La interrupción del embarazo antes del tercer mes de gestación ya no se persigue penalmente en el Distrito Federal. Sin importar cuál sea el motivo, las mujeres de la capital mexicana pueden abortar y acudir a los hospitales oficiales donde son atendidas gratuitamente. Según las autoridades capitalinas, la medida no equivale a una apología del aborto ni constituye una obligación, sino que es una solución a un problema de salud pública y la concesión a las mujeres del derecho a decidir. Cada quien decidirá según sus creencias y valores dentro de un Estado laico que reconoce a creyentes y no creyentes las mismas libertades y obligaciones.

Con excepción de los conservadores Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) y Partido Verde Ecologista, todos los partidos políticos votaron a favor de la despenalización del aborto. La mayoría fue absoluta, y el PAN no consiguió los votos necesarios para oponerse a la Asamblea Legislativa del Distrito Federal. En consecuencia, el Gobierno Federal, de corte conservador católico, hace un intento de echar abajo las modificaciones al código penal y a la ley de salud pública capitalinos.

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President Chavez’s call to unite the Venezuelan left in the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV) came after his third, crushing, election win on 3 December 2006.

What Chávez had actually declared was the formation of a new revolutionary party to attempt to unite the Venezuelan left. No rightist or opposition parties would be closed or banned, and even the leftist parties currently forming part of the Bolívarian coalition would be free to choose to unite in the new party or not. (more…)

Los cubanos dicen que ellos ofrecen atención médica a los pobres del mundo porque tienen unos corazones muy grandes. Ahora bien, ¿qué reciben a cambio?

Los cubanos suelen vivir más tiempo que casi cualquier persona de la América Latina, y mueren muchos menos lactantes. Casi todo el mundo está vacunado, y los flagelos de los que padecen los pobres, como parásitos, tuberculosis, paludismo, e incluso el VIH/SIDA, son raros o no existen. Cualquiera puede ir a visitar al médico, a bajo costo, en el propio vecindario.

El sistema de salud de Cuba está produciendo una población que es tan saludable como las de los países más ricos a un costo mínimo. Y ahora Cuba ha comenzado a exportar su sistema a comunidades desfavorecidas en todo el mundo, inclusive en los Estados Unidos. (more…)

Cubans say they offer health care to the world’s poor because they have big hearts. But what do they get in return?

They live longer than almost anyone in Latin America. Far fewer babies die. Almost everyone has been vaccinated, and such scourges of the poor as parasites, TB, malaria, even HIV/AIDS are rare or non-existent. Anyone can see a doctor, at low cost, right in the neighborhood.

The Cuban health care system is producing a population that is as healthy as those of the world’s wealthiest countries at a fraction of the cost. And now Cuba has begun exporting its system to under-served communities around the world—including the United States.

The story of Cuba’s health care ambitions is largely hidden from the people of the United States, where politics left over from the Cold War maintain an embargo on information and understanding. But it is increasingly well-known in the poorest communities of Latin America, the Caribbean, and parts of Africa where Cuban and Cuban-trained doctors are practicing. (more…)

The North American Free Trade Agreement is the world’s most advanced example of the U.S.-led free trade model. It’s not just about economics any more. The expansion of NAFTA into the Security and Prosperity Partnership reveals the road ahead for other nations entering into free trade agreements. It is not a road most nations — or the U.S. public — would take if they knew where it led.

The first problem is that very few people know about this next step of “deep integration.” In March 2005, Presidents George Bush, Vicente Fox and Prime Minister Paul Martin in Waco, Texas launched the Security and Prosperity Partnership with a splash. Although it had few visible results, the Waco meeting of the “Three Amigos” set into motion an underground process that spawned its own working groups, rules, recommendations, and agreements — all below the radar of the legislatures and the public in the three nations. These rules and trinational programs have profound effect on the environment, the daily lives of citizens, and the future of all three countries. (more…)