Latin America

Honduras ‘no longer functioning’ after plunging over fiscal cliff

"Street surveillance cameras in one of the world's most dangerous cities were turned off last week because Honduras' government hasn't paid millions of dollars it owes. The operator that runs them is now threatening to suspend police radio service as well. Teachers have been demonstrating almost every day because they haven't been paid in six months, while doctors complain about the shortage of essential medicines, gauze, needles and latex gloves. Honduras is also grappling with $5 billion in foreign debt, a figure equivalent to last year's entire government budget." Continue reading →

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Castro’s Take on Gun-Control Coincides With Our Rulers’

"All the arms that were found by the rebel army are stored and locked in barracks, where they belong. What are these arms for? Against whom are they going to be used? Against the revolutionary government that has the support of all the people? Do we have a dictatorship here? Are we going to take up arms against a free government that respects the rights of the people? We have a free country here. ... There is no tormenting of political prisoners, no murders, no terror. When all the rights of the citizens have been restored ... why do we need arms?" Continue reading →

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Cuba, part one: first impressions

"My wife and I traveled to Cuba with 22 other Americans (January 9-16) on a tour organized by Road Scholar; a Boston based nonprofit travel agency formerly known as Elderhostel. Road Scholar has a license issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department to conduct People-to-People interactions. On January 9 we took an early morning one-hour charter flight from Miami International Airport to Cienfuegos, a port city of about 100,000 in the southern central part on the island. In addition to our group dozens of Cuban Americans were on board to visit their families." Continue reading →

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David Galland: Lessons from the Argentine

"In today's missive, I plan on sharing just a few of the lessons learned since moving to Cafayate in the Salta province in scenic northwest Argentina. It's my hope that my observations will be of use to you in getting through the challenging times still ahead for the major developed economies. That's because, as I probably don't need to tell you, the Argentines have almost unparalleled experience in surviving the regular financial crises their government has proven so adept at creating. In fact, since Juan Perón took office in 1946, not a single ten-year period has passed without being molested by a serious crisis, and often more than one." Continue reading →

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The safest place in the world

"Every few hundred years, wealth and power shifts. This has happened so many times before, it’s hard to even keep track. Mesopotamia. Persia. Macedonia. Greece. Roman Empire. Byzantium. Mongolian Empire. Ming Dynasty. Ottoman Empire. Habsburg Empire. French-Bourbon Monarchy. British Empire. Third Reich. United States of America. This change is as old as human civilization itself. And it’s happening again. Decades of unsustainable debt have caught up to the West, and wealth and power are once again shifting." Continue reading →

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Study: Companies from emerging markets will shape global economy in next decade

"The top 100 fast-globalising companies from rapidly developing economies are outpacing their rivals from developed economies in terms of expansion, job creation and productivity, said the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study. These companies, which it called global challengers, grew at an annual average of 16 percent from 2008 through 2011, four times the rate of their competitors in developed countries. Their average revenue hit $26.5 billion (20 billion euros) in 2011, compared to $21 billion for the non-financial companies listed on the S&P 500 stock index." Continue reading →

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Havana scraps exit visas, but most Cubans won’t be going abroad

"Exit visas are one of the first hurdles Cubans have had to face when it comes to travel. But a new law set to come into force today scraps the requirement for the costly 'white card,' allowing Cubans to travel freely with just a passport. They will be allowed to remain out of the country for as many as two years before they lose certain rights in Cuba, such as health care and their property. There are more obvious caveats in the wording of the law that say that those of value to the Revolution – professionals such as scientists and engineers – will have a much harder time obtaining the necessary permissions to leave." Continue reading →

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Food Shortages in Venezuela Bigger Worry Than Constitution

"At a bustling food market in downtown Caracas, armed officers belonging to President Hugo Chavez’s National Bolivarian Guard marched by boxes of lettuce and tomatoes, checking prices and storage rooms. The inspection is part of a nationwide campaign to crack down on over-pricing and hoarding the government blames for shortages of basic goods, from toilet paper to sugar. The government said today that consumer prices in December jumped the most in 2 1/2 years, highlighting the growing economic problems that are amassing as Chavez’s battle with cancer unleashes a power struggle." Continue reading →

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Venezuela’s Inflation Rate Hit 19.9%

"Venezuelan inflation reached 19.9 percent in 2012, the central bank said in a preliminary estimate on Saturday, beating its official target thanks to strict price controls that business leaders say are unsustainable in the long term. The government of President Hugo Chavez has capped prices for a wide range of consumer goods, helping contain inflation that has traditionally been the highest in Latin America. The 2012 target had been between 22 and 25 percent. But inflation is seen accelerating in 2013 because Venezuela is expected to devalue the bolivar currency after heavy campaign spending this year that helped ensure Chavez's re-election." Continue reading →

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Argentina Deploys Troops To Contain Looting

"What started with the ouster Thursday afternoon of a supermarket in the Patagonian resort town of Bariloche quickly spread to other parts of the country, with thousands of looters attacking supermarkets and shops in the cities of Rosario, Campana and Zárate. In the central city Rosario, two people were killed during the incidents and 137 people arrested. The Kirchner administration deployed 400 federal agents Thursday night at the request of Río Negro Province's governor to help restore order in Bariloche after inhabitants of a shantytown looted at least one supermarket and attacked several other supermarkets and shops." Continue reading →

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