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LAP Blog Exclusive"To reach the unreachable star. This is my quest, To follow that star No matter how hopeless, No matter how far." Don Quixote’s elusive quest is a fitting metaphor for Puerto Rico’s statehood movement. For over 120 years Puerto Rican annexationists have campaigned to convert the archipelago into a state of the Union. In 1899, one year after Spain was forced to cede Puerto Rico to the United States, the island’s Republican Party and the Federal Party called for the archipelago’s “definitive and sincere annexation.” Consistent with their understanding of U.S. territorial policy, the annexationists expected that Puerto Rico would automatically become an incorporated organized territory, and eventually be granted statehood. This clearly did not happen. The Supreme Court ruled in 1901 (Bidwell v Downes) that since Puerto Rico was “inhabited by alien races differing from us in religion, customs, laws, methods of taxation, and modes of thought” it would be barred from admission into the Union until that time when “our own theories may be carried out and the blessings of free government under the Constitution extended to them.”  Puerto Rico long ago acquired these attributes, which are central to the creed of American exceptionalism, but it still languishes as the [...]

by Steve Ellner Posted by Canadian Dimension Peru's long-standing polarity between a large extension of coastal region, where the nation’s wealth is concentrated, and the much-neglected interior was on full display in the June 6 presidential election. But the polarity was not just geographical. It wasn't just that the winning candidate Pedro Castillo received the lion's share of his votes from the interior, known as the "Other Peru." Nor that Lima and other coastal cities favored Keiko Fujimori, particularly in middle class districts. The election also pitted two candidates with very dissimilar backgrounds against each other: Fujimori, a former First Lady and three-time presidential candidate with the solid support of the nation’s elite, against Castillo, who is the epitome of an outsider. Castillo, a primary school teacher since the age of 25, has never held an elected office. Castillo’s platform included a second agrarian reform (the first was passed by a nationalistic government in 1969), the possible nationalization of the nation’s gas reserves (second in quantity in Latin America), creation of a state-owned national airlines, and a constituent assembly to replace the constitution promulgated under Fujimori’s father Alberto Fujimori in the 1990s. In contrast, Keiko Fujimori, like her [...]

written by Félix Pablo Friggeri y Angélica Remache López    The description of the regional situation and its integration process has gone through a series of conceptualizations with diverse political intentions. We propose a characterization based on the concept of “catastrophic tie,” seeking to highlight elements that may be studied prospectively, considering recent events. These include aspects of the electoral processes and popular demonstrations that have taken place in recent times. We raise the question of whether we are moving towards the possibility of a resumption of the predominance of popular governments and regional integration processes.Regional catastrophic tie    We understand that there are two mistakes in the interpretation of the Latin American-Caribbean regional reality, it is, therefore, important to overcome those in order to understand the current situation and generate an analysis that serves as the source of the political debate oriented to respond the popular needs and popular struggles of our region.     In the face of the relative predominance of popular governments in at least part of the first two decades of this century, the idea that we had entered a “post-neoliberal era” resonated throughout the continent. Some studies used this term, which had accurate elements of the analysis [...]

Ecuador’s April 11 presidential election by Marc Becker — 31 March 2021     On April 11, Ecuadorians will go to the polls to select their next president. On the surface, the contrast between the two candidates seems stark and the choice clear.     Out of a record number of 16 candidates in the first-round vote on February 7, Andrés Arauz and Guillermo Lasso emerged at the top of the polls. Arauz of the progressive Union for Hope (UNES) coalition is a protégé of former president Rafael Correa. Like Correa, Arauz is a heterodox economist who emerges out of a Keynesian and developmentalist framework. Redistributive policies during Correa’s administration resulted in notable socio-economic gains, including record drops in poverty, extreme poverty, and inequality. Arauz presumably would return Ecuador to the model of using the country’s natural resources to fund redistributive policies, even as the current debt crisis and relatively low commodity prices provide less favorable conditions.     Lasso, in contrast, is a rightwing Opus Dei adherent and a banker who has been personally responsible for many of the neoliberal ills that have plagued Ecuador over the last quarter century. The legacy of his role as a “super minister” that [...]

Political Report #1454 Don’t Make Puerto Rico a State Now Don’t Make Puerto Rico a State Now — by Pedro Cabán, University at Albany     Puerto Ricans went to the polls on November 3 to elect a new governor and hundreds of other officials, and yes to vote on whether their colonized archipelago should become the 51 st American state. The results signaled a resounding rejection of both major political parties. They also revealed a far more ambivalent attitude towards the status question than pro-statehood proponents will admit.     The New Progressive Party’s (PNP) gubernatorial candidate garnered 32.9% of the vote, besting his Popular Democratic Party (PPD) opponent by 1.4%. These two political parties have dominated politics for over half a century: the PPD a proponent of the current failing commonwealth status and the PNP, a fierce ideological proponent of statehood. Although support for both has been waning, the gains made by new opposition political parties was a shock. Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) received 13.7% of the vote, the most it has received in decades. The upstart Movimiento Victoria Ciudadana (MVC) in its first time on the ballot got 14.2%, and even the Christian fundamentalist Proyecto Dignidad, [...]

Political Report #1453 — Afrodescendientes in Paraguay: the 209-Year Struggle for Recognition by Valencia Wilson Introduction A glimpse of Afro-Paraguayan contributions occur through the annual Kambá Cuá festival on January 6th.  Kambá refers to the Afro-Paraguayan community, and this proud community with Kenyan roots participates in this festival using vivid colors and dances.  The problem is that this annual tradition consistently falls short of the recognition they deserve. In simple terms, Afro-Paraguayan activists are fighting an uphill legislative battle for Paraguay to acknowledge that they exist. Existence in the Afro-Paraguayan context means opportunities for formal, cultural education and a variety of employment opportunities; it is weaving their historical and current efforts into the national consciousness demonstrating their relevance today. The Proyecto de Ley de Reconocimiento de Afrodescendientes en Paraguay began as a blueprint.  A report submitted to the UN stated that Congressional support would ensure the acknowledgement of Afro-Paraguayan contributions to its citizens. This article explores more than the history of Afro-Paraguayan contributions in historically significant black towns like Kambá Cuá, San Agustín de Emboscada de los Pardos Libres, and Kamba Kokué.  It delves into an exhausting struggle for the bare minimum of being recognized for their contributions and how it has [...]