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FOCAL Views: Election monitoring in the Americas
The election observation missions of the Organization of American States (OAS) have been a major success in the hemisphere. In the span of 30 years, the region has been transformed from a majority of dictatorships —from both the left and the right— to one that is predominantly democratic. Cuba remains the exception. And there are growing caveats about Nicaragua and Venezuela. Important elections will be held this year in the region including Colombia where election monitoring will play an important role in reinforcing fairness and transparency.
[ Read more ]

Canada in Haiti: Beyond anything we have attempted before
Carlo Dade
If we in Canada and the international community are to have any real hope of success in Haiti it will require more than a long-term commitment, more than money and more than coordination from the international community. It will require reaching beyond the usual suspects in government and NGOs to include the Haitian diaspora, the private sector, provincial governments, citizens and, most critically, the media. And most important and most difficult, it will require our sustained attention.
[ Read more ]

Drought aggravates food insecurity in Honduras and Guatemala
Christian Smets
In 2009, the worst drought in 30 years affected some 2.5 million people in Guatemala —roughly 20 per cent of the country’s population. In neighbouring Honduras, the prolonged drought caused by the El Niño cyclical climatic phenomenon resulted in 7,000 families suffering severe food shortages. Paradoxically, these countries also experienced flooding and excessive rains in other regions within the same period of time.
[ Read more ]

Segunda victoria consecutiva: Todos los ojos sobre Evo Morales
Ronald Rojas y Tandy Shephard
La reciente elección en Bolivia ha sido una de las más predecibles de su historia democrática, pues de antemano se sabía que el Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), liderado por Evo Morales, iba a ganar las elecciones. A pesar de ello, antes de los comicios, los medios de comunicación trataron de influenciar a los votantes mostrando a Morales como un líder que no había cumplido sus promesas y que anteponía sus intereses personales a los del pueblo boliviano. Finalmente, la oposición fuertemente disminuida por su falta de estructura y debilidad en su discurso hicieron que estas elecciones se centraran esencialmente en presagiar la magnitud de la victoria de Morales y verificar si éste lograría la mayoría absoluta en el Congreso, lo cual le permitiría tener control total de las estructuras estatal y gubernamental.
[ Read more ]

Second time around: All eyes on Evo Morales
Ronald Rojas and Tandy Shephard
The December 2009 election in Bolivia has been one of the most predictable in the country’s democratic history. It was a foregone conclusion that the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), under the leadership of Evo Morales, would be the winning party. Despite this, prior to the elections, the media attempted to sway voters by transmitting information that depicted Morales as a man of broken promises and one who has only personal interests at heart rather than those of the Bolivian people. In the end, the opposition was hampered by a lack of structure and weakened discourse and thereafter, analysis of the election essentially focused on predicting the extent of Morales’s margin of victory that would be sufficient to win him a majority in Congress, giving him total control of state and governmental structures.
[ Read more ]

Une industrie qui mine les relations canado-mexicaines?
Christine Fréchette et Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert
Le 27 novembre 2009, un opposant au projet de Blackfire Exploration dans une communauté du Chiapas au Mexique était assassiné; il avait affirmé avoir reçu des menaces de la part de gens liés à la minière canadienne et demandé la protection de la police. Malgré que la compagnie n’ait pas été inculpée, les dénonciations à l’endroit de minières canadiennes ont dès lors pris une ampleur considérable, donnant lieu à plusieurs manifestations devant l’ambassade canadienne au Mexique et teintant par la suite la visite officielle au Mexique de la gouverneure générale du Canada, Michaëlle Jean, en décembre.
[ Read more ]

Mining: High stakes for Canada-Mexico relations
Christine Fréchette and Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert
An opponent to the Blackfire Exploration mining project in Chiapas, Mexico was assassinated on Nov. 27, 2009. The activist had requested police protection after he claimed he had received threats from individuals linked to the Canadian mining company. Though no one has suggested that the company was involved in the assassination, it nonetheless triggered a general outcry and several demonstrations in front of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico, thus casting a shadow over Governor General Michaëlle Jean’s official visit to the country in December.
[ Read more ]

Andean glaciers vanish, add socio-economic strains
Dirk Hoffmann
The failure to reach a new binding agreement on emission cuts for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases at the December 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen imperils glaciers worldwide —not only polar ice caps but also tropical glaciers that are located in equatorial mountain ranges. What still remains of the world’s tropical glaciers, more than 95 per cent of which are found in the four Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, is doomed to disappear within the next few decades, threatening many livelihoods.
[ Read more ]

La Marche mondiale des femmes : 10 ans de solidarité globale
Pascale Dufour et Isabelle Giraud
Le 8 mars prochain, les actions de la Marche mondiale des femmes seront lancées à travers le globe; dans les Amériques, un vibrant réseau de coordinations nationales y prendra part. Comprendre l’implication des militantes au sein de la Marche à partir d’expériences vécues permet de qualifier les effets de l’existence de ce réseau transnational qui diffuse le féminisme dans la région, mais surtout l’approfondit et en modifie les thèmes et pratiques.
[ Read more ]

World March of Women: 10 years of global solidarity
Pascale Dufour and Isabelle Giraud
The World March of Women (WMW) will take place worldwide on March 8 this year and a powerful network of national organizations will participate in the Americas. Understanding the involvement of activists in the march from firsthand experiences provides an opportunity to see the way in which this transnational network spreads the feminist cause in the region and, most importantly, modifies its themes and its practices.
[ Read more ]

News Briefs

Facts & Figures

Printed from:	February 2010, Volume 9, Issue 1 ISSN 1703-7964
Articles FOCAL Views: Election monitoring in the Americas The election observation missions of the Organization of American States (OAS) have been a major success in the hemisphere. In the span of 30 years, the region has been transformed from a majority of dictatorships —from both the left and the right— to one that is predominantly democratic. Cuba remains the exception. And there are growing caveats about Nicaragua and Venezuela. Important elections will be held this year in the region including Colombia where election monitoring will play an important role in reinforcing fairness and transparency. [ Read more ] Canada in Haiti: Beyond anything we have attempted before Carlo Dade If we in Canada and the international community are to have any real hope of success in Haiti it will require more than a long-term commitment, more than money and more than coordination from the international community. It will require reaching beyond the usual suspects in government and NGOs to include the Haitian diaspora, the private sector, provincial governments, citizens and, most critically, the media. And most important and most difficult, it will require our sustained attention. [ Read more ] Drought aggravates food insecurity in Honduras and Guatemala Christian Smets In 2009, the worst drought in 30 years affected some 2.5 million people in Guatemala —roughly 20 per cent of the country’s population. In neighbouring Honduras, the prolonged drought caused by the El Niño cyclical climatic phenomenon resulted in 7,000 families suffering severe food shortages. Paradoxically, these countries also experienced flooding and excessive rains in other regions within the same period of time. [ Read more ] Segunda victoria consecutiva: Todos los ojos sobre Evo Morales Ronald Rojas y Tandy Shephard La reciente elección en Bolivia ha sido una de las más predecibles de su historia democrática, pues de antemano se sabía que el Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), liderado por Evo Morales, iba a ganar las elecciones. A pesar de ello, antes de los comicios, los medios de comunicación trataron de influenciar a los votantes mostrando a Morales como un líder que no había cumplido sus promesas y que anteponía sus intereses personales a los del pueblo boliviano. Finalmente, la oposición fuertemente disminuida por su falta de estructura y debilidad en su discurso hicieron que estas elecciones se centraran esencialmente en presagiar la magnitud de la victoria de Morales y verificar si éste lograría la mayoría absoluta en el Congreso, lo cual le permitiría tener control total de las estructuras estatal y gubernamental. [ Read more ] Second time around: All eyes on Evo Morales Ronald Rojas and Tandy Shephard The December 2009 election in Bolivia has been one of the most predictable in the country’s democratic history. It was a foregone conclusion that the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), under the leadership of Evo Morales, would be the winning party. Despite this, prior to the elections, the media attempted to sway voters by transmitting information that depicted Morales as a man of broken promises and one who has only personal interests at heart rather than those of the Bolivian people. In the end, the opposition was hampered by a lack of structure and weakened discourse and thereafter, analysis of the election essentially focused on predicting the extent of Morales’s margin of victory that would be sufficient to win him a majority in Congress, giving him total control of state and governmental structures. [ Read more ] Une industrie qui mine les relations canado-mexicaines? Christine Fréchette et Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert Le 27 novembre 2009, un opposant au projet de Blackfire Exploration dans une communauté du Chiapas au Mexique était assassiné; il avait affirmé avoir reçu des menaces de la part de gens liés à la minière canadienne et demandé la protection de la police. Malgré que la compagnie n’ait pas été inculpée, les dénonciations à l’endroit de minières canadiennes ont dès lors pris une ampleur considérable, donnant lieu à plusieurs manifestations devant l’ambassade canadienne au Mexique et teintant par la suite la visite officielle au Mexique de la gouverneure générale du Canada, Michaëlle Jean, en décembre. [ Read more ] Mining: High stakes for Canada-Mexico relations Christine Fréchette and Daviken Studnicki-Gizbert An opponent to the Blackfire Exploration mining project in Chiapas, Mexico was assassinated on Nov. 27, 2009. The activist had requested police protection after he claimed he had received threats from individuals linked to the Canadian mining company. Though no one has suggested that the company was involved in the assassination, it nonetheless triggered a general outcry and several demonstrations in front of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico, thus casting a shadow over Governor General Michaëlle Jean’s official visit to the country in December. [ Read more ] Andean glaciers vanish, add socio-economic strains Dirk Hoffmann The failure to reach a new binding agreement on emission cuts for carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases at the December 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen imperils glaciers worldwide —not only polar ice caps but also tropical glaciers that are located in equatorial mountain ranges. What still remains of the world’s tropical glaciers, more than 95 per cent of which are found in the four Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, is doomed to disappear within the next few decades, threatening many livelihoods. [ Read more ] La Marche mondiale des femmes : 10 ans de solidarité globale Pascale Dufour et Isabelle Giraud Le 8 mars prochain, les actions de la Marche mondiale des femmes seront lancées à travers le globe; dans les Amériques, un vibrant réseau de coordinations nationales y prendra part. Comprendre l’implication des militantes au sein de la Marche à partir d’expériences vécues permet de qualifier les effets de l’existence de ce réseau transnational qui diffuse le féminisme dans la région, mais surtout l’approfondit et en modifie les thèmes et pratiques. [ Read more ] World March of Women: 10 years of global solidarity Pascale Dufour and Isabelle Giraud The World March of Women (WMW) will take place worldwide on March 8 this year and a powerful network of national organizations will participate in the Americas. Understanding the involvement of activists in the march from firsthand experiences provides an opportunity to see the way in which this transnational network spreads the feminist cause in the region and, most importantly, modifies its themes and its practices. [ Read more ] News Briefs Obituary: Carlos Rico Ferrat LAC exports drop: ECLAC Aid needed to address marginalization in education Facts & Figures Canadian soldiers provide medical aid to Haiti earthquake casualties. Honduras: Areas affected by the drought Guatemala: Areas affected by the drought Bolivia: Results by department of the 2009 Bolivian general election Bolivia: Results by department of the 2005 Bolivian general election Bolivia: Indigenous groups gather in La Paz, Bolivia Andes: Tuni region, Cordillera Real, Bolivia Andes: Milluni reservoir with Huayna Potosí mountain Andes: Chacaltaya
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