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[Translation of an essay from Haïti-Progrès.]

The great powers like the United States and France have been engaged in a diplomatic  fencing match ever since the eathquake of January 12, which left at least 300,000 dead, as many injured and crippled, thousands displaced and at least two million homeless, and more than 250,000 homes destroyed. (more…)

Blood-bath possible on the 16th, when black and red banners appear at LFC

[Translation of an article from La Jornada of Mexico City for March 12.]

by Patricia Muñoz Ríos

Labor leaders from Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and India, among other nations, have declared that “we thought the rule of law existed in Mexico” but the current government of Felipe Calderón “is taking fascistic actions against the workers of the country and has undertaken the hunting down of democratic organizations, the likes of which is seen only in some dictatorships.” (more…)

[Translation of an editorial from the Chilean weekly El Siglo for February 21, before the complicating factor of the massive earthquake of February 27, concerning the election to the presidency of billionaire businessman Sebastián Piñera, the first rightist to hold that office since the fall of the Pinochet dictatorship. Until Piñera’s installation on March 11, Chile had been governed by a center-left coalition. The outgoing president, Michelle Bachelet, was the first woman ever elected as president of a South American country.]

No surprises, certainly, but much more clarity. Recent statements by the future president on a television program distributed widely throughout the world clear up any doubt: yes, the Piñera government will be very active in international relations and a crux of its policy will be active militancy against the progressive governments and movements of Latin America. (more…)

[Translation of an article from Revistazo.com of Honduras for March 9]

The former head of the Honduran armed forces, Romeo Vásquez Velásquez, who ordered the arrest and expulsion of former president Manuel Zelaya last June 28, has been named as the new director of the Honduran telecommunications firm HONDUTEL. (more…)

Caracas declares Clinton tour a failure

[Translation of an article from La Jornada of Mexico City]

Agence France Presse and Deutsche Presseagentur

Caracas, March 4 – Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro has called Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Latin American tour “a failure” and declared that she came to the region “to scheme, to attempt to divide the countries that are trying to unite our continent, to attempt to sow doubt about the process of democratic transformation that countries like Venezuela are living through.” (more…)

Lula warns that Hillary “has not been wise in forcing Iran against the wall”

[Translation of an article from Hora do Povo of Brazil for March 5]

President Lula has issued a warning against US pressure to impose sanctions on Iran based on suspicion raised by the US that that country possesses, or is on the verge of possessing, weapons of mass destruction.  “It isn’t wise to force Iran against a wall.  What is wise would be to initiate negotations,” Lula declared on Wednesday.  “What I want for Iran is the same as I want for Brazil: to use the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” he stressed, emphasizing that Brazil does not support the proliferation of nuclar weapons. (more…)

[Translation of an article from Tiempo of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for March 5]

Chancellor of the Republic Mario Canahuati stated yesterday that at least five Latin American countries will ask for the reintegration of Honduras into the Organization of American States (OAS) by March 20.

Canahuati explained that the procedure for returning  to the OAS requires that an active member of the organization request it but that to date the arrangements have not been made because Honduras is still suspended from the organization.

The presidents of the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica and the prime minister of Belice, Dean Barrow, yesterday issued a declaration of support for the government of Porfirio Lobo, who assumed office after a de facto regime had taken charge following the ouster of former president Manuel Zelaya.

The chancellor declared that the request will be made by March 20 in the name of the block of countries making up the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA), although it is not yet known whether Nicaragua will support the petition…

Honduras’s membership in the OAS was suspended on July 4, 2009, after politician Roberto Micheletti led a coup d’état carried out by civilians and the military against former president Manuel Zelaya Rosales.

[Translation of an article from the Brazilian Centro de Midia Independente for February 25.]

The Brazilian NGO Repórter Brasil has issued a report on the production of sugar in Brazil in 2009.  According to the report, the situation is alarming.  The cases of slave labor, violations of workers’ rights, damage to the environment and the invasion of indigenous lands are numerous. (more…)