La Jornada, Mexico, "Lopez Obrador calls for the Senate to postpone debate". The Mexican government is set to pass some television & radio "reforms" which give pieces of the digital spectrum to existing TV stations (dominated by one company) for free. Lopez Obrador, the most liberal candidate in the Presidential race, is calling for an open bidding process on the entire digital spectrum, which would open the TV networks to more competition. Proof again that right-of-center parties frequently are not "pro-free-market" so much as they are "pro-big business".
El Universal, Mexico. "The visible Hispanics". Op/ed columns on the large protest can be found in many news outlets in Mexico, often pointing out how ludicrous it is to have a labor market that accepts 500,000 immigrants but a government that only accepts 5,000 work visas. Memo to House Democrats: "Sessenbrenner" is a four-letter word in Spanish. Use it.
El Comercio, Ecuador: "FTA: Petroleum law altered negotiations" Ecuador stands firm that they will not eliminate their royalties on Petroleum extraction. Ecuador is also limiting rice imports to 3,000 tons annually, down from the 28,000 tons the US demands. Again, I had no idea we grew rice domestically.
Al Dia, Costa Rica: "One from the left in a "neoliberal" ship [cabinet]". An interview with incoming Education Minister Leonardo Garnier. Center-left candidate Oscar Arias won this February's election even though he promised to raise taxes to expand education and reduce poverty (clearly he's a subversive). In addition, the country has a creaking road system in need of repair. Garnier has promised not to reduce the mandatory 200 days of school or eliminate the national exams, reforms opposed by the far-left in the country. Not surprisingly, the difference between "left" and "neoliberal" politics in Latin America consists almost entirely of what you think of Free Trade Agreements.
