NACLA Update 09/21/2011

Dear NACLA friends,

Join Bolivian president Evo Morales and Venezuelan foreign minister Nicolás Maduro at a prayer service this evening, September 21^st at 8 pm. The guests of honor will pray with a coalition of progressive, religious and peace organizations for the complete recovery of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.

This week, our blogs cover:

Joseph Nevins: Culture of Cruelty?

Fred Rosen: Nonviolence Grows in Mexico

Nazih Richani: Measuring the Poor in Colombia or a Poor Measurement?

EmilyAchtenberg: Bolivia's 9/11: The Pando Massacre and the TIPNIS Conflict

Suzanna Reiss: Biofuel (the New Banana) Republic

And don't forget to read our current issue:

The "Cuba: Salvaging a Revolution ?" issue covers the new economic reforms that were announced by the Cuban leadership to resuscitate an economy that, as noted in Eric Hershberg's Introduction, "is incapable of producing the minimum supply of goods, services, and tax revenue needed to provide for the basic needs of the population." Cuban sociologist Mayra Espina Prieto examines the implications that Cuba's new economy will have for social policy. Anthropologist Katrin Hansing discusses how the legacy of the Special Period in Cuba has not only changed many Cubans' attitudes toward their lives but also opened up new cultural spaces for expression. Marguerite Rose Jiménez describes one leading light of the Cuban economy, its innovative biotechnology sector, focused on producing low-cost medicines. On social issues, historian Alejandro de la Fuente offers an assessment of persistent racial inequality in Cuba, while anthropologist Noelle Stout discusses the rise of gay tolerance on the island. Rounding out the issue, noted international relations scholar William M. LeoGrande reviews U.S.-Cuban relations under the Obama administration as a case of missed opportunities for improvement.

Stay tuned for upcoming interviews, event announcements, and a preview of our Human Rights issue.