O U R  A M E R I C A

• Interview with Ricardo Patiño, Ecuadoran Minister of Foreign Relations
Chevron-Texaco’s criminal behavior is undeniable
December 17, 2013
QUITO.— "We are not showing the world the ecological disaster caused by the oil company Chevron’s activity in northeast Ecuador...

• 15 years of medical assistance in Haiti
December 11, 2013
PORT-AU-PRINCE.— During 15 years of uninterrupted presence in Haiti, the Cuban Medical Brigade (BMC) has saved a total of 314,363 human lives, as Dr. Michel Escalona Martín, deputy coordinator of BMC Medical Assistance and Human Resources, informed Granma.

• Another victory in Venezuela
December 11, 2013
CARACAS, Venezuela.— THE country’s municipal elections held December 8 - to select 337 mayors, two metropolitan leaders and 2,455 city council members – represented another victory for Venezuelan democracy, as the 19th national vote since Comandante Hugo Chávez was elected in December, 1998.

• Turtle island
December 4, 2013
ÎLE DE LA TORTUE, Haiti.— Located off the northeast coast, this 180-square- kilometer island is home to 27,000 residents who make their living in fishing, commerce and tourism fueled by pirate stories. Its name, based on the island’s geographical shape, is attributed to Christopher Columbus.

• Mais Médicos program in Brazil
Toward healthcare for all
December 4, 2013
BRAZIL is constantly gaining more recognition as a world economic power. However, like the majority of so-called Third World nations, there remains much to be done to overcome the effects of underdevelopment, forged by slave-holding colonialism and subsequent neoliberalism.

• Cuban Medical Brigade leads the way
December 4, 2013
ON November 25, Paraguay’s Vice-president Juan Afara visited the Cuban medical brigade working in the María Auxiliadora district, more than 400km from the capital.

• Time for peace
A year since negotiations to end the armed conflict in Colombia opened in Havana
November 28, 2013
IF something has become clear during the more than 50 years of war in Colombia it is that peace is not subject to a calendar, not a question of sitting around, waiting for a final end to the gunfire.  However, dates are unavoidably a good opportunity to take stock of events which are prolonged in time.

• Generous solidarity
Cuban doctors have saved the lives of 286,000 Guatemalans since 1998
November 28, 2013
GUATEMALA.—The lives of at least 286,000 Guatemalans have been saved by Cuban doctors according to official figures released this October, dating back to 1998, when cooperation in this country began in the health sector.

• Fruitful medical collaboration between Cuba and Jamaica
November 22, 2013
CUBAN medical support in Jamaica has a future and is sustainable, the latest results show, said María Caridad Carbó, head of the Cuban health brigade in Jamaica.

• Chevron guilty in Ecuador
November 22, 2013
THE transnational oil company Chevron’s guilt stands in the eyes of Ecuador’s justice system, although the amount it must pay those affected by the contamination left in the country’s Amazon region by its affiliate Texaco has been reduced.

• Bachelet and Matthei will face-off for Chilean presidency
November 19, 2013
CONFIRMING forecasts based on opinion polls, former President Michelle Bachelet imposed herself in the first round of the Chilean elections on November 17, with close to 47% of votes cast and an advantage of 20-plus points over her immediate rival and right-wing government representative Evelyn Matthei, who obtained 25% of the vote.

• The secret papers of the Argentine dictatorship
November 14, 2013
SECRETS closely guarded for 30 years have been uncovered in Argentina. The discovery of 1,500 files containing documents of the last military dictatorship (1976-1983) raise new questions about the recent history of the South American nation.

• Rafael Correa: We have recovered Ecuador’s self-esteem
November 7, 2013
MOSCOW.—Rafael Correa’s victory with Alianza País in the 2006 presidential elections and his reelection in 2009 and 2013 has transformed Ecuador, previously ungovernable, into one of the most prosperous and stable nations in Latin America.

• Maduro: New MERCOSUR in the construction phase
November 7, 2013
CARACAS.—"The new Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) is in the construction phase and we have sufficient learning on this subject to re-found ourselves," affirmed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

• ARGENTINE MEDIA LAW
A battle has been won, but not the war
November 7, 2013
THE struggle to democratize communications media in Argentina has entered a new phase. The recent Supreme Court ruling upholding the constitutionality of the Audiovisual Communication Services Law, which has been entangled for four years in judicial procedures, represents a victory in the long struggle against media monopolies in the country.

• Chile: Nine visions of the same country
November 7, 2013
THREE women and six men are running as presidential candidates for the period 2014-2018. Chileans will chose on November 17 – in a first round, and on December 15 in a second round if necessary – the national project they want after four years of the Sebastián Piñera government.

• Brazil: Mais Médicos health program advancing
November 7, 2013
BRASILIA.—The Mais Médicos program is to include 6,600 doctors by the end of this year, to the benefit of some 23 million Brazilians in rural areas, affirmed the country’s President Dilma Rousseff.

•  Reaching out to promote health
October 31, 2013
HERNAN Hoffman, an intern in the final year of Medicine at the Havana University of Medical Sciences, which has made possible the presence of Cuban doctors, and those from other nations, in the Federative Republic of Brazil. He is critical of the rejection of this project by his country’s Federal Medical Council (CFM), and ready to dedicate himself to primary health care there.

•  Martelly expresses thanks for Cuban aid
October 31, 2013
PORT-AU-PRINCE.—President Michel Joseph Martelly of the Republic of Haiti received on October 24 Esteban Lazo Hernández, President of the Cuban National Assembly of People's Power, who was on an official visit to the country.

•  Why special powers legislation is needed in Venezuela
October 31, 2013
THE problem of corruption in Venezuela, regardless of political colors, is being utilized by the opposition against the Bolivarian government’s social transformations to benefit the country’s poorest sectors.

• Yaisel and the miracle of surgery
October 24, 2013
THERE are ingenious people for whom there is no description other than invaluable. This is revealed by the Cuban Operation Milagro (Miracle) program and the 60,000-plus operations which have been carried out by Cuban doctors from 2006 to date. All of these surgeries have been at no cost to patients whose vision has been restored or improved.

• Julian Assange reveals details of his life in the Ecuadoran embassy
October 24, 2013
AFTER criticizing the film The Fifth Estate, based on his life story, for not adhering to the facts, Julian Assange has revealed the truth about his life in the Ecuadoran embassy in London, which granted him political asylum.

• Brazil to protect its electronic mail against espionage
October 17, 2013
BRASILIA.—Brazilian Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo has confirmed that beginning in November of this year, the Presidency of the Republic and the government are to have a data protection system to ensure the inviolability of electronic mail.

• Latin American communications routed through the United States, affirms Assange
October 17, 2013
THE journalist and creator of the Wikileaks website, Julian Assange, affirms that virtually the totality of communications from Latin America are routed through the United States, and that this country intercepts them in order to consolidate its influence in the world.

• Evo Morales calls for the decolonization of the media
October 16, 2013
BUENOS AIRES.— Bolivian President Evo Morales stated in Argentina that it is necessary to decolonize the way in which the media is managed in order to go more deeply into the process of transformations underway in the region, and...

• The Latin America of then is no longer the same
October 3, 2013
THE scandal of U.S. espionage in Latin America not only brought to light the former country’s interference in the region’s internal affairs, but also demonstrated how much relations between the United States and what it considers its backyard have changed.

• Increased U.S. operational capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean
October 3, 2013
A joint report recently presented by three influential U.S. research and analysis centers specializing in Western Hemisphere studies – the Center for International Policies (CIP), the Latin America Working Group Education Fund (LAWGEF), and the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) – reveals that the U.S. government has favored the deployment of Special Operations Forces in its security policies for the region.

• Changes to Colombian peace negotiations demanded
September 26, 2013
TEN months after the initiation of peace talks in the Cuban capital, the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP) have demanded a number of changes in order to continue advancing in the search for peace.

• Chevron leaves trail of anger in Ecuadoran Amazonia
September 26, 2013
CAMPO AGUARICO 4, Ecuador.—Almost 30 years have passed since Texaco, now Chevron, ceased operations in the Ecuadoran Amazon, but campesino Wilmo Moreta still bears a profound anger toward the U.S. transnational.

• Bolivia advancing in the battle against hunger
September 19, 2013
THE 70 legislators from 20 countries in the region who took part in the 4th Parliamentary Front Forum against hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean returned home convinced that Bolivia is fighting valiantly to erase hunger, one of the ills suffered by its population.

• Allende was an example of resistance and courage
September 12, 2013
CIENFUEGOS.—When student leader Luis Renato González Córdova was given the responsibility of forming part of President Salvador Allende’s bodyguard, known as the Personal Friends Group (GAP), he was only 19 years of age, but it was a position he really wanted, given his affection and respect for the leader of Popular Unity.

• ARGENTINA
Cuban literacy program: gateway to knowledge
September 12, 2013
FROM 202 through now, the Cuban "Yo si puedo" method of literacy teaching has helped open the gateway to knowledge for approximately 6.5 million people. It is currently implemented in 30 nations and involves more than 100 million men and women.

• 300,000 Ecuadorans become literate through Cuban program
September 12, 2013
MORE than 300,000 Ecuadorans learned to read and write in 13 of the country’s provinces through the "Yo si puedo" program, coordinated by a contingent of 54 Cuban teachers who completed their work in Ecuador with the recognition of authorities, national teachers and facilitators.

• Communiqué from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on the situation in Syria
September 10, 2013
THE Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) profoundly laments the loss of human life and expresses its most serious concerns regarding the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic and the dangers this could entail for the Middle East region and for international peace and security.

• U.S. attempting to provoke dispute between Bolivia and Brazil
September 6, 2013
WHEN Roger Pinto, a corrupt Senator from the Convergencia Nacional (CN), who was given asylum in the Brazilian embassy in Bolivia, finally fled the country, suspicions and evidence that the United States and its secret services in particular were involved came to the surface.

• COLOMBIA
Peace talks in Havana address full agenda
September 6, 2013
WHILE the Colombian government and FARC-EP delegations continue to debate the agreed-upon agenda’s second point, referring to political participation, both sides confirm that they have "presented general versions" on all issues included within the General Agreement signed in Havana a year ago, to end the conflict.

• Cuba and Brazil strengthen cooperation and solidarity
August 29, 2013
A new stage in the close relationship of solidarity and sisterhood linking Cuba and Brazil is developing with the arrival there of the first advance group of Cuban doctors on August 24. They are part of a contingent of 4,000 professionals, scheduled to arrive in Brazil by the end of this year to reinforce primary healthcare in small towns and communities where their help is most needed by the people.

• The Caribbean has not forgotten
August 29, 2013
IN their fight for the vindication of their peoples and the search for justice, the Caribbean nations are to demand from their former metropolises economic and moral reparations for slavery, the genocide of their peoples, and the colonial practices to which they were subjected.

• The world has failed Ecuador
August 29, 2013
THE idea was a revolutionary one. Ecuador committed itself to refrain from exploiting oil reserves in the Yasuní National Park in Amazonia, one of the regions of greatest biodiversity on the planet, in return for the international community contributing a little more than $3.6 billion, in 2007, half of estimated profits for its commercialization.

• Colombia: peace has never come this far
August 22, 2013
THE peace process underway in Havana to end 50-plus years of armed conflict in Colombia, continues showing hopeful signs, despite heavy pressure being placed upon it by ultra-right forces in the country.

• Argentina
Frente Para la Victoria consolidated
August 22, 2013
THE government Frente Para la Victoria (FPV) confirmed itself as the principal political force in Argentina by winning the most votes in the Primary, Open, Simultaneous and Obligatory (PASO) elections on August 11.

• A Cuban South-South summer
August 22, 2013
RENAICO, Chile.—The poor commune of Renaico, 500 kilometers south of Santiago de Chile, is an exceptional place. Its mayor, Juan Carlos Reinao, and many municipal officials, have a past in common: they studied for their university degrees in Cuba.

• PARAGUAY
Leaving MERCOSUR will hit exporters hard
August 15, 2013
PARAGUAY’s refusal to return to MERCOSUR after the lifting of the sanctions implemented on it will be a harsh blow for all the export sectors, according to a statement from the Paraguayan Economy Analysis Center in Asunción (CADEP).

• U.S. harboring two CIA tortures who assassinated Cuban diplomats
August 15, 2013
TWO CIA agents who participated in Argentina in the torture of Cuban diplomats Jesús Cejas – whose remains were recently returned to Cuba – and Crescencio Galañena, have been living untroubled for a number of years in the United States, protected by the country’s authorities.

• INTERVIEW WITH JOSÉ MUJICA
What the world faces is a great political crisis
August 6, 2013
There is a suitcase ready in the hall, a reminder of his imminent departure and the facilitators of this dialogue notice two things, upon the guest’s arrival. The President is uncomfortable with the tumult, if four are needed to manage the technical aspects of an audiovisual, we shouldn't appear to be eight and, we have an hour for the interview.

• Machado Ventura: Recent summit strengthened ALBA
August 6, 2013
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) strengthened its principles of integration and complementarity at the recently concluded 7th Summit, according to José Ramón Machado Ventura, a vice president of Cuba's Councils of State and Ministers, who led the country's delegation to the meeting in Ecuador.

• Maduro: Best tribute to Chávez is making the revolution
August 1, 2013
During an event in Sabaneta de Barinas, July 28, marking what would have been Hugo Chávez’ 59th birthday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declared that "making the revolution" was the way to honor Chávez.

• Nicaragua
Inter-oceanic canal: A wise move?
August 1, 2013
Nicaragua could, within a few years, become a new international logistics and transportation center, if an inter-oceanic canal megaproject succeeds in this country blessed with an enviable geographic location.

• Prime Minister of Haiti describes Cuban cooperation as historic, disinterested
July 23, 2013
In a meeting with the accredited Cuban press in Haiti recently, Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe reflected on Cuban cooperation, which he described as "historic and disinterested," given that it goes directly to the people.

• Brazil going for more
July 18, 2013
When the first workers’ President came to power in 2003, Brazil initiated an administration marked by inclusion programs. Dissatisfactions remain, however, despite achievements in this context

• Venezuela takes on insecurity
July 18, 2013
INSECURITY is one of the troubling inheritances left to the Bolivarian government by previous administrations of the Fourth Republic. The struggle against this pressing problem has become a priority since Hugo Chávez was first elected to the presidency in 1998.

• Poverty declines in Nicaragua
July 18, 2013
NICARAGUA reduced poverty by 14% in 2012, according to data from a Home Questionnaire conducted by the International Foundation for Global Economic Challenge (FIDEG), with the rate dropping 1.4 percentage points to 42.7%, from 44.1% in 2011.

• A sovereign Latin America stands with Evo
July 11, 2013
COCHABAMBA.— Bolivian social movements of women, trade unions, indigenous peoples and workers gathered in Cochabamba to express their support for and solidarity with President Evo Morales, in the wake of the aircraft incident in Europe he faced during his return to the country from Russia.

• Cuban deputies condemn aggression toward Evo Morales
July 11, 2013
LATIN America has been wounded. The decision made by Portugal, France, Italy and Spain to deny overflight access to the aircraft transporting Bolivian President Evo Morales, thus putting his life in danger - to support the United States in its attempts to silence former CIA analyst Edward Snowden - constitutes an affront to the region.

• Ten years of illumination
July 11, 2013
MORE than two million Venezuelans have learned to read and write as a result of a dream which began 10 years ago, in June of 2003. The Cuban literacy program Yo sí puedo (Yes, I can) arrived in Caracas in the form of an avalanche of youth and educational experts with the responsibility of reaching even the most remote corner of the country to instruct those who had not had the opportunity to learn.

• LASA: Cuba-United States academic forum
July 5, 2013
THE U.S. capital last month hosted the 31st Congress of the Latin American Studies Association (LASA), an organization of experts on Latin America regional issues.

• Evo Morales denounces attempts to intimidate Bolivia
July 5, 2013
BOLIVIAN President Evo Morales stated July 3 that the cancellation of overflight permits for his aircraft by various European countries constituted a pretext for silencing the social struggles of socialist governments.

• PETROCARIBE consolidated as regional force
July 5, 2013
MANAGUA.— Petrocaribe was founded eight years ago as an Energy Cooperation Accord, in an effort to respond to world economic conditions and prevailing policies implemented by industrialized countries which marginalized Third World nations. The enterprise has been consolidated as an economic mechanism with significant impact in the region. This was clearly demonstrated during the recently concluded 8th Summit of the undertaking, based on the ideas of Comandantes Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.

• Haiti revisited
July 5, 2013
IF someone embarks on a journey without knowing anything about its destination apart from the number of victims of an earthquake and an epidemic; if that person takes with him or her a number of books by José Martí, Alejo Carpentier, Aimeé Cesaire and Enrique Vila Matas; old clothes; a camera and a card of the Virgen de la Caridad de Cobre (the protector of faith and against calamities); if, to crown it all, one elects optimism and the curiosity of finding beauty in small things as premises, it is probable that that person will experience exactly the same as I did when I arrived in Haiti.

• Letter from Fidel to Daniel Ortega
July 1, 2013
Dear Daniel:
I have just listened with great satisfaction to your excellent speeches during the 8th PETROCARIBE Summit. It was very just that the venue for this meeting should have been Nicaragua, a country that was able to overcome devious imperialist blows under the government of one of the most ignorant and cynical fraudsters selected by the U.S. oligarchy.

• Latin America
Dangers to and strengths of the forces of change
June 28, 2013
IS the change of era that Latin America has been experiencing in the last few years irreversible? The question comes as no surprise to Fander Falconí, Ecuadoran Minister of Planning and Development, who talked about his beliefs and perception of events he sees as vital for the region.

• Paraguay: One year after the parliamentary coup
June 28, 2013
ASUNCIÓN, June 22 (PL).—Paraguay today reached the first anniversary of the destitution of its constitutional president by a Congress dominated by the same traditional parties which, once again, have negotiated a distribution of powers.

• Colombian government and guerrilla movement summarize seven months of dialogue
June 28, 2013
IN compliance with the Havana General Agreement, the peace delegations of the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP) released a 12-page report on June 21, summarizing negotiations held during the past seven months.

• PETROCARIBE
Cooperation within a new framework
June 20, 2013
THE integrationist enterprise PETROCARIBE, launched in 2005 to support Latin American and Caribbean energy security, has designed new structures for cooperation, meant to consolidate its position internationally.

• United States: another anti-Bolivia campaign
June 20, 2013
THE U.S. administration is keeping up its anti-Bolivia media campaigns, for which it utilizes the country’s divided and debilitated opposition and various right-wing publications, which function like political parties.

• The pending debts of justice in Latin America
June 20, 2013
THE times to come will tell how much justice can be attained in diverse spheres after these struggles for life and development in each one of our countries.

• UNASUR funded hospital opens
June 13, 2013
PORT-AU-PRINCE.—The Community Reference Hospital in Corail, Grand’ Anse department has reopened after reconstruction and expansion works funded by the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), with Cuban, Venezuelan and Argentine cooperation.

• Cooperation with respect for sovereignty
June 13, 2013
IT is a truth that great undertakings can emerge from major disasters. The January 12, 2010 earthquake in Haiti, with its terrible consequences, led to the installation of a Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) headquarters there and its presence and work has been constant ever since. Its aid has resulted in a joint hospital project within the regional bloc, linked to Cuba, Venezuela and Haiti itself.

• MEXICO
The émigré nightmare
June 13, 2013
THEY leave in search of a dream, but what they in fact face is a nightmare which can event result in death.

• Conditioned justice and sovereignty
June 6, 2013
GUATEMALA has been the source of contradictory news involving two of its former leaders, news which calls into question essential aspects of the exercise of the country’s national sovereignty and the functioning of its judicial system. The suspension of the 80-year prison term handed down to the ex-dictator Efraín Ríos Montt for genocide and crimes against humanity has caused indignation throughout Latin America.

• Pacific Alliance: Return of the FTAA?
June 6, 2013
THE Summit of the Pacific Alliance, comprising Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Peru, which took place May 23 in Cali, Colombia, left clear its pretension to become the new economic and development organization for Latin America and the Caribbean, within a framework of the free circulation of goods, services, capital and persons among its member states.

• Henrique Capriles: Provoking destabilization
May 31,2013
AFTER failing in his attempt to provoke internal chaos in Venezuela, defeated right-wing presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski has turned his attention to the international arena. With a well devised and advised strategy, aided by the United States, he has undertaken a campaign beyond Venezuelan borders to delegitimize the legitimate government which won the last elections.

• A step backward step for justice in Guatemala
May 30,2013
GUATEMALA’S Constitutional Court has revoked the sentence for genocide and crimes against humanity passed against former dictator Efraín Ríos Montt, voiding the entire legal proceedings since April 19.

• Correa calls for second and definitive independence
May 30,2013
QUITO, May 24.— Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa highlighted his government’s social and economic progress before the National Assembly during the inaugural ceremony for his second term in office.

• Colombian government and guerrilla movement reach historic agreement on agricultural development
May 30,2013
THE agreement reached by the Juan Manuel Santos government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP) on the key issue of land, constitutes a milestone within the historical political, social and military conflict this nation has experienced for the last 50-plus years. Never before has the peace process with the largest guerrilla movement in the country advanced so far in this context.

• Maduro inaugurates new mausoleum for Simón Bolívar
May 23,2013
VENEZUELAN President Nicolás Maduro, on May 14, inaugurated a new mausoleum for Simón Bolívar, constructed as an extension of the National Cemetery in Caracas, where the remains of the Latin American Liberator are laid to rest.

• Presidential dialogue for Central American peace and development
May 23,2013
NICARAGUA, Honduras and El Salvador are making a significant contribution to Central American integration, by reaffirming their peaceful intentions and a willingness to work for the sustainable development of the Gulf of Fonseca, an area of historic conflicts.

• Puerto Rican Oscar López Rivera, 32 years in U.S. jails
May 23,2013
PUERTO Rican public figures and organizations are to mount an ingenious demonstration May 29 demanding the liberation of Oscar López Rivera. At 70 years of age, López Rivera is internationally recognized as the political prisoner with the longest sentence in the United States.

• Low intensity conflict to destabilize Bolivia
May 17,2013
GIVEN its lack of credibility and leadership, the Bolivian right, acting under instructions from the United States government, is banking on low intensity national conflict to wear down the government of President Evo Morales, and create an image of chaos in the run up to country’s 2004 elections.

• Paraguay: Returning to MERCOSUR?
May 17,2013
THE immediate objectives of the incoming Paraguayan government are the country’s return to MERCOSUR and UNASUR, with an international agenda which also includes as priorities looking toward the Pacific and the consolidation of markets for its principal products.

• Efraín Ríos Montt sentenced to 80 years in prison
May 17,2013
GUATEMALAN justice, headed in this case by Judge Jazmín Barrios, has sentenced ex-dictator Efraín Ríos Montt to 80 years’ imprisonment for crimes against humanity and of genocide, perpetrated against the Ixil ethnic community from 1982-83.

• Maduro: Petrocaribe has stood the test of time
May 9,2013
DURING the 7th PETROCARIBE Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in Caracas after the 9th Ministerial Council, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said that the organization had stood the test of time, thanks to the legacy left by Hugo Chávez.

• More than 150 Haitian youth graduate via Brazil-Cuba-Haiti tripartite agreement
May 9,2013
PORT-AU-PRINCE.— More that 150 Haitian youth received diplomas certifying them as Comprehensive Community Health Agents and Medical Equipment Maintenance and Repair Technicians.

• ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN STATES
Renews commitment to regional cooperation
May 2,2013
THE Association of Caribbean States (ACS), founded in 1994, has reaffirmed a commitment to its raison d’être as a forum for consultation, concerted action and cooperation among the 25 member countries.

• Bolivia files suit against Chile in International Court
May 2,2013
ON April 24, Bolivia filed suit against Chile in the International Court of Justice, The Hague, with a view to resolving differences between the two countries over Bolivia’s sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean.

• Sao Paulo Forum stands the test of time
May 2,2013
AN interesting group of visitors arrived July 4, 1990, at the modest Hotel Danubio in the Bella Vista neighborhood of Sao Paulo. Representatives of dozens of progressive parties and movements from all of Latin America and the Caribbean met there over three days, to discuss the crisis of what was then called "real socialism" and propose strategies to confront the advance of neoliberalism.

• THE GRAND U.S. STRATEGY TOWARD VENEZUELA
Why has Maduro’s victory not been recognized?
May 2,2013
TO better understand the U.S. refusal to acknowledge Venezuela’s National Electoral Board official results confirming Nicolás Maduro as President, it is essential to analyze how the country’s grand strategy toward Simón Bolívar’s homeland began and evolved.

• Argentine President Cristina Fernández visits Montaña Garrison
April 25,2013
I awoke on a cloudy day and am leaving in the sun. I have just visited the Montaña Garrison. It is surrounded by working class neighborhoods. You can see Miraflores in the distance. The head of the guard told me that Hugo always looked this way from his office there. How could he not! This is where he planned the insurrection against Andrés Pérez. The 4th Republic, the tragic epilogue to the Punto Fijo agreement, when the Caracazo broke out – or as Hugo liked to say, the Venezolazo – the final crisis of neoliberal policies.

• A source of light
April 25,2013
The people, still grieving, continue to come to pay their respects to President Hugo Chávez in the Montaña Garrison, where his body lies. On some days it is reported the queues of people are endless. In line are children, young people, the disabled, and elderly... Chavez' death still hurts.

• Questionable elections in Paraguay
April 25,2013
On April 21, Paraguay held its first general elections since the parliamentary coup against constitutional President Fernando Lugo, in June, 2012. More than three million citizens participated and the Supreme Court of Electoral Justice announced preliminary results indicating that Horacio Cartes, candidate of the National Association-Colorado Party, had been elected. Coming in second was Efraín Alegre from the Authentic Liberal Radical Party.

• The arena seller who became a president
March 15,13
FORTY years before entering the Caracas Federal Capitol building to receive the presidential sash and be sworn in on a Constitution he described as "moribund," Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías was walking the streets of his native town selling arañas, a kind of papaya candy which his grandmother Rosa Inés made with pleasure.

• Maduro registers his candidacy for Venezuelan elections
March 14,13
VENEZUELAN Acting President Nicolás Maduro registered his candidacy before the National Electoral Council (CNE) for the elections scheduled for April 14, Prensa Latina reported.

• Maduro: I assume this presidential sash to defend and protect the people
March 14,13
CARACAS.—On March 8, the National Assembly of Venezuela swore in Vice President Nicolás Maduro Moros as Acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, as established in Article 233 of the Constitution.

• Complete text of Cristina Fernández on Twitter, @CFKArgentina
March 14,13
Tango 01. Last Tuesday, as soon as they informed me about Hugo, I decided to travel immediately to Caracas. Florencia [daughter] is coming with me. I couldn’t wait. Infinite sadness: our compañero, the friend of Argentina, had taken his leave of us. At least, that’s what I believed.

• Comandante, we will continue building the Patria grande
March 14,13
CARACAS, Venezuela.—"Comandante, you can go in peace, we will continue building the Patria grande (Greater Homeland), we will continue together with our people, with our Armed Forces, with our Constitution. We will continue protecting the poorest. Your mission is fulfilled, the struggle continues," affirmed Nicolás Maduro on March 8 before the casket of President Chávez.

• The sun of your bravery
March 14,13
In 1999, shortly before Hugo Chávez Frías became President of Venezuela, Gabriel García Márquez interviewed him aboard an aircraft flying from Havana to Caracas • During their conversation, the Colombian Nobel Literature Prize winner discovered a personality which did not correspond with the despotic image created in the media • Were there two Chávez'? Who was the real one? A profile of the President who became a soldier in order to play baseball, who recited poems by Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman and who died of cancer at the age of 58

• Maduro calls for peace in wake of "Henrique Capriles’ infamous and irresponsible statements"
March 11,13
CARACAS, Mar 10.—The current governor of Miranda, Henrique Capriles—defeated by Chávez in last October’s elections – officially announced today that he will once again represent the right-wing Mesa de Unidad Democrática (MUD).

• Nicolás Maduro sworn in as Acting President of Venezuela
March 9,13
Maduro swears before the casket of the Bolivarian leader to sustain his legacy, in the conviction that "Chávez lives, the struggle continues!"

• Raúl in Chávez’ homeland
March 8,13
CARACAS, Venezuela.—President Raúl Castro Ruz arrived here at 2:00 pm, March 7 to give his last farewell to Comandante Hugo Chávez Frías, brother in struggle, the man of vast stature who Cuba accepted like a son.

• Thousands march in Uruguay against reintroduction of Amnesty Law
The law grants amnesty to violators of human rights during the dictatorship
March 7,13
AROUND 3,000 people demonstrated in Montevideo on February 25 against the Uruguayan Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) decision to declare unconstitutional a law making punishable the crimes of the dictatorship (1973-1985). The SCJ decision was made in the context of a tense debate on the future of human rights legislation.

• COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT AND THE GUERRILLA MOVEMENT
Closer than ever to peace
March 7,13
PEACE talks between the Juan Manuel Santos government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP) have "advanced in constructing an agreement" on various aspects of comprehensive agrarian development, the first issue on a six-point agenda perceived as key to attaining peace in Colombia.

• A different image of Haiti
March 7,13
CAMERAS are sometimes unwelcome in Haiti. This reaction on the part of Haitians is no accident. For years foreign media have only reflected scenes of extreme hardship, pain and poverty. Many have made money from displaying the misfortune of others, while hiding their own lack of decency and without coming anywhere close to the realities and idiosyncrasies of the country.

• Chávez: A universal revolutionary
March 7,13
WITHOUT any distinction of political affiliation or geographic location, expressions of sorrow at the death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez continue, in a generalized acknowledgment of the architect of the Bolivarian Revolution and one of the principal promoters of an integrated Latin America and the Caribbean.
- Communiqué from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on the death of Comandante President Hugo Chávez Frías

• Death of President Hugo Chávez
March 5,13
CARACAS, March 5 (AVN).—Hugo Rafael Chávez, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, died in the hours of this Tuesday afternoon. The announcement was made by Vice President Nicolás Maduro.

• General state of  Venezuelan President delicate
March 5,13
CARACAS (PL).—The general state of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez remains delicate, with a worsening of his respiratory functions, Communications and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas affirmed March 4.

• ALBA is a consolidated reality
March 1,13
CARACAS, Feb 28.—ALBA is a consolidated reality in the political and economic context, because it is composed of revolutionary, valiant and courageous governments, affirmed Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro today, speaking at the 10th Political Council of this regional alliance.

• Cuba & Haiti: A history of solidarity
February 28,13
SOLIDARITY and humanism characterize the ties between Cuba and Haiti, put to the test in difficult and critical times for both nations.

• Rousseff: 2 million Brazilians lifted from extreme poverty
February 28,13
PRESIDENT Dilma Rousseff announced on February 19 that her government helped lift 22 millions Brazilians out of extreme poverty in two years, and now she proposes to support a further 2.5 million in remote areas, to definitively end destitution in Brazil, with a program aimed at guaranteeing a minimum income equivalent to $1.25 per person per day.

• Maduro: Massacres and neoliberalism are now history in Venezuela
February 28,13
CARACAS, Feb. 27.—The times of massacres and neoliberal packages are now history, affirmed Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro, addressing thousands of people gathered in Caracas, PL reports.

• Resounding victory for Correa and Alianza PAIS in Ecuador
February 21,13
PRESIDENT Rafael Correa and his party Alianza País obtained a resounding victory in Ecuador’s February 17 general elections, leaving the right-wing opposition and fragmented small groups far behind at the polls.

• The Venezuelan people receive their President
February 19,13
LEARNING of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’ arrival, a massive tide of people flooded the streets to welcome the Bolivarian leader to his homeland.
Chávez returned to Venezuela during the early morning hours of February 18, after completing the first phase of his recuperation from surgery in Cuba.

• Colombian government and FARC-EP end round of talks
February 11,13
ANOTHER round of talks between representatives of the Juan Manuel Santos government and delegates from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- People’s Army (FARC-EP) has concluded in Havana.

• Not allowed to forget
February 7,13
"CHANGE is not brought about by one person alone. It takes a team. We do it all together." This is an election maxim of the governing Alianza País (AP) Movement headed by President Rafael Correa and Jorge Glas, Minister of Strategic Affairs, representing the Citizens' Revolution in the February 17 presidential and legislative elections.

• Nicolás Maduro, Elías Jaua and Cilia Flores visit President Chávez
February 7,13
VICE President Nicolás Maduro, Foreign Minister Elías Jaua and Attorney General Cilia Flores of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela visited President Hugo Chávez yesterday, February 6, in Havana.

• Day of National Dignity: Chávez calls for unity
February 5,13
CARACAS, February 4.—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez today called for the unity of the people on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the civic-military rebellion of February 4, 1992, and the Day of National Dignity, PL reports.

• CELAC: A shared vision of the Patria Grande
February 1,13
SANTIAGO DE CHILE.—"For Cuba and me it is a great honor to assume the rotating presidency of CELAC. I feel it is a recognition of the selfless struggle of our people for their independence which serves as a special tribute to José Martí, on the 160th anniversary of his birth," affirmed President Raúl Castro in his short speech upon assuming the presidency of the organization.

• Raúl Castro visits President Allende's office
February 1,13
SANTIAGO DE CHILE.— At the end of the January 27 CELAC Summit session, the Cuban President, accompanied by Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro, made an emotive visit to the former office of President Salvador Allende in the Moneda Palace.

• Combining efforts to consolidate unity
February 1,13
ON January 27, the Cuban President had a cordial meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto in which Peña Nieto expressed his desire to maintain relations with Cuba at the highest level, a desire reciprocated by Raúl.

• CELAC–EU OR THE SUMMIT OF SILENCE
February 1,13
IN the closing session of the Business Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States – European Union (CELAC–EU), ...

• VENEZUELA
The people take Caracas
February 1,13
THOUSANDS of Venezuelans once again took to the streets of the revolutionary Caracas of President Hugo Chávez to commemorate the 55th anniversary of the overthrow of the Marcos Pérez Jiménez dictatorship (January 23, 1958) by a civic-military junta, whose ideals were subsequently betrayed by the traditional parties.

• Bolivia: Seven years of democratic, cultural revolution
February 1,13
THE profound democratic and cultural revolution initiated in Bolivia in 2006 with the coming to government power of President Evo Morales, has reached its seventh year of struggle, having come a long way, with important victories won and challenges met.

• ANOTHER ROUND OF PEACE TALKS ENDS IN HAVANA
Colombian government and guerrillas: rapprochement on agrarian issue
February 1,13
ANOTHER round of peace talks in Havana between the Juan Manuel Santos and government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP) ended January 24 with the acknowledgment of points of contact on the issue of land.

• For Cuba and for me it is a great honor to assume the rotating presidency of CELAC today
January 30,13
Speech by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, upon accepting the rotating presidency of Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Santiago de Chile, January 28, 2013.

• CELAC has emerged from the heritage of 200 years of struggle for independence and is based on a profound community of objectives
January 29,13
Speech given by Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba, at the 1st Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), Santiago de Chile, January 28, 2013

• Cuba defends a constructive atmosphere
January 28,13
SANTIAGO DE CHILE, Jan 27.—Shortly after the closing session of the CELAC-EU Summit, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla offered his impressions of the event to the Telesur news channel and accredited press, as well as aspects related to the anti-Cuba media campaign orchestrated by a sector of the Chilean right.

• Colombian FARC-EP reiterates call for bilateral ceasefire
January 25,13
AT the end of the two-month unilateral ceasefire declared by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - People's Army (FARC-EP), the Colombian guerrilla movement called again on Sunday, January 20 for a bilateral end to hostilities with the Juan Manuel Santos government, in order to create a calm environment for peace talks.

• Argentine Vice President deplores British referendum on Malvinas
January 25,13
BUENOS AIRES.— Argentine Vice President Amado Boudou has denounced the British decision to consult the people on the issue of the usurped sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, a move which he called "a lack of respect for intelligence and national and international law."

• Cuban Medical Brigade treats close to 1.5 million patients in 2012
January 25,13
PORT-AU-PRINCE.— The sensitive humanistic work of the Cuban Medical Brigade, present in Haiti since 1998, resulted in close 1.5 million Haitian patients being treated in 2012, bringing the total over 14 years of uninterrupted collaboration to 19,700,165, according to data published in the Brigade’s annual report.

• Coca is not cocaine
January 25,13
INDIGENOUS traditions in Bolivia were vindicated after an intense battle for their recognition. The neoliberal policies of former governments consistently focused on eliminating the practice of growing coca, identifying coca as a drug, its cultivators as drug traffickers and users as drug addicts.

• President Evo close-up
January 25,13
TALKING with Cuban Dr. Orestes López Piloto about his book, La dignidad del pueblo o la rodilla de Evo (Dignity of the people or Evo's knee), offers an insight into the personality of the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, whose love and commitment to the people of his Andean nation, is conveyed in 218 pages.

• Nicolás Maduro and Rafael Ramirez in Havana
January 24,13
JAN 24.—Vice President Nicolás Maduro and Rafael Ramirez, Minister of Mining and Oil, flew into in Havana last night.
- Maduro exposes attempt on his and Cabello’s lives

• Chávez is in battle, disciplined in his treatment
January 21,13
CARACAS, Jan 20.—Venezuelan Hugo Chávez is being very disciplined in terms of his treatment and has "a spark of satisfaction in his eye at the struggle he has waged for our homeland and the one he is going to wage," affirmed Vice President Nicolás Maduro, PL reports.

• Maduro: Chávez calm and aware of post-operative process
January 18,13
CARACAS.—After visiting President Hugo Chávez Frías on January 14, Vice President Nicolás Maduro announced yesterday that the Venezuelan head of state is aware of all the phases of the post-operative process following his operation last December 11.

• Venezuelan Armed Forces no longer belong to the bourgeoisie
January 17,13
CARACAS, Jan 16.—Venezuelan Vice President Nicolás Maduro affirmed today that the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) are the synthesis of four words which express a great concept: the new homeland.

• Foreign Minister Elías Jaua thanks Cuban and Colombian counterparts for support
January 17,13
CARACAS, Jan 16.—Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elías Jaua today thanked his Cuban and Colombian counterparts for their support and solidarity in response to his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

• Latin America and the Caribbean salute Chávez in Caracas
January 17,13
AS a single nation on January 10, Latin America and the Caribbean raised their voice in a Caracas overflowing with people who took to the streets in a mass demonstration of support for the Bolivarian Revolution and its President, Comandante Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías.

• Religious ceremonies for Chávez’ health in Cuba
January 17,13
A number of Cuban religious communities organized ceremonies for the prompt recovery of President Hugo Chávez in Havana on January 10.

• Correa: unrivalled
January 17,13
"FIRST round, first round!" This was the slogan chorused by supporters of the governing Alianza País in an early electoral event in Ecuador. They are expecting a convincing victory for President Rafael Correa on February 17, without the need to go to a second round.

• Latin America and the Caribbean will not allow destabilization in the region
January 15,13
Speech by Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, member of the Political Bureau and Vice president of the Council of Ministers, at the act of solidarity in support of Chávez and the Bolivarian Revolution, Caracas, Venezuela, January 10, 2013, Year 55 of the Revolution.

• President Chávez: favorable clinical evolution
January 14,13
CARACAS, January 13.—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has shown a favorable general clinical evolution in the last few days, with his respiratory infection under control, Communication and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas stated today.

• Validity of ALBA and PETROCARIBE highlighted in Venezuela
January 11,13
CARACAS, January 10.—Representatives from Latin America and the Caribbean, meeting in this capital, today confirmed the full validity of integration mechanisms such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and PETROCARIBE, PL reports.

• Correa topping polls in Ecuador at start of election campaign
January 10,13
THE election campaign in Ecuador began Friday, January 4 with rallies for all eight presidential candidates, among them the current socialist leader Rafael Correa, currently the favorite to win on February 17.

• President Chávez asks for postponement of swearing in
January9,13
CARACAS, January 8.—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has asked the National Assembly to postpone to a later date the swearing in ceremony scheduled for January 10, in accordance with Article 231 of the Constitution.

• National Assembly endorses full recovery of President Chávez
January9,13
CARACAS, January 8.—The National Assembly of Venezuela today endorsed its support for the legitimate right of President Hugo Chávez to a full recovery, respecting the sovereign sentiment of the people.

• Chávez assimilating treatment and in stable condition
January7,13
CARACAS, January 7.—Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is assimilating the treatment being applied with all due rigor and has remained stable, Communication and Information Minister Ernesto Villegas stated today.

• Correa: possible CIA plot
January7,13
ECUADORAN President Rafael Correa is not discounting the possibility that the CIA is plotting an attempt on his life in the run-up to February’s presidential elections.

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