Antigua, Guatemala. Anna Vogt
The News Roundup is a regular feature of the blog where we select a number of 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.
Zika isn’t a global health threat like Ebola. It needs a targeted response
I am not suggesting that we should ignore Zika or shouldn’t seek to protect unborn babies from potential harm. As a pregnant woman myself, I have the utmost sympathy for the affected women struggling with the impact of this disease on their children. However, we need to ensure the focus of the global community remains on sustainable measures to control mosquito borne infections, rather than knee-jerk security responses. Zika is a disease of poverty, similar to other neglected tropical diseases such as chikungunya and dengue. The burden falls disproportionately upon poor populations living near open water sources which attract mosquitoes, and who do not have the resources to protect themselves individually though bite prevention methods.
Mexico: Child labour and the perils of a lost education
One of the ways Mexico has tried to keep children in class and not at work is through the Prospera, or Prosper, programme. Launched in 1997, it offers what’s called in NGO lingo “conditional cash transfers”. The Mexican government gave $500m last year to 6.1 million families, according to data provided by Prospera. The payments are an incentive for parents to keep their children in school and, in exchange, the families have to meet certain requirements and attend workshops such as sex education and family planning.
Central America’s Gangs are More Dangerous Than Ever
While gang violence was an important driver in the 2014 immigration crisis, that influx was also fed by deceptive reports in Central America that the children could receive US citizenship. In response, the governments of the Northern Triangle countries, in conjunction with the United States, launched a campaign to correct the misinformation. More importantly, Mexico agreed to dramatically step up its southern border enforcement efforts to halt the immigrants before they reached the United States. The flow slowed to a trickle for most of 2015, before accelerating again in the past four months. Now the convergence of gang violence and growing territorial control — coupled with rampant corruption and lack of any faith in the existing political structures — is overwhelming those fragile firewalls. While the budget Congress passed in December surprisingly gave the Obama administration $750 million of the $1 billion requested in aid for Central America, 75 percent of aid was conditioned on the regional governments reining in corruption, strengthening the rule of law and judicial structures, and ending rampant impunity. Given the complexities of the possible disbursements and the unlikeliness of the conditions being met, money will likely not begin to flow for at least a year and then only in trickles.
Global study: Honduras making progress against corruption
On January 27, the most recognized international organization focused on fighting corruption, Transparency International, released a report that shows Honduras’ corruption perception score improving for the second straight year. The most recent results of Transparency International’s (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index lands Honduras in 112th place among 168 countries in the study. This positions Honduras 14 slots higher than in last year’s study, where it was in 126th place. This improvement is very welcomed news for AJS, which also serves as the Honduran chapter of Transparency International. For AJS, it’s encouraging to see another validation that progress is continuing in the struggle against corruption.
El Salvador, UN Agree to Anti-Impunity Program
This emphasis on combating corruption is linked in part to the Central American migrant crisis that has overwhelmed the US immigration system in recent years. The US Congress recently earmarked $750 million for aid programs that will attempt to address rampant gang violence and poverty, which has ravaged the Northern Triangle and driven millions from their homes. But US officials are fearful this money could go to waste unless corruption is addressed. Indeed, 75 percent of the aid money is conditioned on Northern Triangle governments reducing the level of corruption and impunity while improving rule of law standards. Still, this anti-corruption push may not amount to much without more support from the region’s governments. The UN and USAID programs in El Salvador are by design much weaker than the CICIG, while similar concerns have been raised about the anti-impunity body that was recently launched in Honduras. This means government officials will continue to be responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of graft, something for which neither El Salvador nor Honduras has a strong track record.
New Year, New Administration, and New Trials Against Former Guatemalan Military Officials
On January 6, 2016, the Guatemalan Public Ministry made an unprecedented announcement: they had arrested 18 high-ranking former military officials. The officials were charged with leading a campaign of forced disappearances and massacres from 1981 to 1988, during the height of Guatemala’s internal armed conflict. The announcement, made one week before the inauguration of the new Guatemalan President, Jimmy Morales, placed pressure on the incoming administration even before it had officially begun. Morales’s party, the National Convergence Front (FCN-Nation), has close, well-documented ties to the military, including to some of the officers charged. Most importantly, current FCN-Nation Congressional Deputy and retired coronel, Edgar Justino Ovalle Maldonado, Morales’ right-hand man, is implicated in the case, but is currently protected by congressional immunity due of his election to Congress in September 2015. As part of the case, the Guatemalan Public Ministry has initiated impeachment proceedings against him. If the impeachment is successful, Ovalle Maldonado faces potential prosecution for war crimes alongside the other retired officials.
With Haiti Elections Cancelled, Negotiations Begin for What Comes Next
“If I have any advice to give to the international community,” Seitenfus continued, “it is to listen to Haitian actors. Without a Haitian solution to the Haitian crisis, there is no salvation.” Any deal must first a foremost provide for a credible and fair election, one that can restore Haitian’s trust in their political system. In the October elections, only a quarter of registered voters participated, a sign of the deep distrust in an electoral system seen as dominated by the international community, unaccountable politicians and their elite backers.
Latin American states ready to oversee Colombia peace
Colombia’s regional neighbors are willing to send representatives for a UN mission to monitor the end of the country’s half-century conflict under a hoped-for peace deal with FARC rebels, leaders said Wednesday. Leaders at a summit of the Latin American and Caribbean regional bloc CELAC said the mission to oversee an accord between the Colombian government and the Marxist guerrillas would be made up entirely of officials from CELAC countries.
Evo Morales celebrates 10 years as Bolivia’s ‘indigenous socialist’ president
The economic situation in Bolivia has also improved from a low base thanks to a rapid expansion of gas exploitation, mining and soy production. Between 2006 and 2014, Bolivia notched up an average growth of 5.1%, one of the highest in the Americas. Key industries have been nationalised and their revenues channeled into welfare programs and infrastructure projects, such as the cable car systems that have transformed the lives of many living on the periphery of this spectacular Andean city, which sits at 3,650m altitude. Despite opening up the country to massive mineral exploration, particularly by Chinese companies, Morales claims he is focussed on securing a balance between development and environmental protection.