CIAO DATE: 04/2014
Fall 2013
What Would it be Like if You Were a Journalist...Here (PDF)
In too many countries, journalists risk their lives to speak truth to power.
Journalists Speak Out (PDF)
Carlos Dada, Jorge Ramos, Ricardo Uceda, Tim Padgett, Michele Montas-Dominique, Alfredo Corchado
When you received the Maria Moors Cabot Gold Medal in 2011, you—and the website you founded, El Faro—were cited for your courageous work in investigative journalism in the midst of difficult circumstances. Has the situation for journalism in El Salvador improved in the past two years?
Investigating crime and corruption has never been easy in El Salvador, above all due to the lack of guarantees from state and public officials, who are complicit when it comes to this type of crime. But it’s much more difficult for local journalists, who live and work in small communities far from the large urban centers. They’re exposed to greater risks because the criminals and the corrupt officials whom they seek to expose live in the same town or are people who hold great power in their regions.
In 2012, journalists were increasingly under attack from organized crime. The situation is much worse in Honduras and Guatemala, where a number of journalists have been assassinated.
Breaking Up is Hard to Do (PDF)
Silvio Waisbord
Media concentration remains a crucial challenge for democracy in Latin America. There are no media monopolies, strictly speaking, in the sense of a single corporation owning all media offerings, but media market concentration remains high. Legacy media properties, as well as the majority of advertising expenditures, are controlled by a small number of companies. Some television markets are “imperfect duopolies,” such as in Mexico, where Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca reap the lion’s share of ownership, advertising and audiences. In Colombia, Caracol TV and RCN TV attract over 60 percent of television advertising. Some newspaper markets are similarly dominated by two companies. In Chile, for example, El Mercurio S.A.P. and Grupo Copesa control the largest number of dailies, and the largest percentage of advertising and readers. Radio ownership, unlike the television and newspaper industries, is fragmented in hundreds of licenses, although a small number of media companies generally own the most popular stations and national networks.
Impunity & the Multiple Facets of Violence in Brazil (PDF)
Mauri Konig
In June and August of this year, millions of Brazilians took to the streets in 120 cities across the country to protest public transportation fare hikes, political corruption and excessive public spending on the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Dozens of these demonstrations ended in confrontations between police and protesters. Over the course of the protests, journalists suffered attacks from both sides—worsening what has already been one of the world’s most dangerous climates for reporters. A June survey by the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (ABRAJI) revealed that during that month’s protests, eight journalists were arrested and 52 were beaten in 10 of Brazil’s 26 states. The assaults—38 by police and 14 by protesters—were mainly directed against print journalists (in 22 cases), but they also extended to freelancers, as well as TV, radio and Internet reporters. Journalists were shot with rubber bullets, exposed to pepper spray and tear gas, hit with stones, and subjected to physical beatings while they covered the protests. Vandals hurled rocks at television stations and damaged reporters’ vehicles.
Missed Opportunity? (PDF)
Martin Becerra, Guillermo Mastrini
For the past five years, Argentina’s current government and the Clarín Group, the country’s principal media conglomerate, have been on a collision course. President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has denounced the group on national TV for having once been “partners” with the military dictatorship and accused its executives of plotting against her. Meanwhile, Clarín, the country’s most widely read newspaper (and the group’s most important media property) has returned the favor with front-page denunciations of the government and scathing editorials, including one calling an initiative to limit the number of broadcast licenses held by a single company a “gag order.” The tensions between Fernández de Kirchner, now in the middle of her second presidential term, and Argentina’s most powerful media group represent more than a personal quarrel. Triggered by a political falling out between the media giant and the administration, and exacerbated by a 2009 government media reform law, they underline the escalating struggle across the region to develop channels for diverse political views and free expression in an environment dominated by giant media monopolies...
Squeeze Play (PDF)
Kevin M. Goldberg
From the high-profile cases of the Wikileaker U.S. Army Private Chelsea Manning (formerly Bradley) and the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden to a series of lesser-known cases, the U.S. government has increased the investigation and prosecution of officials who have leaked government information. In many of these cases, the recipient of the information has not been foreign governments but the media, including new Internet-based platforms such as Wikileaks. Despite the novelty of the platforms and the government’s harsher response, the law under which leakers have been investigated and indicted (and journalists subpoenaed) is the 1917 Espionage Act. The Espionage Act is, in many ways, one of the most misunderstood criminal laws in the United States. The law, under which those who engage in the unauthorized disclosure of classified or unclassified information that could harm national defense (more commonly referred to as those who “leak” information) can be prosecuted, is both incredibly simple and complex. The statute has managed to protect U.S. national security over nearly a century of wars and conflict, while still leaving intact the tradition of maintaining a vibrant and free press. But this delicate balance is on the verge of being disrupted.
Journalism in Post-Coup Honduras (PDF)
Carlos Lauria, Sara Rafsky
The region's murder capital is also one of the world's most dangerous places for journalists. (video available) During the past two decades, as transnational criminal networks have expanded their reach, violence and murder have plagued several Latin American countries. But even among those countries, Honduras stands apart. With an annual homicide rate of 85.5 murders per 100,000 inhabitants—an average of 598 a month, 20 a day, according to a 2012 study conducted by the Violence Observatory at the Honduran National Autonomous University— no place in the region is more violent.1
Protecting Truth from Power: 15 Years of The Special Rapporteur For Freedom of Expression (PDF)
Santiago A. Canton
Guarding freedom of expression serves as both a safeguard and a catalyst for all other human rights. The Inter-American System enshrined the right to freedom of thought and expression in Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights and Article IV of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. In 1998, to further protect this right, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR or the Commission) established the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression. I served as the first head of the office. The IACHR has consistently championed free expression throughout its 55-year existence. In 1988, the Commission denounced efforts to limit opposing views during the plebiscite campaign against General Augusto Pinochet in Chile. One year later, it spoke out publicly against the arbitrary arrests of independent journalists in Paraguay under the regime of Alfredo Stroessner.
Sustainable Energy Access for the Poor (PDF)
Sam Mendelson
For decades, lending to the poor meant microcredit, and energy related projects rarely fit into that model. The few attempts at intersecting energy and microfinance faltered for various reasons, ranging from the poor energy technologies available at the time to an aversion among microfinance institutions (MFIs) to move to a broader energy-lending program. Even in cases where microcredit clients could use funds to buy clean energy technology, few did. Instead, many continued to use traditional, inefficient and often dangerous means— kerosene, candles, animal dung, or diesel—to light their homes and cook their food. Now, however, a renewed effort is under way to increase access to energy finance. New technologies—in particular small, portable solar products—have now become viable and available. Just as important has been the emergence of new distribution channels and consumer financing mechanisms such as remittances, mobile banking and microleasing. Together, these developments are bringing renewable microenergy to the off-grid and under-electrified poor. Success in these efforts could have a positive impact on development goals, such as improving health, education and security, and encouraging entrepreneurship— as well as on the broader goal of mitigating climate change. But the obstacles are also considerable.
Is Brazil the New Regional Champion of Democracy? (PDF)
Oliver Stuenkel
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in September 2010, U.S. President Barack Obama appealed to rising democracies around the world to help spread the democratic message, declaring that “we need your voices to speak out,” and reminding them that “part of the price of our own freedom is standing up for the freedom of others.”1 Many observers regarded this as wishful thinking. Democracy promotion, they argue, is a typically Western endeavor. While governments and NGOs in Europe and North America spend billions of dollars every year on democracy-related projects, emerging powers have traditionally avoided such projects—underlining the view held by some skeptics that there is no place for democracy promotion in a “post-Western world.” Yet even the skeptics might find reason to pause when it comes to Brazil. Latin America’s largest nation has quietly turned into democracy’s “defender-in-chief,” in sharp contrast to emerging democracies in other regions, such as Turkey, South Africa or India—none of which regard democracy promotion beyond their borders as a priority. This has not always been the case.
Venezuela's Electricity Deficit (PDF)
Cesar Batiz
Venezuela is currently suffering its second electricity emergency in three years. The first was declared by the government in February 2010. Closings of major roads, public complaints in the media and frequent outage reports on the #Sinluz (No light) Twitter account paint a grim picture of daily life in Venezuela. The reasons are fairly straightforward: since it nationalized the electrical system, the government has failed to build enough new power plants and to maintain existing ones. According to the Ricardo Zuloaga Group—a group of electricity-sector experts based in Venezuela—the fact that the domestic demand for electricity exceeds the amount available for consumption is at the heart of the issue. The country currently generates about 18.3 thousand megawatts (MW) daily, but needs about 19.3 thousand MW—a gap that has required urgent measures to stabilize the electricity system. But throwing money at the problem may not be enough. Despite pumping more than $3.8 billion into the sector since 2010 to put 40 new plants on stream, lack of transparency, mismanagement and corruption continue to hobble regular access to electricity. According to the newspaper El Nacional, there have been 10,647 failures in the SEN (National Electric System) between January and June 2013. The states of Zulia, Anzoátegui, Miranda, Amazonas, and Aragua have been the most affected by the current crisis— leaving populations in those areas seething with anger.
Ask the Experts: Press Freedom (PDF)
Sam Quinones, Cristina Manzano, Andres Schipani, Sibylla Brodzinsky
One effect is certainly to have strengthened the hand of institutions— government as well as corporate. Spokespeople for these agencies and companies may object. But increasingly, newspaper newsrooms have been cut back so substantially that they no longer have enough people to adequately cover anything but the institutions that are set up to be covered: institutions that offer restricted access to information and institutions with spokespeople and elected officials. Cutbacks and consolidation mean that news media are more dependent on the information these institutions provide. This has been true of television news for many years. But it’s becoming standard procedure at newspapers, too. The Internet has made finding people and documents easier. But it has not improved reporters’ ability to cover those sides of their society that don’t fall under government agencies, that aren’t governed by public-record law and that don’t have a spokesperson putting out their story. Those stories require immersion, which requires time, which is now in shorter supply than ever.
DISPATCHES FROM THE FIELD: EL ALTO, BOLIVIA
Jorge Derpic, Sara Shahriari
Dispatches: El Alto, Bolivia BY JORGE DERPIC AND SARA SHAHRIARI The former settlement on a plateau above La Paz is becoming a city unto itself, due in no small part to onetime protest leader and now favorite son, President Evo Morales. Blazing sun, freezing nights, roads clogged with traffic, and a vast maze of adobe houses populated by nearly a million people. This is the Bolivian city of El Alto. Once an outlying neighborhood on the high plains above La Paz, El Alto has today surpassed its population. Matching El Alto’s growing profile, the city is also about to host some major public projects. President Evo Morales has promised a multi-million dollar soccer stadium and—perhaps most important—the government is installing natural gas connections to tens of thousands of homes. El Alto’s new look also underlines its newfound political influence. Just a decade ago, in October 2003, demonstrators filled the streets to protest the Bolivian government’s plans to export natural gas through Chile, turning the city into a battlefield. Those bloody days of conflict—known as the “gas war”—left more than 60 civilians dead in clashes with police and soldiers. The conflict set the stage for the rise of Morales, who in 2006 became Bolivia’s first Indigenous president.
Aldo Civico, Alfredo Rangel
Will the negotiations between the government and the FARC bring lasting peace to Colombia? Yes: Aldo Civico; No: Alfredo Rangel In this issue: Pragmatism on both sides of the negotiating table suggests a willingness to end the armed conflict. The FARC’s escalating demands; ongoing attacks and intransigence demonstrate that it doesn’t really want peace.
Politics Innovator: María Rachid, Argentina María Rachid never wanted to become a politician. But she is responsible for some of the most important human rights bills in Argentina’s recent history, including the 2010 Marriage Equality Law, which legalized same-sex marriage, and the 2012 Gender Identity Law, which allows transgender people to change gender identity on official documents without prior approval. The 38-year-old has served in the Buenos Aires city legislature since 2011 for the governing Frente Para La Victoria (Front for Victory) coalition. A former vice president of Argentina’s Instituto Nacional contra la Discriminación, la Xenofobia y el Racismo (National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism—INADI), Rachid is a long time social activist who didn’t always see party politics as the best way to accomplish change. “I never thought I would become a legislator,” she says, though she adds that she was always interested in politics “as a tool to construct a more just society.” Born and raised in Buenos Aires province, Rachid came out as a lesbian as an adult—around the same time that she came of age as a political activist, having left her law studies at the University of Belgrano to focus on a new career as an activist for women’s rights and sexual liberation.
U.S. seaport expansion — Dual-language instruction in the U.S. — Capital controls in the region.
Kurt J. Nagle
Infrastructure: U.S. Seaport Expansion BY KURT J. NAGLE U.S. seaports are in an enhancement and expansion mode. While the widening of the Panama Canal may serve as the catalyst for some of the anticipated $9.2 billion in annual facilities investment in the foreseeable future, this is only part of the story. Several other factors are propelling this huge investment of private capital into U.S. ports. One is the rebounding domestic economy: the value of U.S. exports has risen 70 percent and imports have increased by 53 percent since the first half of 2009. Another driver is the increasing overseas demand for U.S. exports, particularly among the growing middle class in Latin America and parts of Asia. In fact, in the next decade, total U.S. exports are projected to surpass imports for the first time in a generation. Yet another consideration is that manufacturing operations are returning to North America, a development known as “nearsourcing.” With rising labor costs overseas, a narrowing labor differential at home and long transit times to market, a Michigan-based AlixPartners survey conducted in 2012 found that 9 percent of manufacturing executives have already taken steps to “near-source” their operations, and 33 percent plan to do so within the next three years.
Prost, Brazil! Grab a stein-full of caipirinha and stroll down to Ipanema beach in your lederhosen—it’s Germany-Brazil Year in Brazil. The yearlong festival, aimed at deepening German-Brazilian relations, kicked off in May with the opening of the German-Brazilian Economic Forum in São Paulo. “Brazil is one of the most successful new centers of power in the world,” says Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister. “We want to intensify cooperation with Brazil, not only economically but also culturally.” It’s no surprise that Brazil, the sixth-largest economy in the world, has caught the attention of Europe’s financial powerhouse. Brazil is Germany’s most important trading partner in Latin America, accounting for $14.2 billion in imports in 2012. With some 1,600 German companies in Brazil providing 250,000 jobs and 17 percent of industrial GDP, it’s an economic relationship that clearly has mutual benefits.
John Carey, Adriana La Rotta, Nancy Perez
Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century edited by Carlos de la Torre and Cynthia J. Arnson BY JOHN M. CAREY Legend has it that on his deathbed, Juan Domingo Perón, the former President of Argentina, uttered a curse condemning any would-be biographer to dedicate his or her career to defining populism. Or perhaps the curse was issued on the lost page of the late Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas’ suicide note, or slipped in among the bills in an envelope passed surreptitiously by Alberto Fujimori to some Peruvian legislator, or whispered by the recently deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez into the ear of his successor, Nicolás Maduro. No matter. Whoever first uttered the curse, it worked: political scientists studying the region have wrestled and been obsessed with the concept for decades. We want to write about populism. Indeed, we need to write about it, because populism is among the most important and persistent phenomena in modern Latin American politics. But because the populist label has been applied to such a broad array of phenomena, we are condemned to define it before we can embark on any serious analysis. Academic exactitude being what it is, this leads first to extended consideration of what others have held populism to be, followed by a self-perpetuating and seemingly inescapable cycle of judgment, distinction and justification.