Science and Global Politics: Focus on Latin America

This article details the rise of cell phone usage in Latin America during recent years. The growth of cell phone usage is such that in recent years, the number of users per 100 residents has grown to surpass that of even Germany. This is in a region where only between 3% and 7% of the population have access to the internet. This is indicative of the decentralized nature of Latin America's information networks, a significant problem facing Latin American leaders in today's global economy.

This article discusses the implications of the US giving surveillance aid to Latin American countries. US officials have in recent years aided Latin American governments with surveillance equipment in order to bolster their reach in their own territories. The primary thought has been that this will help the governments with anti-drug traffickin operations, however, recent evidence has emerged that these technologies have been repurposed to silence judges and opposition voices. This goes to illustrate the danger in providing potentially corrupt governments with US aid, that is, the danger of misappropriation (this true for any form of aid). As such, as the United States becomes more and more comfortable with the idea of Latin America as a global player in the tech market, we must still utilize caution in regards to where and how we provide aid to bolster these governments and markets.

This article again illustrates the nature of the Latin American technology market: largely consumer driven. This stands in opposition to the American model, which is mostly a top-down funding model where infrastructure is the primary concern for investors. In fact, most infrastructure spending in Latin America is imported from Japan, China, and the US, while in consumer markets, these global players have a hard time competing with local providers. Latin American must diversify its tech industres foundation to include local businesses focusing on infrastructure technologies if it wishes to be a competitor on the global scale in the future, rather than remaining dependent on these global powers for tech innovation.

Broadpeak will for the first time showcase its nanoCDN technology in Latin America at TB Connect LATAM. This new CDN (content delivery network) techology " leverages subscribers' home networks to reduce infrastructure investments for network service providers," essentially utilizing equipment already in subscribers households to minimize the need for some sort of additional tower. These sorts of technologies are necessary for the development of technology markets in Latin America, where a lack of infrastructure remains one of the most significant barriers preventing a break-through in online and technological usage by the populous.

This article continues analysis of Latin America's potential as an economic and technological powerhouse of the future. Christopher Johnson writes, " As Europe attempts to cope with its financial crisis and Asia braces for the looming slowdown of China's economy, Latin America - in America's backyard - is witnessing an unprecedented expansion of its indigenous technology economy." Of course, the region is not without its problems: violence in Northern Mexico, lack of Brazilian infrastructure, and the attempts of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela to kindle anti-US sentiment, to name a few. However, the result of the diligence of a number of independent technological startups in countries such as Peru, Brazil, and Argentina give many hope that Latin America will become a significant player in the global marketplace sometime in the near future.

This article analyzes claims by Sebastian Pinera, president of Chili in his article for the Economist. Economic potential in Latin America seems quite high recently, with the earnings of top bankers in Brazil moving past those in New York or London. If these claims are true, the influx of business capital in the Latin American region should be a harbinger of an information revolution, as Latin America tries to keep up with the US, Europe, and Asia in this increasingly wired world.

This article in regards to Google's new data center in Chili highlights the paradox facing Latin American IT. Latin American use of the internet has increased rapidly in recent history (the online population jumped 16 percent in 2011), but Latin American users have yet to view the Internet as simply more than an entertainment source. Online banking and business continues to struggle to catch on, despite attempts by the Chilean government to spur growth in this sector. Many believe the implementation of this data center will help Latin Americans make this transition.

As Brazil prepares to host both the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, gang violence and police murders overshadow the progress the cities Sao Paulo and Rio De Janiero are making. This year, 95 officers have been murdered in the Sao Paulo area alone, mostly by members of the PCC retaliating against the police. The situation in Rio is being somewhat improved in Rio as the police attempt to regain control of the cities many favelas.

Bigger cities are always going to have higher homicide rates. I do wonder if it will die down for the world cup. I imagine the world cup would be captivating enough to a Brazilian city to stop violence for a few weeks.

I don't think the issue is that the world cup is not a big enough event to stop the violence. The homicide rate in Sao Paulo is so high because the police to not have control of much of the city. The extremely poverty stricken areas (favelas) are run by criminal gangs. Corruption and economic disparity keep the gangs in power. In fact, in some areas the police's attempts to "clean up" the city have further angered the gangs which is why police officers are being targeted more than ever. The situation is unfortunately complicated and severe.

According to a government report, deforestation of the Amazon by Brazil as decreased by twenty seven percent in the last year. This is a big improvement for a country who's economy has previously relied very much upon the industries that accompany deforestation. Unfortunately, even with a twenty seven percent decrease in deforestation, deforestation is still occurring at an alarming rate. Also worrisome is the fact that Brazil seems to have recently loosened some of it's environmental protection laws.

I had written a thoughtful comment, and then diigo deleted it. I give up. This is a sad story though.

Mexico's president-elect Enrique Pena Nieto has asked the United States to extend the focus of the United State's relationship with Mexico beyond the war on drugs and illegal immigration. He asks that the two countries bolster economic ties and investments in energy. In general, the United States seems to portray a very negative image of Mexico that focuses solely on violence rather than emphasizing the ways in which the countries could develop together.

This article describes a recent update in the long standing battle with Chevron and the Ecuadorian State. Texaco, dumped a devastating amount of pollution into the Amazon basin between the 1960s and 1990s. The results of this pollution ranged from unheard of cancers among the local population and complete ruin of the natural resources that indigenous people relied on. Texaco/Chevron has fought against the accusations and have not apologized for their actions. There is a really good documentary available about this subject called Crude if anyone is interested.

This is a good article examining Latin America and its place within the foreign policy of the United States. Specifically it questions the reasons why Latin America did not come up in the final presidential debate on foreign policy.

This is a really good article. The United States often just doesn't seem to take Latin America seriously, and we have a somewhat tainted history of involvement in that area. This needs to change.

The deadly clashes described in this article are a result of police trying to shut down a large open are market. The government views the market as dangerous, unhygienic and crime ridden. However, the vendors argue that they cannot afford to move their stall to somewhere with higher rent. The real problem at work here is not stubborn vendors but Peru's unevenly distributed wealth. Much of the population, including these vendors most likely, live marginally and participate in the informal economy. Kicking these people out of a market will not change the situation, wealth needs to be distributed more evenly.

Argentina's current president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is currently encouraging a change to the constitution that would allow her to be re-elected. This, as well as the economic downturn in the country have sparked vehement protests against her government. By going global, these protests have garnered international attention and are making the problems Argentina faces more well known.

This article describes the recent rise in films being produced in Ecuador. I see this as a very positive thing for the country so that their film industry is not dominated by Hollywood. Local filmmakers often give voice to those who are not typically heard such as Quechua speaking people. I hope that some of these films will be available in the U.S. as well.

This article is short but very interesting as well. Argentina recently lowered their voting age to 16 from 18. The current Argentinian President, Cristina Fernandez, polls well among the youth and needs legislative support in order to amend the constitution so that she may run for President again in 2015. The article also notes that Ecuador and Brazil have already made laws allowing people as young as 16 to vote in their respective countries.

This article is about violence between a gang, PCC, and the police force in Sao Paulo. The article focuses on the most troubling aspect of this violence which is civilian deaths caused by the police. This is not the first time a police force has taken out their rage against a gang on poor civilians. As dangerous as gangs such as the PCC are, the Brazilian government clearly need to better monitor actions on the part of the police

This article is an interesting update in Venezuelan politics. Chavez one another term with a decent majority proving that his socialist policies may be working for the majority of the population in Venezuela. His win could also be evidence of corruption in the government and election system. However I do not know enough about Venezuela to have any reason to believe that this is true. It will be interesting to see how the U.S. reacts to a continuing Chavez presidency.

This article shows the power of education to change the lives of kids living in favelas. In this case, music gives the children a way out of a life that would otherwise involve crime or some type of participation in the informal economy. This article reminds me of the successful afro reggae programs also started in favelas. I think the most important thing to take from this article is that the situation in favelas, although very difficult, is far from hopeless. I hope that the Brazilian government might someday sponsor programs such as this one instead of viewing favela communities as inevitably crime ridden and not worth helping