Archive for May, 2006
Alfredo Torres on the North-South Cleavage
According to Alfredo Torres of APOYO, if Garcia is elected it will be the first time in half a century that a leader not preferred by the south is elected.
Is Ollanta Humala a Leftist? The View of Hugo Blanco
An interesting op-ed by Hugo Neira offers Hugo Blanco’s view of Ollanta Humala.
Controversy over Disputed Returns
The National Election Board blames the National Office for Electoral Processes for the large number of disputed voting returns in the general election of April 9, pointing to the poor training of the members of voting booths. For its part, the ONPE, which has begun to send election material abroad, blames the problem on the difficulty that members of voting booths had in submitting returns given the complexity of the ballot–with three elections being held simultaneously–and the large number of parties.
UN Accuses APRA of Fraud
Javier Bedoya has denounced the orchestration of fraud by the APRA against the candidate of UN, Lourdes Flores. According to Bedoya, APRA used its scrutineers in Cajamarca, Lambayeque and Trujillo to steal votes from Flores. A spokesperson for APRA said there is no proof to support these claims and that it is an attack on ONPE and the JNE. Moreover, UN should have had scrutineers at all the polling booths.
Presidential Debate on May 17th?
Alan Garcia has proposed a presidential debate on May 17, but the negotiators for UPP and APRA had previously agreed to meet on May 16 to set the date for a debate.
JNE Calls on APRA and UP to Behave
The National Election Board has issued a call for candidates to refrain from insults and low blows.
Seats in Congress: The latest projections
Once again, we are in debt to Rici for the latest seat count.
Download file
IMA Lima & Callao Poll, May 9-10, 2006: Garcia in Clear Lead
Sondeo de opinion publica de IMA Estudios de Marketing. Ámbito Geográfico: Lima/Callao. Tamaño de la Muestra: 700 Casos. Download file
This poll covers only Lima and has a small sample size. Nevertheless, Lima is the main battleground for this second round election and it is important to take the pulse of opinion in the capital city. What this poll suggests, in summary, is that most voters in Lima are unhappy with their choice, but are leaning toward Alan Garcia rather than Ollanta Humala. Whereas Garcia has 50 percent support in Lima, Humala has only 20 percent. There are a number of findings in this poll that suggest reasons for the tendency to support Garcia. One is the fact that 51 percent of the voters disapprove of Evo Morales’ nationalization of oil and gas in Bolivia, and 57 percent support the recall of the Peruvian ambassador to Venezuela. Chavez is regarded as a leader who governs in an authoritarian manner by 84 percent of the respondents. Taken together, it would appear that one reason for the low level of support for Humala in Lima might be that voters in the capital city do not like the way Humala has aligned himself with the governments of Venezuela and Bolivia.
May 12: Hemos añadido la cobertura de medios de prensa escrita.
Interview with Fernando Sánchez Albavera
Fernando Sánchez Albavera is a progressive economist, currently at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Gonzalo García Núñez (UPP) accuses Alan García of plagiarism
One of the great ironies of this election is that Ollanta Humala, who has created his political movement virtually from scratch over the past year, somehow managed to come up with an impressive and comprehensive platform. In fact, few things have done him as much good in this campaign as the alliance with certain key left-wing intellectuals and technocrats, including people like Gonzalo Garcia, Felix Jimenez, and Carlos Tapia. These operators have been criticized by Humala’s opponents as opportunists, but they have given his candidacy a respectability it would otherwise have lacked. Columnist Mirko Lauer, whose sympathies for Alan Garcia are rarely far from the surface, refers to “a Potemkin facade of a team” that Humala has constructed by surrounding himself with such operators, but the facade is evidently good enough to place APRA on the defensive. Imagine a debate between Gonzalo Garcia and Luis Giampietri. That is what the Humala forces were probably angling for in trying to get a debate between teams not just candidates. Now Gonzalo Garcia, who has in the past been accused of plagiarism, is claiming that APRA is stealing not only the ideas but also the exact phrases used in La Gran Transformacion. Mercedes Cabanillas accuses Gonzalo Garcia of “infantilism.”
Is there any truth to the accusation of plagiarism? The APRA website does announce a program called “Agua Para Todos” (Water for all) and there is a section in La Gran Transformacion (presented on February 22, 2006) called “Agua Para Todos”. Whether the similarities go beyond the title is impossible to say without reading the APRA plan.
Lloyd Axworthy: “The Media Should Not Aggravate Division”
“The Media Should Not Aggravate Division.”
Interview with Lloyd Axworthy, La República, 12 May 2006, p. 8.
María Elena Castillo
Photo: Yanina Patricio
Byline: “The president of the Mission of Observers of the OAS called upon all actors in the second round to respect the rules of the game. He stated that while there is no law that regulates the news media, the media should assume their responsibility and be impartial.”
Civil society organizations and political parties have complained about the lack of impartiality of the mass media in the first round. What might happen if this is repeated in the current process?
When the OAS created the dialogue round tables in 2000, a fundamental issue was that the mass media was controlled by the government, which had a negative effect on the election at that time, and which was considered seriously manipulated. Now the situation is totally different. The media are in the hands of private sector, but the same principle of respect for the candidates, regardless of their political affiliation, should be applied.
But this does not happen…
There is enough evidence to suggest that the media were not as balanced as they should be. And perhaps it would be appropriate to return to a new dialogue round table to speak about the role of the mass media. In a situation as polarized as the Peruvian case, the media should not contribute to increase the division. This cannot be changed from one day to the next, but nor should the same error be repeated, because if the media are under the power of the government, or they are overly dominated by the private sector, it is the voters who suffer.
According to a survey by Calandria people think the media, especially television, focuses more on scandals than on the platforms of the parties for government. Do you think this information should be regulated?
This phenomenon is not only in Peru. The media, above all electronic, are influenced by what they can sell. But an election is a special moment in the democratic process, and the freedom of the press, which is a fundamental right, also implies responsibilities. After the discussion of the year 2000, a consensus developed and things were reformed. It would be good review this history.
Were these accords enforced during the first round?
I am not an analyst of the mass media, but I have received complaints from different sources, both in civil society and the political parties. From my experience in Canada, of over 30 years, I know that when this type of lack of impartiality is too obvious, you cannot have a fair election. There is no law that says what can be put in the news, and there should be no such law, but one must call on the media to be responsible.
How can attacks candidate be avoided, such as the ones we saw this past April?
We have recommended improvements in security in the voting stations, as well as deterrent security so that these sorts of uprisings do not occur. We have met with the electoral authorities and I know that they are working on measures to overcome these situations.
But there are things that escape one’s hands…
The political parties themselves can avoid polarization, and their leaders have a great responsibility. First, they themselves should obey the rules, since if they use a language of accusations or begin extreme personal attacks, their supporters will obviously follow them.
Will the report that you [the Mission] issue at the end of the process include the statements of the president of Venezuela, supporting one of the candidates?
Our work does not take positions on disputes between countries with respect to the Free Trade Agreement or other themes, but if these statements might influence in a clear way the vote by the Peruvian people this would go against the democratic charter of the OAS. What happened, happened, but we will be vigilant and will be asking that the rules be respected in the next weeks of the campaign.
But will you pronounced on the matter if someone, here or outside, does not obey?
Yes. The right of the Peruvian people to choose their government is sacred. To put it in personal terms, if the president of the United States made statements about who should be elected (in my country, Canada), I as a Canadian, would feel that the president had infringed on my rights.
Box: “Every election should be better than the last.”
What are political campaigns like in Canada? Are there as many complaints about dirty wars, as here?
Yes, sometimes. In 1988 I was a member of parliament for an opposition party and the FTA with the US was being negotiated. We opposed this because we felt it was a bad deal for us. As a result, 8 days before the election, in which we were ahead, we were confronted by a huge amount of information with very personal attacks. If a camera could have captured this I would show the scars I have from this period. So when I speak of the behavior of the media, I know what I am talking about from personal experience. In that case we lost the election but we won the next one.
So there is not much difference with us then?
We learned from the election and now have stronger rules. In Canadian politics there are strong restrictions with respect to contributions by private firms and unions, only natural persons can give money, but with limits very clearly established; what is more there is free access to the electronic media and a commission of telecommunications that monitors the elections to verify if there is a fair assignment of time for all the candidates. Because one learns from ones errors; Peru is passing through the same, it is step by step, and every election should be better than the one before.
In your country are there debates?
Many. In the last election where were three debates between the leaders. In general, all have been very healthy, although some complete with hockey games, which have their finals in April or May. For this reasons we never have elections in those months.
Translation: M.A. Cameron
Psycho-social, Qu’est-ce que c’est?
Expreso reports that Humala will consider withdrawing from the race due to the gap between him and Garcia in the polls. Is this a “psycho-social operation”?
Según una nota publicada el día de hoy en el diario Expreso, Ollanta Humala estaría meditando su retiro de la segunda vuelta en las elecciones presidenciales del 4 de junio debido a la amplia diferencia que le lleva Alan García en las últimas encuestas.
Congress Dithers over Amnesty
In the face of evidence that the case of Locumba in 2000 was more of a farce than a Quixotic uprising, there has been some discussion of whether the amnesty subsequently granted to Ollanta Humala might be revoked so that the case might be further investigated by the judiciary. Once again, this case exposes the nefarious effects of legislative interference in the judiciary. The congress should never grant amnesties lightly, and the idea that it might revoke an amnesty once given underscores the reason why: members of congress make bad judges.
Encuesta Imasen: Para el 61.4% de los peruanos el país es injusto con los niños
UPP: Nadine Heredia no quiso ofender a Hugo Chávez
64,644 voting returns challenged
According to the National Election Board, inadequate training of members of voting booths has resulted in an extraordinary number of voting returns being disputed. There are 88,481 voting stations across the country, and as many as 64,644 voting returns challenged or subject to review due to material errors. In 2001, only 15 percent of the returns were disputed.
Humala’s Visa Revoked under US Patriot Act
May 12th: From Vienna, President Alejandro Toledo has called on US government to review the Humala case and to rectify a mistake, if that is the case.
The Presidential Debate
The representatives of APRA and UPP are engaged in a complex negotiation over the conditions under which their leaders will enter a presidential debate. APRA seemed, until recently, to be successfully casting Ollanta Humala as avoiding the debate. Humala was asking for Garcia to congratulate him on winning the first round of the election, and Garcia refused saying Humala was trying to avoid debate. Now, APRA is saying it will not participate in a debate unless Humala’s party ceases it’s so-called “dirty war” against APRA. APRA claims that Humala’s supporters are undertaking “psychological operations” against Garcia and painting walls with anti-APRA insults. Humala says reminding voters how badly APRA governed in the 1980s is not a “dirty war,” and if Garcia will not debate, he will be happy to debate with President Alejandro Toledo or the US ambassador, Garcia’s “godfathers.”
Five factors could make a debate important if not decisive in this election.
First, neither candidate has the race locked up.
Second, there are still a lot of undecided voters.
Third, voters tempted to cast blank ballots could be decisive.
Fourth, some of the most undecided voters—like the middle sectors in Lima–are probably those most likely to watch the debate closely.
Fifth, the debate would pit a brilliant debater who has high negative ratings against a less experienced debater who, as the candidate behind in the polls, has the most to gain. Thus, even a failure by Humala to land a KO would benefit his position.
Vladimir Torres: Peru’s Hopes and Fears are on Garcia
Arthur Ituassu: Recycled Politics in Latin America
Boston Globe: Anger toward US boosts Latin America’s leftist leaders
Francisco Durand: La Derecha Adolorida
Datum National Poll May 6-8, 2006: García leads with 44%
Source: La Primera, 11 de mayo del 2006
Datum International Estudio de opinion electoral. Universo: 1,127 entrevistas en zonas urbanas y rurales. Margen de error: +/-3% y representando el 79.9% del electorado. Download file
Internationalization of the Peruvian Election
Nadine Heredia marca distancias con Hugo Chávez
Broadening the Electoral Base: The Challenge Ahead for Humala & Garcia
Source: La Republica, 10 de mayo del 2006
ONPE inicia impresión de cédulas para la segunda vuelta
Interview with David Waisman
Arturo Woodman (UN) y Marco Parra (SN) apoyan a Alan García
Preocupa a inversionistas una posible ola estatista en el Perú
Analistas advierten que las promesas de los dos candidatos de incrementar el rol del Estado perjudicara al Peru. Los planes de ambos candidatos estan provocando una gran preocupacion entre actuales y potenciales inversores en el Peru. Esta preocupacion se ve confirmada por la decision de Morales el pasado 1 de mayo de nacionalizar los hidrocarburos y la reciente visita de Ollanta Humala al presidente boliviano en Copacabana. Mas aun, la aceptacion por parte de Venezuela, Argentina y Brazil de la decision de Morales no ha ayudado a calmar los animos de los inversionistas.
Andrés Oppenheimer on the leftist tsunami
Andrés Oppenheimer comments on the apparent trend to the left in Latin America. In contrast to what has been said by some analysts, Oppenheimer believes that, more than a leftist tsunami, Latin America is being divided by a struggle among the left itself.
Bolivia’s nationalization of the natural gas industry has added some tension to its relations to Brazil and Argentina (both with center left governments). Argentina’s has taken Uruguay’s social democratic government to The Hague in a row about the paper mills being constructed in the banks of the river Uruguay. Chile’s socialist government has consistently increased Chile’s arsenal, possibly straining future relations with whoever wins Peru’s elections.
For Oppenheimer this is just the beginning. He concludes that next time we hear about a leftist wave in Latin America, we should take the comment “with tweezers.”
Interviews with Jose Barba Caballero
Asked: “¿No fue soberbia al decir que la elección le fue ganada en la mesa pero no en las urnas?”
Barba Caballero replies: “No fue una posición correcta por la sencilla razón de que, si se sumaban todas las actas impugnadas, igual perdía. Por otro lado, si fuese cierto (lo que dijo), peor para ella, porque significa que montó una pésima organización electoral que no fue capaz de defender los votos de Unidad Nacional.”
ONPE’s vote count
Political Parties Campaign Fundraising
El Comercio has a special with coverage on political parties’ campaign fundraising. It reports that Peru Posible ($1.8M) was the biggest spender during the first round campaign, followed by Alianza por el progreso ($1.2M), Unidad Nacional ($1.2M) and APRA ($0.99M). Currently there are no penalties for fundraising irregularities. ONPE is requesting the capacity to impose sanctions.
Percy Medina, Transparencia, supports moral sanctions against political parties not presenting financial campaign information on time. Mauricio Mulder, APRA, has demanded that ONPE verify the sources of financial funding and amounts for Union por el Peru to be sure the Venezuelan government is not providing financial support for Humala’s campaign.
Statement by OAS Mission Chief Follows International Law
The recent statements by OAS Electoral Observation Mission chief Lloyd Axworthy were reported by most of the printed press today. El Comercio called the message clear and well directed. It said Axworthy was cautious when asked about Hugo Chavez, but mentioned article 3 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter which calls for non-intervention among members states of the OAS. This is an error, it is the OAS Charter not the Democratic Charter that concerns non-intervention.
Peru.21 emphasized that Axworthy not only rejected the gross interference of Chavez, but also implied criticism of the recent commentaries made by Alejandro Toledo. Toledo denied that he has interfered in the election with the following non-sequitur: “I am respectful because I am the one who calls the election.”
El Peruano quotes ambassador Gonzalo Fernandez Puyo, President of the Peruvian society for International Law, who says that the declaration of the mission chief follows international law. Intervention means more than territorial incursion. No foreign leader should take sides until the people have decided. “After the results are in, they can applaud all they want for whoever they want,” he said.
OAS Mission on the Second Round
The OAS Electoral Observation Mission has issued a press release on the second round of the election.
Foto: Ricardo Choy-Kifox. Andina Agencia Peruana de Noticias.
According to El Comercio, in its web edition, the OAS Mission chief Lloyd Axworthy called on foreign governments to respect the sovereignty of the Peruvian people so that they can elect the next president without undue influence. He said it was not the task of the mission to participate directly in the differences of opinion among government–above all in diplomatic affairs. Furthermore, the mission is not in a position to impose sanctions on the Chavez government.
“But yes we will view seriously when there are declarations by any government that might be seen as an effort to influence the vote,” said Axworthy. He made an invocation for governments to operate on the basis of mutual respect and allow the Peruvian people to choose their next government according to their own interests. This principle applies in any democratic system and includes not just foreign actors but also candidates, officials, polling companies, and other groups, he said, and noted that it is the basis of credibility and trust in the election outcome. The OAS has mechanisms for dealing with persistent interference, above all through the Permanent Council.
According to CPN Radio, Axworthy mentioned that the mission is working to determine whether there was any type of irregularity with respect to the delay in the vote scrutiny or vote counting in the April 9 election. He expressed his commitment to guaranteeing that Peru will undertake its electoral process in a manner that is “free and fair and transparent, without interference, whether from inside or outside the country.” Axworthy also expressed his support for a debate between the candidates, so that votes might know their respective platforms. He met separately with Carlos Torres Caro and Jorge Del Castill but would not specify the topics of discussion.
The press conference was covered by AP, and picked up by El Universal in Mexico.
CPI National Poll May 2-7: García 61.4%
Según la última encuesta nacional de CPI, Alan García, candidato del APRA, superaría por 22 puntos a Ollanta Humala (UPP) en la segunda vuelta electoral, indicando una tendencia al aumento. Destaca el hecho de que el 54.8% de electores que votaron por Lourdes Flores en primera vuelta lo harían por García, y sólo un 9.2% apoyarían a Humala.
Resultados: Download file
Cuadros: Download file
ONPE: Conteo de votos al Congreso al 78.75%
Source: El Comercio, 09 de mayo del 2006
The Peruvian Electorate Population in the First Round
Source: El Comercio, 09 de mayo del 2006
Free Identity Cards for Low Income Peruvians
Source: El Peruano, 08 de mayo del 2006
The decision by RENIEC to process requests for identity cards at no cost for inhabitants of low income districts removes a major barrier to citizenship in Peru. As many as one million Peruvians could benefit from this measure.
El Registro Nacional de Identificación y Estado Civil (RENIEC) autorizó la tramitación y expedición gratuita del Documento Nacional de Identidad (DNI) para habitantes de 201 distritos, de un total de mil 818 localidades del país, con muy bajos recursos registrados en el Mapa de Pobreza del Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas (MEF) y calificados por el Fondo de Cooperación para el Desarrollo Social (Foncodes). Esta campaña también aprueba los trámites gratuitos de renovación, duplicado y rectificación de datos, a excepción de cambio domiciliario. Más de un millón de personas serán beneficiadas hasta fin de año.
Interview with Pablo Bustamante
El diario La República recogió la opinión del economista Pablo Bustamante sobre la nacionalización de los hidrocarburos en Bolivia.
Análisis del crecimiento de Alan García según últimas encuestas
Source: La República, 09 de mayo del 2006
La encuesta de Apoyo Opinión y Mercado S.A., realizada entre el 3 y 5 de mayo del 2006 a nivel nacional arroja entre sus resultados que el líder aprista, más alla de su crecimiento a nivel nacional, supera a Ollanta Humala por haber logrado un amplio respaldo en los sectores socioeconómicos A y B, mientras que el líder de UPP sigue posicionado en el sector E. Es destacable el descenso en el antivoto que pesaba sobre García, que si en marzo llegaba al 55%, ahora ha descendido al 37%.
UPDATED: Evo Morales Invites Ollanta Humala to Bolivia
Source: La República, 09 de mayo del 2006
In a meeting that further emphasizes the region context of the election in Peru, Ollanta Humala met with President Evo Morales in Bolivia. Morales said he has been falsely accused of terrorism, of narcotrafficking, of being a communist. “As the terrorists are today the government in Bolivia, we invite you compañero Humala” he said in an ironic tone. As Renato Cisneros of El Comercio notes, Humala has been accused of human rights abuses not terrorism.
Morales expressed his disappointment with the government of Peru and his hope that Humala will win the presidential elections. Without an Humala victory, Venezuela and Bolivia will subordinated to a pro-FTA majority among the Andean nations. Humala said his current disadvantage in the polls can turned around by reminding voters of the APRA government of the 1980s.
May 09: Se ha añadido la cobertura de los medios de prensa nacionales.
Parties Prepare to Pull and Defend their Votes
APRA and UPP will seek to have “personeros” (or scrutineers) at all 88 thousand polling booths throughout Peru in the election on June 4. Meanwhile, the ONPE awaits the proclamation of the election results so it can start to print the ballots. Election officials are looking at ways of restricting the circulation of polls abroad in the final week of the electoral process.
Polls Exaggerate Garcia’s Lead
Perhaps worrying that a large lead over Ollanta Humala will encourage voters to cast blank ballots, Alan Garcia downplayed his current advantage in the polls.
Toledo Broke the Law Say Election Authorities
Election officials say President Alejandro Toledo violated the law by saying the election is between “democracy and authoritarianism.”
APOYO May 3-5, 2006: National Poll
Source: La República, 08 de mayo del 2006
Alan Garcia (APRA): 57 percent
Ollanta Humala (UPP): 43 percent
According to the latest national survey by APOYO, Alan Garcia holds a substantial lead over his rival, Ollanta Humala. APOYO is the firm that came closest to the official results of the April 9 in its last survey and its exit polls. However, it understated the support for Humala. This may be due to electoral volatility, or a hidden vote–two things to keep in mind in the second round.
Ficha técnica
Encuesta de Apoyo Opinión y Mercado S.A., encomendada por América Televisión. Metodología y técnica:Muestreo probabilístico polietápico estratificado por región de residencia (Lima, Costa Norte, Arequipa y Costa Sur, Sierra Norte, Sierra Centro, Sierra Sur y selva) y ámbito de residencia (urbano-rural). Tamaño de muestra: 2000 electores hábiles. Fecha de realización: Entre el 3 y 5 de mayo del 2006. Lugares de realización: 175 distritos de 113 localidades de 77 provincias de todo el país. Margen de error: +/- 2.2% asumiendo un nivel de confianza del 95%. Download file
Unidad Nacional Considers Blank Vote – Reaction from APRA
Maxwell A. Cameron and Jorge Bazo
May 8, 2006
Xavier Barron, spokesperson for Unidad Nacional on legal issues, claims that the National Executive Committee of his group is considering, among other options, recommending that UN supporters cast blank ballots in the second round. The other options include supporting APRA, UPP, or leaving the decision to the conscience of each voter. The idea of supporting Humala may seem far-fetched, but voting blank is a serious option for UN supporters–many of whom may be waiting for a signal from the leadership.
The secretary general of APRA, Mauricio Mulder, says Barron is sore because he feels responsible for the defeat of Lourdes Flores. The tensions between APRA and Unidad Nacional have been exacerbated in recent days by the statements made by Lourdes Flores when she accepted defeat. She claimed that she could not say certainty that she had lost in the ballot boxes rather than in the polling booths where UN did not have scrutineers. If Flores’ voters decide the election was stolen by APRA scrutineers, it will be hard for them to do anything but cast blank votes on June 4.
Mulder’s comment also speaks to the perception that Barron is seeking to retain prestige and influence within Unidad Nacional in spite of the presumption that he contributed to Flores’ defeat (either by failing to defend the vote adequately, or by association with the marketeers in the campaign who have been heavily criticized).
Flores has remained silent and is not expected to make any public endorsement prior to the June 4 election. It is far from clear that an endorsement by Flores would help Garcia. At stake is her voters, not the position of her alliance. That said, the deterioration of relations between APRA and Unidad Nacional has implications for post-election coalition possibilities. The very quick embrace of APRA by Antero Flores-Araoz, Flores’ rival within the UN, also makes it harder for the people close to Flores to accept Garcia.
On the television program Rueda de Prensa last night, Mirko Lauer reported rumors that Dionisio Romero played a direct role in the Flores campaign and he also indicated that Flores Colombian advisor, Glorisa, will be making statements about the campaign to the press.
Resumen: Xavier Barrón, personero legal de Unidad Nacional, informó que el Comité Ejecutivo Nacional de su agrupación evaluará si promoverá el votar en blanco en la segunda vuelta, en caso de que las propuestas de gobierno de Alan García y Ollanta Humala no les parezcan las más adecuadas.
En Unidad Nacional se manejan 4 opciones:
1. Votar por Alan García (APRA).
2. Votar eventualmente por Ollanta Humala (UPP).
3. Sugerir a votar en blanco o nulo.
4. Dejar al criterio de los que apoyaron a UN en primera vuelta a votar “de acuerdo a su conciencia”.
Interview with Fabián Novak
Asked whether the OAS can help Peru in the dispute with Venezuela, Fabian Novak said that the OAS ought to help but lamentably it has not. “Nobody expected sanction,” he said, “but at least send a signal (una llamada de atencion) to Chavez that he respect the articles of the Charter [of the OAS].” The problem, according to Novak, is that there is are a number of countries that depend on Chavez for oil in the OAS, and they are reluctant to risk this benefit.
Hugo Passarello Luna
<a href="mailto:hugo.passarello@gmail.com “>Hugo Passarello Luna is a research assistant and a recent graduate of the University of British Columbia. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and studied Film Production and International Relations at UBC. Before going to UBC he studied the International Baccalaureate at the United World College Lester B. Person College of the Pacific. He has worked with Academy Award winner John Zaritsky in his documentary College Days, College Nights and as a research assistant for several professors (in politics and anthropology). For the past year he worked at the international student department of UBC coordinating and developing programs for international students. He is interested in fiction and documentary filmmaking as it juxtaposes the art and the academic.