crime probes." Continue reading →

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Want to invest in Cuba? Learn how to wait

"The buildings, the roads, the power grid, the water system—all need updating after decades of neglect under a socialist regime. After CNBC spent a week in Cuba meeting with the leaders overseeing economic reforms, it's unclear whether authorities are ready to make the changes necessary to become attractive to investors on a large scale. One place where such investment is visible is in the oil and gas industry. Driving toward Varadero, a team from CNBC spotted at least one oil drill bearing Chinese flags. As for any kind of large-scale privatizations, investors will have to keep waiting." Continue reading →

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Cuba 2012 (BBC Documentary)

"In this hour-long documentary for the BBC's award-winning This World strand, Simon gets under the skin of a colourful and vibrant country famous for its hospitality and humour and asks if this new economic openness could lead to political liberalisation in a totalitarian country with a poor human rights record. Will Cuba be able to maintain the positive aspects of its long isolation under socialism - low crime, top-notch education and one of the best health systems in the world - while embracing what certainly looks like capitalism? Is this the last chance to see Cuba before it becomes just like any other country?" Continue reading →

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Deciding on Living in Medellin, Colombia: The Good & Bad

"I would say that I have now become semi-nomadic. I travel very differently than others in that I rent a furnished apartment anytime I move overseas. Since I day trade in the stock market and run other businesses online a reliable Internet connection is a necessity. To boast my credentials I will inform you that I have lived in 12 countries spanning five continents. All unique countries in their own right but nothing compares to living in the city of eternal spring. It has been noted in countless lists as one of the best places to live including the official Wandering Trader best places to live in South America list. The most important list of all right?" Continue reading →

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Venezuela struggles to attract tourists

"After neglecting the tourism sector for years, in favor of the lucrative oil industry — Venezuela has the world’s largest proven reserves — the government in Caracas is now working hard to attract visitors. However, the country suffers from outdated infrastructure — hotels, highways and domestic flights are all lacking — and wary foreigners who choose different destinations after seeing Venezuela’s high crime rates. Colombia welcomed 2.1 million visitors last year, 4.5 million people flocked to the Dominican Republic and its famous resorts and Brazil had 5.6 million visitors. In 2011, Cuba opened its doors to 2.6 million tourists." Continue reading →

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Argentinian vet designs $3 IUD device to boost beef production

"Turin, 47, began experimenting with home-made bovine IUDs 20 years ago. Today he has a small factory built next to his home in Pergamino — 245 kilometers (152 miles) north of Buenos Aires in Argentina’s livestock and agricultural heartland — to produce the $3.00 devices. The cheap and simple items have been a success: some 2.5 million bovine IUDs have been exported to places like Brazil — a world beef-producing giant — and Spain. Spanish officials have even approved one of Turin’s models for use in sows, especially since the castration of boars was recently banned due to animal welfare concerns." Continue reading →

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Bolivian man claims to have lived for 123 years thanks to quinoa and coca leaves

"Bolivian indigenous farmer Carmelo Flores, who could be the oldest person to have ever lived, attributes his longevity to quinoa grains, riverside mushrooms and around-the-clock chewing of coca leaves. Speaking in the 4,000-metre (13,123-feet) high hamlet where he lives in a straw-roofed hut, Flores says the traditional Andean diet has kept him alive for 123 years. Flores is still strong enough to take daily walks in shoes made of recycled tires. Flores said he fought in the brutal 1932-35 Chaco War between Bolivia and Paraguay, and had to hunt skunks to nourish himself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBolivian man claims to have lived for 123 years thanks to quinoa and coca leaves

Peru’s protesters shake up politics with challenge to President Humala

"The biggest political protests in Peru’s capital in more than a decade have pressured President Ollanta Humala to clean up government and share the benefits of the country’s decade-long economic boom. Many of the protesters were left-leaning and middle-class youth who voted for Humala two years ago, but now they say he and other political leaders are dangerously out of touch. The street protests peaked with a rally of around 8,000 at the end of July. They were small compared to other protest movements in Latin America, but the biggest in Lima since 2000, when demonstrators took to the streets against President Alberto Fujimori." Continue reading →

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Argentina’s primary elections: Bad dress rehearsal

"The bizarre teaser election that Argentines had to take part in on August 11th was designed by Cristina Fernández, the president. She put her all into promoting her candidates, even flying her hand-picked hopeful for the most populous province of Buenos Aires to Brazil to be photographed with their compatriot, Pope Francis. Photographs of him, her and the pope were plastered across the province as campaign posters. The pontiff’s magic did not rub off. Ms Fernández’s Front for Victory (FPV) party did worse than at any time in its ten-year existence." Continue reading →

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Fordlandia: Henry Ford’s Amazon Dystopia

"In 1927, the American industrialist Henry Ford began building a private city—Fordlandia—in the depths of the Brazilian Amazon forest. His company had won title to nearly 2.5 million acres of land—over 3,800 square miles—for a planned rubber plantation and company town. Ford spent over $20 million (about $300 million in today’s dollars) putting in roads, water and power systems, rail lines, factories, offices, medical facilities, homes, schools, and stores. Thousands of workers and their families flocked to Fordlandia. Soon, however, waves of rioting, looting, and burning roiled the city. Ford abandoned his namesake in 1945, leaving it to rot in the jungle." Continue reading →

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