The News Roundup is a regular section of the blog, featuring news articles from various sources around the web, with the goal of providing an overview of the weekly conversation about the countries where MCC works in the region. Quotes in italics are drawn directly from sources and do not necessarily reflect the position of MCC.
How to stop deforestation: ‘Indigenous people are the best park rangers’
Incentive-based forest protection schemes can work if the incentives are sufficiently strong. But presently there is not enough funding around for that to happen. There is also a very important question of who to incentivise. Under the UN Climate Change Convention the answer has been that countries must be incentivised because this is a public policy issue. Then countries must decide how to structure their efforts: taxes, enforcement, regulations or incentives, but most likely a mix of all. Deforestation is rising again in the Amazon and there is a good case to be made that this has been caused by less vigilance on enforcement, not over-reliance on incentives. Bottom line: laws and regulations that are well enforced are essential to protect forests. Without this, any incentive structure is bound to fail.
Law-abiding mother to be deported to Mexico in sign of Ice policy shift
Immigration lawyers report that there has been a notable shift in the willingness of Ice agents to pick up individuals who were regarded by the previous administration as of such low priority that it would inflict more harm than good on communities to wrench them from their families. Trujillo, 42, is a clear example of the change. She was put into deportation proceedings in 2014, but with no criminal history she was essentially left alone by Ice under the Obama administration and only expected to check in with officials once a month. But in February the stakes were raised dramatically. In the course of one of those routine check-ins she was ordered to wear a GPS tracking device around her ankle and warned she was a target for deportation.
Mexican Newspaper Shuts Down, Saying It Is Too Dangerous to Continue
With the headline “¡Adios!” in large type emblazoned across its front page, a newspaper in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, announced on Sunday that it was shutting down after nearly 30 years after three journalists from other news organizations were killed last month. The newspaper, Norte, said in a letter printed on its front page that the killings and the increasing violence and threats against reporters meant that journalism had become a high-risk profession. “Today, dear reader, I am speaking to you to inform you that I have decided to close this daily because the guarantee for the safety for us to continue journalism does not exist,” the newspaper executive Oscar A. Cantú Murguía, wrote, adding: “Everything in life has a beginning and an end, a price to pay. If this is what life is like, I am not ready for one more of my collaborators to pay for it and I am not either.”
Nearly All Crimes in Guatemala Go Unpunished: CICIG
The exorbitant impunity levels described by the head of CICIG show that despite the numerous high-profile cases brought by the Attorney General’s Office with the internationally-backed commission’s help, major shortcomings remain in Guatemala‘s judiciary system at large. Established in 2007 as a United Nations-backed appendage of the Attorney General’s Office, CICIG has proved pivotal in uncovering and prosecuting powerful networks of corrupt elites in the country. The most prominent example of this came in 2015, when the Attorney General’s Office and CICIG exposed an expansive corruption network involving, among others, then-President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti, both of whom are now in jail.
Lack of Resources Aggravates El Salvador Security Troubles
When discussing weak institutions in Latin America, the conversation often revolves around corruption. But underfunded institutions often play just as important a role in enabling crime and impunity to take root. Indeed, the head of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Comision Internacional Contra la Impunidad en Guatemala – CICIG), a celebrated international commission that has investigated numerous top officials for corruption, has said the only way to bring down impunity rates is by providing local prosecutors with more resources.
What happened when the Donald Trump of Costa Rica demonized neighboring Nicaraguans?
In Costa Rica, Nicaraguans make up 75 percent of immigrants and represent around 7 percent of the total population. They often work in agriculture, construction and service sectors. Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica is not new, but attitudes toward Nicaraguans have become more prejudiced since the mid-20th century. Where Nicaraguans are seen as inherently violent, Costa Ricans see themselves as peace-loving. Where Nicaraguans are seen as poor, illiterate and uncultured, Costa Ricans see themselves as middle-class and educated. Where Nicaraguans are mestizo and dark-skinned, Costa Ricans are “white.” The sense of difference and superiority felt by many Costa Ricans has been reinforced by stereotypes of Nicaraguans developed over decades of migration.
The American Dream Meets a Central American Nightmare
The consequences of the elite’s success have been dire for the rest of the country, offering a cautionary tale for those who believe that gutting public institutions could ever make for a more equitable society. Lack of funding for public education ensures that Guatemala remains one of the most illiterate countries in the Americas, and failing health care and social security systems undercut what scant social safety nets exist for the poor. Meanwhile, a sliver of a middle class clings to its precarious perch between the superwealthy superminority and a sea of abject poverty. More than 50 percent of Guatemalans live beneath the poverty line, and social mobility is virtually nonexistent, which is one reason so many poor Guatemalans risk the dangerous journey to the United States.
Haiti: Recovery and resilience after Hurricane Matthew (photo gallery)
Hurricane Matthew made landfall on October 4, 2016, slamming into Haiti’s southern peninsula and killing an estimated 1,332 people. Desperate Haitians sought shelter in everything from churches to caves and graves as 235km/hour winds pounded the country’s coast. The storm levelled homes, killed livestock and destroyed agriculture in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. A United Nations report from February estimated that 175,000 people are still displaced as a result of it and 280,000 people remain “highly food insecure”. Months after the storm, the progress of recovery is slow as residents lack the economic resources to rebuild their homes. Instead, families are packed into small structures erected from scavenged materials and covered by emergency tarps distributed by aid organisations. Still, many Haitians express hope for their future as the country welcomes a newly inaugurated president and looks to avoid the mistakes that plagued the aid effort after the country’s devastating earthquake in 2010.
Colombia creates historic Truth Commission
In an attempt to lower concerns among conservatives and in opposition to claims by the opposition it has been the victim of a political persecution, Santos said that the Truth Commission “is not about embarking on a witch hunt or a waterfall of random accusations, but to encourage those who have had some responsibility for the violations committed within the conflict, to simply admit them.” Nevertheless, the impending investigations of the human rights violations that have marred Colombia’s social, political and even labor conflicts for decades, are likely to first accentuate the country’s political and social divisions before Colombia would be ready for reconciliation.
Argentina’s Immigration Crackdown Rattles Bolivia
Under the emergency decree, promulgated on January 30, immigrants can be deported or barred from entering Argentina not only if they have committed a major crime, but also if they have been accused of virtually any criminal offense, even if not yet convicted. This includes, for example, minor infractions such as selling illegal merchandise in the street, or participating in a road blockade or land occupation. Argentinian judges and prosecutors are now legally obligated to report such criminal charges to immigration authorities, paving the way for expulsion. What’s more, the deportation process has been modified to bypass the courts, circumvent due process rights, and expedite the timeframe for removal. A special detention center has been established in Buenos Aires where accused migrants will be held in custody, pending deportation. A new National Border Commission will crack down on entry by suspected criminals.
Decoding deforestation in Brazil and Bolivia
In addition, production models promoted by transnational trading companies and backed by environmental NGOs that tend to spare forests are resulting in the expansion of more intensive production systems based on large-scale and highly intensive use of chemical inputs. This is in opposition to more integrated and agro-ecological production systems that could take better advantage of the natural resources existing in the Amazon and Cerrado regions, and could better preserve them. In conclusion, while it is important to continue discussing ways to achieve zero deforestation in supply chains with the help of traders and buyers, it is also important to look at the role of governments to provide guidance on clearer regulations and enforcement methods in ways that apply uniformly across different regions. More attention should be placed on innovative options to manage more sustainable agricultural frontiers, and to create schemes that answer the needs of all stakeholders involved.