Bolivia has found a way to cut coca production without sacrificing the leaf’s cultural importance or cracking down on small growers. But Washington’s not having it.
Washington Snubs Bolivia on Drug Policy Reform, Again
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Bolivia
Conn Hallinan’s 2013 “Are You Serious?” Awards
Each year Conn Hallinan looks aghast at news stories and newsmakers that beggar belief.
At the UN, a Latin American Rebellion
Without a doubt, the 68th UN General Assembly will be remembered as a watershed. Nations reached an agreement on control of chemical weapons that could avoid a global war in Syria. The volatile stalemate on the Iran nuclear program came a step closer to diplomacy....
The Failure of the Summit of the Americas VI
Dilma Rousseff interrupted the speech of Barack Obama. The President of the United States was speaking about the advances of various countries in Latin America, commenting that now there exists “a prosperous middle class” that represents a business opportunity for companies from his country. “Suddenly, they are interested in buying iPads, interested in buying planes from Boeing.” “Or Embraer,” interjected Dilma, yielding applause.
Bolivian President Morales Bows to Pressure and Cancels Amazon Highway
Others were concerned that Brazil would derive the bulk of the benefits from the road at the expense of Bolivia.
Bolivia After the Storm
At the end of December, the first popular uprising in the region against a government of the left took place in Bolivia. It was caused by an excessive increase in the price of fuels. The event demonstrates the difficulties of entering into a truly alternative mode of development, but it also reveals the limits of the Bolivian government’s stated effort to re-establish and decolonize the state.
U.S. Renews Anachronistic Campaign to Stamp Out Coca Leaf Chewing
Apparently Washington fears that even a modest change to a 1961 convention could call into the question its drug control regime.
Two, Three, Many Colombias
This past September, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton drew criticism for comparing the current situation in Mexico to “Colombia 20 years ago.” Most of that criticism questioned whether the analogy was appropriate or whether the statement was an unnecessary affront to a close U.S. ally, the Mexican government of Felipe Calderón. But the more significant part of Clinton’s comments was her enthusiastic praise for Plan Colombia—the massive U.S. military aid package started by her husband in 1999—and her insistence on the need “to figure out what are the equivalents” for other regions, particularly Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Creating Cultural Bridges: The Art of Edgar Endress
Chilean-born Edgar Endress is a Virginia-based artist, professor, and founding member of the Floating Lab Collective. Endress’ work stresses a context-dependent blend of media that both forges and illustrates an integration of art and social engagement. For Endress and his Floating Lab Collective, the opportunities for social interaction afforded by his work are every bit as integral to the performance as whatever audio or visual elements he uses to stimulate them. Endress recently met with Foreign Policy In Focus to discuss his recent work on immigration, his theories of social engagement, and his travels to the Balkans.
Film Review: Che
At a party before the New York City screening of Che, director Steven Soderbergh said the reason he stretched Che to 257 minutes was because there was just too much story to tell about the revolutionary in a mere two hours. Later, at the same party, I asked a seasoned journalist and avid film viewer (who had just seen Che)his reaction to the film. While he enjoyed the film on the whole, to him it seemed that the jungle scenes were repetitive, ultimately making the film too long. Having now seen the full four and a half-hour film I can attest that, while their opinions are disparate, both Soderbergh and the journalist are right.