Geography Archives: Uruguay

  • Free the Cuban Five!

      Freedom for the five Cuban patriots! Gervasio Umpiérrez is a cartoonist based in Montevideo, Uruguay.  This cartoon was published in his blog on 25 April 2011.  Cf. “U.S. Government Asked the Court to Deny Gerardo Hernandez’s Habeas Corpus Motion” (26 April 2011); “The U.S. Government Asked the Court to also Deny Antonio Guerrero’s and […]

  • Chile Joins Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia in Recognizing Palestinian State

    Chilean government spokeswoman Ena Von Baer declared on Tuesday that her country “supports the establishment of a Palestinian state.”  With this declaration Chile joins Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Bolivia, which in past weeks have recognized Palestine as a free and independent state. Von Baer explained that Chile’s support is offered in the context of the […]

  • WikiLeaks Cables Show Why Washington Won’t Allow Democracy in Haiti

    The polarization of the debate around WikiLeaks is pretty simple, really.  Of all the governments in the world, the United States government is the greatest threat to world peace and security today.  This is obvious to anyone who looks at the facts with a modicum of objectivity.  The Iraq war has claimed hundreds of thousands, […]

  • Secret Anti-Palestinian House Resolution to Be Voted on Today

    The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation revealed today the text of a secret anti-Palestinian resolution to be voted on by the House of Representatives later in the day.  The full text of the draft resolution, not yet made public officially, is reprinted below.* The resolution, introduced by Rep. Howard Berman, Chair of the […]

  • Television in Venezuela: Who Dominates the Media?

      It is commonly reported in the international press, and widely believed, that the government of President Hugo Chávez controls the media in Venezuela.  For example, writing about Venezuela’s September elections for the National Assembly, the Washington Post‘s deputy editorial page editor and columnist, Jackson Diehl, referred to the Chávez “regime’s domination of the media. […]

  • Latin American Lessons for the European Crisis: Interview with Michael A. Lebowitz

      Michael A. Lebowitz will deliver the Fourth Annual Lecture in Memory of Nicos Poulantzas (“Building Socialism of the 21st Century: The Logic of the State”) on Wednesday, 8 December 2010, 7 PM, at the auditorium of the Goethe Institute (Omirou St. 14-16) in Athens, Greece. Mr. Lebowitz, is Marxism still relevant today?  I ask […]

  • Haircuts: Estimating Investor Losses in Sovereign Debt Restructurings, 1998-2005

      Table 14 summarizes the main technical characteristics of the debt restructurings studied in this paper: the size of the exchange, the participation rate, the numbers of instruments tendered and new instruments issued, the options available to investors, etc.  Table 15 contains the main results, both in terms of the level and dispersion of NPV […]

  • The Gains from Trade: South American Economic Integration and the Resolution of Conflict

    It has long been argued that expanding commercial relations between countries acts as an incentive for nations to avoid hostilities up to and including armed conflict.  Indeed this was a major impetus behind the economic integration of Europe1 after World War II, which led to the European Union and more recently the currency union of […]

  • Pachamama and Progress: Conflicting Visions for Latin America’s Future

    Miners in Potosí, Bolivia set off sticks of dynamite as cold winter winds zipped through the city, passing street barricades, protests, hunger strikers, and an occupied electrical plant.  These actions took place from late July to mid-August against the perceived neglect of the Evo Morales administration toward the impoverished Potosí region. This showdown in Bolivia […]

  • The Magic Kingdom

    Pacho Maturana, Colombian, a man of vast experience in these matters, says that football is a magic kingdom, where anything can happen.  The recent World Cup confirmed his words: it was a strange World Cup. Strange were the ten stadiums where the matches were held, beautiful, immense, which cost a fortune.  No one knows what […]

  • Some Mistaken Notions about Latin America (and the World)

    “The current crisis means the end of neoliberalism and of US hegemony, and this crisis will lead to the end of capitalism.” The greatest error of this view lies in thinking that a model, a hegemony, or a social system will come to an end without being destroyed and replaced by another, without the global […]

  • Colombia: From Uribe to Santos

      Gervasio Umpiérrez is a cartoonist based in Montevideo, Uruguay.  This cartoon was published in his blog on 28 June 2010, shortly after the second round of the Colombian presidential elections on 20 June 2010. | Print  

  • Honduras: One Year after the Coup, Washington Continues to Fight against Democracy

    At dawn one year ago, on June 28, soldiers invaded the home of Honduran President Mel Zelaya and flew him to Costa Rica.  It was a frightening throwback to the days when military men, backed by a local oligarchy and often the United States, could overturn the results of democratic elections. It would also turn […]

  • Greece: Explosive Debt

      A time bomb of interests on the debt, threatening to explode the edifice of Greek economy propped up by an IMF package. Gervasio Umpiérrez is a cartoonist based in Montevideo, Uruguay.  This cartoon was featured on the home page of Rebelión on 16 June 2010.  Translation by Yoshie Furuhashi (@yoshiefuruhashi | yoshie.furuhashi [at] gmail.com). | […]

  • Israel: Burying Peace in Palestine

      Gervasio Umpiérrez is a cartoonist based in Montevideo, Uruguay.  This cartoon was featured on the home page of Rebelión on 13 March 2010. | | Print  

  • The WTO as Barrier to Financial Regulation

    In most parts of the world today (except perhaps in India, where optimism about the benefits of unregulated financial markets still seems to dominate over the undisputable evidence of their many fragilities) most policy makers talk about imposing regulations on the financial sector.  Of course, the events of the past two years in the world […]

  • Who Will Lead Haiti’s Security?

      There appear to be some rising tensions between countries leading the relief efforts in Haiti.  We know the US is sending in upwards of 10,000 troops to the country.  But since 2004, Brazil’s military has been the commanding force leading the Haiti UN peacekeeping mission, technically referred to as MINUSTAH.  Brazil has about 1,700 […]

  • Emir Sader: The Post-Neoliberal Challenge

      With the passing of a year and the coming of another, it’s time to look at the balance sheet and define the prospects.  Who can help us do so better than Brazilian sociologist and political scientist Emir Sader, one of the best-known critical thinkers in our America today? Sader is currently executive secretary of […]

  • Turning Activists into Voters in Uruguay: The Frente Amplio and José Mujica

    Torrential rain didn’t keep voters away from the polls on Sunday, November 29th when José “Pepe” Mujica was elected president with 52% of the vote.  The 74-year-old Agricultural Minister spent 14 years in jail for his participation in the Tupamaro guerilla movement and has pledged to continue the policies of his predecessor, current left-leaning president […]

  • Open Letter to President Obama: Concerning Your Complicity in the Farce Elections in Honduras and Your General Designs for Our America

    November 29th Dear President Obama, Today is a blurry day for those of us with eyes on Central America, mister president.  It’s blurry because we’ve watched herman@s suffering day and night over the last four months in that small country in the waist of America, Honduras, and now, after all the blood and toil, you […]