The first legal abortion planned to happen Tuesday was suspended after an injunction was filed by the Catholic group Pro Vida against the operation.

Incumbent president Hugo Chávez won by 54.42% of the vote, against opposition leader Henrique Capriles’ 44.97%. Chávez will take office for a third six-year term in January.

Venezuelans hit the polls today to decide if incumbent Hugo Chávez will govern the country for a third term. We hit the streets to see what Argentines think about their regional neighbour’s elections.

Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri yesterday vetoed the ‘non-punishable’ abortion law passed on the 28th September which would have served to legalise abortion in cases of rape or life endangerment of the mother. This news comes just days after the announcement that the first legalised abortion would take place next Tuesday for a woman who had […]

As Venezuelans get ready to elect their president for the next six years, David Hutt analyses the possible impact of the election results in the ALBA countries of Central America.

It’s Friday again!

And I’m away for the weekend but as rumors of a possible coup continue to spread like gasoline, here I am writing this for you in order to bring you peace of mind.

God, I hate you.

Like us on Facebook and forgive any possible typos. I wrote this while riding a tour bus.

This is what you need to know:

• 

  This frigate, ironically named "Libertad," has been impounded by the Ghanaian government. I know, right? I honestly thought it was "Ghanan," but no, it’s totally "Ghanaian." (Photo/Wikipedia)

  It’s a coup! It’s not a coup! It’s a coup, maybe! In case you haven’t been paying attention to the most important news of the week (shame on you), two branches of the armed forces are up in arms against the National Government and trust me, it ain’t pretty. The whole thing started on Tuesday when members of the Coast Guard (in Spanish, Prefectura Naval) decided to start protesting against the recent signing of a presidential decree that pretty much cut their salaries in half. The sight of men in military uniform standing up against the President is obviously not a pretty one, specially since it brings back memories from a past no one here wants to revisit (for all you low-information readers, I’m talking about this), but as usual, both sides of the political spectrum have been using the conflict to try and score a few political points:

• Pro-Government factions: “It’s a coup! Oh, my God, the armed forces are rising against our hard-earned democracy and are trying to topple our dear leaders!”

• Anti-Government factions: “It’s a legitimate protest by hard workers who are being exploited by the National Government.”

• The truth? Their protest is legitimate, their methodology is not. The leader of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo organization, known for her brave work during and after the last military dictatorship, offered a press conference to “bring peace of mind” to the population. Mayor Mauricio Macri did the same and urged the protesters to go home to their families, although he said “he understood their reasons to be angry since they have been mistreated by the National Government for the last ten years” (or “vote for me next time,” wink wink). The uniformed protesters have stated repeatedly that they are 100% behind democracy and that this is not a coup, they just want to be paid accordingly. But considering that several recent pseudo-coups in Latin America (this and this) began in a similar way it wouldn’t hurt to be cautious. As of today, and even though the Government has offered a solution to their demands, the protesters have said their fight would continue during the weekend until they get what they want in writing and signed.

• Sorry for the depressing, unfunny, reductionist viewpoint I just offered. I wanted you to understand. I promise the next bullet points are as stupid as usual.

• In the meantime, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was in Lima, Perú, attending the South American – Arab summit, expressing her support for the recognition of a Palestinian state and addressing the Malvinas/Falklands issue. However, the most relevant piece of information to come out of that summit was that Cristina didn’t know that alfajores were in fact an Arabic delicacy. No, I’m serious. You think I cover shitty news? Think again, the mainstream media does the same: check it here, here, here, here and here.

• Also, the president of Lebanon visited Argentina this week but no one cared.

• Youth in revolt! High-school students continue their crusade against the City Government and its plans for a syllabus reform that would reduce hours of art and lab classes in order to focus on more core subjects such as math and Spanish language. In the last three weeks, students have taken over more than 40 schools and marched to the City Education ministry in protest and now a judge has ordered Education Minister Esteban Bullrich to meet with them so they can solve the conflict. In the meantime, it’s like spring break out there. If you walk by a school that’s been taken over, join them for a mate and stay for the protests. It could get fun.

• [UPDATE] Bullrich has said he will suspend the syllabus reform if students agree to end the takeovers. Which is a bummer because you could have had fun with them.

In the midst of their fourth day of protest, the National Gendarmerie was called to the Autopista Riccheri to prevent activists from the State Worker’s Association (ATE) from completely blocking traffic headed to Ezeiza International Airport. Gendarmes ensured that protesters from the Ezeiza-Esteban Echeverría-San Vicente branch of the ATE left at least one lane open […]

An independent Truth Commission has found that the current Honduran government is violating human rights.

The Truth Commission, an organisation approved and supported by 22 national and international NGOs, released a 306-page document entitled “The most relevant voices are those of the victims”.

At a dinner given for the Consenso Republicano, Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri announced that the city’s first legal abortion will take place this coming Tuesday, 9th October. The law, which was passed on 28th September with 30 votes in favour and 29 against, allows women over the age of 14 to have an abortion […]

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos showed himself at his hospital window on Thursday announcing to the media that his operation “went very well”. Santos, 61, underwent an operation on Wednesday after he made public that he was suffering from prostate cancer in a surprise announcement on Monday.