It’s not Halloween…

The Day of the Dead in Mixquic, Mexico / NR

I will not wish you “Happy Halloween” for this weekend, I have never understood why people had adopted this tradition, just under marketing laws from the 90s. Well, I know it is an old celebration coming from the Celts but I consider that the Day of the Dead, celebrated in Mexico and Central America

Jeffrey in the sky with diamonds

Jeffrey Max Jones... good stuff? / Photo : Senado de la República de México

What happened with Jeffrey Max Jones ? The Mexican Assistant Secretary of Agriculture took the drug dealers as a model during a speech! “Farmers should follow the example of drug traffickers because they produce what the market demands”, he said. As if it was not clear enough, he added : “If somebody knows about market laws nowadays, drug dealers do.” As he realized he was saying something ambiguous, he thought it was necessary to precise:

A sensitive issue

Maybe the topics could seem minor in Europe but in Latin America it is not. A large debate has surged all around the continent about “reeleccionismo”. And very few countries have remained outside. A tradition in many Latin American countries, inherited from the years of democratic transition, did not allow a president to be reelected.

Fatal tension

Very few other places in the world face such a potential tension as Colombia and Venezuela. An old border conflict, two completely different political regimes, stories of rebels and paramilitaries, drug traffic… It is even a miracle if the situation has not degenerated more. Another case has inflamed the tensions. Eight Colombians (and also one Peruvian and one Venezuelan) have been killed in Venezuela. Nobody knows who they are, who killed them and how they have been killed.

Work more, earn more

Some workers are now paid according to their productivity. This is the result of a reform adopted last year. A staff will monitor and measure the work of each employee and will determine their level of pay based on production. In theory, this measure would boost economic development and growth, motivate and involve workers, eliminate corruption…

The old guerrillero

José Pepe Mujica

Tomorrow Uruguay will vote. And the virtually future president of Uruguay is a controversial man. All the polls indicate that José Mujica should be the next president of Uruguay. Do not rely on his perfect grandfather look: in the 1960s and 1970s, he was one of the most wanted people in the country. José Mujica, alias “El Pepe”, was part of the National Liberation Movement – Tucamaros.

Ordinary violence

L'homme sans tête, Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez / NR

A few words on the latest book of Sergio Gonzalez Rodriguez, The man without a head. A brilliant analysis of the wave of violence Mexico has known in the ultimate months. The Mexican author and journalist worked on the practice of decapitation and replaced it in a more general context. The entertainment society, the war between drug cartels in Mexico, the escalation of terror, old beliefs…

Live from Mission, San Francisco

Dolores Mission, San Francisco / NR

I am spending a few days in San Francisco and discovering how diverse this city is. I walked through Chinatown, Japantown, Castro but as this blog is about Latin America, I will just talk about Mission.

“Sucre”: the financial future for Latin America ?

It is a recurrent issue, an old dream that is coming back in the news in an unexpected form. The Bolivarian revolution Hugo Chavez has made his banner for several years could take an important step in the coming months … creating a single currency. The economic crisis, a weak dollar, the political context that brought left wing majorities to power… All this has given a big boost to the “sucre” project.  

Latin football turns smoothly

I was late: here is the first 100% football post. The opportunity is worth: never Latin America had been so represented that during the next World Cup in South Africa. The 2002 record will be matched with seven nations: Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Costa Rica or Uruguay. I will refrain from making an analysis on the issue, but the passion for sport throughout the region,