February 1, 2009        www.LatinEPR.com 

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LATIN AMERICA - NEWS BRIEFS

Media and technology

Bolivia Celebrates Literacy

This past month, Bolivian President Evo Morales declared his country illiteracy-free, making it the third country in Latin America to reach this educational goal after Cuba and Venezuela, La Prensa newspaper reported.  Official data estimate that 99.5% of Bolivians are currently literate or learning to read and write.  Much of the progress is being attributed to government-run programs and the Cuban teaching method “Yo Si Puedo” (Yes, I Can), which has proved successful in other countries and was implemented in Bolivia three years ago.  President Morales listed the eradication of illiteracy among his nation’s chief achievements for 2008, regarding it as an important step towards empowering the people. 

Another such step is the nationalization of various industries and telecommunications.  This the Bolivian government has been undertaking since 2006, with a new state-run newspaper expected to launch by the start of February and a television station, geared towards the indigenous population, following soon.  Local media is naturally taking a skeptical view of these latest projects, as Morales has frequently dismissed their criticisms against him as rightist propaganda.   In fact, the National Association of Journalists spoke out last year over Morales’ negative comments on the media.  No doubt a state newspaper will be the source of renewed contention.  Hopefully, however, the inevitable political tug-of-war  will not completely overshadow the accomplishment of having brought literacy to so many of the region’s poor.

Mobile Ads Target US Hispanics

Ad network Jump Tap is predicting that Hispanic-centric mobile campaigns will quadruple this year, with revenue increasing 20% in the segment, the Hispanic marketing website PortadaOnline.com recently reported.   As the country’s largest and fastest-growing ethnic minority, as well as a group remarkably receptive to advertising, Hispanics are undoubtedly becoming an investment objectives for many marketers, says Eric Bader, managing partner of Brand in Hand.  To that end, emerging as a major advertising medium is the cell phone.   According to mobile measurement firm ComScore M:Metrics, 71% of US Hispanics consume mobile content, compared to the general market average of 48%.  Reasons for this remarkably high rate include the comparatively larger percentage of Hispanics who lack access to landlines -  and thus rely on cell phones as their sole communication tool - and the group’s lower median age (27.6 compared to the US average of 36.6).   Younger people tend to heavier mobile usage. The statistics are leading a host of major consumer brands like Continental Airlines, Sears, and Tag Heuer to launch Latino-centric mobile campaigns in the first quarter of 2009.

TRAVEL

Latin America Dominates List of Best Ethical Destinations

Latin America dominated the Ethical Traveler’s 2008 list of Developing World’s 10 Best Ethical Destinations, with Argentina leading the ranking, announced the San Francisco-based watchdog organization this month.  The other four ‘Top Ten’ nations from the region were Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua.  Honorable mentions were also awarded to Belize, Peru, and Ecuador.  Based on a study of 70-plus developing nations, the list ranks their progress in the following three categories: environmental protection, social welfare, and human rights.  Argentina, for example, was boosted by its excellent water quality, sustainable forestry policies, and high press freedom. 

Ethical Traveler intends its list to commend those nations which forego quick touristic schemes and instead choose to attract visitors through ecological and socially responsible programs.  Furthermore, Ethical Traveler recognizes that issues of environmental protection and human rights are never simple or nominees ever perfect.  Nevertheless it hopes to motivate emerging nations in the right direction.  One such imperfect ‘Top Ten’ nominee is Nicaragua, which Ethical Traveler ranked for its low CO2 emissions and sustainable tourism practices.  Nicaragua’s ban on homosexuality was a point of contention, but Ethical Traveler argues that the law is rarely enforced and that support of the country’s positive advances can help usher in other social reforms. 

Passport Cards to Ease Border Travel

Nearly 740,000 Americans have already ordered the new passport card travel document, in anticipation of the law that will require proof of identity and citizenship upon reentering the US through a land or sea border starting June 2009, the Associated Press reported this past month. For those traveling to neighboring countries like Mexico, the passport card offers a more affordable and portable alternative to the conventional passport. Roughly the size of a credit card, the new scannable document costs half of its book counterpart, and contains a chip which allows officials to retrieve data from the government database.  The passport card will especially become indispensable to residents of border towns who must regularly travel between countries.  Although not valid for air travel, the passport card should provide a convenient option for cruise passengers to the Caribbean, who last year were faced with the new passport requirement for travel by sea.

Record Tourism Arrivals to Sao Paulo

Sao Paulo, Brazil’s most populous city and a bourgeoning business Mecca, welcomed a record-breaking 11 million visitors in 2008, according to recently released figures from a survey conducted by Sao Paulo Turismo, a company promoting the city’s tourism.  The unprecedented number indicates a 2.8% increase over 2007, with a 2.47% increase in tourism spending (US$ 3.5 billion.)  Of the 11 million tourists, 1.7 million were foreign visitors.  Most came from the US, followed by Argentines, Germans, French, Chileans, Portuguese, Italians, Spanish, English, and Mexicans.  Numbers could rise even higher in the coming years, as the Brazilian government seeks to attract foreign property buyers or “residential tourists”.  States the property advice website BuyAssociation.com.uk, Brazil is streamlining the process of real estate purchases in its effort to bring this particular brand of tourist, and declining real interest rates are helping to make the country a new and exciting market.

Copa and LAN Traffic up in December

Passenger traffic for Copa airlines during December 2008 was up 16.5% from the same month the previous year, while Chilean airline LAN and its associate airlines announced a traffic growth of 10.7% for December, as well an 8.9% increase in yearly earnings from 2007 to 2008.  Adding to the LAN’s positive slide into 2009 was its recent distinction as Globe Traveler’s “Best Airline in Central and South America” (for the third consecutive year).   The solid performance of Latin American airlines will be tested over the coming year, however, as the IATA expects global air traffic to shrink ‘tangibly’, and the WTO forecasts a 2% decline in world tourism for 2009. 

Economy and Politics

Obama Addresses Key Issues in Talks with Brazil and Mexico

In a busy first week in office, US President Barrack Obama took time to speak with Brazil leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about a future partnership between the two countries in the area of biofuels, as well as the advancement of currently ongoing global trade talks, Reuters has reported.   The introductory telephone conversation was one of several the US President held with his international counterparts this week – the other contacted leaders were Dmitriy Medvedev of Russia, Angela Merkel of Germany, and Nicolas Sarkosy of France.  President Obama’s inclusion of Brazil among these G8 powers signaled improving relations between the US and Latin America, and highlighted the new administration’s commitment to climate change and alternative fuels.  Obama and Lula da Silva are expected to conduct visits in April and June. 

President Obama previously held a pre-inaugural meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in January, during which they discussed such topics as immigration and upgrading environmental and labor provisions of NAFTA.  However, the most pressing issue raised by that meeting was the fight against the Mexican drug cartels, which have spawned an epidemic of violence along border towns and cast renewed attention on the bitterly disputed US-Mexico border fence.  According to the Associated Press, President Obama has not put a halt to the nearly completed fence, although he has issued a statement that he would reexamine the project born under the previous administration.  The fence, initially introduced as a deterrent for illegal immigration, had been hotly debated by human rights and environmental groups.  However, rising border violence and unstemmed drug smuggling could still see the fence embraced as a fallback in a time when the US is tackling pressing problems like the economy and ongoing military action in the Middle East.

Central America and EU Move Closer to Association Agreement

The European Union and the seven nations of Central America concluded the sixth round of negotiations in Brussels for a new Economic Partnership Agreement that could be signed this year and come into effect in 2010, according to the Guatemala Times.  Central America  and the EU have in previous years failed to enjoy the close relationship and trade ties the Latin American region maintains with the US, but the uncertain economic climate has encouraged a renewed dialogue between the two blocs.  In addition to the current talks, this revived interest brought about a Euro 15 million allocation last October intended to boost integration and cooperation within Central America. Back in the Belgian capital, the chief unresolved issue among the more than 300 country ministers and social organization delegates remains the EU’s refusal to lower tariffs on banana imports -  banana import tariffs affect not only Central American producers but countries across the Americas and Africa, and have been the subject of fierce debate around the world since July of 2008.

General Interest

Blowin’ in the Wind: Mexico Going Green

The first 25 turbines of Latin America’s biggest wind farm went online in Oaxaca, Mexico, this month, setting the country on the road towards the lofty target of halving greenhouse emissions by 2050, Business Green has reported.  Last year, Mexico became the first major emerging economy to commit to an emissions reduction target.  The new $780 million 2,500 hectare farm promises not only to help cut CO2 emissions, but also should offset the losses related to falling oil production – already 9% lower in 2008 than in the previous year.  All scheduled 167 turbines should be operational by the end of 2009 in its location of La Ventosa.  The Mexican city lies on the narrow isthmus between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean and is appropriately named ‘windy’.

Argentine Cinderella Gives Hope to Buenos Aires Poor

Young Argentine model, Daniela Cott, 16, has captured the imagination of struggling youths everywhere after recently signing with the world’s biggest modeling agency Elite, following years of living as a ‘cartonero’ on the streets of Buenos Aires, the UK newspaper Telegraph reported in January.  ‘Cartonero’  is the term used to describe some 10,000 people in the Argentine capital city, who roam the streets scavenging and selling scraps of cardboard, used cans, and bottles, to recycling plants.  Cott and her family lived as cartoneros for several years, before she was discovered in 2005 while sifting through the garbage in the fashionable district of Palermo.  Since then, the youngster has won Argentina’s Elite Model Look Final, a competition that launched the careers of Cindy Crawford and Gisele Bundchen, and begun working in Milan, Paris, and Madrid.   Her stellar rise has caused Cott to be dubbed the Argentine Cinderella by the Latin American media, and true to her origins Cott has vowed to bring attention to the plight of cartoneros in her city.