Brazil's hot, dry summer may lead to energy rationing

(Reuters) - Brazil faces the possibility of widespread energy rationing for the first time since 2001, as a hot, dry summer has deprived hydroelectric dams of needed water while boosting power use to run air conditioners in sweltering cities.

Even if the country escapes rationing, electricity experts say it may have to boost use of thermo-electric power - a more expensive option which could undermine President Dilma Rousseff's plans to lower energy rates.

Energy Minister Edison Lobao said the extra cost of diesel-fired plants would add less than 1 percent to consumers' electric bills during the months they are in use, ruling out the possibility of new government controls.

Analysis: Brazil's once-envied energy matrix a victim of "hubris"

(Reuters) - Just five years ago, Brazil's mostly "green" energy landscape was the envy of nations dependent on dirtier sources of power and the pride of a government that believed it was leading the country to economic superpower status.

Three-quarters of electricity came from renewable hydro power and the main automobile fuel was home-grown sugarcane ethanol. Plus, Brazil had just found massive oil fields off its coast, putting it on a path to become the world's No. 3 oil producer after Russia and Saudi Arabia by 2020.
Today, the outlook is much darker. Oil output is falling, ethanol production has plunged, and fears have recently returned of electricity rationing that could further depress a stagnant economy and embarrass President Dilma Rousseff.

What went wrong?

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to miss swearing-in

Mr Chavez is said to be stable despite a lung infection

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will not take the oath for a new term in office on Thursday, the government has said.

Mr Chavez is in hospital in Cuba after cancer surgery, and has suffered complications caused by a lung infection.

He has not been seen in public since his operation last month.

Venezuela's opposition has called for the Supreme Court to rule on what should be done if Mr Chavez is absent.

Its leader, Henrique Capriles, says that if Mr Chavez is not sworn in, then according to the constitution the National Assembly speaker should act as caretaker president until new elections are held within 30 days.
 

A healthier menu

As the historic trial of those guilty of a legislative votes-for-cash scheme draws to a close, Brazilians digest the verdict

SO RARELY has political corruption led to punishment in Brazil that there is an expression for the way scandals peter out. They “end in pizza”, with roughly the same convivial implication as settling differences over a drink. But a particularly brazen scandal has just drawn to a surprisingly disagreeable close for some prominent wrongdoers. The supreme-court trial of the mensalão (big monthly stipend), a scheme for buying votes in Brazil’s Congress that came to light in 2005, ended on December 17th. Of the 38 defendants, 25 were found guilty of charges including corruption, money-laundering and misuse of public funds. Many received stiff sentences and large fines.

Who should try the soldiers?

A controversial reform of the military courts

Dec 15th 2012 | BOGOTÁ | from the print edition         

WHEN the Colombian authorities found out that army officers were ramping up the body count in their war against leftist guerrillas by murdering civilians and dressing them up as rebels killed in combat they agreed in 2006 that civilian, rather than military, prosecutors should investigate reported battlefield casualties, to deter these “false positives”, as they were dubbed. This directive was applied unevenly, but the army has since complained that legal uncertainty is hobbling its operations.

According to an investigation by El Tiempo, a newspaper, published in May, more than 12,000 military personnel were then involved in legal proceedings, with 4,990 cases in the attorney-general’s office, of which 1,700 concern alleged “false positives”.

To try to improve military morale and yet ensure that those guilty of murder are punished, President Juan Manuel Santos’s government proposed a constitutional amendment to reform the military-justice system. On December 11th it was approved in the Senate. It makes most offences committed by soldiers subject to courts-martial, but reserves crimes against humanity, extrajudicial executions and the like for civilian courts.

Preparing to pass the torch

Seriously ill, Hugo Chávez names Nicolás Maduro (pictured on the right) as his successor on the eve of an election for state governors

WHEN campaigning for a new six-year term earlier this year, Hugo Chávez tried to persuade Venezuelans that he was cured of unspecified “pelvic” cancer, first diagnosed in June 2011. “I’ve forgotten all about that,” he bragged, just days before the election on October 7th, which he won with 55% of the vote. He then disappeared from view, except for an occasional, carefully staged broadcast.

But on November 27th he left for medical treatment in Havana, returning briefly last weekend with a very different story—one that would seem to presage his imminent retirement from his country’s politics, and perhaps from life itself.

Hugo Chavez allies triumph in Venezuela poll

By News Wires (text)

Allies of cancer-stricken President Hugo Chavez steamrolled Venezuela’s opposition in gubernatorial elections on Sunday, winning 20 of 23 states. The only good news for the opposition was the re-election of its top leader, Henrique Capriles, who lost to Chavez in October’s presidential vote.

The vote came less than a week after Venezuela’s charismatic leftist president was operated on in Cuba for the fourth time for a stubborn cancer that many fear he won’t beat. It was widely seen as a referendum on whether his socialist-inspired Bolivarian Revolution movement has enough momentum to outlive him.

Capriles’ win sets him up as the presumed challenger to go up against Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez’s hand-picked successor in presidential elections that would be held within 30 days of the president’s death or separation from office.

Mexico's new president outlines nuanced fight against violence

By Lizbeth Diaz

MEXICO CITY | Mon Dec 17, 2012 8:16pm EST

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's new president on Monday unveiled his strategy to curb drug-related violence that blighted the rule of his predecessor, announcing special units to combat kidnapping and extortion and promising to focus more on crime prevention.

Enrique Pena Nieto took office on December 1 pledging to restore stability to Mexico, which has been battered by brutal turf wars between drug cartels and their clashes with security forces.

More than 60,000 people died in the bloodletting under former president Felipe Calderon, who became embroiled in an escalating drug war after he sent in the army to bring hot spots to heel upon taking office in late 2006.

Instead of easing, though, the killings rose.

Brazil leader's popularity hits high despite stalled economy

By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA | Fri Dec 14, 2012 4:40pm EST

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's approval rating is at an all-time high, despite a stalled economy and political scandals that have tarnished the reputation of her ruling Workers' Party, an opinion poll published on Friday showed.

Rousseff's personal approval rating rose slightly to 78 percent, from 77 percent three months ago, according to the CNI/Ibope poll. Approval of her left-of-center government was unchanged at 62 percent, the poll showed.

The once-booming Brazilian economy almost ground to halt in Rousseff's first year as president in 2011 and recovery has been disappointing this year, despite a slew of tax breaks and other incentives adopted by Rousseff's economic team.

Third-quarter growth of 0.6 percent was half that expected by economists and surprised even the government, while investment declined for a fifth straight quarter, prompting calls from business leaders for a change in policy.

Chinese pesticide cloud alarms Buenos Aires

A toxic cloud has covered parts of Buenos Aires, causing alarm and leading to the evacuation of

many buildings.

The authorities say the smoke was caused by a fire in a container with pesticides at the city's port, but the situation is now under control.

Hundreds of people experienced nausea, eye irritation and other symptoms.

Buenos Aires Security Minister Sergio Berni said there were no health risks due to the "low toxic levels" of the pesticide, which was produced in China.

The toxic smoke affected Puerto Madero, Congreso, San Telmo and other central areas of the Argentine capital.

Residents and office workers went out with their faces covered by scarves or masks.

They complained of a strong, unpleasant smell, even inside office buildings.

Flights at a nearby airport were temporarily suspended and a motorway was closed during the morning.

The container had come from Shanghai, China, and was bound for Paraguay, La Nacion newspaper reported.

According to the Argentine Health Ministry, it contained a Chinese carbonate-based pesticide commonly used on grain fields.

Brazil: Dozens of Rio policemen held over drug lords' bribes

The authorities in Brazil have arrested 60 policemen accused of receiving regular payments from drug dealers to turn a blind eye to their activities in several shanty towns of Rio de Janeiro.

Eleven suspected drug dealers from Rio's main criminal gang - the Red Command - were also arrested.

The policemen also sold weapons to the gangs, investigators said.

Rio authorities have been trying to reduce crime in the city ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Rio Military Police commander, Erir Ribeiro Costa Filho, said all officers involved would be expelled from the force.

"We can no longer put up with corrupt policemen in our force," he said.

The operation, dubbed Purification, began in the early hours of the day in Duque de Caxias, in the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.

Six moments in the Calderon presidency

By Will Grant BBC News, Mexico City

Felipe Calderon's six years in power have divided Mexican opinion

On the final day before President Felipe Calderon leaves office, Mexicans are looking back at his presidency.

The president's supporters point to a series of positive economic achievements as evidence that his time in office has been a success. The economy is stable, in decent health, even, at the height of a global recession.

Senator Ernesto Cordero of Mr Calderon's PAN party says the government generated $126bn (£78bn) of direct foreign investment in Mexico over the past six years and created some 2.5 million new jobs.

The government is also proud of its record on health, pointing to the creation of hundreds of new hospitals and clinics - the president recently referred to his time in office as "the presidency of health".

However, Mr Calderon's tenure has been marked by drug-related violence that has seen an estimated 60,000 people killed in six years.

The president says he had little choice but to launch the military-led campaign against the drug cartels given the levels of violence he faced when he came to power, and for most of his presidency, polls suggested a majority of Mexicans supported his approach.

One of the president's main supporters, Senator Ernesto Cordero, points out that 25 of the 37 most wanted criminals in the country have been captured or killed during his presidency. And certainly the Zetas gang is much reduced as a force in the face of a series of high-level arrests and killings by the authorities, particularly the marines.

However, other polls suggest that they also thought the cartels were winning the war.

The Calderon administration undoubtedly faced a range of complicated issues when it came to office, not least widespread corruption. But when voters judged it on its handling of such matters, the party performed poorly at the polls in July.

The BBC has compiled six episodes that have marked Mr Calderon's six years in power, the impact of which may still be felt during the presidency of his successor, Enrique Pena Nieto.

Colombia: Farc peace talks in Cuba adjourned for a week

The Colombian government and rebels from the Farc have concluded the first stage of peace talks aimed at ending five decades of conflict.

Top government representative Humberto de la Calle said the talks in Cuba were "advancing as expected".

Farc negotiators said the atmosphere during the meetings was "very good", but stressed that there should be no rush to reach a peace agreement.

The talks are now scheduled to resume on 5 December.

Both sides have agreed to set up a webpage to receive proposals from the public. It will be open from 7 December.

A public forum in Bogota will also be organised on 17-19 December.

These are the first face-to-face negotiations between the Colombian government and the rebels in a decade.

BRASILIA | Sat Nov 24, 2012 2:57pm EST

By Anthony Boadle

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, moving quickly to nip a new scandal in the bud, ordered the dismissal on Saturday of government officials allegedly involved in a bribery ring, including the country's deputy attorney general.

Federal police raided government offices in Brasilia and Sao Paulo on Friday and arrested six people for running an influence peddling ring that sold government approvals to businessmen in return for bribes.