Anil Mundra's Notebook:

In Argentina, UNASUR condemns US military presence in the region

The 12 heads of state that constitute the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) convened in southern Argentina yesterday to register their fears about the alleged building of military bases in Colombia, and the talks seem to have been a successful landmark. Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa said that “there has never been such a frank discussion about the military presence in the region.”

(Argentine president Cristina Fernandez had originally invited the leaders to Buenos Aires, as I reported a few weeks ago; but they ended up changing the venue. As much as I would have liked to visit the ski resort of Bariloche, I couldn't get away from Buenos Aires in my final two weeks as GlobalPost's Argentina correspondent, so my information in this notebook comes from the state-run news agency. )

The issue of U.S. military bases in Colombia had become the unofficial agenda-topper of the last UNASUR meeting in Quito, Ecuador. The leaders rang the alarms, with Venezuelan president Chavez pronouncing that the "winds of war were beginning to blow" in Latin America as a result of the U.S. plans. At that time, President Obama denied from afar that the U.S. had any intentions to build bases, but declined Brazilian president Lula's invitation to respond to the allegations in person at the extraordinary session in Argentina. He's still pushing for such a hemispheric meeting, but in Obama's absence yesterday, Lula called for “legal guarantees” against U.S. military encroachment; Ecuador's Correa said that "the U.S. military presence in Colombia affects the peace and stability of the region,” and Uruguayan President Vazquez called for “non-interference.”

At the end of the day, the leaders signed an accord to consolidate an “area of peace in South America” and defend “the non-interference in internal affairs” of member countries. This call for non-interference goes beyond the specific issue of Colombia. Argentina's Fernandez led the push for the accord, saying: "If one country stations foreign troops, others might do it as well, so we need to set a position and a regional doctrine." She, of course, has another axe to grind: the Falkland Islands, which are claimed by Argentina but controlled by British forces.

The leaders admitted that they still don't know precisely what the U.S. and Colombia have in mind, and Argentina's Fernandez requested that UNASUR be shown the agreements signed. Colombian President Uribe responded with an I'll-show-you-mine-if-you'll-show-me-yours kind of acquiescence.

Even if new U.S. army installations aren't in Colombia's future, President Obama admits that the U.S. will continue to cultivate its military presence in Colombia — and it's not surprising that this should ruffle some regional feathers. The strong, long-standing military relationship between the two countries has not always been a pretty one. U.S. military aid fed the Colombian army's 1953 coup d'etat, a pattern repeated frequently throughout the Americas and the world in the 20th century. As far back as 1937, when the U.S. contemplated sending warships to Latin America, a Colombian political leader pled: “Don't do this evil thing to us. The use of armaments is like the vice of morphine.” 

"The tango always awaits you"

My recent video about the resurgence of tango in Buenos Aires is only the latest chapter in a very long story.  

The tango's birth was a slow one. It drew from the myriad cultures that helped shape Argentina — those from western to eastern Europe, from northern to southern Africa, which mixed in Spain and, later, in the New World around the turn of the 20th century. Tango is both dance and music — an archetypally Argentine art form."In Argentina everything may change — except the tango," goes an old saying. But like any form of culture, the tango has had its ups and downs, and has undergone its evolutions.

The tango went into hiding in the middle of the century under successive military dictatorships in Argentina. It was rejuvenated in the 1980s and 1990s, largely on the basis of its newfound popularity in foreign films and dance revues.

Thus arose the “Nuevo Tango.” The music of Nuevo Tango forerunners, such as Astor Piazzola, included elements of jazz and classical music. Some, such as Osvaldo Pugliese, even introduced rock and heavy metal sensibilities.

The dance would eventually incorporate movements that traditionally belonged to other Latin American dance forms. Inevitably, this sort of innovation was controversial — and many still refuse to countenance Nuevo Tango's very existence, much less whether it merits the tango name.

Despite the debate about the tango's recent reinvention, many agree that a real renaissance is  now taking place. In the past decade, many young people have rediscovered the traditional tango and made it their own. Which brings to mind another Argentine aphorism: "The tango always awaits you."

UNASUR leaders worried about US military presence

The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) summit in Quito this weekend was meant to inaugurate Ecuador's leader to the UNASUR presidency, but the real item on the agenda became concern over an expanded U.S. military presence in Colombia. Obama has denied that the U.S. plans to install more military bases, but that has failed to reassure the leaders gathered in Quito. (Colombia's president was absent.) Argentine president Cristina Fernandez joined in the chorus of denunciations of increased U.S. presence, repeatedly characterizing the military intentions as "belligerence."

But Fernandez should have been delighted by the summit's statement on one of Argentina's pet issues: the Falkland Islands. Argentina claims the archipelago off its southeastern coast as its own, although it has been under British control since the early 19th century. The UNASUR leaders expressed their support of Argentina's rights to the islands.

The heads-of-state agreed to meet again at the end of the month in Buenos Aires. I'll be here.

President's party suffers defeat in Argentina elections

Most of the results from Sunday's congressional elections have been counted and recounted, and the outcome is clear: the ruling Peronist party, led by the president of Argentina and her husband, has suffered a defeat.

The party, officially called "the Justicialist Front for Victory," only garnered 30 percent of the national vote, according to the leading Clarin newspaper. As a result, they'll lose 22 seats in the 257-seat Chamber of Deputies when the new legislators take office in December. In the Senate, they'll lose the quorum that they needed to do the president's bidding without a fight.

The president's Peronists did win in a number of provinces. But not in the most important one, Buenos Aires province, where first gentleman Nestor Kirchner had rushed in to attempt a campaign coup. He has conceded defeat to his more right-wing opponent, Francisco de
Narvaez. The margin was only 2 percent — a couple hundred thousand votes — and
because of the proportional voting system, the Kirchners will still have their voices heard there. But the blow is a strongly symbolic one for a man who was once a wildly popular president.

Meanwhile, there's some good news for everybody: La Nacion, Argentina's second-largest newspaper, reports that there were less voting irregularities than expected. A few isolated complaints of ballot shortages and tampering have been made by the opposition. But these have not yet been confirmed, and for the most part things seem to have gone off smoothly.

Counting begins in Argentina elections

The polls for Argentina's mid-term congressional elections closed on Sunday evening, and the counting began.

It seems pretty clear that the current ruling party is losing a significant number of legislative seats, and may well lose the quorum that they need to do the president's bidding without a fight. The newspaper Critica de la Argentina cited analysts projecting that it would lose around 15 deputies and three or four senators.  There are a total of 257 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and 72 in the Senate.

The most important race is still a bit too close to call, but with about 50 percent of the ballots in Buenos Aires province counted, the first gentleman Nestor Kirchner is trailing his opposition Francisco de Narvaez by 2 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, there's some good news for everybody: La Nacion, Argentina's second-largest newspaper, reports there were less voting irregularities than expected.  A few isolated complaints of ballot shortages and tampering have been made by the opposition.  But these have not yet been confirmed, and for the most part things seem to have gone off smoothly.

Anil's Links:

Global Blogs:

• Latest

More Dispatches:

• Latest

Sponsored Links

Prom Dresses
Brokers Online Health Insurance
Casino News
drug addiction treatment
P90X
Credit Card