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| Welcome to edition 3548 published on 12/05/2008 | There are 6 articles in this week´s edition. |
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Nicaragua is finding itself in an institutional crisis once again. And as in the most recent crisis, the protagonists are the same: party caudillos Daniel Ortega, of the FSLN, and Arnoldo Aleman, of the PLC. This time, though, the problems are arising within the pact that those two struck in 1999. The final results for the recent municipal elections were announced on November 20, and it validated what the Sandinistas believe to be a landslide victory and what the Liberals consider an immense fraud. While the violence in the streets has ended, the conflict has been relocated into the government's institutions. The Liberals will now try to maneuver within the Legislative Assembly, the only government body in which the FSLN does not hold a majority, in order to recover some of their lost ground.
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published 12/05/2008 |
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The Guatemalan Minister of Interior has ruled out any “conspiracy” of instability after several prisoners were murdered in one of Guatemala's prisons, and after a year in which more than a hundred bus drivers have been killed. Nonetheless, President Alvaro Colom has suggested that a “hidden hand” may be guiding the violence. Meanwhile, opposition parties have called the Ministers of the Interior and Public Finance, as well as the police chief, to appear before congress to provide answers on the current state of the country.
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published 12/05/2008 |
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A handful of rightwing politicians vied for the presidential candidacy of the Liberal and National Parties, in primaries on November 30. And although only two will move on to the general elections, in a sense three emerged victorious. While the Nationalist Porfirio Lobo Sosa triumphed outright, plotting and counter-plotting in the Liberal Party resulted in a muddled outcome that has yet to be resolved. The apparent victor, Vice-President Elvin Santos, was not even legally inscribed as a candidate, because, according to Santos and many observers, his opponent Roberto Micheletti manipulated the courts to prevent him from running. Although he won through a surrogate, analysts say that Micheletti holds so much sway over his political destiny, that he will have to accept a litany of concessions if wants to continue on.
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published 12/05/2008 |
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Just weeks after finally approving CAFTA, the Costa Rican government is now pursuing free trade agreements with Asian countries. China and Singapore are first on the docket, although more may be on the way. But while CAFTA enjoyed wide support among Costa Rica's business community, the agreement with China is meeting opposition. Industrial leaders say that China produces cheap goods that will directly compete with domestic ones. Meanwhile, during a trip to Singapore President Oscar Arias cast around for investment in a new port deal, which unions are opposing, for fear that privatization will lead to unemployment
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published 12/05/2008 |
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The isthmus is beginning to feel the effects of the global financial crisis. After the US government offered a giant bailout to failing banks, capital in Central America has begun to “flee to the center.” This is leaving the isthmus with a bad shortage of funds. In response, international loan institutions and several isthmus governments are stepping in and attempting to capitalize their economies. But some worry that governments are indebting themselves, again, without a plan or regulation.
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| published 12/05/2008 | ||
| To our readers: |
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