News Timeline: Latin America 2014

January 28 – Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan parliament approves changes in the constitution, which scrap the limit for presidential terms. This will allow current president, Daniel Ortega, to run for a third term in 2016. The opposition dismisses the decision as a threat to democracy.

January 28 – Peru/Chile

The United Nations International Court of Justice at The Hague settles a maritime border dispute between Peru and Chile that has lasted since the war of the Pacific in 1883 when Chile took rich lands from Peru. The Court awards Peru about 7,700 square miles and gives control over 10,000 square miles of international waters, but some rich fishing areas remain with Chile. Both sides pledge to abide by the UN ruling.

February 27 – Venezuela

Clashes between hundreds of student protesters and security forces in Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, turn violent and about a dozen of people are killed. The protests began at the beginning of February in the western states of Tachira and Merida with students revolting against rising inflation (about 56 percent), shortages of basic food items, and widespread crime. Venezuela has the fifth highest murder rate in the world. The protests soon spread to the capital and other cities. The protests are the largest in the last decade.

May 5 – Panama

Panama’s Vice President and opposition leader Juan Carlos Varela scores a surprising victory over President Ricardo Martinelli in the country’s presidential elections. Once Martinelli’s ally, Varela became his fierce critic, accusing him of corruption. As the leader of the conservative Panamenista Party, Varela promised to promote free trade. He will oversee a $5.3 billion expansion of the Panama Canal that is scheduled to complete in 2014.

June 16 – El Salvador/Guatemala/Honduras

A surge of unaccompanied children from Central America crossing illegally into the United States creates a humanitarian crisis and political challenges for the Obama Administration. This year alone, the U.S. border patrol detained about 50,000 juveniles. Ninety percent of the children come from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. The surge is caused by poverty, gang and drug violence in their home countries and the belief that the U.S. immigration law has special provisions for children.

June 25 – Bolivia

Bolivia’s government reverses the clock on the façade of the country’s parliament to show time counter-clockwise. The clock’s hands turn left and numbers go also to the left from one to 12. The government says changing the clock fosters creativity; it challenges the people to view things from different perspective.

July 7 – Nicaragua

Nicaragua reveals a route of the planned canal that will link the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans and rival the Panama Canal. The route starts from the mouth of the Brito River on the Pacific side, passes through Lake Nicaragua, and ends in the Punta Gorda River on the Caribbean. The proposed canal will take five years to build and will be173 miles long (the Panama Canal is 48 miles long). It is hoped to create jobs and raise revenue in the future.

September 10 – Venezuela

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), inflation in Venezuela has risen to over 64 percent in 2014. The country suffers from shortages of basic necessities, such as milk, flour, and toilet paper. The country’s president blames it on massive protests that swept throughout the country this year. However, economists point out that the huge government spending and exchange rate controls are to blame.

October 8 – Argentina

Reynaldo Benito Antonio Bignone, a former retired Argentine general and a dictatorial President of Argentina from July 1, 1982 to December 10, 1983, receives a fresh sentence of 23 years in prison (on top of several sentences in previous years) for the kidnapping and torture of more than 30 factory workers and trade union activists during his time in power. It is estimated that about 30,000 people were killed or disappeared during the military rule in Argentina from 1976 to 1983.

October 26 – Brazil

Brazil’s incumbent President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers’ Party (PT) and the country’s first female president wins the runoff presidential election, narrowly defeating her challenger Senator Aécio Neves from the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). President Rousseff is known for her policy of a strong state role in such strategic sectors as banking and the oil and energy industries.

November 20 – Mexico

Thousands of protestors gather in Mexico City for a national rally in memory of the 43 students who disappeared on September 26 after a protest and a confrontation with police in the city of Iguala in the Mexican State of Guerrero in Southwestern Mexico. In October, the authorities found a mass grave with human remains believed to be the students.  Iguala’s mayor and his wife were arrested suspected of being the masterminds behind the kidnappings, as well as dozens of other suspects, half of them police officers. The massacre sparked mass protests against widespread political corruption and violence.  In response, Mexico’s President Pena Nieto announces plans to bring regional government and police under federal control.

December 1 – Mexico

Mexico’s president, Pena Nieto, announces plans to reform police after mass protests over disappearance 43 students in September. The reform would bring regional government and police under federal control. He also wants to close down those regional governments that are considered to be infiltrated by drug cartels.

December 15 – Cuba

The United States President Barack Obama announces the major shift in the U.S. policy towards Cuba after more than 50 years of hostilities following Cuba’s revolution that led to establishing a communist system on the island. Both countries will restore diplomatic relations, as well as the end trade embargo and ban on travel. They will also exchange prisoners that include US contractor Alan Gross and three Cubans held in the US.