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Brazilian parties discuss
local election coalitions
Belo Horizonte, 7 May 2008: Ahead of this autumn's Brazilian municipal races, tough negotiations lie ahead between the parties to determine their candidates ahead of the 2010 presidential elections which rely on similar horse-trading. The races of São Paulo and Belo Horizonte are likely to prove decisive in determining which parties align behind the frontrunners to succeed President Lula in 2010, while in Rio de Janeiro the two putative successors have clashed over same sex marriage and abortion.

Rio de Janeiro's mayor Cesar Maia is term limited and will stand down in November at the end of his third term. The two frontrunners to succeed the right-wing Democrat mayor are Green Party congressman Fernando Gabreia and former state gubernatorial candidate Senator Marcello Crivela of the clericalist Brazilian Republicans. Though both candidates' campaigns are yet to get off the ground, the two have clashed on a range of moral issues, including same sex marriage, abortion and legalising marijuana. The Rio race is not likely to feature strong campaigns by the otherwise dominant Workers' Party (PT) or Social Democrats (PSDB).

Former São Paulo mayor Marta Suplicy, defeated by Jose Serra in 2004, is most likely to contest the mayoralty on behalf of President Lula's PT. Her principal opponent would ordinarily be former state governor and 2006 presidential candidate Geraldo Alckmin of the PSDB but the race appears to be shaping up as a fight between the PSDB and incumbent Democrat mayor Gilberto Kassab, who was appointed following José Serra's elevation to the state governorship. The electoral coalition building process, on which victory depends in a highly fragmented party system, is complicated by likely alliances for the 2010 presidential elections.

In Belo Horizonte the spats between the PSDB and the Democrats at national level is also played out locally with a likely coalition emerging between PT mayor Fernando Pimentel and the PSDB, in exchange for the PT's support nationally for the presidential candidacy of Aécio Neves in 2010. While the PT nationally are content to back the PSDB, not least as no viable successor to Lula has emerged within its ranks and it claims to have no say in the municipal races this autumn, the São Paulo state party are angered by the deals made in its name that may resonate locally. (Reporting by Guy Burton in Brazil)

Brazilian police
arrest 16 mayors
Belo Horizonte, 11 April 2008: Brazilian police arrested more than 50 people and charged them with embezzling money from a government fund. Among those charged were 16 mayors, nine lawyers and a federal judge. Of the 16 mayors, 14 were from the state of Minas Gerais and two from Bahia. The arrests also included four municipal attorneys, four employees of the judiciary, the manager of a government bank and a lobbyist. According to investigations, which started eight months ago, the arrested embezzled at least 200 million reais (119 million US dollars) from the municipalities' share in the revenues from the income tax and the tax on industry products, both levied by the federal government.

Mexican mayor on drug
charges in New York City
New York City, 4 April 2008: Rubén Gil, newly elected mayor of the Mexican town of Izucar de Matamoros, Puebla appeared in a federal court in New York City after being arrested In Los Angeles. He is accused of being in charge of the supply of cocaine to dealers in New York City from 2005 to at least 2007. In November of last year Gil was elected mayor. He is also president of a haulage company with depots in Los Angeles and New York.

According to the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Gil, together with a co-defendant, participated in a far-reaching narcotics trafficking conspiracy, in which he arranged for the transportation and delivery of cocaine to co-conspirators in the New York metropolitan area. In November 2007, GIL arranged for the delivery of approximately 11 kilograms of cocaine to the New York metropolitan area. This followed a 22-kilogram cocaine delivery to the New York metropolitan area in June 2006.

Rubén Gil, also known as "Gavilan" or "Padrino," made his first court appearance on 3 April in New York City. If convicted, the mayor faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Meanwhile, the council of Izucar de Matamoros has appointed Rubén Gil's brother-in-law as interim mayor.

Trinidad opposition alliance
calls for July local elections
Port-of-Spain, 28 March 2008: Trinidad and Tobago’s opposition UNC Alliance has spoken out against any move to postpone the local government election scheduled for mid-July. Party leader Basdeo Panday said the government had a habit of ‘re-scheduling’ elections in which it feared to perform poorly. “We learned that government is contemplating the postponement, but we will oppose all and every measure if government brings such a motion to Parliament." Local government elections were last held in 2003. It has been postponed on three occasions since. The ministry for local government was not available for comment.

Panday also confirmed to reporters that the Alliance would be contesting the election along the same lines as it did in last year's general election. “That meant, it was pointed out that each unit of the Alliance would be submitting candidates for selection by the party. The Alliance consists of the UNC and several smaller parties.

Mexican soldiers sent
to disarm local police
Mexico City, 30 January 2008: Mexico’s regular troops were sent to three cities bordering the US to disarm local police officers, who were suspected to have links to drug traffickers. Federal soldiers searched police stations in Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and Reynosa. Since assuming office, President Calderon has sent troops to several states to break the drug cartels who often intimidate local authorities.

According to government sources, a number of drug-trafficking organisations are fighting each other for control of Nuevo Laredo and its border crossings. Local people say it is no secret that some police officers cooperate the traffickers.

Mexico’s Attorney General, Eduardo Medina Mora, told reporters that there were municipal police forces that had collapsed and that functioned more as support staff to organized crime rather than as guardians of public safety. Meanwhile in Matamoros, some 600 police officers are reported to be confined to stations and being questioned by federal authorities.

Guayaquil mayor leads protest
against Ecuadorian government
Guayaquil, 26 January 2008: Led by Mayor Jaime Nebot thousands of people marched through Ecuador’s largest city Guayaquil to protest against government plans for constitutional reform. The mayor said President Rafael Correa was seeking too much power. One in six Ecuadoreans live in Guayaquil, the country's richest city.

The mayor told his followers he had no presidential ambitions but would run again for mayor. "If the government does something good I do not oppose that, but if they seek to destroy Guayaquil and if the president wants to become an emperor then I will fiercely oppose that," he said.

The mayor warned the government that he would seek autonomy for Guayaquil. "I'm willing to give you the rest of my life, my life for Guayaquil, for an Ecuador without misery, for an Ecuador which employs, for a rebel and autonomous Guayaquil within the unity of an Ecuador that works," he warned.

Last week, President Correa gathered a similar crowd of about 40,000 supporters in Guayaquil, his native city, to mark his first year in office. Mayor Jaime Nebot has been short-listed for this year's World Mayor Award.

“Progress is when candidates
are killed but elections go ahead”
Bogota, 26 October 2007: The killing of candidates campaigning for Colombia’s local elections continues. Two more local politicians have been shot dead as they addressed voters in the south of the country. The toll of prospective councillors and mayors murdered now stands at 21.

Colombia’s president, Alvaro Uribe, announced a $25,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of the "terrorists" behind the murders of candidates in the 28 October local elections. That is just over $1,000 for each murder victim!

Meanwhile, Claudia Lopez, a member of Colombia's independent Electoral Observation Mission, said that the violence was actually a sign of progress since the last local elections in 2003. "In 2003, the guerrillas had more territorial control and in some of those areas they did not allow elections at all," she said. "This year it is easier for them to kill candidates than to try to ban elections outright. Paradoxically, it is a sign of progress."

Cuban local elections could
decide future of Fidel Castro
Havana, 23 October 2007: Some eight million Cubans, including ailing President Fidel Castro, voted in Sunday’s (21 October 2007) local elections to elect members of 168 municipal councils. According to election officials, turnout was 95 per cent. Anyone 16 or older can vote in Cuba and while casting a ballot is not mandatory, non-participation is officially ‘noted’. Run-off elections will be held one wee later.

Cuba's constitution only recognises the Communist Party, though party membership is not essential for winning a local coucil seat. Members of the country’s local councils help choosing candidates for the National Assembly, which will be elected in spring 2008 and selection of 31 members of Cuba's Council of State. The council has been led by President Castro since the 1960s.

The elections are expected to clarify eventually whether the status quo of the interim government led by Fidel’s brother, Raul Castro, will be left in place permanently, or if Fidel will officially continue to lead the council.

Mexico City police remove
15,000 illegal street vendors
Mexixo City, 13 October 2007: More than 1,000 police officers, some wearing riot gear, prevented some 15,000 of illegal street vendors to set up stall in the centre of Mexico City on Friday, 12 October. The police action was ordered by the city mayor Marcelo Ebrard and involved more than 80 locations in Mexico City’s downtown area. The mayor said it was about time to return open spaces to the public.

The vendors’ most popular items are pirated DVDs and fake designer goods. They have already said they will be back for the start of the Christmas shopping season. Officially, street vendors are allowed to sell to the public over Christmas and must return after the New Year to government-sanctioned sites.

Past mayors have tried to re-locate vendors to indoor markets. While this strategy worked for short periods, vendors eventually returned to their old pitches. Representatives from vendors’ unions say that the official sites were unpopular with the public. The president of one union told reporters that street vendors are a tradition dating back to pre-Hispanic times in Mexico. "The mayor should be thinking about the fact that my members don't have jobs. What does he think these people will do?", he asked.

The Mexico City Chamber of Commerce estimates there are 35,000 vendors in the downtown area alone. They sell everything from food, clothing, jewellery to car parts.

Mexico City mayor joins elite
of the world’s ‘green’ mayors
Mexico City, 20 September 2007: Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard announced a five-year partnership to green the city’s transport system, following through on his campaign promise to fix the Mexico City’s notoriously gridlocked and polluting traffic.

Ebrard signed a commitment to partner with Centro de Transporte Sustentable de Mexico (CTS-Mexico), the World Resources Institute (WRI), and EMBARQ – the WRI Center for Sustainable Transport to reduce transport-related air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of urban transport; improve accessibility, traffic safety and public security as well as improve the quality of public spaces in Mexico City.

Combined with a host of other green initiatives that Ebrard has recently launched, this new partnership places the mayor in an elite group of megacity mayors such as Michael Bloomberg of New York City, Bertrand Delanoë of Paris and Ken Livingstone of London who are leading a growing global movement to create cleaner, healthier, and more liveable urban areas.

A centerpiece of Mayor Ebrard's green efforts is the expansion of the city's two-year-old Metrobus, the creation of which was designed and managed by CTS-Mexico, WRI, and EMBARQ . Metrobus – which functions like an above-ground subway in which large buses travel in dedicated lanes and stop at special stations – already carries more than 260,000 passengers each day along Mexico City's Insurgentes Avenue, one of the longest and busiest streets in the world. The two-year old ‘bus rapid transit’ (BRT) system has shortened commuting times by up to an hour as well as reduced air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Ebrard has publicly committed himself to creating an additional nine Metrobus lines over the next five years.

President Lula unveils multi-billion
dollar package to fight urban crime
Belo Horizonte, 23 August 2007: Brazilian President Lula da Silva has announced a $3bn initiative to combat urban crime in the country. Brazil has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with almost 44,000 murders in 2005 according to figures from the national justice department.

The Citizens' National Security Program is a five-year plan targeting juvenile delinquents and aims to use expanded social and preventive policies in order to divert them from lives of crime. The plan establishes a 500-strong national security force to deploy in cases of extreme violence. It also boosts police salaries, invests in the corrections system and cracks down on police brutality and organised crime.

President Lula said he planned to confront and conquer the geography of violence and crime, which threatens to divide the country. “Violence has created an apartheid of fear and oppression in Brazil's favelas,” he added. Rio de Janeiro has asked for federal aid to fight violence in its favelas, which are controlled by drug traffickers and militias. In 2004, the civic group Social Watch compared the situation in Brazil's major cities to that in countries in the midst of war.

Mayors from northern Mexico unite
to draw attention to their concerns
Mexico City, 17 July 2007: Mayors from ten cities in northern Mexico formed a new association to draw attention to issues faced the regions bordering the United States. Local city leaders have been complaining for some time that the national government neglected the concerns of their communities. “Here at the border we feel abandoned by the rest of the country because they don't understand our problems. We as a bloc need to make more noise,” said Tijuana Mayor Kurt Honold, who promoted the meeting and creation of the association.

The formation of the new mayors’ association follows similar efforts by governors of northern Mexican state, who last year pointed out that while the northern tier of Mexico drives the country's growth, the region receives little in federal tax revenue. “Out of every dollar for the country's tax income, he said, only four cents stays in the border region,” they said.

The mayors listed six areas where urgent action needed to be taken, including public safety, immigration, tourism and commerce. On public safety, mayors wanted the government to do more to combat trafficking in drugs, other contraband and people at the border. “The situation not only endangers area residents, they said, but also hurts foreign investment and tourism.”

On immigration, the mayors said that Mexico’s border region was affected by migrants travelling through the area to cross into the United States to find jobs. “The situation has worsened since US agents have undertaken mass deportations of migrants apprehended on the American side of the border.” As many as 8,000 to 10,000 are deported from San Diego to Tijuana a month, the mayor said. “The deportees, many of them criminals, resort to stealing and drug use to get by in Mexico.”

The Mexican mayors have the support of authorities on the US side of the border. “What helps Tijuana helps San Diego,” said Ruben Barrales, from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

London explores ways to help
Caracas with traffic problems
London, 26 June 2007: A team led by London Transport Commissioner Peter Hendy has visited the Venezuelan capital Caracas under a bilateral deal agreed by London Mayor Ken Livingstone and President Hugo Chávez.  The deal, signed in February 2007, saw London receive discounted fuel for its bus fleet while Caracas was to receive the benefit of London's transport planning expertise.

Though the deal was hugely criticised by opponents of both the mayor and the Venezuelan president, Mr Hendy said "London's got a history of a unified transport structure and a city of seven million people… So it makes sense for me to come and have a look round for a couple of days and then for us to sit down with them and see how we can help them."

The Venezuelan capital suffers from chronic congestion and high levels of roadside pollution, areas in which London's mayor has achieved major success in tackling.  The trip was also thought to explore the possibility of the London mayor opening a fourth overseas office, alongside those in Brussels, Beijing and Shanghai.

Conservative football tycoon
elected mayor of Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires, 25 June 2007: Conservative football tycoon Mauricio Macri has maintained his lead in the Buenos Aires mayoral election to secure victory over his socialist opponent Daniel Filmus.  Macri secured outright victory over the education minister with 60 per cent of the vote, with supporters celebrating before the close of polls in a city election with national significance. The result is seen as a blow for Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner, due for re-election this October.

Macri, a vocal critic of social democrat president Kirchner, hails from one of the country's wealthiest families. Since unsuccessfully running for the capital's mayoralty in 2003, he was elected to the national congress, though has the worst attendance rates of any legislator. While Kirchner's government has been credited with reviving the crisis-ridden Argentinean economy, concern over perceived corruption in government has seen his approval ratings plummet.

Mexico is looking with unease
at forthcoming local elections
Mexico City, 13 June 2007: Eight political parties will fight to win as many as possible of 1,219 mayorships, three governorships and 14 local congresses in 14 out of 31 Mexican states during 2007 local elections. The first ballot took place 20 May in Yucatán state, where 106 mayors and governor where elected. Ivonne Ortega Pacheco of the centre-left Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) is the new Governess; 71 mayors’ offices were won also by the PRI party, 30 are in hands of Mexico’s governing centre-right National Action Party (PAN) including the state’s capital and the rest by smaller parties.

Local elections due in 2007, with numbers of mayors up for election:
1 July: Durango (North) 39; Zacatecas (North) 58 and Chihuhua (North) 67.
5 August: Aguascalientes (Central) 11; and, Baja California (North West) 5 mayors and governor.
2 September : Veracruz (Gulf of Mexico) 212.
7 October: Oaxaca (South) 152; and, Chiapas (South) 118.
14 October: Sinaloa (North West) 18.
11 November: Tamaulipas (North East) 43; Tlaxcala (Centre-East) 60; Michoacán (Centre-West) 113 mayors and governor; and, Puebla (Centre-East) 217.

While there are no clear indications how Mexico’s parties will fare in any of the local ballots, there are fears that the dirty wars between parties, already seen in Yucatan, will intensify. There are also no signs that the tension between parties and the authorities will abate.

Due to the federal government’s war against narcotic gangs in some of the states where elections are due, there will certainly be problems. In Baja California, one of Mexican President Calderón’s first act was to disarm the local police in Tijuana City due to its alleged connection with drug trafficking. Questions were also asked about the city’s mayor, Jorge Hank Rhon, who now aims to enter state government. It has also been revealed that all the money allocated to run the election has already been totally spent on training, transport and publicity. At the moment there are no funds for such items as ballot boxes, voting booths and the counting of votes.

Other states currently under military control are Aguascalientes, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Michoacan. There so far this year, more than 1,000 people, mostly police officers, have been killed my members of drug gangs. The forthcoming elections might well trigger off more killings.

Last year’s stand off between Governor Ulises Ruiz and teachers in Oaxaca will dominate the October local elections. The teachers are still calling for the resignation of the governor. (Report by Adriana Maciel)

Buenos Aires mayoral election
A choice between left or right
Buenos Aires, 4 June 2007: The outcome of the Buenos Aires mayoral election will not be known until a 24 June run-off after the frontrunner Mauricio Macri failed to secure 50 per cent of the vote. Macri, a football club owner standing as a conservative, will face Argentine education minister Daniel Filmus in the second round.  The current mayor Jorge Telerman, who took over from Anibal Ibarra in 2006 following the Republica Cromagnon nightclub fire for which his administration was blamed, ranked third place in the poll and was eliminated from the next round.

Snr Macri's unexpectedly high tally is viewed as a warning sign for President Nestor Kirchner, who faces re-election in four months' time and is backing Filmus, a member of his administration, for the Argentine capital's top job.  In contrast to the economic circumstances in which Kirchner himself was first elected in 2003, the city is now booming, though this has knock-on effects in terms of traffic congestion, pollution and overcrowding, all of which featured in the race.  While public works projects have proliferated under the recent boom, the ruling administration has suffered from a loss of voter trust over bribery scandals.

Brazil government approves national
security troops for most violent cities
Belo Horizonte, 2 June 2007: Brazil’s government has put forward proposals to draft more police into the country’s 11 most violent cities. Under the plan, approved by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, regional police forces will be strengthened and national security troops be allowed to operate in urban areas.

A government spokesman told the press that the proposals will be presented to the eleven cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and the Brazilian capital Brasilia. The city administration of Rio de Janeiro has already been given national security troops after a wave of violence in recent months. According to press reports, some 17 people have been killed in one slum district during May. Five schools in the area remain closed. The violence is the result of daily gun battles between drug gangs and the police.

LAPD will train Salvadoran
police to fight Maras gangs
Los Angeles, 7 May 2007: Members of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will train Salvadoran police in their fight against cross-border crime gangs. LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says his police department will send two trainers to El Salvador, while two Salvadoran investigators will be sent to the California city.

Villaraigosa announced the agreement Wednesday during a visit to El Salvador. He says officials on both sides also will exchange intelligence to prevent gang members from crossing borders without being spotted by local police.

Central American street gangs, known as Maras, are thought to have tens of thousands of members. Many of them were founded in Los Angeles in the 1980s by Salvadorans who fled to the United States to escape their country's civil war. Years later, the Maras spread to Central America as gang members were deported from the US to their native countries. (Report by VoA News)

World Bank to lend $100 million
for Buenos Aires urban transport
Buenos Aires, 31 March 2007: The World has approved a US$100 million loan in additional financing for Argentina to support the Buenos Aires Urban Transport Project. The loan will be a first step in developing an integrated urban transport system and improving traffic safety in the Greater Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, home to almost 14 million people.

Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Director for Argentina said that the World Bank had supported this important project for Buenos Aires over the last 10 years. “Implementation suffered during the economic crisis years (1999 to 2002) but with the recovery starting in 2003, the project teams have been able to strongly reactivate the project implementation. With most of the project now executed, we realize that much more needs to be done. For this reason, the additional financing will complete many works that will help improve transport services,” he continued

Specifically, the additional financing for the US$200 million Buenos Aires Urban Transport Project, originally approved in 1997, will support the following activities:
• Develop an Urban Transport Integration System by improving the pavement of roads and sidewalks, and by adding lights and urban furniture at selected outlying metropolitan railway stations of municipalities with the highest poverty rates.
• Enhance traffic safety by converting or building new underpasses or bridges in seven selected road or rail crossings.
• Improve Buenos Aires subway infrastructure by supporting rehabilitation works for selected stations in the A-Line Buenos Aires subway system.