Monthly Archives: February 2012

Conference Alert and Call for Papers: Media, Power, and Citizenship in South America

Posted on February 24, 2012 | Leave a comment

Though I probably won’t be able to attend, there looks to be a very interesting conference in Quito this coming May.  Here’s the write-up for those interested:

                  Media, Power and Citizenship in South America

FLACSO, Quito, ECUADOR

May 17 -18, 2012


Over the past decade, the rise of populist democracies in South America has taken place against a backdrop of growing corporate media opposition. The legitimacy of the governments of Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, and to a certain extent, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay has been questioned most harshly, not by elected oppositional political parties, but by media conglomerates acting as de facto powers. Ascribing to the same economic interests as many of the most powerful economic sectors, media corporations are assuming an unprecedented role of political opposition, influencing public opinion and setting their own agenda. There is a growing debate regarding the concentration and power of media in democracy.

New populist governments in the region, following social demands, have begun to respond to media power, often heightening existing confrontations, by debating and revising legislation on media ownership.  This includes Argentina’s adoption of a law on Audiovisual Communication Services (SCA) in 2009; Bolivia’s promotion of the General Telecommunications, Technology and Communications Law in 2011; as well as the current debate concerning community media law in Venezuela and the extending the law for the social responsibility of television and radio (2004). Similarly, as the Ecuadorian government prepares to advance major media reforms, Quito is a particularly timely site for this discussion.

The aim of the conference is to bring academics, media practitioners and government together to debate new responses to neoliberal media in the context of post-neoliberal South America.

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Posted in Ecuador

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Chevron’s Refusal to Apologize to Affected Communities in Ecuador

Posted on February 24, 2012 | 5 Comments

Here’s the hypothetical:  Mr. Jones owns a nice ranch in central Texas.  It’s big, the soil is fertile, and the animals couldn’t be happier.  Jones is down on his luck, though, so he decides to lease out half the ranch to an oil company.  Tests a couple of decades ago showed significant potential, and the oil company is eager to get to work.  The parties sign an agreement, and the next few years pass with contentment all around.  Jones is happy because he has a stable stream of income, and the oil company is turning a nice profit on its investment.

Then it happens.  One of the pumping rigs breaks, backs up, and slowly begins to flood the surrounding area with crude oil.  When the company realizes what has happened, it fails to take any meaningful action.  It’s only one pump out of many, and the contamination is hidden under a layer of top-soil and sagebrush.  After a year goes by, animals start dying.  Another year sees Jones fall ill, with the medical exams pointing to contaminated water.

Jones sues and wins big.  The jury awards compensatory damages of $2 million.  Instead of awarding punitive damages outright, the jury conditionally awards an additional $2 million to be paid by the oil company unless the company publicly apologizes to Jones for its willful behavior.

The company has now approached you, a local attorney, for advice on the wisdom of an appeal.  The CEO wants you to attack the demand that the company publicly apologize for its actions on pain of double damages.  The company also wants to fight the merits, maintaining that it is innocent of any wrongdoing.

Does the very nature of the issues on appeal prove the company’s case?  How can the company be penalized for maintaining its innocence?  Doesn’t the verdict tend to coerce the company to make a statement against its interests?  Does it tend to undermine the right to appeal?

*****

The story I just told is not the Chevron-Ecuador case.  The last bit, however, pretty much reflects the situation in which Chevron now finds itself.

In January, Chevron was ordered to pay $9.5 billion in remediation costs and damages and an additional $8.6 billion if it refused to apologize to the affected communities.  Chevron has refused to apologize, nearly doubling the tab as it seeks to overturn the ruling on appeal.   Earlier this month, a Chevron spokesman said an apology would be “a false admission of responsibility.”

What to make of this?  On the one hand, I hear Chevron’s argument loud and clear.  The apology facet of the award certainly seems to be a major departure from the norm.  At the least, it may interfere with the right to appeal and maintain one’s position.

On the other hand, is it really that crazy to demand an apology?  If a mother catches her son hitting another child, she may very well insist on an apology.  If the child apologizes — “accepts responsibility” — maybe he is only grounded a week instead of two.  If this logic flies with parenting, why not with civil justice?

-NF

P.S.  If anyone can recommend any literature on this issue, I’d be grateful.

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Posted in Ecuador, South American Environment

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Does Chomsky Overstate the Extent to Which U.S. Influence Has Waned in Latin America?

Posted on February 22, 2012 | Leave a comment

Thanks to Foreign Policy Blogs,  I ran across this piece by Noam Chomsky in The Huffington Post.  While discussing the decline of U.S. influence worldwide, Chomsky makes this statement about the situation in Latin America:

In the past decade, for the first time in 500 years, South America has taken successful steps to free itself from western domination, another serious loss [to US hegemony]. The region has moved towards integration, and has begun to address some of the terrible internal problems of societies ruled by mostly Europeanized elites, tiny islands of extreme wealth in a sea of misery. They have also rid themselves of all U.S. military bases and of IMF controls. A newly formed organization, CELAC, includes all countries of the hemisphere apart from the U.S. and Canada. If it actually functions, that would be another step in American decline, in this case in what has always been regarded as “the backyard.”

Okay, fair enough.  But even if I can’t disagree with Chomsky on the facts, I think his overall tone overstates the extent to which U.S. influence has declined in the region.  Moreover, I think he is wrong insofar as he seems to suggest that Latin America has been able to thumb its nose at a United States that remains committed to controlling its “backyard.”

This last bit is key.  From the Monroe Doctrine through the Cold War, the U.S. became accustomed to viewing Latin America as its backyard, a place where it had unrivaled influence.  Since the Cold War’s end, however, and especially under the Bush and Obama administrations, Latin America has become less of a priority.  With so many other fires to tend around the globe, Latin America has taken a back seat.  I’m not saying that’s wise, but I think it’s a dynamic that must be acknowledged in any analysis of U.S. influence in Latin America.  All that being said, Chomsky’s main argument–that the U.S. is neither the only kid on the block nor the only one with muscle–is hard to deny.

-NF

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Posted in U.S. South American Policy

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War on Drugs a Failure in Latin America

Posted on February 21, 2012 | Leave a comment

According to this report by the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the “war on drugs” has also been a flop south of the border.  After studying the situation in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Uruguay, WOLA concluded as follows:

In all these countries, the emphasis placed by drug control efforts on criminal sanctions has given rise to a significant increase in the number of persons incarcerated for drug offenses. The enforcement of severe laws for drug offenses has not only been ineffective in curbing the production, trafficking, and consumption of illicit substances, but has generated enormous negative consequences, including overwhelming caseloads in the courts, overcrowding in the prisons, and the suffering of tens of thousands of persons behind bars for small-scale drug offenses or simple possession. The weight of the drug laws has been felt with greater force among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of society.

Download the full report here.

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Posted in Bolivia, Brasil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Uruguay

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TIPNIS Post on TerraNullius

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 1 Comment

Stop by TN for my latest thoughts on the TIPNIS conflict, including a discussion of the government’s plan for a consultation with park residents.  Here’s a snippet:

On October 24, 2011, Bolivians breathed a collective sigh of relief.  After a two-month struggle, culminating in massive protests in front of the Presidential Palace in La Paz, Evo Morales signed a bill declaring the Territorio Indígena y Parque Nacional Isiboro-Secure (TIPNIS) “untouchable.”

The controversial road connecting Villa Tunari with San Ignacio de Moxos would not pass through the national park and protected indigenous territory.  The peoples’ cry to defend TIPNIS had been heard; “Evo Pueblo” had lived up to his moniker, even if only under extreme pressure, and had listened to his constituents.  He even said so himself:  “The TIPNIS issue is resolved,” he declared. “This is governing by obeying the people.”

Or so we thought.  Though many were probably skeptical from the start, many others—myself included—thought the case was closed.  The government would still likely construct a road between Villa Tunari and San Ignacio de Moxos, but the new law dictated that it would skirt the park.  That, not prohibition of a road altogether, had always been the goal.

As the last few weeks have shown, however, the victory dance was premature.  On February 10, 2012, President Morales signed a new law bringing back from the dead the possibility a road through TIPNIS.  Three-and-a-half months after declaring the park “untouchable,” Morales signed a law calling for a “prior consultation” to determine whether the road should go forward as originally planned. How did this happen, and how can we make sense of it?

Read the rest here.  Thanks again to TN’s Rhodri C. Williams for the opportunity to post on his great site.

-NF

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Posted in Bolivia, Brasil, South American Environment

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No Gas for You

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 2 Comments

Gasoline in Bolivia is cheap, with a liter running around 60 cents.  Not only is that a steal in comparison to U.S. and European prices, it’s a bargain compared to prices in neighboring countries like Argentina and Chile.  The government accomplishes this feat through heavy subsidization, leveraging its control of the nationalized gas industry.  Yet, as is the natural effect of subsidies, it’s a heavy drain on the public coffers.  And, as one might expect, it presents an attractive opportunity for folks to cross the border from Argentina or Chile and turn a profit.  I’m not sure what the total cost runs, but the Bolivian government felt it grave enough to announce a plan to scrap the subsidies in 2010.  That never happened, as the public launched a series of mass protests that forced the government to yield.

With this background in mind, I was only mildly surprised to hear that gas stations in at least some parts of Bolivia were refusing to sell gas to cars with foreign plates.  When I heard that was due to a new law, I became a bit more concerned.  There are a number of ways to combat the situation short of this drastic step, charging more to foreign motorists being the most obvious.

A quick search on Google cleared things up.  According to this report in La Razon, the “law” I was told about does not exist.  Here’s the real situation:  The law sets the price for cars with Bolivian plates at 3.7 Bolivianos per liter; cars with foreign plates must pay between 8.8 and 9 Bolivianos per liter.

So far so good, from my point of view.  So why are gas stations refusing to serve foreigners at the pump?  Essentially, there’s a bureaucratic hold-up.  The national gas company, YPFB, has yet to generate the necessary paperwork (basically, special receipts) to ensure that sales to foreign motorists are made at the elevated price.

So there you have it.  Not nearly as nefarious as I was led to believe.  Hopefully they’ll fix this little hiccup in a hurry, and foreign motorists will be on their way.  In the meantime, be sure to fill up and carry extra gas before you hit the border.  For more practical tips, check out Drive the Americas.

-NF

 

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Posted in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, South American Economy

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Guest Posting re TIPNIS on TerraNullius: The Housing, Land, and Property Weblog

Posted on February 16, 2012 | Leave a comment

Rhodri Williams of TerraNullius has kindly offered me the chance to share with his readers some thoughts on the TIPNIS saga.  I’ll save the details for the main post, but the last few weeks have seen some important developments.

Apart from these factual updates, a conversation with a local sociology professor has provided new insight into the historical and cultural factors that must be examined if we are to understand why this has played out the way it has.  Look for the post on TN sometime soon.

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Posted in Bolivia, South American Environment

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TIPNIS Update: Government Set to Consult with Stakeholders, Determine Fate of Proposed Road

Posted on February 13, 2012 | 4 Comments

The proposed freeway connecting Villa Tunari and San Ignacio de Moxos is once again dominating Bolivian headlines.  The road — drawn up to cut through the center of a national park and protected indigenous territory (“TIPNIS”) — has inflamed passions on all sides.  The coca growers want the road to open up new territory and facilitate transportation; many (but not all) within the local indigenous communities are opposed.

Many of us thought this dispute was essentially over on October 24, 2011, when President Morales signed a law scrapping construction through TIPNIS and declaring the region “untouchable.”  Apparently not.  President Morales has now announced his intent to consult with the affected parties, including not only park residents but also area coca growers.

Skepticism among the public is running at an all-time high.  Despite the government’s claim that it is simply trying to determine and effectuate the public’s will, many see the move as a transparent attempt to resurrect a plan that the public already forcefully rejected.  If the government were to consult only TIPNIS residents, this perception would likely go away.  However, by consulting coca growers living in the general region, La Paz has opened the door to criticism of rigging the process.

Trying to predict the outcome of this conflict is like tossing a pair of dice . . . dice that keep on rolling.

-NF

UPDATE:  Dario Kenner of Bolivia Diary has a great post on this topic, including an interview with anthropologist Xavier Albo and translations of speeches by President Morales and indigenous leader Nelly Romero.

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Posted in Bolivia, South American Environment

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