Hemisphere Highlights, Volume VIII, Issue 8 - October 2009

October 6, 2009

A water shortage in the capital of Mexico has prompted the government to take new measures to
prevent agricultural and health crises. Also in Mexico, federal agents targeted state and muncipal
police forces in Hidalgo on charges of colluding with drug traffickers. The Clinton Global Initiative has
increased aid to Haiti, which recently signed an agreement with the United States and the Paris Club to
cancel its foreign debt. The president of Guatemala has declared a national state of emergency, requesting
assistance from the World Health Organization to combat widespread malnutrition. The H1N1
influenza pandemic continues to test the health systems of Chile, Brazil, and Argentina. In Venezuela,
a new educational law has exacerbated domestic tensions . Candidates are gearing up for
presidential elections in Bolivia in December as opposition candidates seek to defeat Evo Morales’ bid
for re-election. Uruguay is also preparing for presidential elections in late October, though a first round
winner is expected. In Brazil, the Workers’ Party’s (PT) potential presidential candidate, Dilma Rousseff,
trails her possible Social Democratic rival in early polls.