Here is news from Latin America.
Evo Morales’ Day of Reckoning in Bolivia
Voters in Bolivia will vote on Sunday whether President Evo Morales should stay in office in a referendum proposed by the Bolivian leader to try to break a political stalemate in the bitterly divided Andean nation. More from the Los Angeles Times.
Morales, his vice president and eight state governors face recall votes that could throw them all out of office. Polls indicate that Morales is likely to retain his job, though several governors who oppose his policies could lose theirs.
A tense atmosphere prevails across the country. Violent anti-government demonstrations and airport blockades forced the cancellation of an energy summit with the presidents of Argentina and Venezuela. There have been threats to obstruct the vote and reports of gunfire directed at the vehicle of a Cabinet member.
Here is another story from the Miami Herald on this topic.
Colombia To Send Technical Personnel to Afghanistan
The government of Alvaro Uribe announced that it would send technical assistance to Afghanistan but not combat troops. Colombia will send anti-mine specialists as well as an engineering brigade to Afghanistan. Furthermore, Colombia will continue to train Afghan police in anti-narcotic techniques in Colombia. Colombia contributes 500 peace-keeping troops to the UN Mission in the Sinai.
In order news from Colombia, the medical doctor to FARC guerrilla leader Alfonso Cano has been captured and arrested. Also arrested was another FARC guerrilla said to be the girlfriend of the killed guerrilla leader Raul Reyes.
The Economist Profiles Fernando Lugo, Paraguay’s President to Be
Recently relieved of his pastoral duties by Pope Benedict XVI, Fernando Lugo is set to become Paraguay’s next President next week. The Economist profiles the new leftist on the South American block:
Just where Mr Lugo will fit in the spectrum of Latin America’s leftist presidents is not yet clear. His foreign minister, Alejandro Hamed, has expressed sympathy for Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. Mr Lugo himself has expressed admiration for Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, a more moderate socialist. Under Mr Lugo, Paraguay may open diplomatic relations with China, ending its current link with Taiwan.
But it is Mr Lugo’s relationship with Brazil that is likely to have the most impact on his presidency. The two countries share the Itaipu hydroelectric dam (still the world’s largest until China’s Three Gorges is completed). Paraguay uses less than a tenth of Itaipu’s electricity; under a treaty, it sells the rest of its half share of the power to its neighbour at a price which is well below spot prices in Brazil. Mr Lugo said that he wants to renegotiate the treaty, but he has recently sounded more conciliatory.
The Mexican Drug Wars
Under unprecedented pressure, Mexico’s drug cartels have unleashed epic violence, which some say shows that antidrug measures are working. I am not quite sure if I buy that logic. Here’s the story from the Miami Herald.
Venezuelan Protests
There were major pro-Chávez and anti-Chávez protests in Venezuela this week in the wake of Chávez’s 26 decrees that largely enacted into law what Chávez failed to accomplished at the ballot box last December and over the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia’s, the Venezuela Supreme Court, ruling that ruled over 250 politicians ineligible to run for office in the upcoming November local and regional elections. The opposition called the decrees a “coup” by fiat.