An estimated 10% of Cuba’s population is believed to have left the country for the United States, with many making a dangerous crossing in the open sea using makeshift rafts to escape Fidel Castro’s regime. Average monthly salaries sit at an abysmal $25 a month. Far lower than the $7,643 GDP per capita for Central America, and even…
Uruguay’s eccentric President, José Mujica, recently stated that even though marijuana is still underground in the nation of just over three million people, "you can smell it everywhere." Recent legislation aims to normalize and legalize the substance. On the last day of July, Uruguay’s lower house, known as the "Chamber of Deputies," approved legislation to…
Argentina and Britain have endured a spat over the Falkland Islands since the beginning of the nineteenth century. The resentment from Argentinians has only increased with the discovery of the potential of oil in the region. Matthew Omolesky explores the history of this bickering in his article “Behind a Quilt of Mist,” and explains the…
The foreign ministry of Ecuador recently confirmed it received a request for asylum, and described Snowden as "a man attempting to bring light and transparency to facts that affect everyone’s fundamental liberties." Despite requests for extradition to the United States by the US State Department, Snowden has apparently managed to travel from Hong Kong to…
Venezuela’s president admitted to identifying those who voted against him this past election. In a recent speech to the public, Nicolas Maduro singled out those who failed to vote for him as Hugo Chavez’s hand picked successor, after having voted for Chavez in previous elections. “We have identified the 900.000 compatriots with IDs and all”…
The Venezuelan government was forced to begin importing 50 million rolls of toilet paper this week, due to massive shortages in consumer goods, and food in the country. Venezuela has found itself in a downward spiral of increased crime, and a struggling economy, after more than a decade of rule by it’s socialist president Hugo…
The administration of Cristina Fernández has been increasingly under fire by opposition forces, as her Peronist policies have predictably driven the economy into the ground, after irresponsible debt defaults, runaway inflation, and private sector takeovers. Her government has drawn accusations of fascism, as her government has even taken steps to control the independence of the press, and stifle unfavorable economic reports.…
Venezuelan opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, has been protesting the hairline margin by which the incumbent clung to the position bestowed on him by Chavez since the election results were announced. On Thursday, the Consejo Nacional Electoral (National Electoral Council) was unable to make a decision about concerns presented by Capriles regarding irregularities during April’s election. It is unclear whether or not this board operates independently…
Uruguay’s colorful president, José Mujica, was caught speaking making a candid, and decidedly undiplomatic observations by a hot mic, regarding Argentina’s president and her late husband, during a radio interview on April the 4th. Tensions between Argentina and Uruguay have been on the rise, due to protectionist rules put in place by Cristina Fernández, intended…
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