Dilma Rousseff’s Impeachment Exacerbates Diplomatic Rifts In Latin America
The impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, now former president of Brazil, yesterday by the Brazilian Senate has predictably sent shockwaves throughout Latin America. Read more: Argentina Faces Uncertainty Following Dilma’s Impeachment Argentina is part of a minority in the region to recognize the new Brazilian administration, as several governments across Latin America are criticizing what they call an “institutional coup” and supporting Rousseff. Uruguay was up against Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay regarding Venezuela taking the Mercosur’s rotating presidency, which the other countries considered it was unfit to do. “The Venezuelan government has no moral standing to talk about democracy, since they don’t have a democratic regime,” said Brazilian Foreign Minister Jose Serra, defending the legality of Rousseff’s impeachment when faced with Maduro’s criticism. Mercosur is a regional trade bloc established in 1991 comprising member states Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Source:The Bubble
September 01, 2016 14:37 UTC
Brazil On Fire: Temer’s First Hours As President Marked By Social Unrest
Many Brazilians gathered to celebrate Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment with champagne and cake in one of Brazil´s most iconic areas, Paulista Avenue in São Paulo. They rejoiced over Rousseff ousting in front of the São Paulo Federation of Industries (FIESP), which had been actively lobbying for Rousseff’s removal. Others cried out for help on social media. “Please we need lawyers as witnesses, we have been arbitrarily detained,” wrote one man from Brasilia in social media. In the capital Brasilia photos on newspapers and social media showed people with bloody faces and rubber bullet wounds.
Source:The Bubble
September 01, 2016 14:37 UTC
City Legislators Pivot On Bill That Appears To Target Uber Following Outcry
Two City of Buenos Aires legislators saw themselves embroiled in controversy yesterday after presenting a bill that would have allowed City prosecutors to suspend or block websites and apps that violate local law. It was difficult not to see this as an effort to block Uber, considering local regulation sees the app as illegal. What is clear though is that this initial effort to get the bill through demonstrates how the taxi unions continue fighting full force against Uber. The City’s Attorney General’s Office has requested the National Communications Agency (ENACOM) to ban Uber’s website and app in the country. The City Government has also made the decision to tow all vehicles found working for the app.
Source:The Bubble
September 01, 2016 12:56 UTC
Democracy or hypocrisy?
Thursday, September 1, 2016 Democracy or hypocrisy? But leaving this institutional debate aside, if this impeachment is to be judged according to its Spanish meaning of “political trial,” the politics are all wrong — the purest hypocrisy. Rousseff was ousted yesterday by a 61-20 Senate vote on charges of a budget-juggling which has been practised by every Brazilian government. In order to remove Rousseff from power without disqualifying themselves, the politicians in the coalition assembled by caretaker Michel Temer (hastily inaugurated president yesterday) impeached Rousseff solely according to budgetary irregularities completely unrelated to the public anger. Just to underline the total hypocrisy, Rousseff was removed from power yesterday without the suspension of political rights normally accompanying such a grave step.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 01, 2016 04:47 UTC
Brazil in the grip of unseen powers
Opinion Thursday, September 1, 2016 Brazil in the grip of unseen powersBy Sebastián LacunzaEditor-in-ChiefAs in many democracies regained after a pact with the outgoing dictatorship, Brazil’s political life has been held in the grip of powerful interest groups. In Brazil, there are dozens of television channels, radio stations and rightwing political holdovers from the dictatorship (DEM at their head). At the moment of truth both Lula and Dilma preferred to cut a deal with the all-powerful Globo. With all of the above (right-wing factions nostalgic for military rule, local strongmen, the FIESP, Globo, Protestants, the financial powers, etc.) At the same semantic level, who would dare to say that Brazil is a real democracy?
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 01, 2016 03:56 UTC
Chinese whispers
Thursday, September 1, 2016 Chinese whispersBy Michael Soltys / Senior EditorG20 summit preceded by Brazil´s upheavalToday’s column finds President Mauricio Macri in Qatar, venue of the 2022 World Cup when Macri could still be president. What is guaranteed is that Dilma Rousseff will not be Brazil’s president for the next World Cup in Russia. Despite the orthodox image enjoyed abroad by Macri and Michel Temer (formally Brazil’s president as from yesterday after three months as a caretaker), both have subordinated taming the deficit to other priorities. Firstly, 600 million — the number of Chinese raised above the poverty line in the last quarter-century (20 times the equivalent Brazilian figure), which falls just short of being Latin America’s entire population (640 million, according to the United Nations). These opinions respectively betray Prat-Gay’s desperation to reflate a static economy and Sturzenegger’s determination to keep interest rates ahead of inflation.
Source:Bueno Aires Herald
September 01, 2016 03:11 UTC
El Zanjón Del Gato: San Telmo’s Newest Challenge To The Status Quo
All it took was a photograph of the “Kentucky Fried Codorniz” to get me on a bus straight to San Telmo. A small quail breaded and deep fried and served with the talons in tact and slightly curled underneath the heat of the oil. The golden brown fried bird is plated beautifully on a simple white dish over a bed of pickled vegetables and topped with a small fried egg dotted with black pepper. El Zanjón del Gato is one of a few projects to step outside the comforts of what it means to be an informal eatery. El Zanjón del GatoBolívar 690, San TelmoMonday through Saturday 8:00pm to midnightPrice: depending on your appetite, $$ (AR $150-250) to $$$ (AR $250-400)
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 23:03 UTC
Tortazo: Protest Planned Outside Buenos Aires Café That Kicked Out Lesbian Couple
The protest is a self-proclaimed ‘tortazo’ — a word that derives from the Argentine slang used to describe a lesbian: torta. In this case a ‘tortazo’ conveys the idea of a massive gathering of lesbians, while also inferring an expression of lesbianism. A crucial element of the escrache is public embarrassment, or the shaming of a person or institution for its conduct. Besides serving to ridicule the staff of ‘La Biela,’ the protest aims to increase LGBT visibility, and in particular, to organize an enormous demonstration of lesbian affection. The protest, as Paulón says, is “a response in line with the idea that our movement isn’t aggressive — just the opposite.
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 21:45 UTC
Argentina Faces Uncertainty Following Dilma’s Impeachment
In the end, it happened: Dilma Rousseff, now former president of Brazil, has officially been impeached by the Brazilian Senate. After the vote, President Mauricio Macri’s administration issued a statement in which it continued with its strategy of trying to stay neutral in the impeachment proceedings. That is hardly a minor question considering Brazil is Argentina’s main trading partner and political ally in the region. Ideologically at least, President Mauricio Macri’s views align more closely with those of Temer as they are both center-right politicians. Plus, a government plagued by cries of illegitimacy means Macri could suddenly find himself as the strongest political voice in South America.
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 21:22 UTC
Dilma Rousseff’s Impeachment: A Sad Day For Brazilian Democracy
A total of 61 out of 81 senators voted to remove Dilma Rousseff from office. Michel Temer didn’t wait and was quickly sworn into office this afternoon to end Rousseff’s term. “This is the second coup d’etat I face in my lifetime,” Rousseff said today in a long text posted online after the vote. Her small margin of victory tied with her inability to make inroads with Congress, Rousseff’s government began to crumble. Broadening corruption allegations that seemed to engulf the entire political class, including Rousseff’s Workers’ Party (PT) didn’t help matters either.
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 21:22 UTC
Is This Córdoba Town Really At A Greater Risk Of Cancer?
The name of the farm town Monte Maiz says it all: mountain of corn. Monte Maiz, located 300 kilometers from the capital of Cordoba, has a population of 8,500 people and the incidence of cancer is five times higher than the World Health Organization estimates, according to a report by the University of Córdoba. The study also concluded that people of Monte Maiz reported having asthma-like breathing problems 25 percent more often than the general population and almost five times more spontaneous abortions. These numbers are controversial because Monte Maiz is also one of the cities where Monsanto’s genetically engineered crops are being grown using agrochemicals such as glyphosate. Others are skeptical that agrochemicals are to blame for the heightened risk of cancer.
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 18:45 UTC
Argentine Folk Duo CheChelos Bring The ‘Peña’ To Buenos Aires
Cry no longer: Argentine folk duo CheChelos brings the countryside to you as they kick off their tour in Buenos Aires this Thursday with a concert at La Peña del Colorado. Works by both traditional and contemporary composers are played in concert, providing the listener with a variety of pieces and styles. If you can’t make it to the concert this Thursday, there will be another one at Café Vinilo on Sunday. And for interested string players, whether you play violin, viola cello, or bass, the duo will be hosting a workshop in Saavedra this Saturday. WhereLa Peña del Colorado, Güemes 3657How much?
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 18:11 UTC
VITA: The Hump Day Happy Hour Worth Checking Out In Buenos Aires
Celebrate the week being halfway over at VITA with their weekly “Le Bureau After Office” event. Because sometimes you get thirsty well before Thursday and can use a decent Wednesday night chill out session. VITA brands itself as one of more exclusive bars in Buenos Aires, self described as a “restaurant-bar-lounge-club” focused on giving the city a more upscale cocktail and music option on Wednesday nights. For those with an insatiable drive to party (or a fortunate later start to their Thursday) there’s an after party starting at midnight. The mood for the night driven by live sets from legitimate DJs and producers from Buenos Aires and beyond.
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 18:11 UTC
Is There Trouble Brewing In Macri’s Economic Team?
Ever since taking office, two of the most important officials in Macri’s so-called “economic Cabinet,” Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay and Central Bank (BCRA) head Federico Sturzenegger, have clashed over the best way to steer the country’s economy, particularly how inflation should be tackled. Sturzenegger, for his part, says Macri’s economic cabinet isn’t doing enough to decrease the country’s fiscal deficit. The Criticism is sometimes about his policies, but sometimes are about the way he is. In what was a clear show of the existing tensions, the minister wasn’t included in the so-called timbreo carried out by the government on August 20. In addition La Política Online reported last week that Prat-Gay submitted his resignation, arguing “he wasn’t comfortable,” in his post.
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 18:11 UTC
Maradona Strikes Again: Calls Macri Worst Argentine President In History
have actually been prevented from traveling for the obvious reason that well, you know, he was trying to travel on invalid documents. We have the worst President in Argentina’s history.”Maradona is now in Dubai, where he has served as the city’s Football Ambassador since 2012. A few highlights:That Time He Dissed MessiMaradona got caught on video saying that Messi had “no personality and was not a leader”. In an intimate dinner with the youth earlier this month, Maradona finally told Maradona Jr. that yes, “you are my son” (We won’t make any Star Wars references). Until then, satisfy your daily dose of Maradona antics cravings with this epic photo that is always a joy to look at:
Source:The Bubble
August 31, 2016 17:48 UTC