BRAZIL: DILMA ROUSSEFF PROMISES TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF LULA Dilma Rousseff, 62 years old, the person nominated by Lula da Silva to succeed him, was proclaimed on Oct. 31 president of Brazil, the first woman president of the country.

The candidate of the Workers’ Party succeeded in obtaining 56 percent of the vote in the second round of the presidential elections, very much ahead of Jose Serra of the Social Democratic Party, who only received 44 percent. Rousseff promised to “honor” the work of Lula, former president of Brazil, her mentor and the predecessor of her new office, who has achieved placing Brazil as the eighth world power and of taking millions of poor Brazilians out of poverty. Dilma, as the Brazilians know her, supports the struggle against poverty and for economic stability as one of her priorities, in addition to her commitment to human rights and the equality of men and women. The new president has targeted two fundamental objectives: the eradication of poverty that Lula pursued with success, and the maintenance of economic growth and stability. Lula da Silva, the most popular president in the history of Brazil, will hand over the ceremonial staff to Dilma Rousseff on Jan. 1, 2011. (www.elpais.com)

Old Habana by Hanna Quevedo

CUBA: NORWAY AND CUBA SIGN SECOND AGREEMENT OF COOPERATION FOR AID TO HAITI Once again Norway and Cuba unite their forces to respond to the situation that confronts the Haitian people, aggravated by the cholera epidemic, and to continue the humanitarian aid offered as a result of the earthquake last January. The agreement was endorsed in the Ministry of Foreign Commerce and Investments by the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Jan Tore Holvik, which consisted in the donation of 5 million Norwegian crowns ($850,000 U.S. dollars), for the purchase and delivery of medical material resources and other supplies needed to support the assistance given by the Cuban Medical Brigade, consisting of 930 doctors and other health workers that are in Haiti. The first agreement was a donation of the same amount, signed in January, a few days after the earthquake. (www.granma.cu)

MEXICO: MEXICO BEHEADS THE GOLF CARTEL Six hours of intense gunfire and the life of two marine infantrymen were necessary, but finally in the northern state of Tamaulipas Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guille — “Tony Tormenta”, head of the Gulf Cartel, one of the most powerful in Mexico — was killed on Friday, Nov. 5. Since 2008, the United States has accused Tony Tormenta of introducing into its territory several tons of cocaine and marijuana through the passageway of Matamoros and Brownsville. According to Alejandro Poire, spokesperson for the Administration of Felipe Calderon in security matters, the elimination of Tony Tormenta was possible thanks to the work of a module within the Mexican Secret Service. Matamoros is perhaps the most dangerous city in Tamaulipas, and Tamaulipas is perhaps the most dangerous state in Mexico, and Mexico is without a doubt the most violent country in Latin America. For years Matamoros has lived under the control of organized crime. Its bosses move through the streets in entourages of luxury vans with bullet-proof glass and with signs that read CDG (Cartel del Golfo) as their only license plates. The leader of the Gulf cartel is now only one more death in the m

ore than 10,000 deaths provoked this year by President Felipe Calderon’s war against drug trafficking. (www.elpais.com)

CUBA: RAUL CASTRO ANNOUNCES THE CONVENING OF THE VI CONGRESS OF THE COMUNIST PARTY FOR APRIL The Cuban President, Raul Castro, has announced the convening of the VI Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba to be held the second half of April of 2011. It is expected to define the new economic guidelines of the island at a time of severe crisis and when the government has begun a reform that intends to reduce the role of the State and widen the margins of private enterprise. The Congress will coincide with the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the official proclamation of the socialist revolution, and according to Raul Castro, it will concentrate on “economic issues” and on the necessity of “updating the Cuban model” in order to make it sustainable. Raul Castro made the announcement in La Havana alongside his Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chavez, who is visiting the island on the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the agreement of cooperation between Cuba and Venezuela. Fidel Castro, 84 years old, continues to be the first secretary of the PCC (Cuban Communist Party) despite having stepped down from the office of the presidency in 2008. The last congress took place in 2007. The Cuban President has also announced that he will immediately begin a broad process of discussion in the entire country of the new economic and social guidelines that the Cuban communists plan to introduce, and asked for the “democratic” participation of all of the Cubans in the debate. (www.elpais.com)