America's Insider articles from November 2000

America's Insider archives from November 2000

Montesinos allegedly using blackmail material to secure position.(Peruvian spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... LIMA -- Ten days after the surprise return from Panama of disgraced spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos, there is rising speculation he is using his reputedly formidable archives of video tapes and recorded phone calls to secure his tenuous...

Resounding defeat in mid-term vote shows little confidence in Pastrana's leadership.(Colombia)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... BOGOTA -- The near total defeat of the ruling Conservative Party in last weekend's municipal elections has raised questions about the legitimacy of President Andres Pastrana and his ability to bring an end to the various conflicts wracking the...

El Salvador: Switzerland of the Americas.(El Salvador)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... WASHINGTON -- El Salvador, a country that still conjures up visions of guerrilla warfare and US intervention, was rated as the most friendly nation for free market principles in Latin America in a recent report by the conservative Heritage...

Paramilitary leader says kidnappings meant to show disdain for government.(Colombia)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... BOGOTA -- The head of the right-wing paramilitary organization United Self Defense Forces of Colombia says his organization kidnapped eight Colombian members of Congress as a sign of rebellion against the government. Carlos Castano said...

Mutual admiration society may cost Chavez some popularity.(Venezuela)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... CARACAS -- The strange visit of Cuban President Fidel Castro appeared to lift the mood of Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, but it caused controversy at home and resulted in the signing of an unfavorable trade deal. Officially billed as...

Proposal would remove military from civilian chain of command.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez reportedly is set to use special decree powers to approve a new law that would remove the defense ministry from direct control over the armed forces and transfer it to newly-created Strategic Operational Command...

Protests highlight problems facing Fox in dealing with Nafta.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... MEXICO CITY- In a move intended to force the incoming administration of President-elect Vicente Fox to defend the local trucking industry, truck owners on Oct. 24 mounted a series of blockades across the nation to protest against Nafta rules...

PT celebrates victory but cannot count on support in next elections.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO -- It will take more than a strong showing by the leftist Workers Party (PT) in recent municipal elections to lift the party into position to make a serious bid for the presidency in 2002, when Fernando Henrique Cardoso will step...

US Congress approves millions of dollars for Latin America.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... WASHINGTON -- As it struggled unsuccessfully to complete work on the 2001 budget, the US Congress approved about $861 million in aid, loans and grants for more than a half dozen Latin American programs ranging from child development and Peace...

US: Hugo Chavez is no Fidel Castro.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Responding to a question at the National Press Club - and perhaps piqued at a Washington Post editorial that said the White House should be more alarmed about President Hugo Chavez's link to Fidel Castro - Secretary of State...

Economy showing life.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- Demand for services rose 8.5% in September compared to the same period of 1999, according to the Economy Ministry. For the first nine months of the year, overall demand for goods and services rose 6.2% compared to last year. ...

Congress tackles tax reform.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- The Chamber of Deputies is expected to approve a measure to lower the tax on interest paid by businesses, speed up the return of the value-added tax to businesses and alter the minimum income tax. The government also hopes to...

FARC may be behind Bolivia violence.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... LA PAZ -- Bolivian officials say foreigners are supporting protests by coca growers in the Chapare region and some suggest the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group (FARC) may be involved in recent violence against police and...

Brazilian steelmakers move overseas.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO --Brazilian steel company Belgo Mineira plans to buy a stake in leading Argentine steel company Acindar. A sharp rise in Acindar stock helped bolster the weak Argentine stock market. Belgo, which controls 35% of the Brazilian...

Colombia to reduce size of state.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... BOGOTA -- The Colombian government released the details of a restructuring plan designed to shrink the size of government and reduce the budget deficit. Housing Minister Juan Manuel Santos said the government plans to fire 9,000 government...

Venezuela to enter the space age.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... CARACAS --Texas-based Lone Star Space Access is negotiating with the government to build a $100 million space ship and launch site in Venezuela. Lone Star officials say the reusable vehicle would be built entirely in Venezuela and would be...

Varadero-Havana ferry to operate.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... LA HAVANA- Cuban company Cubanacan Nautica and Argentina's Agencia Maritima Dodero Cruceros have established a joint venture to operate rapid ferry service between the Cuban ports of Varadero and Havana. The venture, which will be called...

Cuba warns of power supply problems.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2000... HAVANA -- The Cuban government has warned industries to cut their consumption of electricity or face periodic cutoffs. Demand for electricity has increased during 2000, especially during peak hours of 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and oil prices have...

Criminal charges against Peru's Montesinos may weaken his position.(Peru)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... LIMA -- The walls are closing in on Vladimiro Montesinos, once the most feared man in Peru and at one time the lauded architect of Peru's successful counter-terrorist and counter-narcotics programs. Montesinos, spymaster for President...

Argentina seeks bailout as it becomes riskiest country in Latin America.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... An emergency mission of top Argentine economic officials is seeking help from the United States and the International Monetary Fund to stem a worsening financial crisis. Central bank President Pedro Pou and Finance Minister Daniel Marx led a...

Political impasse in Ecuador threatens progress made to date.(Ecuador)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... QUITO -- After a turbulent year that saw progress on a number of important economic fronts, there is growing concern President Gustavo Noboa may find himself engaged in a destructive confrontation with Congress over major economic reforms. ...

International lenders expect strong relations with Mexico.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... WASHINGTON -- International lending institutions are happily awaiting the inauguration of Mexican president-elect Vicente Fox, whom they expect to be the best customer they'll have in Latin America. Mexico, once one of the World Bank's...

Colombian paramilitary chief tries kidnapping as ticket to talks.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... BOGOTA -- When rightwing paramilitary warlord Carlos Castano kidnapped seven Colombian lawmakers and declared he was "rebelling" against the government, many thought he had finally bitten the hand that has for long fed him. Military...

US pushes Mexican phone complaint at the WTO.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... WASHINGTON - The Clinton administration said last week that it will pursue a case before the World Trade Organization charging Telefonos de Mexico with erecting unfair barriers that block US carriers from competing in Mexico's market. ...

Pastrana reaches out to liberals.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... BOGOTA - After the humiliating electoral defeat of his Conservative Party earlier this month, President Andres Pastrana has reached out to his main rival to try to shore up sagging support for himself and his policies. Pastrana met with...

Latin America ponders impact of uncertainty following US election.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... With no winner declared in the US presidential election, it's pretty hard for us to say anything worthwhile about what the results might mean for Latin America. Most regional leaders had little to say publicly, but all seemed thankful this...

Election could mean change of House foreign relations chief.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... WASHINGTON -- US elections have left in doubt more than who the new occupant of the White House will be - it has also left in limbo who will head the important House International Relations Committee and influence US policy on Latin America...

Bolivia launches latest economic plan after failure of first two.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... LA PAZ -- Faced with continued popular discontent and an embarrassing failure to reactivate the economy, the government presented its third economic plan in less than a year. This latest plan is intended to address agreements reached with...

AT&T targets long distance market.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- US firm AT&T announced a very aggressive plan to win over business and residential customers in Argentina three days after the telephone market was opened. Residential users will pay a single rate for domestic phone calls,...

Truckers angle for controls.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... SANTIAGO -- The National Motor Association of Chile may ask the government to freeze the number of trucks in Chile. There are more than 160,000 trucks in operation, twice the number needed. Up to 25,000 of these may have entered the country...

Cuba to decide on nickel project.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... HAVANA -- The chairman of Russia's Norlisk Nickel is expecting an answer from Cuba on the company's proposal to help Cuba complete and operate a nickel processing plant. Yuri Kotlyar told reporters that a feasibility study is currently being...

Venezuela to target tax evasion.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez has announced a plan to reduce tax evasion and triple tax collections over the next six years. Currently, Chavez said, tax collection is only about 10% of the GNP, or $10 billion a year. He said tax evasion...

Oil companies to change contracts.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... CARACAS -- Energy Minister Ali Rodriguez has announced that the government will ask foreign companies in the country to adjust their existing oil industry contracts to comply with a new Hydrocarbons Law. Rodriguez said converting to the new...

Chavez loses vote on labor question.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2000... Defections from within his Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) have stymied efforts by President Hugo Chavez to force a referendum that will ask Venezuelans whether they approve of plans to dissolve the country's largest labor organization, the...

Colombian guerrillas walk out on peace talks they never really wanted.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... BOGOTA -- Progress in Colombia's peace process was already almost imperceptible before the main Marxist rebel force battling the government unilaterally put talks on ice. Officials of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which...

Power slips away from Peru's Fujimori as key ally is ousted : Peruvian leader may be seeking asylum.(Peru)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... LIMA--President Alberto Fujimori's hold on power slipped precipitously this week, raising the possibility that he'll be out of power soon and focusing attention on who might succeed him until elections are held in April. Fujimori left for...

Guerrilla attacks take huge toll on oil industry.(Colombia)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... BOGOTA -- Colombian crude oil output was cut to less than a quarter of its expected daily average in September due to a bombing campaign by rebel groups. Sources at for Occidental Petroleum said production at the company's Cano Limon oil field...

Aid to Argentina saves Washington from making tough choices.(Argentina)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Fearing a situation that would require Washington to finance a major bailout, Clinton administration officials encouraged Washington-based international lending institutions to come to Argentina's aid. After Argentine...

Fight over taxes could lead to cut in Cuban phone links.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... WASHINGTON -- Facing a threat by Fidel Castro to cut off phone links between the United States and Cuba, AT&T and other American telecommunications companies are hoping to reason with Havana -- or fool it. AT&T and other US carriers may...

Banks come to de la Rua's aid.(Argentina)(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- Argentina's banks reacted quickly once the government began to make progress in resolving the nation's latest economic crisis, bolstering President Fernando de la Rua's credibility at home and - perhaps more important right now...

Fox honeymoon is slipping away after tight election in Jalisco.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... GUADALAJARA -- A contested election in Jalisco state has energized the Revolutionary Institutional Party (PR[) just a few months after losing its 70-year grip on power in Mexico earlier this summer and embarrassed President-elect Vicente Fox....

PRD rejects offer to join government.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- The leftist Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD) has rejected an offer by President-elect Vicente Fox to join his administration. Fox had offered the party three ministries - the Controller General, Social Development, and...

Soaring domestic debt squeezes businesses; could prove costly later.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... CARACAS -- President Hugo Chavez's growing hunger for domestic loans is beginning to weigh on local businesses and may begin to distort local financial markets, say analysts. Chavez last week used decree authority to issue $2.16 billion in...

Venezuela approves labor referendum.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... CARACAS -- The Venezuelan National Assembly has approved a referendum to remove the leadership of the Venezuelan Workers' Confederation (CTV), the largest labor organization in the country. The Dec. 3 referendum would allow the government to...

Lagos turns on core backers in effort to boost economy.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... SANTIAGO- Electoral concerns and economic plans have prompted Chile's center-left government to take a surprisingly hard line against one of its bedrock supporters: organized labor. Struggling to maintain fiscal discipline just as the...

Banespa sale continues despite sagging interest, legal problems.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... SAO PAULO -- Interest in the privatization of state-owned bank Banespa has dropped dramatically. Three major foreign banks, Citibank, FleetBoston, HSBC and Spain's BBVA have withdrawn from the tender. Spanish firm Banco Santander remains in...

Documents detail US activities in Chile.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... WASHINGTON -- The US government has declassified 16,000 pages of documents from the State Department, Justice Department, Pentagon, as well as the CIA and FBI on US activities in Chile. The documents cover a period from 1968 to 1990, marking...

Misguided effort to foil oil exploration.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... BOGOTA -- The U'wa tribe has bought 28 hectare of land in an area being explored by US company Occidental Petroleum in an effort to stop oil industry activity. Oxy recently began drilling the Gibraltar-1 exploration well in the Samore block,...

Liberals pitch domestic debt reforms.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2000... BOGOTA -- The Liberal party has renewed a proposal that the Bank of the Republic extend a credit to the government to refinance internal debt and reduce public payments on these obligations. Supporters say the plan would reduce the cost of...

US government has been heavily involved in Peruvian transition.
November 24, 2000... WASHINGTON -- As Peru's political chaos deepened, the United States has become more directly involved with the troubled South American nation, even as it continues to insist it backs a regional approach for a peaceful transition of power there...

Rancher request for own militias shows lack of faith in government.(Colombia)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... BOGOTA -- A request by the National Federation of Ranchers (Fedegan) to resume a policy of allowing the organization of private militias is a declaration of no confidence in the government's ability to provide security in Colombia. The...

Critics say investment law is too little, too late.(Chile)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... SANTIAGO -- After three years of discussion, Chile's Congress has passed a new law regulating takeovers of publicly traded companies. The changes are designed to protect minority shareholder rights and encourage investment in local equities,...

Castro shakes up summit with death plot charges.(Panama)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... PANAMA -- The annual Ibero-American summit was supposed to be a forum for Latin American leaders to discuss problems in common: this year's theme was on the dangers facing the region's children. But Cuban President Fidel Castro stole the...

High price of Banespa purchase shocks many.(Brazil)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO -- Banco Santander's offer of just over R$7 billion ($3.6 billion) for a 76% stake in state-owned Banespa catapults the company into third place in the country's financial sector, but raises questions about whether the bid was...

Campaign finance scandal involving Cardoso could get worse.(unreported funds used during election campaign of Brazil's President Fernando Henrique Cardoso)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... RIO DE JANEIRO -- A campaign finance scandal has tarnished the image of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and could escalate if missing funds were misused. Secret records from Cardoso's 1998 campaign reveal his reelection was financed in...

Fox keeps pledge of diverse government.(President Vicente Fox of Mexico appoints cabinet officers and members of staff)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... MEXICO CITY -- President-elect Vicente Fox has kept his pledge to name a diverse cabinet that represents a wide swath of Mexico's political spectrum. As foreign minister, Fox appointed Jorge Castaneda, a Latin American scholar who has been...

Provinces approve austerity measures.(decreased provincial government spending in Argentina to win approval for international loans)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... BUENOS AIRES -- All but one of Argentina's provinces have approved President Fernando de la Rua's belt-tightening plans aimed at winning approval of billions of dollars in international loans. De la Rua's proposal to freeze spending levels...

Rebels warned on demilitarized zone.(Colombian President Andres Pastrana stipulates provisions of demilitarized area after rebel group cancels peace talks)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... BOGOTA -- Colombian President Andres Pastrana warned the nation's largest rebel group that a large demilitarized zone that serves as their base in the south of the country "has an expiration date." Pastrana made the comments after the...

Panama seeks Plan Colombia meeting.(Panama President Mireya Moscoso requests summit to discuss international repercussions of military aid to Colombia)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... PANAMA -- The government of President Mireya Moscoso has asked for a January summit to focus on a possible spillover into neighboring countries of Colombia's war against drug trafficking paramilitaries and guerrillas. When it hosted the...

Church leader denounces threats.(alleged threats by Venezuelan government against Bishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo)(Brief Article)
November 24, 2000... CARACAS -- The President of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference Bishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo denounced the government of President Hugo Chavez, saying that he felt physically threatened because of recent rhetorical attacks against him...