Politics

With Inspiration From Turkey, Brazil Discovers Mass Protests

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:03:14 +0000

They are young, they are angry and they have drawn inspiration from protest movements a world away in places like Turkey and the Middle East.

Tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets across the country Monday night, and more demonstrations are slated for the coming week. Brazil doesn't have a history of this kind of mass dissent, but it seems to be catching on very quickly.

"The social movements in the world are learning from each other," said Marco Antônio Carvalho Teixeira, a professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Sao Paulo.

Mass Anti-Government Protests Swell In Brazil

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:05:26 +0000

What started as small protests about higher bus fares has swelled into nationwide, massive anti-government demonstrations in Brazil.

Last night, reports O Globo, more than 100,000 protesters filled the streets of Rio de Janeiro, while an additional 65,000 hit the streets of São Paulo.

Critics Say Sick Leave Law Good For Corporations, Bad For Families

Gina Jordan — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Gov. Rick Scott has signed a bill that prohibits local governments from crafting their own sick leave policies for private employers.

A New Era For U.S.-Latin American Relations?

Elaine Chen — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000

In a special edition of The Florida Roundup, we focus on our broader region, Latin America and the Caribbean.

China's President Xi Jinping recently concluded a visit to Mexico, Costa Rica and Trinidad, shortly after President Obama and Vice President Biden paid visits there.

Once Home To A Dreaded Drug Lord, Medellin Now A Model City

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 13:20:40 +0000

Of all the violent cities of Latin America, one stands out as a great success story: Medellin, a metropolis nestled in the mountains of northwest Colombia.

Once the home of the cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar, it recorded more than 6,300 homicides in 1991, making it the world's murder capital. Then, one city government after another built schools and libraries, parks and infrastructure.

Mass Kidnapping Puts Mexican Legal System On Trial

Carrie Kahn — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:32:38 +0000

Josephina Garcia Rodriguez and Leticia Ponce Ramos sip coffee and console each other at a restaurant in front of Mexico City's prosecutor's office. They're about to head into a meeting with the lead investigator in the case of their kidnapped sons.

"We're going on three weeks since they were kidnapped," Garcia says. "It's been some difficult days, really hard for us mothers. We just want our sons back home with us."

Garcia's 19-year-old son, Said, was taken from the Heaven bar at about 11 a.m. on May 26.

Why Miami Can't Copy New York's Plan For Sea Level Rise

Tricia Woolfenden — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 11:00:00 +0000

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg made significant waves Tuesday when he announced a comprehensive $19.5 billion plan to gird the city against the threat of sea level rise.

The long-term plans include a series of levees and storm barriers to protect against waters that are expected to rise anywhere from 20 inches to more than six feet in the next century.

Criminals Fleeing Rio Crackdown Set Up Shop In The Suburbs

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:17:45 +0000

The provincial town of Mage seems a world away from the violence and drug dealing that plague Brazil's larger cities. On a recent afternoon, the central square is a picture of calm. Children play around a fountain; older people sit on the many park benches dotting the area, under the shade of trees.

Mage, about 35 miles northwest of Rio, is close enough that people can commute to the city, which many of them do. Yet it's far enough away that nothing much really happened here in the past.

In Colombia, A Town Badly Scarred By Wartime Rape

Juan Forero — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:10:47 +0000

El Placer is a remote hamlet deep in southern Colombia, on the edge of the Amazon. Founded half a century ago by farmers who found it fertile and bucolic, its name means "The Pleasure."

But for women and girls in El Placer who suffered years of sexual assaults after an illegal armed group stormed in, the name is only associated with unspeakable violence and murder.

Brigitte Carreño, 25, is among the women who suffered.

Why Honduras Is The Murder Capital Of The Planet

Carrie Kahn — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:05:56 +0000

Latin America is riddled with crime, and no place is more violent than Honduras. It has just 8 million people, but with as many as 20 people killed there every day, it now has the highest murder rate in the world.

It would be easy to blame drug trafficking. Honduras and its Central American neighbors have long served as a favored smuggling corridor for South American cocaine headed north to the U.S.

But there are a number of factors that have contributed to Honduras' out-of-control killings.

Family Blames Venezuelan Police For Men's Murders

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:24:08 +0000

The story of Venezuela's Eloisa Barrios is especially revealing because so many of her relatives have been killed. Revealing because of who she believes pulled the trigger.

Some weeks ago, Barrios climbed into our van for a drive to a cemetery. The burial ground is outside a village in the Venezuelan countryside. We went there to visit the Barrios family dead.

She told us nine relatives had been killed in shootings over the past 15 years. All nine were young men.

Eloisa doesn't visit their graves much. She's moved away from this village, called Guanajan.

How Venezuelans in South Florida Are Shopping For Toilet Paper In Caracas

Tim Padgett — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:41:38 +0000

Inmates In A Venezuelan Prison Build A World Of Their Own

Steve Inskeep — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 13:30:06 +0000

In Latin America — home to the vast majority of the world's most violent cities — it's said the only part of a prison a guard controls is the gate, leaving convicts to fend for themselves inside, even running criminal networks from behind bars.

I wanted to understand how a prison like that worked, and I was in luck: A colleague knew a man serving time a Venezuelan prison. The prisoner got in touch with the leader of the inmates, who sent word that he'd be willing to see us.

So on the appointed day we drove to the prison in the far western city of Barinas.

Why Gov. Scott's Latest Veto Might Alienate Latino Voters

Brandon Larrabee and News Service Of Florida — Sat, 08 Jun 2013 10:00:00 +0000

When President Barack Obama adopted a policy last year aimed at allowing some young, undocumented immigrants to stay in the United States, he likely didn't know it would cause heartburn for Gov.

On Haitian Radio, North Miami Elections Are Real-Life Drama

Nadege Green — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 18:39:45 +0000

In the city of North Miami, a third of the population is of Haitian descent, and Creole-language radio is vital. During the lead-up to Tuesday’s runoff for city council and mayor, all kinds of election drama played out over the airwaves.

Why Florida Is Out Of Step With The Rest Of The Hemisphere On Marijuana

Tim Padgett — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:33:29 +0000

Florida Governor Rick Scott on Thursdaynew legislation that will provide hundreds of millions of dollars over the next decade to fund Everglades restoration and cleanup.

How The Most Violent Places On Earth Benefit Miami

Tim Padgett — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Latin America and the Caribbean is a region of stark paradoxes, and that has never been truer than in the past decade: Even as the continent enjoys one of its most dynamic economic booms, it’s suffering one of the worst violent crime crises in its history.

Democrats, Labor Urge Gov. Scott To Veto Wage Bill

Rick Stone — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Florida Democrats and advocates for working folk are turning up all the pressure they can to wring a veto out of Gov. Rick Scott sometime this month.

Their target? House Bill 655, passed during the 2013 legislative session to stop local governments from exceeding federal minimum wage and benefit guarantees.

If the governor signs the bill, counties such as Broward and Miami-Dade with special "living wage" ordinances already on their books, will have to abandon then.

New Laws Enshrine Domestic Worker Rights In Brazil

Lourdes Garcia-Navarro — Fri, 31 May 2013 17:15:20 +0000

The phone is ringing off the hook at the crowded waiting room at the Domestic Workers Union in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil.

In the past decade, millions of Brazilians have joined the middle class.

Why China Is Behind Fresh U.S. Moves In Latin America

Tim Padgett — Mon, 27 May 2013 12:20:38 +0000

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will visit Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago next week. President Obama already swung through Mexico and Costa Rica this month and next month Obama will host the presidents of Chile and Peru at the White House.

Join The Florida Roundup Live Chat At Noon On WLRN

Elaine Chen — Fri, 24 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

On The Florida Roundup today at noon:

Dolphins Stadium

The Florida Legislature balked on proposed renovations to Miami Dolphins stadium. A public referendum (already in progress) on the renovations was called off. And to make matters worse, the NFL denied South Florida a Super Bowl.

New Internet Cafe Ban Leaves Chuck E. Cheese Alone

Jackie Skevin — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:00:00 +0000

When is a gambling machine, not a gambling machine? Apparently when it is inside a Chuck E. Cheese.

Gov. Scott Signs Florida Budget; Explains Vetoes

Gina Jordan — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:59:38 +0000

Gov. Rick Scott signed the 2013-14 state budget into law today.

The Sunshine Economy Part Three: Real Estate

Tom Hudson — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:00:00 +0000

REAL ESTATE

From world famous beaches to international trade flows, South Florida has become one of the world's most vibrant and diverse economies.

Does The Governor Deserve Credit For The Economy?

Elaine Chen — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:00:00 +0000

On The Florida Roundup, we take a special look at the economy.

Employment, tourism and real estate numbers suggest a recovery. We’ll examine whether Gov. Rick Scott’s “it’s working” motto is actually working -- for him.

After Bay Of Pigs And Pedro Pan Campground, Cuban Exiles Build Family In Miami

Rene Ruiz — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:10:00 +0000

Our family came from Havana, a beautiful city that some have called a tropical paradise.

My brothers and I came to Miami on a Pan American flight and were taken to a campground that the Pedro Pan organizers had set up in Kendall, near where Town & Country Mall now stands. We were there for about two weeks before being sent to Albuquerque, N.M., where we were taken in by the family of Dr. Eugene Purtell.

Broward County Mayor Leads Local Response To Sea Level Rise

Phil Latzman — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Even before last year's coastal calamity caused by superstorm Sandy, Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs was trying to get everyone's attention about sea-level rise and it's impact on South Florida.

Miami Dolphins Spend $10M On Failed Stadium Vote

Patricia Mazzei — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:18:14 +0000

The Miami Dolphins and their owner, Stephen Ross, spent a staggering $10 million over the past six weeks on a special election that never happened.

Miami Feels Pain Of Guatemala Genocide, Narco-Terror

Tim Padgett — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

The last time I spoke with former Guatemalan strongman Efraín Ríos Montt, in 2003, he was running (unsuccessfully, thank God) for President—and he was delusional as ever.

Every bit as unhinged from reality as he’d been two decades before, during the darkest days of Guatemala’s 36-year-long civil war, when as military dictator from 1982-83, he led a “scorched earth” campaign that killed thousands of mostly indigenous Maya peasants.