Nine serving military officials, including a colonel, have been arrested in relation to the recent killing of indigenous protesters in the western department of Totonicapán [WR-12-40], which made international headlines. However, President Otto Pérez Molina’s reassurances regarding the future role of the military in citizen security have failed to assuage the concerns of civil society. Highlighting that the arrests signified the first time the military has been tried for “responding to and participation in popular protests” since the end of the 1960-1996 civil war, Guatemala’s attorney general Claudia Paz y Paz told reporters that Colonel Juan Chiroy Sal, who led…

The official line was that Cuban voters had delivered an expression of mass participatory democracy. But, while it is true that any other government in Latin America would be envious of voter turnout of 91.9%, in Cuba it is a serious disappointment. One vote attracted particular attention. Cuba’s spiritual leader Fidel Castro cast his vote, albeit by proxy. He also penned a stinging rebuttal in the self-proclaimed Communist party mouthpiece Granma of speculation in the foreign press that he might be dead or dying, complete with photographic proof of life. Of the more than 8.5m Cubans eligible to vote in…

CURAÇAO | New government. The ruling coalition regained a majority in legislative elections on 19 October. Elections were triggered by the resignation of prime minister Gerrit Schotte after the ruling coalition comprising his Movementu Futuro Kòrsou (MFK), Pueblo Soberano (PS) and Partido Movishon Antia Nobo (MAN) lost its majority [WR-12-38]. The coalition remained intact, albeit this time led by the PS, which received the most votes. With more than 87,000 of the 104,000 eligible voters participating - the largest voter turnout in recent history - the coalition won 12 of the 21 seats, one more than in the previous 2010…

A law to sell off state lands in the Colón free trade zone (FTZ) has delivered the latest political embarrassment to President Ricardo Martinelli, whose backtracking over various unpopular initiatives has become a defining feature of his government. The latest U-turn – which saw Martinelli promise to repeal the law, just four days after its approval – has not only revived doubts over government spending which emerged over another ditched initiative (his proposal in June to sell government shares in the telecoms and energy sectors [WR-12-24]). It has also reignited concerns over police brutality after clashes with protesters left three…

In a by-election on 15 October, the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) led by Prime Minister Perry Christie franked its 7 May general election victory over the Free National Movement (FNM), now led by Hubert Minnis, by claiming the North Abaco constituency held until his resignation following the general election by former FNM prime minister Hubert Ingraham. The PLP now holds 30 out of 38 seats in the House of Assembly. The PLP’s continuing electoral revival comes against a run of bad economic news. At the beginning of September, the International Monetary Fund issued a warning about The Bahamas’ debt-to-GDP ratio…