By Levi Novey •
March 17, 2009
A Peruvian company that makes beer from coca leaves now has plans to export its product to countries like China, Venezuela, and South Africa.
The company making the beer is a supporter of the National Confederation of Coca Farmers, a group that advocates for more organized production of coca plants. The beer is named Apu, and is already sold in southeastern cities of Peru like Cusco, the well-known gateway city to legendary Machu Picchu.
But wait… don’t draw any conclusions yet. According to the source of this information, the online news source Living in Peru, spokespeople for the group say “The goal is to demonstrate that coca leaves are not cocaine…the plant should be industrialized to avoid the production of cocaine.”
By Meg Hamill •
September 25, 2008
In an ongoing effort to reduce their dependency on oil exports to the United States, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has signed a deal with China that could easily triple the amount of oil exported to that country by 2012.
By Levi Novey •
July 29, 2008
Several weeks ago, Venezuela President Hugo Chávez provided free energy-saving light bulbs to some low-income residents of Houston, Texas. This magnanimous act probably gained him a few American fans. In late March of this year, he also announced his plan to fund “an energy revolution” in Venezuela.
The revolution has an emphasis on using Venezuelan produced products like PVC pipes to construct homes. Another major component of the revolution includes an initiative to make Venezuela more self-sufficient in food production, thus quelling the need to import food. Projects to provide additional electrical power through alternative energies like wind and solar technologies are also commencing.
The most notable and measurable success to date for the so-called energy revolution, however, has been Venezuela’s effort to change out standard light bulbs across the country for CFLS (energy-saving compact flourescent light bulbs) exactly like those Chávez donated to Texans. So far, 72.3 million light bulbs have been changed. But the story is perhaps not as simple as it would seem (as is almost any story about Chávez and his schemes).
By Levi Novey •
May 20, 2008
This past weekend, a major summit was held in Lima, Peru between leaders of European Union countries and also Latin American and Caribbean countries. Numerous agenda items were on the table, but the overall focuses of the meetings were upon the global food crisis, climate change, poverty, and potential trade agreements. Of course, what would an international summit be without some
- good, old-fashioned name-calling to put everyone on edge before hand
- a President attending a “rival summit” and taking time to go play some football! (Soccer for Americans.)
- and an uninspiring finish where seemingly little got accomplished, but yet we can hold onto hope because there are plans to keep the conversation going.
