The surging popularity of left-wing parties in Central America and the fear tactics used against them take center stage for this preview on Latin Pulse of the presidential elections coming in El Salvador and Costa Rica. In El Salvador, a former guerrilla leader is the frontrunner to be the next president. In Costa Rica, although the center-left ruling party leads the polls, strong challenges are coming from further left on the political spectrum. The news segment provides an update on drug violence in the Mexican state of Michoacan and the new pact between the Mexican government and vigilante groups. The program includes interviews with:
Geoff Thale of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA); and
Francisco Robles Rivera of the Universidad Nacional and the Universidad de Costa Rica.
Executive Producer: Rick Rockwell; and
Associate Producer: Megan Ekhaml.
(To download or stream this podcast, click here.)
(The program is 30 minutes in length and the file size is 41 MB.)
podcast
news
Latin America
FMLN
drug war
politics
Mexico
violence
drug cartels
El Salvador
ARENA
economics
GANA
communism
elections
media
Costa Rica
immigration
Mauricio Funes
militarization
Hillary Clinton
Honduras
Salvador Sanchez Ceren
Jose Maria Villalta
Barrio 18 Gang
Citizens Action Party
corruption
Central America
crime
gangs
insurgents
prisons
MS-13
diplomacy
PLN
PUSC
Norman Quijano
Tony Saca
United States
Barack Obama
Johnny Araya
human rights
Frente Amplio
