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Latin American leaders call on Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro not to take office

By
Tamara Davison
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Thousands of Venezuelans continue to pour out of their country and into neighboring states such as Colombia and Brazil in a bid to escape skyrocketing levels of violence, inflation and poverty.

Dogged by hyperinflation that has seen Venezuela’s currency drop in value by 99.9%, a government refusing to provide citizens with the passports they need to leave,  and an ongoing desperation that has seen an exodus of some 2.3 million people in the past five years, the South American continent is facing a humanitarian crisis in which no country can be devoid of participation.

The mass exodus of Venezuelan Migrants, however, does also not appear to be easing as news of Nicolas Maduro’s election win in May last year means the leftist president is set to be sworn in for another six years of governance on January 20.

On Friday, the Lima Group, made up of 14 governments in the Latin region, made a statement promising not to recognise Maduro’s re-inauguration as legitimate. Only one country, Mexico, opted out of the group condemnation reinforcing the new Mexican president’s increasingly non-interventionist stance.

According to the meeting,  governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia have all backed the decision, which deems last May’s election illegitimate.

The United States does not form part of the Lima Group, created in 2017, however Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also took part in Friday’s meeting through a video call.

The election in question saw 8.6 million Venezuelans cast their votes on 20 May 2018 for their next president. The election also saw Maduro’s two most popular rivals, Henrique Capriles and Leopoldo Lopez, barred from running before the current president secured his second term with an estimated 5.8 million votes. His main opponent secured just 1.8 million votes, amidst criticism of low voter turnout (just 46% of the population voted) and large irregularities.

The illegitimate nature of Maduro’s win has also recently been called out by a Venezuelan Supreme Court Justice who has this year fled to the United States. Judge Christian Zerpa renounced the government, and according to Reuters explained: “I believe (Maduro) does not deserve a second chance because the election he supposedly won was not free and competitive.”

Calling on Maduro not to take office and suggesting that it’s the only way to restore effective democracy within Venezuela, the Lima Group has also threatened to restrict Venezuelan officials from entering their countries. According to the press release, threats have gone as far as planning to freeze funds and ensure financial organisations from the respective countries do not involve themselves with Venezuelan dealings.

Last September, ten members of the Lima Group also released a statement explaining ‘‘they urge the Venezuelan regime to put an end to human rights violations, to free political prisoners, to respect the autonomy of the powers of the State and to assume their responsibility for the serious crisis that Venezuela is experiencing today.’’ The most recent decisions by the group point to a firmer approach in a bid to restore democracy within Venezuela.

Despite amplified criticism from peers around the globe, Maduro is set to be sworn into office this Thursday. In the meantime, Venezuela’s crisis continues in full stead amidst reports that Venezuelan classrooms are nearly empty and polls suggesting that 30% of the remaining population eat just once a day.

As Peru’s glaciers melt, water crisis awaits

By
Valentina Cullmann
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Photo by Valentina Cullmann.

In Peru’s desert, ripe blueberries are blooming in the sand. Its mountain communities, however, are living under a ticking time bomb as the threat of glacial lake flooding looms from uphill. With the climate spinning out of control, the impact of the melting ice is palpable across the country. But what will happen when most of these finite glacial resources have disappeared? 

The predictions of a new report by the UNESCO are deeply alarming. Lower-altitude glaciers of the tropical Andes could lose up to 97% of their volume by the end of the century, concludes the analysis that was just presented at the COP24 in Poland. Yet millions of people in the region depend on melt water for their water supply. Peru, the Latin American country that has the largest number of tropical glaciers on the continent, is particularly affected.

The city of Huaraz lies at the foot of the majestic Cordillera Blanca, Peru’s largest glacier system that extends for 200 km in the central northern region. Tourists from all over the world flock to what travel blogs call an “epicentre for adrenaline fueled activities” for hiking and mountain climbing – or for some tropical residents, for their first ever encounter with snow.  

Yet a cynic observer could remark that the city’s 120.000 inhabitants have to live with far more adrenaline than one would ask for. “One hour and twelve minutes: A massive destruction of the city”. The frightening simulation of a flood catastrophe too quick for a mass evacuation is not part of a dystopian movie plot. It is a research project of the University of Texas, USAID and Peru’s Ministry of Environment to prepare against a potential disaster – like the devastating flood in 1942 that destroyed much of the former city. Unfortunately, thanks to the meltwater of the Cordillera’s iconic glaciers, the water level of the lake is now higher than it was then, and 50,000 people are living in the anticipated path of a potential flood wave.

“I would do almost anything to prevent the catastrophe”, said local resident Saúl Luciano Lliuya, who is one of those living in high-risk zone. But solutions are not easy as adaptation and disaster preparedness measures are very expensive for local standards – while the global problem of mitigating climate change remains everything but solved.

However, the story of Huaraz is not a tale of resignation. In 2015, Saúl Lliuya suddenly rose to international fame by being the “David-against-Goliath” figure in a historic lawsuit: “Lliuya v. RWE AG”, a poor farmer and mountain guide from Peru against a polluting energy giant from Germany; and the attempt to produce a precedent case of global climate change regulation pushed forward by the German advocacy organization Germanwatch who initiated and financed the legal proceeding. The case was lost in the first instance, but has been appealed and is still being evaluated at the higher regional court of Hamm in Germany.  The small city of Huaraz has suddenly become an epicentre of the conflicts surrounding the global climate change regime.

Two photos taken 15 years apart at Quelccaya ice cap illustrate the glacier retreat in Peru. Image Courtesy: Doug Hardy for The Conversation.

There are more reasons why the dramatic white-capped peaks of the Andean Cordilleras matter so much. Mountains can be thought of as the world’s “water towers”, say climate scientists.  In Huaraz, glacial meltwater represents about 67% of total water supply, says the UNESCO report – and during drought years, it can increase to around 90%. And even locations far away from the mountain ranges are affected: Thanks to system of rivers and irrigation canals, fields of aspargus, blueberries or other high-value export crops can be found across Peru’s long stretch of dry, coastal desert. Paradoxically, a looming crisis is precedented by an economic “bonanza” stemming from abundant water to irrigate more than 100,000 acres of new agricultural land. However, the boom will soon be over: Meltwater is declining.

“In years to come, we will be fighting over water”, said a local resident of Huancaquito Alto, one of the towns that mushroomed with the new agricultural possibilities, when speaking to a reporter from the New York Times. The report of the UNESCO contains a similar warning, although phrased slightly more technical: “‘Peak water’ has been reached for many glaciers in the Andes, meaning that meltwater runoff will continue to decrease in the future”. This does not mean that climate change is somehow reversing, on the contrary: A temporary peak in water runoff is a phenomena of continuous retreat of the ice. In addition, many of the smaller glaciers have already melted away. Glacial ice is a precious but finite resource.

The Andean mountain range is undergoing huge climatic changes, and its white mountain ranges are melting from Colombia down to Argentina and Chile. In Venezuela, the last glacier is predicted to disappear by 2021, warns the UNESCO. Protecting this unique ecosystem is not just a matter of nature conservation. Through its impact on water security for millions of people, it will in fact be a matter of survival.

UN ‘highly concerned’ over number of ex-FARC member deaths since peace deal

By
Tamara Davison
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Photo by Arjun Harindranath

At least 85 members of Colombia’s FARC rebel group have been killed in the last two years according to the UN, raising concerns over the country’s current peace deal with the left-wing group.

Initially launched in a bid to fight the country’s inequality between rural and farming communities, subsequent conflict led to 50 years of bloody violence that saw 260,000 people killed and some seven million Colombians displaced. However, it was back in 2016 that the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) agreed to halt the conflict.

The outcome of the peace deal saw the militant group lower their arms and step into the political sphere as a legitimate political party. The agreement allowed FARC to hold ten congressional seats for the next eight years in government, however it has continued to be a heavily criticised agreement particularly by the country’s new president Ivan Duque.

Since taking the presidency, right-leaning President Duque has expressed hopes to hold former FARC rebels accountable for their crimes – as well as criticising that the guerillas haven’t fully disbanded – raising a question mark  over the future of the peace deal.

Despite being promised amnesty as well as efforts to reintegrate back into Colombian society, members claim there are little protections against violence.

The BBC recently detailed the report produced by UN chief Antonio Guterres, who pointed out as many as 14 ex-members had been killed between September and the end of 2018.

According to recent findings by the United Nations, organised crime groups are believed to be mainly responsible for the recent FARC killings, calling upon the government to enforce better protections for the now peaceful rebels.

Fingers have been pointed at the Gulf Clan narcotrafficking group, one of a number of cartels that have since been able to move into former FARC operated areas. Forming part of a number of splinter cartels that emerged following the country’s war on drugs, Colombian authorities struggle to entice rural farmers away from harvesting the lucrative coca plant.

Despite the peace deal, a number of rural areas have since seen other militants and drug traffickers take over the areas due to the absence of state control. As a result, although violence has been considerably reduced throughout Colombia, attacks against activists and human rights campaigners is not uncommon.

The result of ongoing killings against former FARC rebels has left the UN minister ‘highly concerned.’ In the last year, journalists within Colombia have also reported increased threats of violence and expressed fears of a ‘dangerous new atmosphere,’ according to The Guardian.

The United Nations have noted that reintegration remains considerably complex, as the country remains in a delicate balance of maintaining peace.

Electric Vehicles Increase In Popularity Across Latin America

By
Tamara Davison
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In 2010, as many as 64,000 people died in Latin America as a result of exposure to a fine particle matter known as PM 2.5. The air pollutant, which contributes to hazy city-skylines, is a direct result of solid and liquid fuel combustion in activities such as  vehicle use.

Nine years later, cities in Latin America have begun to eye up methods to reduce soaring air pollution levels, in a bid to both adhere to global warming concerns and improve the staggering health implications connected to inner city living and exhaust inhalation. A visit to any of Latin America’s capital cities will suggest that there is still some way to go in the effort to clear up city roads, with Lima in Peru and La Paz in Bolivia registering some of the worst levels of air pollution across the continent.

At the end of 2017, experts at Bloomberg’s New Energy Finance conference predicted that some 530 million electric vehicles could take to the roads by 2040, marking a worldwide shift towards greener energy usage. Although numbers of Electric Vehicles (EV) have grown globally, countries across Latin America also appear to be capitalising on a relatively young clean transport industry.

With over five million vehicles being registered across Latin America just last year, and a predicted steady growth in the industry in years to come, the presence that EVs will have across the continent is certainly anticipated to rise. The benefits range from reduced fuel costs to quieter engines and an all round shake-up of the traditionally hectic image of Latin American driving.

Chile has recently become the pioneer of EVs with recent announcements promising  tenfold growth in electric vehicles on its roads over the next three years. Chile’s energy minister, Susana Jimenez recently told Reuters of plans to see 100% of the country’s public transport network switch to electric vehicles by 2050. According to the report, the Latin American country will come just second to China with the most electric buses in the world. The country, however, is just one of a number of Latin American countries that are beginning to address the need for cleaner, less polluted cities. 

The challenges that LatAm’s EV industry faces call on governments to provide infrastructure that can support the growth of electric vehicles. Charging stations, for the time being, are not a common feature of Latin American cities. This, combined with education around the environmental impacts of greener energy has the potential to lift the clouds of PM 2.5 particles that exist across the continent. Like with any transport movement, there is of course still some way to go.

For now, governments appear to be demonstrating the capability and drive to introduce public transport links that offer electric vehicles. The Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA) is just one example of a cross-country initiative, that will support Medellín, São Paulo and Mexico City in their quests to introduce electric bus fleets.

However, It might be through the examples of large economies such as that of Chile that the rest of Latin America could follow suit, especially as battery prices continue to fall and the appeal of green energy alternatives continues to increase.

 

86-Year-Old Tackles One Of The Seven Summits

By
Frances Jenner
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Located in the southern Andes mountain range, Aconcagua is South America’s highest peak and one of the Seven Summits that form the highest mountains in each of the seven continents around the globe. Joining alongside Mount Everest, Denali, Mont Blanc, Elbrus, Kilimanjaro, Vinson and Puncak Jaya, it forms part of a famous bucket list for climbers around the globe.

One of them is Japanese mountaineer Yuichiro Miura, who left Japan on January 2 to travel to Argentina, where he hopes to climb South America’s highest mountain at the age of 86.

Aconcagua, is situated in Mendoza province, and is not unknown to Miura, having also climbed the peak 33 years ago, reported Japan Times. However, this time he hopes to descend from the summit on skis, to a camp 2000 metres below, in a trademark move that catapulted him to international fame in 1970 when he skied down Mount Everest.

Miura also reached the peak of Everest in 2003 and 2008, when he was 70 and 75 years old respectively, and also managed to become the oldest person to scale the mountain in 2013, aged 80 despite a bad skiing accident and multiple heart surgeries.

Clarin reported that he is expected to reach Aconcagua base camp on January 10, where he will begin preparations for the climb, and he hopes to summit on January 21. He will be accompanied by a team of six mountaineering experts, including a doctor and his son, Gota Miura, 59, with whom he has carried out multiple father-and-son climbing expeditions.

“This is a mountain where I can make my dreams reality,” he said in a press conference before he left Japan, adding that Aconcagua was a “marvellous” mountain. From the summit of the mountain it is possible to see both the Pacific ocean and the Chilean capital of Santiago.

Miura has climbed, and subsequently skied down, six of the Seven Summits (the highest mountains of each continent), and Aconcagua will the the final tick on his list.

“I’ll hang on to the last, and it would be perfect if I could reach the summit,” he said at the press conference.

However, he conceded that it was a risky venture and assured that he would be ready to give up on the summit bid if it looked too dangerous.

Argentina’s Unusual Northern Landscapes Invite The Most Adventurous Travellers

By
Tamara Davison
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Framed from the west by Chile’s Atacama Desert and above by Bolivia’s vast Uyuni salt flats, Argentina’s north-western province, Jujuy, is a dry and remote area of Argentina that seldom receives much tourism.
Despite this, it is home to an unusual mix of cultures, languages and spiritual traditions as well as cacti, vast sandy mountain ranges and rainbow-coloured cliffs that even give Peru’s Rainbow Mountain a run for its money. It is this fascinating mix of alien-like land formations, barren sunburnt stretches of land and lack of tourists that entices the most adventurous travellers to delve further into the magic Northern Argentina that has to offer.

The majority of visitors will begin their adventures from Salta. This large provincial capital sits 1,1500m above sea level and offers the elegant image so often associated with Argentina’s beautiful cities. From here however the landscapes begin to drastically change as you begin to ascend the mountains into the neighbouring Jujuy province. A two-hour journey north from Salta will deliver you to San Salvador De Jujuy, the only medium-sized town that sits between here and the Bolivian border that can be found almost 2000m higher at the end of the meandering road.

From the town, the surrounding forest-lined mountains offer an array of hikes before embarking on a remote road with phenomenal yet stomach wrenching cliff-side views that take you into the depths of the Quebrada de Humahuaca. Channelling the Rio Grande, this area’s name refers to the large, sandy valley that guides the road directly up towards Bolivia. Its history stretches back even before the Incas, who prospered through economic and social mobility by using the route as a popular trading route. Aside from a few obscure farm plots, the air begins to thin as you climb through nothing but golden cliff sides and before you know it the landscape transforms into a setting more apt for a Wild West film than the European culture that is commonly associated with the rest of Argentina. Here, Cardon Grande Cactus eerily crop up across the mountain ridges and watch over Wanderers and the air is still and silent.

This landscape continues all the way to the edge of the country however more spectacular views await in the three desert villages that can be found along the way. At one point, the cliffs separate and offer a road which turns off to the left and leads you to the village of Purmamarca, which in the native Aymara dialect translates as ‘Desert City’. The sandy alleys ways here are lined with indigenous street vendors selling Aguayo (traditional woven goods) and if you’re lucky you might even spot your first llama, signalling a stark shift into Andean culture. Overlooking the town sits the Cerros De Los Siete Colores, where strips of seven different coloured rock forms a phenomenal rainbow mountain that basques in the warm Argentine sunshine. In this remote desert, you are able to trek into the sandy cliffs and capture even more unusual landscapes and walk through sand that displays an other-wordly green hue. It is possible, from this location, to also drive to the Salinas Grandes, Argentina’s salt flats that sit over 3500m above sea level and offer pristine turquoise waters.

Instead, should you choose to head closer to Bolivia you will eventually reach Tilcara and Humahuaca before the final stretch to the border, which is possible to cross by foot if you can handle the phenomenal shift in altitude. It is at the latter town, where once again you can face spectacular ridges which, this time has been named ‘Cerros de los 14 Colores,’ after it’s even more diverse colourful cliffs.

Aside from the remote and barren fascination that can draw the traveller to this relatively unknown setting, Jujuy also boasts interesting connections to the indigenous beliefs of the area. It is here that locals pay tribute to Pachamama (which translates as World Mother in Quechua and Aymara) once a year, and it is also common to see locals pour some of their drinks onto the ground as they hope to share their beers with mother nature herself.

The spirituality here was the most powerful I had felt it throughout the length of Argentina. The music, customs and traditional dress take a prevalence here, yet with it, the area has begun to attract the allure of travellers, hitchhikers and Argentines alike.

It is here in this remote, secretive part of the little-known deserts that you have the opportunity to experience a side of Argentina that is more in touch with the spiritual depths of South America’s ancestors, the addition is that you can also experience all of this with the good Malbec and food that the country is renowned for.

Robots Could Be Used To Increase Solar Panel Efficiency, Thanks To Chilean Startup

By
Frances Jenner
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The Seedstars LATAM summit, which took place in Lima, Peru in December has been celebrated as brining together some of the continent’s leading tech pioneers. Among them, specialists from Chile, Ecuador, Argentina, Bolivia as well as several startup pioneers from central Europe.

Chilean startup Osoji Solar was one of the organisations that travelled to Lima at the beginning of December as a member of the Seedstars LATAM Summit.

Osoji Solar is a robotics startup that has created a fleet of robots which clean the dust off solar panels. The company likens their little mechanical creations to a colony of ants, as they seamlessly work together to guarantee solar-panel efficiency despite adverse conditions and dust storms.

Dust accumulation is a constant problem for photovoltaic panels, as most of the ideal environments with high solar radiation – both in Chile and across the world – are accompanied by an extremely dusty environment. When the dust settles on the panels it can reduce efficiency by 50%, complicating Chile’s plans to have over 60% of its energy deriving from renewable sources by 2025.

With Osoji Solar’s creations, however, this transition could even be sped up. The little mechanical helpers also clean without using up valuable resources such as water and have been designed to function without the intervention of expensive labour to oversee it.

German Bravo, one of the founders of the project, explained that Chile’s Atacama desert, which gets huge amounts of solar energy, is also one of the most hostile environments on earth. Why should humans work there, in the blistering heat and drought-ridden land, when robots can do it more efficiently?

Although they didn’t win the Seedstars Chile competition – that title went to QuePlan, a health-cover startup – the judges were so impressed with their idea that they invited them to the Latam Summit in Lima. The summit was organised to find ways in which the South American region can help reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN, many of which focus on combating issues such as climate change and the overuse of fossil fuels and other pollutants.

“During the last six months, we have made Latin America our home,” Juliane Butty, Regional Director of Seedstars LATAM told InfoWeek. “We started an interesting trip throughout 12 startup ecosystems in the region, not only searching for the best technological startups, but also working directly with them and with other creators who are passionate about this ecosystem.”

Chile is a pioneer in the world when it comes to solar energy. The northern part of the country has huge radiation potential, and in recent years the government have created policies that have resulted in the construction of 13.3GW’s worth of solar projects, enough to power over 6.5 million homes.

After increased exposure at the high-profile Seedstars LATAM event that took place from December 4-6, Osoji Solar hopes to have made important connections that will allow them to upscale their product, making solar energy more efficient for Chile and the globe.

Argentina’s River Plate top Boca Juniors in Copa Libertadores final

By
Michael Krumholtz
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The long-awaited second leg of the Copa Libertadores made us keep waiting for the victor to be decided. After several weeks of postponement, Sunday’s final from Madrid went to extra time where River Plate upended bitter rival Boca Juniors in South America’s most important tournament.

After the Superclásico was moved to Europe after fan violence in Buenos Aires caused the extended wait, the drama continued to a deciding game where both teams were back at square one following the 2-2 tie in the first leg.

Boca struck first when Nahitan Nández put a beautiful long-distance pass on a thread to Darío Benedetto. The dangerous forward was able to elude a defender and River Plate goalie Franco Armaní had no chance in the one-on-one in which Benedetto was true.

River came close to equalizing on a number of occasions in the second half. After knocking on the door for 20 minutes, they equalized in the 68th minute with Lucas Pratto, who struck home an open attempt after a great back-and-forth Ignacio Fernández and Exequiel Palacios.

In the second minute of the extra period, Wilmar Barrios drew his second yellow card and left Boca with 10 men.

With one Colombian down, it was a Colombian on the other side of the field who ultimately made the difference. Second-half substitute Juan Fernando Quintero took a pass at the top right corner of the box and stuck a dagger into Boca’s title dreams with a golazo.

Boca nearly responded when Leonardo Jara hit the post on a near goal in the waning minutes. When Boca brought its keeper out of goal, River put the cherry on top when Quintero assisted a wide open Gonzalo Martínez.

This is the fourth Copa Libertadores title in River Plate’s history and its first since 2015.

Costa Rica wins against Chile in Rancagua

By
Michael Krumholtz
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Despite looking like it could mount a three-goal comeback, the Chilean national team suffered a surprising loss Friday night in Rancagua to an upstart Costa Rican side 3-2.

Two late goals had Chile looking like it could tie, but a missed penalty kick from star Alexís Sánchez in the 82nd minute doomed La Roja’s fates.

Though Chile dominated in terms of possession and passing, Costa Rica looked like the better side from the start. In the 29th minute, a brilliant spell of passing in the midfield led to a golden opportunity for the Central American side as Allan Cruz had the defender beat, but he sailed the ball high above goal.

Los Ticos drew first blood in the 36th minute when central back Kendall Waston found space in the box off a corner kick to send a decisive header into goal. The tall and burly defender gave Chile fits all night off set pieces. Later, in the 59th minute, it was again Waston who fortuitously found another corner kick right in front of his feet and booted it home with his right leg.

Costa Rica would then put a third unanswered goal on a shocked Chile side minutes later when left-winger Ronald Matarrita received a perfect lob in front of a pair of Chilean defenders. The young defender didn’t miss his chance as he put it right over goalie Johnny Herrera.

Chile mounted its response in the 70th minute when Sebastián Vegas was true on La Roja’s first point of the night.

In the 82nd minute though, Sánchez had a great chance to get a result for the Chileans with his penalty kick try. The team’s all-time leading goalscorer put it to the right of center and Tico keeper Esteban Alvarado guessed correctly, saving the ball with his feet.

Sánchez would later score after battling defenders to a ball in the box and sending home a gorgeous goal to make it 3-2 in the 90th minute. It was too little, too late for Chile, however, as its first home game since World Cup Qualifiers turned into a disappointment.

La Roja will get another shot at getting a win for its home crowd when it faces Honduras in Temuco on Tuesday.

Chile announces it will join China’s Global Belt and Road Initiative

By
Bryan M.
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Chile’s Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero announced on Thursday that his country will join China’s Belt and Road initative. He will sign a memorandum confirming the move Friday. Ampuero hopes the plan will make Chile a more attractive destination for Chinese investors and provide an advantage over other countries in the region. China is Chile’s top destination for foreign trade, and the government has already signed a customs deal to increase access to each other’s markets.

The project is part of a global effort by China to establish a global “belt” of overland corridors through Africa, Europe, and Asia as well as maritime “roads” or shipping lanes that will connect the economic powerhouse to trading partners the world over. It has been called the Chinese Marshall Plan, and is part of President Xi Jinping’s effort to connect China with its trading partners via a “21st century Silk Road.” The project already includes over half the world’s population and 70 countries. So far, more than $210 billion has been invested, but it is estimated the initiative will cost over $1 trillion.

The effort consists mostly of infrastructure projects that will connect China to current and potential trading partners. The loans appear generous and many have been made to the poorest countries in the world. However, those with questionable creditworthiness will face the prospect of major infrastructure owned by foreign investors if they are unable to pay. Already, the struggling Sri Lankan government has leased a port to the Chinese for 99 years. Additionally, the projects use almost exclusively Chinese labour, with the country flying in its own citizens to build projects in areas of the globe with large unemployed populations.

The move comes after President Trump pulled the US out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which would have united 12 countries and roughly 40% of global GDP. The TPP was planned to provide a trading block to counter Chinese influence on the global trade regime. By implementing a deeper agreement addressing labour, environmental, and intellectual property standards, the Obama Administration hoped to counter the Chinese influence over the global trade embodied by the Belt and Road Initiative. But during the 2016 election, public opinion in the US turned against trade. Both competitive democratic primary candidates came out against the proposal, including Hillary Clinton, who had helped develop the deal. Candidate Donald Trump railed against the agreement as unfair from the start.

Some analysts have labelled this “debt-trap diplomacy,” a tactic of using the indebtedness of poorer nations to extract political or territorial concessions. China forgave an unknown amount of Tajikistani debt in exchange for access to 1,158 square kilometers of Tajikistani territory. The effects of this policy on the balance of power are yet to be seen, but represent an increasingly assertive foreign policy by President Xi, who has been successfully consolidating power in his country since his ascension in 2012.

Scientists discover that chocoholics existed over 5,400 years ago

By
Tamara Davison
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For visitors to South America, the quest for cacao is one that somewhat dominates the tourist trail and takes precedence in regions associated with the Amazon such as Peru, Colombia and Brazil. Along the street vendors of Cusco and into the mountainous regions of Ecuador, cacao cultivation is etched in tradition as well as, quite naturally, an ongoing demand for quality goods.

Cacao is especially tied to the majority of Central and South America due to the areas rich climate, known as the cacao belt, which is full of the Theobroma cacao trees where the beans can be found.

Especially throughout the region, it has also been believed until now that cacao was identified as the ‘food of the gods’ in Mayan and Aztec culture. According to Vox, until this point, it had been believed that the tasty natural goods had, in fact, started growing in the Central American region some 3,900 years ago.

This week, a team of researchers and archaeologists made a ground-breaking discovery in the realms of the sweet-tooth which has certainly placed cacao in a new age of tradition. According to a new study, the origin of the chocolate goods have actually been traced to origins to the millennium prior to the assumed date and also placed in a different continent altogether.

According to Natural Ecology and Evolution, a specialist scientist publication, cacao beans have been located in the upper Amazon of South America, namely Ecuador and is nearly 5,400 years old – 1,500 years older than expected. This means that chocolate is by far one of the oldest goods which were both cultivated by the world’s ancient cultures as well as maintaining a similar process within the modern day. Vox also continues, that such a discovery contributes volumes to the ongoing understanding of ancient cultures around the globe.

According to the study, some 22 species of cacao trees exist and yet just one is used for chocolate production as we know it today. Considered a ‘domesticated’ plant, it has become part of regular life for both Mayan and Aztec cultures as well as being used in the Mexican food Mole, chocolate drinks and even for rituals.

What does such a finding mean to modern day chocolate lovers around the world? Well, steeped in culture and tradition that links it to ancient gods and rituals, perhaps it justifies the term ‘chocoholic’ just that little more.

Andean startups selected as finalists for Aruba’s ATECH* conference

By
Sophie Foggin
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Atech Aruba Tech Conference Startups

The world’s top tech startups have been competing to participate in the upcoming annual ATECH* conference, taking place this Wednesday, October 25, on the Caribbean island of Aruba, located just off the coast of Venezuela.

Among the chosen eight finalists, representing the Andean region is Colombian startup Reedemy, pioneering the idea of using credit card points to fund social projects in Colombia.

Having built a reputation since its 2015 inauguration, the ATECH* conference will gather some of the world’s most talented speakers, investors, startups, and professionals, inviting them to partake in discussions revolving around this year’s very timely theme of identity.

With panels and discussions around fintech, innovation, building online identity, cybersecurity and more, the conference promises to expand on some of the most prominent themes within the LatAm startup ecosystem.

Against the backdrop of the island’s emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem and an Aruban government busy with tech-oriented initiatives, the conference will discuss the future of tech, investing in startups, personal growth, and digital marketing. With esteemed presenters and a startup pitch competition offering a grand prize of $10,000 USD, the events will showcase the latest and greatest trends in the industry.

“Building momentum year after year, we’ve brought together world-class founders, visionary investors and change-makers from all over the world. Having them visit Aruba – a tropical paradise that’s living up to its nickname “Silicon Beach” – it makes for a magical event,” said Aruba’s Chief Innovation Officer Varelie Cross.

The ATECH* Conference was born through the efforts of the ATECH Foundation’s founding members. These include Varelie Croes, Aruba’s Chief Innovation Officer, and Tristan Every, cofounder of Co.lab, a coworking space for local startups, entrepreneurs, and creatives. ATECH is a member of the global tech community F6S and collaborates with Rockstart, Start-Up Chile, and Citi Tech 4 Integrity. Its founders have also, from the beginning, prioritized involving the local community in the innovation of Aruba’s nascent tech scene.

The conference has helped fuel, and been fueled by, a tech ecosystem that receives substantial support from the Aruban government. Among the many public-private projects in the works are new incubators and accelerators, an entrepreneurship institute, a strategic ventures fund, and the Aruba Reimagined Area (AREA) – an initiative creating smart districts in the two main cities of Oranjestad and San Nicolas.

“By bringing in fresh ideas, and offering a venue to introduce the island’s innovative ideas to the world, ATECH* continues to help Aruba’s promising tech scene grow,” said ATECH President Tristan Every. “And it now serves as the go-to resource for the island’s entrepreneurs – offering everyone invited a chance to reset, connect, and play.”

 

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