Latin America and the Carribean

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Latin America: call for new social agenda

Neo-liberal economic reform has helped generate economic growth across much of Latin America, but often at the expense of large swathes of the poor and marginalized whose discontent has been readily exploited by radical populist forces.  These reforms had  ”only a limited effect on reducing the vast social and economic inequalities that threaten democracy,” said [read full story]

Electoral Observation Missions and Democracy Building: The Latin America Experience and the 2009 Salvadoran Elections

On Wednesday, February 18th, the Georgetown Masters Program in Democracy and Governance is co-sponsoring a panel on election observation and democracy in Latin America with American University. Panelists include Glenn Cowan (Democracy International), Laura Grace (National Democratic Institute for International Affairs), Steve Griner (Organization of American States), and David Holiday (Open Society Institute). 12:00-1:30pm. American [read full story]

Events

February 17, 2009. 10:30 a.m. – The National Endowment for Democracy’s (NED) Center for International Media Assistance and the Africa Program, the Center for Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts, and Mano River Media Forum/Democracy Media hold a workshop on “Support for Independent Media in Liberia’s New Democracy”. NED, 1025 F Street NW, [read full story]

Obama administration jobs: gossip update

Over at Foreign Policy, Laura Rozen cites sources suggesting that Georgetown University’s Arturo Valenzuela is in line to be assistant secretary for Western hemispheric affairs.
Between 1930 and 1980, 40% of governmental change in Latin America came through military coups, Valenzuela told a recent meeting at the National Endowment for Democracy. While the “dark nights of [read full story]

How to win the battle for democratic pluralism in Latin America

The new US administration should revitalize democratic promotion in the Western Hemisphere as part of a new partnership with Latin America and the Caribbean, a new analysis argues. While the Inter-American Democratic Charter guarantees citizens the right to a democratic government, “a significant minority of Latin American states have begun to abridge citizens’ rights and [read full story]

Regional democrats condemn Venezuela violence

The Latin America and Caribbean Network for Democracy has expressed its deep concern at the “serious threat to freedom of religion and worship” in Venezuela following recent attacks against the Maripérez Synagogue and the Catholic Church. The network states that recent official statements by President Hugo Chavez and other government figures have “brought violence against [read full story]

Nicaragua: curb Ortega’s ‘dictatorial tendencies’

Using international leverage to arrest Nicaragua’s downward spiral toward authoritarian rule could prevent President Daniel Ortega from “morphing” into another Robert Mugabe, argues Kevin Casas-Zamora, senior fellow in foreign policy at Washington’s Brookings Institution.
Ortega’s Sandinista movement has reacted violently to the alleged rigging of last month’s elections, cancelling the registration of two opposition parties, and [read full story]

Bolivarian revolution running out of gas?

Venezuela may be forced to cut government spending next year after oil prices fell by more than 70 percent, Finance Minister Ali Rodriguez has admitted. After recent electoral setbacks, the Chavista parliament approved a 2009 budget that includes a 22 percent spending increase, and the government will delay any cut until after the proposed referendum [read full story]

Chávez revives effort to end term limits

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has restarted his campaign to amend the constitution to allow him to remain in power. “Chávez is here to stay,” he told party activists yesterday.
His announcement came a week after elections which saw the opposition register big wins in the most populous states and the capital Caracas. Chávez appears ready to [read full story]

Venezuela’s opposition makes gains, shatters myth

The opposition’s significant gains in Venezuela’s state and local elections may represent a real political watershed and have likely dealt a decisive blow to President Hugo Chávez’s plans for indefinite rule. The results mean that opposition forces will “now have something of an institutional power base” to challenge the regime.
The adverse circumstances facing the opposition [read full story]

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