by the El Reportero’s staff
Raúl Castro
Fresh details emerged in the Spanish and US press on May 21, about the sudden removal on March 2 of Cuba’s two most high profile ministers, the foreign minister, Felipe Pérez Roque, and the vice president, Carlos Lage.
The crux of the story confirms the thesis that the two, widely seen from outside Cuba as future potential leaders, had become too big for their boots and represented a threat to President Raúl Castro. Neither of the Castro brothers, it seems, tolerates big shots. The case has also prompted a fresh diplomatic spat between Spain and Cuba.
Downturn in the US leads to first decline in remittances by migrants
Remittances by Latin American expatriates, which had been expanding rapidly over the five years to 2007, to the extent that they became one of the leading sources of hard currency for a number of economies, slowed down signifi cantly in 2008, and now, according to a recently released study, will actually shrink.
The overall impact on the recipient economies, while less than the expected loss of export earnings, is not insignificant: amounting to almost 1 percent of GDP in the worst-hit countries, it adds to the trade losses.
Martinelli scores emphatic victory
Right governments.Supermarket tycoon Ricardo Martinelli swept to victory in the 3 May presidential and legislative elections, taking 60 percent of the presidential vote compared with just 37 percernt for Balbina Herrera of the ruling Partido Revolucionario Democrático (PRD). He will succeed President Martín Torrijos on July 1. Disillusionment with the PRD was echoed in the congressional elections, which also saw a thumping defeat for the ruling party. While the result marks a swing to the Right for Panama, out of step with the rest of the region, it also underlines Panamanians’ habit of alternating between Left and Right governments.
Venezuela’s hope of more sway dims as riches dip
CARACAS – President Hugo Chávez’s push to extend his sway in Latin America is waning amid low oil prices and disorder in Venezuela’s own energy industry.
In recent years, Mr. Chávez has used his nation’s oil wealth to drive his socialist-inspired agenda at home and draw other countries in the region into his sphere of influence, helping to consolidate a leftward political shift in parts of Latin America.
But more than a dozen big projects intended to broaden his nation’s reach are in limbo – including a gas pipeline across the continent and at least eight refineries, from Jamaica to Uruguay – as Venezuela grapples with falling revenues and other troubles in its national oil company.
Venezuela is also cutting back sharply on other types of fi nancial support for its neighbors, a cornerstone of its regional influence. One recent study by the Center of Economic Investigations, a financial consulting fi rm here, found that Venezuela had announced plans to spend only about $6 billion abroad this year, down from $79 billion in 2008.
