Central America is most crime-ridden region in world, U.N. report finds

Central America has become the region with the highest levels of nonpolitical crime worldwide, with a murder rate of 33 per 100,000 inhabitants last year, three times the global average, according to a new report from the United Nations that also says crime threatens the region’s development.

The U.N. said:

Some 79,000 people have been murdered in the region over the past six years, but despite these heightened levels of violence, solving the problem of insecurity is possible within the framework of democracy, according to the U.N. Development Program (UNDP) Report on Human Development in Central America 2009-2010.

The full report is available here in Spanish.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Nicaragua's radio stations struggle to stay on the air, reports Knight Center blog

The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas news blog reports that media owners, journalists, and opposition politicians have warned of President Daniel Ortega’s intentions to silence critics by shutting down radio frequencies.

"Dozens of stations already face economic harassment and lost revenue due largely to centralized state advertising, and the combined impact of the financial crisis, political pressures, and personal attacks threaten Nicaragua's remaining independent broadcasts.

"Six radio stations and several news and opinion programs have gone off the air in several departments in the last two years, mainly for economic reasons. The owner of one station, Radio Mogotón, says government advertising has disappeared, and commercial ads are scarce."

Read more about Nicaragua's media in this report by the Los Angeles Times' Tracy Wilkinson earlier this year.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

French filmmaker who made documentary on gangs is killed in El Salvador

Christian Poveda, a French filmmaker and photographer who recently made a documentary about the Mara gangs in El Salvador, was shot dead Wednesday in Tonacatepeque, a rural region north of the capital, police said. He had been shot in the head, reports the Associated Press.

His documentary, "La Vida Loca," which we covered here on La Plaza, showed the hopelessness of life for the thousands of gang members living in El Salvador.

Poveda was a strong critic of policies used by the governments of El Salvador and the U.S., which he saw as having strengthened the gang networks.He described the members of the violent gangs that he filmed as "victims of society."

He spent 16 months shooting the film in San Salvador, and said during an interview with La Plaza this year,  “I knew right from the start that I couldn't film just one character."

“Firstly, they get bored after a couple of months and don't want to be filmed anymore. Or two, they get put in jail, or they get killed.”

We'll be bringing you more on this story, but meanwhile you can watch Poveda talk about "La Vida Loca" in an interview in April.

** Updated: Read our full report on this story here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Travel Tips for Aztlan

 

"These are a few things that you won't hear on 'Travel Tips for Aztlan,' the Saturday-night show of cutting-edge Latin American and Latino music hosted by Mark Torres and Mariluz Gonzalez on KPFK-FM (90.7): Goofy shtick. Canned repartee. Generic Spanish-language pop of the sort that clogs the commercial airwaves and, after the umpteenth rotation, can make enlightened rock en español fans reach for the mescal bottle," writes Reed Johnson in Calender, reporting from Los Angeles.

" 'Unfortunately, Latin radio is 10 years behind. Stop playing Juanes already,' said Torres, who started 'Travel Tips' 14 years ago and has made it the L.A. region's longest-running Latin alternative-rock program."

--Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: “Travel Tips for Aztlan” hosts Mariluz Gonzalez and Mark Torres. Credit: Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times

Mexico on high alert for Obama; Americas summit awaits

Mexico City is on high alert this morning as it awaits the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama, expected here today in his first official visit to Mexico.

Violence against journalists continues in Latin America

Attacks on the Press 2008: Carl Bernstein on Self-Censorship of the Press from Meredith Megaw on Vimeo.

Here in Mexico, we keep our eye on the frequent press-freedom reports that come out, given the high levels of violence against journalists in the country and the culture of impunity that abounds.

Tuesday's release by the Committee to Protect Journalists, sadly, held no surprises.

Countdown to 2012: End of the Maya calendar?

Fueled by a crop of books, Websites with countdown clocks, and claims about ancient timekeepers, interest is growing in what some see as the dawn of a new era, and others as an expiration date for Earth: Dec. 21, 2012, reports CNN.

The date marks the end of a 5,126-year cycle on the Long Count calendar developed by the Maya, the ancient civilization known for its advanced understanding of astronomy and for the great cities it left behind in Mexico and Central America.

Speculation in some circles about whether the Maya chose this particular time because they thought something ominous would happen has sparked a number of doomsday theories, which in turn have inspired a movie set for release in the fall.

In addition, CNN points out that if you type "2012" into an Internet search engine you'll find survival guides, survival schools, predictions and "official stuff" to wear, including T-shirts with slogans such as "2012 the End" and "Doomsday 2012."

But the hype also has mainstream Maya scholars shaking their heads.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Internet use grows in Latin America

More affordable computers and an expanding broadband network are two of the factors helping to push Internet use in Latin America, according to a survey conducted by Pyramid Research for Google.

The Miami Herald reports that the recent expansion of Internet users in Latin America has been dramatic.

In 2007, for example, Colombia added 5.4 million Internet users, or about 12% of its population of 45 million -- an 80% increase in the number of Colombia's Internet users that year.

Brazil added 7.4 million Internet users in 2007 (17% growth), Mexico more than 2.2 million (an 11% increase) and Venezuela 1.58 million (38% growth).

Read the full report through the link above.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Iran's Latin America push

John Kiriakou, now in the private sector, served as a CIA counter-terrorism official from 1998 to 2004. Today, he writes in Los Angeles Times Opinion about how he thinks Iran is making major diplomatic inroads into Latin America, right under Washington's nose.

It's amazing, really. Iran, after all, is regarded by most of the world as an outlaw country. Sanctions are in place on much of its military-industrial complex, and international loan guarantees are virtually impossible to come by. The Iranian economy is in tatters. Even while $100-plus oil was enriching most producers in the region, Iran's low-tech, outdated industry was barely profiting. In fact, 6% of the country's gasoline is imported.

Nevertheless, over the last year, Iran has worked diligently to expand relations with a host of Latin American countries, most of which have populist leaders who harbor a strong distrust of the United States and are looking for a powerful friend to help them rebuff Washington's influence.

Read the rest of "Iran's Latin America push" here.

— Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Brazil's Lula takes center stage in Latin America

Chris Kraul and Patrick J. Mcdonnell report from São Paulo on the growing popularity of Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

"Buoyed by a robust economy and his ability to work with leaders across the ideological spectrum, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has emerged as the chief power broker and mediator in South America.

"Lula's rise has paralleled the decline of U.S. influence in its 'backyard,' analysts say, a result in part of Washington's plummeting global prestige and the Bush administration's unremitting focus on the Middle East.

"A moderate with an unassailable leftist background, Lula has become the point man for healing regional crises such as the current turmoil in Bolivia and the recent escalation of tensions among Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador."

Click here for more about Brazil.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, second from the right, with Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa at the meeting in which they talked about regional integration in Manaus, Brazil. Credit: Antonio Lacerda / European Pressphoto Agency