by the El Reportero’s news services
Fidel Castro
The interim President of Cuba, Raúl Castro, declared on 20 January that the future government will be chosen by congress next month.
Raúl’s declaration came as he left the pooling station where he cast his vote for Cuba’s latest legislative elections. Raúl told reporters that members of the newly-formed congress will assemble on 24 February to choose the new Council of State.
The Council of State is, in effect, Cuba’s executive. The president of the Council doubles as Cuba’s President.
Calderón reshuffles Mexican cabinet
President Felipe Calde rón Hinojosa dropped two of his most important cabinet ministers, interior and social welfare, on 15 and 16 January.
The changes again point up the difference between Calderón and his predecessor, President Vicente Fox: Fox rarely sacked ministers, but Calderón has already made three cabinet changes, two of which involve the dismissal of underperforming ministers.
Felipe Calderón
The government’s spin on the changes is that Calderón now has his own men in three key jobs: the interior ministry; the social development secretary (Sedesol) and the presidency of the ruling Partido Acción Nacional (PAN).
Hugo Chvez: Latin America’s money man
With oil enriching Venezuela’s coffers, President Hugo Chávez is lavishing billions on other countries, boosting his socialist-tinged image Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is making an unprecedented effort to win the hearts and minds of citizens from Buenos Aires to Boston as he seeks to export socialism and challenge the United States’ traditional role as the region’s dominant player.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is making an unprecedented effort to win the hearts and minds of citizens from Buenos Aires to Boston as he seeks to export socialism and challenge the United States’ traditional role as the region’s dominant player. (The Miami Herald contributed to this brief).
For two hours, President Evo Morales huddled in this jungle city with a dozen area mayors as they pitched public-works projects — to be financed directly by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
The Venezuelan and Cuban ambassadors to Bolivia flew here aboard the presidential jet to join the talks. The public was kept out.
After the money was divided up, Morales invited the media in and offered the mayors, one by one, a handshake and a Venezuelan embassy check for up to $150,000. In all, Venezuela gave about $1.5 million that day last November.
‘’I admire the Venezuelan government for showing this solidarity,’’ said a beaming Walter Valverde, mayor of the town of Puerto Rico, holding a $28,917 check to build a new hospital.
Flush with oil profi ts, Chávez is making an unprecedented effort to win the hearts and minds of citizens from Buenos Aires to Boston as he seeks to export socialism and challenge the United States’ traditional role as the region’s dominant player.
With Chávez’s multibillion-dollar gusher of aid, Bolivia is building new schools. Argentina paid off its debt to the International Monetary Fund. Caribbean nations are receiving subsidized oil. Even the U.S. poor and American Indians in Alaska have received discounted heating oil.
