by the El Reportero news services
Fernando Lugo
On 21 May Paraguayan peasants fired shots on a Brazilian-run farm. Land reform was one of President elect Fernando Lugo’s main campaign promises. Commercial farmers have issued blunt warnings that they will not cede their land to landless peasants without a fight. Héctor Cristaldo, the head of a local soya growers group, claimed that Lugo was encouraging the landless to march into working farms and said that he should do more to “put out the fire”, before taking office on 15 August.
Néstor Núñez, the president of the ranchers’ association, the Asociación Rural del Paraguay (ARP), was even more outspoken. He said that the law entitled his members to defend themselves and their land without fear of subsequent prosecution.
Diplomatic tension simmers during EU-Latin America summit
The official agenda of the Fifth European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean (EU-LAC) Summit in Lima on 16 and 17 May was trade, food and climate change. The unofficial agenda was the political and diplomatic tension between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela in the wake of the release by Interpol of its verdict on the authenticity of the computer files purportedly produced by the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). For once the official agenda prevailed and the diplomatic differences did not spill over into the summit. There was no shortage of developments, however, on the sidelines of the summit.
Fernández wins in first round
Leonel Fernández will be president of the Dominican Republic for another four years: these were the results of the country’s presidential elections of 16 May, announced the following day by the Central Electoral Commission (JCE). The 53-year-old will enter his third (and second consecutive) term as president in August this year with 53.83 percent of the popular vote, but he is likely to face a tougher time in office with the downturn in the US economy.
Peru lawmaker accused of shooting dog
A lawmaker is under fire in Peru after he allegedly gunned down his neighbor’s schnauzer for harassing his ducks.
Nina Ventura de Cardenas, the neighbor, says opposition lawmaker Miro Ruiz shot and killed her 18-month-old dog when it ventured onto his property. Ventura filed a formal complaint with Congress on Monday.
Ruiz denied the allegation, saying he has several small animals and “loves them a lot.” But animal rights activists and fellow politicians called for sanctions.
Cabinet chief Jorge del Castillo said the alleged killing of the pet demonstrates “psychological weakness” and “hurts the country.”
The congressional ethics committee will review the complaint. (Associated Press contributed to this report).
