After a decade of silence and an apologetic attitude towards the countries of the Bolivarian alliance (ALBA), the international community finally protested attacks against freedom of the press in Ecuador, forcing the Ecuadorian president to back off. For years the Organization of American States and countries of the region have been enablers and thus passive accomplices of the anti-democratic wave that has penetrated Latin America. Under the pretext of helping the poor and the...

Iran is quietly seeking to expand its ties with Latin America in what U.S. officials and regional experts say is an effort to circumvent economic sanctions and gain access to much-needed markets and raw materials. The new diplomatic offensive, which comes amid rising tensions with Washington and European powers, includes a four-nation swing through South and Central America this month by . His government has vowed to increase its economic, political and military influence in the United...

Ever since Iran's President Mahmoud was elected in 2005, Iran has been working resolutely to establish a foothold in the Latin American countries - in the U.S.' backyard. The Iranian president's partners in promoting this policy are the presidents of Venezuela and Bolivia, who provide him with a springboard for activity in Latin America. Iran is exploiting its growing ties and common interests with Latin American countries to deploy there its familiar pieces from the Middle Eastern and African...

Recently, the United States and Colombia signed a long-awaited free trade agreement that is expected to boost job growth in both countries. Yet another recent trade deal that received scant attention is perhaps far more important to American interests. Last November, Bolivian President Evo Morales announced he would partner with Iran to develop the country's vast lithium reserves. Lithium is an important mineral with a variety of uses from producing rechargeable batteries to creating various...

Inertia is deceptive. While the Israeli-Palestinian peace proces is stalled, thanks to Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas refusing to return to direct talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on parallel tracks P.A. leaders are lining up countries publicly supporting a Palestinian state before it is actually created. The P.A. is focused on Latin America, which it is determined to add to the guaranteed Arab and Muslim state votes that ensure a U.N. General Assembly majority....

Bolivia's new Constitution [1] which came into effect a year ago, recognizes upfront that women's rights are human rights, and it has led to real progress in both legislation and policies granting women equal rights. The changes relating to gender equality include the establishment of an electoral body that guarantees equal participation for men and women, changes in terminology recognizing the female identity and gender differences, the recognition and value of household work, the right of...

Nicaragua cannot be called a democracy any more with a straight face. The president has stacked the Supreme Court, had them declare that he can run for re-election contrary to the constitution, had a new constitution printed when Congress refused to change it to his liking, and ignores blatant election fraud such as tossing 100% of opponent votes in the garbage bin. This appears to be part of a plan to perpetuate the Ortegas at power. The plan is spearheaded by Venezuela, backed by Cuba, and...

During the August 22 reception of Peru’s newly appointed ambassador to Iran, Iranian President Ahmadinejad declared that Latin America was a major priority for Iran. Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil, and Peru have all developed very strong relationships with Iran over the past few years. Since President Evo Morales’s 2006 election in Bolivia, Iran has invested over $1.1 billion for various Bolivian projects, particularly those concerned with agriculture and natural resource exploration....

AT DAWN on September 16th 1810 Miguel Hidalgo, the parish priest of Dolores, a small town in central Mexico, rang the bells of his church to raise the cry of rebellion against the Spanish crown. Mexico, Spain’s richest American colony, thus joined a struggle for independence which had already seen the colonial authorities ousted and rebel juntas installed in Caracas, Buenos Aires and other South American cities. Two years earlier, following Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of the...

President Evo Morales has responded to recent overtures by the Obama Administration to normalize relations by threatening to expel the U.S. Agency for International Development from Bolivia, adding to his list of U.S. government officials he has thrown out of the country. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Arturo Valenzuela recently traveled to Bolivia to accelerate talks on an agreement to re-establish full diplomatic relations between the two countries. His trip also set the stage for a...