June 1, 2007        www.LatinEPR.com        

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LATIN AMERICA - NEWS BRIEFS

 

MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY

 

Press Freedom in Latin America

 

The Venezuelan government’s decision to not renew the license of pro-opposition network Radio Caracas Television in the same month as World Press Freedom Day, has sparked a flurry of protests in the country and a worldwide discussion regarding press freedom in the region.  Last month, at about the same time that the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced the network would go off the air, Freedom House, a Washington-based, pro-democracy organization released its annual study of press freedoms which lists Venezuela, Argentina, and Brazil among those countries in decline because of state action and deteriorating security environments. In the case of Brazil, for example, court orders encourage prior censorship (IFEX.org) and defamation continues to be criminalized, intimidating journalists. 

 

On the other hand, a Washington Post report points to Argentina’s strong publishing market as a sign that press freedoms are not as endangered there as they are in countries like Cuba or Mexico, where the safety of journalists is often a concern.  Indeed, publishing in Argentina has more than doubled since 2001, and the Buenos Aires International Book Fair regularly draws over a million visitors.  

 

As for the situation in Venezuela, opinion abroad is as divided as it is at home.  Many consider the government’s decision to nix Radio Caracas Television a part of a larger scheme to undermine and suppress opposition in the country’s media. However, an article in the U.N. Observer makes the argument that these media outlets have been singled out, not solely because of their political leanings, but because, according to the article, they played a part in the coup that saw Chavez kidnapped in 2002 and have since been known to use false or misleading reporting to instigate unrest.  Chavez was just recently adding heat to the flame with a statement that Globovision could be heading for the same fate. 

 

Spanish Internet Outpaces World Growth by 25%

 

The number of Spanish-speaking Internet users worldwide has increased more than 260 percent since 2000, outpacing the rest of the world's usage growth by more than 25 percent over the same period, according to Internet World Stats. Additional information from the market research firm eMarketer.com also reveals that Hispanic Internet users in the U.S. rose by one million between 2005 and 2006, constituting a current total of over 16.7 million. This number of users is expected to grow 33 percent during the next five years, reaching 20.9 million in 2010. Research also shows that U.S. Hispanics and Latin American consumers rank among the world's top Internet users.

 

One Laptop Per Child Reaches Uruguay

 

The much publicized One Laptop Per Child Program, which aims to distribute low cost portable PCs to children in developing nations, has just placed one of its first set of machines into the hands of 160 schoolchildren in a remote town in Uruguay.  The computers were donated, as the program is still in its pilot phase, but the Uruguayan government has earmarked $15 million for an additional purchase, final agreement pending, of the laptops which currently cost $175, but are expected to drop as low as $50 once they are mass produced, asserts an Associated Press report.  Complete with wireless connection and pulleys for hand-generated power, the laptops offer children, many of whom have never seen a computer, the opportunity to learn from a variety of games, encyclopedia programs, and virtual children’s books in their local language.  The two other schools which have thus far received laptops are in Nigeria and Thailand.

 

The Multicultural Media Boom

 

This past month, Entrepreneur Magazine answered the question: Why do you need to include multicultural media in your PR efforts?  In an interview with Gina Amaro Rudan, director of multicultural and international markets for PR Newswire, the magazine article addressed the importance of reaching the multicultural market, and the importance of the influence culturally focused media outlets exerts on the public today.  To this end, Rudan offers remarkable statistics, such as the fact that 40% of the US population under 30 is classified as ‘non-white’, and that the combined buying power of Hispanic, black, Asian and Native American communities currently exceeds $1.5 trillion.  The Hispanic market should be of particular interest to small business owners, as Hispanics tend to more strongly appreciate and support small businesses in their communities, and also open small business themselves three times faster than the national average, according to the US Census Bureau.  Hispanics, Rudan points out, are also playing an increasingly large role in the media.  In 2006, there were a total of 385 weeklies and 37 daily newspapers that targeted Hispanic readers in the U.S.  Univision, Telemundo, and Azteca America accounted for more than 100 local stations and hundreds more of cable affiliates.  And according to Arbitron, Spanish-language radio currently holds 18.9% of all radio listeners aged 25 to 34.  In regards to the Internet, English-speaking Hispanic teens ages 12-17 show the highest rate of web use of all ethnicities in their age group.

 

TRAVEL

 

Brazil Tourism Breaks Records in First Quarter of 2007

 

(Agencia Brasil) - The Brazilian tourism sector ended the first four months of 2007 with four record figures for the number of domestic arrivals on commercial flights, the total of domestic arrivals (on commercial and chartered flights), the volume of foreign funds (foreigner's expenses in the country) and the tourist bilateral trade (sector expenses plus revenues).  The study, published by Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), together with the Ministry of Tourism, shows that arrivals on commercial flights from January to April 07 totaled a record 16.4 million, an increase of 9.1% over the same period in 2006.  Record numbers continued with total domestic arrivals, first in January with 4.11 million, which were to be surpassed three months later in April with 4.15 million.  Foreign currency revenues reached US$1.332 billion in the first quarter, 9.7% more than the previous year and also the most generated since official evaluation of the sector began.  And lastly, the quarter closed with tourist bilateral trade at US$2.925 billion, 18.9% over the same time in 2006. 

 

LAN Announces Additional Flights

 

As of June 2nd, 2007 LAN Airlines will begin non-stop operation between JFK and LAX airports to Santiago de Chile with convenient continuing service to Buenos Aires and additional Argentinean destinations including Cordoba, Mendoza, and Rosario among others. The new service from the US makes it easier than ever to visit the Southern Cone.  LAN Airlines will operate three non-stop flights per week between New York JFK and Santiago, which complement six frequencies between Santiago and JFK via Lima, Peru, and operate five weekly non-stop flights between Los Angeles and Santiago, joining two weekly operations between the two cities via Lima.  In addition, LAN’s Miami gateway is also announcing 3 additional non-stop frequencies to Santiago as of June 7th. With these new additions, LAN will now offer 10 weekly flights from Miami to Santiago.

 

Copa Adds Routes and Bolsters Fleet

 

(Forbes) - Copa Airlines has announced it will offer new service from Panama and connections in Latin America to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and Washington, D.C., in the U.S., beginning July 15, 2007. The launch of these two new destinations reinforces Copa Airlines' extensive existing route network throughout the Americas and reaffirms its commitment to more flights and connectivity. Route network will encompass 38 cities in 21 countries in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.  Boeing has said that Panama's Copa Airlines had ordered four of its Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a deal worth about US$282 millions, as well as 34 Next-Generation 737s – Boeing’s newest and most technologically advanced single-aisle plane yet. The airline currently operates 24 Next-Generation 737s, with 10 - including those announced today - remaining to be delivered.

 

Grupo TACA Launches ''Counterhubs'' In South America

 

The Salvadorian airline Grupo TACA has launched a ‘Counterhub’ program in Lima, Peru, that will double scheduled departures and increase overall capacity from 156 to 224 weekly flights, reports Aviation Daily.  As of May 15th, Grupo TACA is also increasing operations in Colombia by 50%, with two daily flights to Lima and one daily flight to San Jose, Costa Rica. 

 

ECONOMY AND POLITICS

 

Dual-Currency ATMs Installed by Interbank Peru

 

(Self-Service.org) - Interbank Peru, Peru's fourth-largest financial institutions and operator of the country's largest ATM estate, has partnered with Wincor Nixdorf International to integrate 30 multifunction ATMs into its branches. The machines, the first dual-currency ATMs to be deployed in the world, can handle cash withdrawals, deposits and bill payment. The bank's goal: to move more transactions from the counter to the self-service channel. To that end, the bank required terminals that could handle not only the Peruvian nuevo sol but also the U.S. dollar. Through Wincor's South American service partner, IBM, Interbank Peru successfully completed the rollout. It expects to install more dual-currency ATMs in 2007.

 

‘Bank of the South’ Latest Resistance to the World Bank and the IMF

 

Venezuela and Argentina have joined forces to establish the ‘Bank of the South’ with initial deposits of 1.4 billion and 350 million, respectively, in an effort to assert independence from the World Bank and the IMF.  The new institution, which Brazil is soon expected to join, is intended to help finance social and economic development in the region without political conditions.  Among the first projects to receive funding is a proposed 8000-kilometer gas pipeline across South America.  Relations between the World Bank and IMF and Latin American nations have always been tentative, but according to Hardbeat News, grievances against the two international institutions worsened recently with the release of the IMF’s latest economic report which projects a downturn in Latin American fortunes.  Many leaders regard this as an intentional effort by the institution to undermine their governments.  Venezuelan Finance Minister, Rodrigo Cabezas, cites the routinely weak predictions made by the IMF in the past three years.  In 2006, for example, the IMF projected a 3.8 growth rate, when in fact the country’s economy grew by 10.2%. The year before that, Venezuela exceeded discouraging IMF predictions by 9.2%.  Dissatisfaction has led Venezuela to leave both institutions.  In other parts of the region, Ecuadorian President, Rafael Correa has followed suit by expelling the World Bank representative last month on grounds of attempted extortion during Correa’s term as economy minister in 2005.

 

Paraguay Schedules Presidential Elections for April 2008

 

Paraguayan voters will elect the successor of President Nicanor Duarte Flores on April 20, 2008, the country’s electoral Tribunal announced at the end of May.  For the first time in the history of Paraguay, computers will be used at the polls, with most voting to be conducted electronically.  During the election, which occurs every five years, the electorate will also be choosing its vice president, 125 members of Congress, and the councils of Paraguay’s 17 provinces.  In terms of widespread influence, being the poorest Mercosur member might seem to render the outcome of Paraguay’s election less consequential than those of Brazil or Argentina.  However, recent election outcomes in the region have seen Latin American governments take a leftist turn.  Populist leaders Chavez (Venezuela) and Morales (Bolivia), especially, have captured the world’s attention with their controversial policies and public rejection of US influence.  No doubt this climate will make everyone be doubly as aware of Paraguay’s political fortunes come next April. 

 

Latin American Companies Make Big U.S. Gains

 

‘Multi-Latinas’ are sweeping the U.S., with investment from that region showing faster growth rates than most others in the world, reported the New York Times in a recent article titled “Latin American Companies Make Big U.S. Gains.  According to the article, these companies no longer cater solely to urban centers with Hispanic populations like Miami and Los Angeles, offering nostalgic products like food items and Spanish-language soap operas, but have begun to spread significantly throughout the country in a variety of markets.  Mexican bakery company, Grupo Bimbo, for example, has come to own and distribute classic brands such as Wonderbread and Entemann’s.  Brazilian-owned steel company, Gerdau Ameristeel, has swiftly acquired 17 mills in 11 states over the past eight years to become the nation’s fourth-largest steel producer and bring much-needed employment to ailing Midwestern towns.   There is also Brazilian petroleum company, Petrobas, which is working the Gulf, and several Latin American companies that are making inroads in the cement industry.  Mexican-run Cemex, in particular, has emerged as the No. 1 supplier of cement and concrete in the U.S., and already has plans to buy the Rinker Group from Australia.  The surprising upsurge and success of these multinationals is demonstrating that Latin America has finally started to assert itself as an originator of capital and investment.  Foreign investment from the region to the U.S., which rose from $8 billion in 1995 to $13.5 billion in 2000, according to figures cited in the article, have surpassed $30 billion in the last couple of years.  Although these numbers cannot yet compare to those from Europe and Japan, they are rising at a faster rate.  What’s more, Latin American companies are proving more adventurous than their counterparts.  In Brazil, for example, the country’s $26 billion invested abroad easily outpaced the $18 billion it received from foreign firms, while despite fears of a U.S. takeover of Mexico following the 1994 NAFTA, Mexico has actually displayed the faster investment growth.  With the spending power of these companies strengthening, as well as their respective local currencies, the new ‘multi-Latinas’ trend is unlikely to abate any time soon.

 

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL

 

The PanAmerican Highway Becomes the New Road to a Better World

 

Non-profit organizations have recently taken to the streets, literally, by using various alternative means to travel the extensive PanAmerican Highway, which spans from Alaska to Patagonia and connects the furthest reaches of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In April, two Montana natives, Tyler Bradt and Seth Warren, gained the world’s attention by reaching the Southern Cone and thus completing the longest journey ever made without diesel or petrol.  Driving a 1987 Toyota RV rigged to accept bio-fuels and even equipped with an onboard press to convert grains into fuel, the pair undertook the 21,000 mile journey utilizing the wide variety of biofuels available in the 16 countries along the way.  This meant using products like salmon oil in the Pacific Northwest, Mexican lard and Chilean chip fat from restaurants, as well as Brazilian ethanol, Argentine corn oil and palm oil from Colombia.  Said Warren, “this is proof that vegetable oil works!”  Indeed, the men’s feat is an encouraging sign in the face of rising oil prices and increasing pollution.  On the heels of this accomplishment, four riders, who founded Biking for a Better World, an organization which raises funds for underdeveloped areas, are planning to begin their own trip from Alaska to Ushuia, Argentina, on June 15th.  This trip, which will take nine months, aims to raise $18,000 to build a school in Nicaragua; the group has already raised $15,000.  With efforts like theirs, it seems the symbolic significance of a road trip as a rite of passage is changing, for the better.

 

Mexico City Provides Stage for Largest Mass Nude Shoot

 

Brooklyn artist Spencer Tunick, renowned for photographing nude bodies in public settings across the world, has staged the largest ever mass nude shot, gathering together 18,000 models in Mexico City’s vast Zocalo Plaza this May for a series of monumental photographs at dawn.  Amid a certain degree of controversy, which inevitably greets all Tunick’s projects, the artist agreed not to include any shots of the square’s cathedral in his work.  Mexican officals also postponed the raising of the flag until after the shot was done.  However, the men and women volunteers on the ground, ranging in age and economic background, regarded the event as a positive social statement, and even broke into folk songs in between shots.   An Associated Press article quotes 25-year old participant and electrical engineer Oscar Roman Munoz, as saying, “this reflects the need for change and integration in world trends.”  Spencer’s largest mass nude shot previous to this effort was staged in Barcelona in 2003, using a total of 7000 people.  Although having worked in cities around the world, Spencer has shown particular interest in Latin America, apart from Mexico City taking mass photographs in Buenos Aires, Santiago, Caracas, and Sao Paulo. 

 

The Great Turtle Race

 

Last month scientists tracked the 950-mile journey taken by eleven female leatherback turtles from Costa Rica to the Galapagos Islands, promoting the swim as the first ‘Great Turtle Race”, as part of a larger effort to raise awareness for the highly endangered species.  A female leatherback named Billie, sponsored by Billfish Studies, was the official winner.  The eleven turtles were tagged after their nesting period in Playa Grande, Costa Rica, and outfitted with GPS transmitters to record every detail of their 14-day journey.  Researchers hope the event will help educate people on the giant but elusive animal which can grow to seven feet and weigh as much as 2000 pounds, but whose existence is currently threatened by commercial fishing and pollution.  Some experts even estimate that the leatherback turtle, which has been around for 100 million years, may only have 10 more left.