AS/COA Online | Lula Unveils Major Infrastructure Investment Plan

In a move that could bolster the electoral chances of his chosen political heir, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a massive infrastructure investment program this week. The plan—valued at roughly $880 billion—will be the second stage of the Growth Acceleration Program and is known by its Portuguese acronym as PAC 2. Lula unveiled the plan at a meeting with 1,200 people and his hoped-for successor Dilma Rousseff in attendance. Rousseff’s administration would carry out the project should she win the October elections. She steps down from her post as Lula’s chief of staff this week to focus on the race as the governing Workers’ Party candidate. But even though Lula’s approval rating has hit a record 76 percent, Rousseff trails São Paulo Governor José Serra in electoral polling.

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AS/COA Online | Obama Condemns Cuba's "Clenched Fist"

The White House took a break from rallies for health care reform this week to issue a condemnation of human rights conditions in Cuba. U.S. President Barack Obama called the death of a hunger striker and repression of human rights activists as “deeply disturbing” in a March 24 statement. “These events underscore that instead of embracing an opportunity to enter a new era, Cuban authorities continue to respond to the aspirations of the Cuban people with a clenched fist,” he added. The president’s words—perhaps his harshest criticism of the Cuban government since taking office—come during a time of protests in Havana and Miami over recent attempts to silence a dissident group known as Las Damas de Blanco, or the Ladies in White. 

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AS/COA Online | Colombian Presidential Race Heats up

Judging by the results of Colombia’s March 14 legislative elections, former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos is off to a strong start in the race for the country’s presidency. His party won the lion’s share of votes and captured the largest portion of seats in the Senate and Chamber of Representatives. But the Conservative Party, which held its presidential primary the same day, came in second and some analysts posit that the March 19 confirmation of Noemí Sanín as the Conservative candidate could divide President Álvaro Uribe’s coalition and create a challenge for Santos in the first round of elections on May 30. Both candidates face a number of competitors.

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AS/COA Online | Sec. Clinton to Lead High-Level Group to Mexico

In the wake of the murder of three people with U.S. consular links in Ciudad Juarez, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads a cabinet-level delegation to Mexico on March 23. Through a bilateral meeting between secretaries from the administrations of U.S. President Barack Obama and his Mexican counterpart Felipe Calderón, the delegation hopes to demonstrate the shared responsibility in the fight against drug cartels. As part of that effort, both sides will discuss the Merida Initiative, a security pact that carves out $1.4 billion in U.S. funds to support counternarcotics efforts in Mexico and Central America. The summit coincides with increased debate about how to stem the bloodshed tied to trafficking in Mexico.

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AS/COA Online | Brazil Raises Stakes over U.S. Cotton Subsidies

Brasilia took a simmering trade dispute with Washington a step further this week when it announced intentions of suspending a number of U.S. patents and copyrights. The measure builds on a March 8 decision to impose tariffs on over a 100 American goods unless the United States abides by a World Trade Organization ruling that deems illegal Washington’s $3-billion subsidies on cotton. The United States has until April 7 to find a solution before Brazil’s multimillion-dollar retaliations take effect.

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AS/COA Online - Exclusive Interview: General Fraser on Security in the Americas

“Our efforts are always focused on supporting the government, wherever the crisis happens.”

General Douglas M. Fraser, Commander of U.S. Southern Command, spoke with AS/COA Online’s Carin Zissis about supporting relief efforts in Chile and Haiti, the fight against illicit trafficking, Iran’s growing ties with Latin America, and weapons modernization in the Andes.

AS/COA: The Americas obviously experienced two massive earthquakes since the beginning of the year, first in Haiti and now in Chile. In each case, what are the top challenges in terms of operational responses from a U.S. perspective?

Gen. Fraser: I think there are a couple things to keep in mind. One is that every situation is different and every situation is unique, so you have to understand the situation as it exists. And getting accurate information early—and comprehensive information—is always a challenge. Our efforts are always focused on supporting the government, wherever the crisis happens. So we look to support the government and work at what they need, when they say they need it. That’s very much what we see happening in Chile.

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AS/COA Online | Secretary Clinton's Latin American Tour

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tours Latin America this week for a journey that takes her through the Southern Cone, Brazil, and Central America. Though hers is a trip through the Americas, it involves Middle East policy. “I’m on my way to Latin America next week. And Iran is at the top of my agenda,” said Clinton in February 24 testimony at a Senate Appropriation Committee, hinting at concern over Brazil’s deepening ties with Iran. But that was before an 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile, one of the stops on the secretary’s trip. Her trip runs from February 28 through March 5 and she travels to Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica, and Guatemala.

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AS/COA Online | Colombian Court Blocks Third Term for Uribe

Colombia’s constitutional court ended a two-year-old waiting game on February 26 when it voted against a reelection referendum that could have paved the way for President Álvaro Uribe to seek a third term. In a vote of 7 to 2, the court rejected the referendum as unconstitutional, saying that it was not only laden with irregularities but “substantial violations to democratic principles.” By sounding the referendum’s death knell, the court set off a presidential race previously frozen in limbo and candidates are recalibrating their campaigns for a May 30 election that won’t list Uribe on the ballot. Beforehand, Colombia holds legislative elections on March 14. 

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AS/COA Online - Resource Guide: Earthquake Strikes Chile

An 8.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile on February 27. The disaster left thousands homeless and wreaked havoc on infrastructure while setting off tsunami warnings in dozens of Pacific countries.

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AS/COA Online | UK-Argentina in Diplomatic Row over Archipelago

Buenos Aires brought its concerns about the Falkland Islands to the United Nations this week as a dispute with the United Kingdom heated up over the archipelago’s sovereignty. While Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner drew support for her country’s territorial claims from fellow Latin American leaders during the Rio Summit, a British company began drilling operations in the Falkland basin. A Spanish-Argentine partnership announced intentions to explore for oil as well, but in Argentine territory. The prospect of large oil reserves has brought a new twist on a decades-old disagreement over the Falklands—or Malvinas.

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AS/COA Online | Haiti and the Dominican Republic Mend Fences

It may seem difficult to find an upshot to the massive natural disaster that hit Haiti last month. Yet the earthquake did lead to mended fences with the Dominican Republic. “The Dominicans were the first to arrive with help, with doctors, food, and aid,” says Alice Blanchet, a special advisor to Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive. “They were stellar.” Despite long-running tensions between Port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo, the disaster has drawn the neighbors closer together. As The Economist put it, the result is “[a] break in a history of mistrust.” But how long that break will last could be tested, particularly given recent changes in Dominican immigration policy.

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AS/COA Online | Vancouver’s Olympic Bet

A blizzard of bad news hit the start of the Winter Olympics last week. Hours before the opening ceremony, a Georgian athlete died in a tragic accident while practicing on the luge track in an incident that drew safety concerns. The unseasonably warm weather has led some to dub these Games the first “Spring Olympics.” Organizers, faced with a lack of snow, refunded general admission tickets to some events this week, translating to $400,000 in lost-ticket revenue. But even as news reports cast light on the Games’ unwanted hurdles, local officials hope to showcase Vancouver during the Olympics and help shepherd along its economic recovery.

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AS/COA Online | Opposites Attract: PAN and PRD Align

Three years ago, in the wake of Mexico's contentious presidential election, few would have predicted an alliance between the race's two rival parties. But the ruling conservative National Action Party (PAN) and the left-leaning Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) are considering just that as they face a resurgent Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). After sustaining losses in last year’s midterm election and with 12 governorships up for grabs this year, the two parties hope a union can undercut the PRI's gains ahead of the 2012 presidential vote. Yet voters might not buy the alliance between two teams with disparate ideologies.

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