Today is the 40th anniversary of “Che’s” (June 14 1928-Oct 9, 1967) capture and execution (Oct 9th) in the Bolivian mountains. After studying medicine in Argentina, and later traveling throughout Latin America, Ernesto Guevara met his destiny in Mexico and joined a group of young idealist who would come to overthrow the Batista regime in Cuba.

After helping win a revolution “Che” became Cuba’s National Treasurer, a bizarre position for a man who seemed mostly concerned with loftier notions of freedom and equality for all. Still, “Che” has a number of opponents, many of whom had to sufferer through his harsh and often inflexible treatment towards those he felt weren’t helping improve this world.

I’ve read a couple of biographies on “Che,” and while I admire him for having the courage of his convictions, and for being deeply committed to improving this world, I’m also bothered by how he (like many other guerrillas, and revolutionaries) was able to distance himself from the people closest to him in order to help “save” others. “Che” fought for people in distant lands whom he had no direct connections to, like Cuba, the Congo and Bolivia.

You can read more about the celebrations taking place today in places like Cuba, Argentina and Bolivia in an article from the BBC. The BBC has a second article today recounting the story of his capture and execution. There’s a whole wealth of information on him on his Wikipedia entry.

The Guardian has a great set of images of “El Che” from around the globe.

Image info here.

A few days ago the Christian Science Monitor had an interesting article about conservation efforts for bufeos, (also known boto, pink dolphins, or fresh water dolphins). Scientist Fernando Trujillo from the Colombian based Omacha Foundation is behind a five nation project which also includes Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Their research hopes to gather information on population numbers and the current state of the species in order to help project it, and to use the bufeo as the poster child for a larger preservation campaign of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers.

Hopefully these efforts won’t be coming too little too late, as was the case just last week with the less fortunate fresh water dolphin in the Yangtze River whose extinction seems to have been confirmed. The Indus, Ganges and Mekon rivers also have fresh water dolphins, the populations of none of which are in good shape.

I’ve been lucky enough to have seen pink dolphin while drifting down the Orinoco river many years ago, but the memories are as fresh as if it had been just yesterday; they really are an impressive sight, and hopefully this charisma will help preserve them and the larger river ecosystem in which they live.

The International Society for the Preservation of the Tropical Rainforest has some more information on pink river dolphins here, so does Project Boto, here. A good book on the subject is the Journey of the Pink River Dolphin by Sy Montgomery.

Boto image by Pasajero on Flickr.

Several nation leaders in Latin America seem to be waking up to the fact that International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) loans aren’t truly benefiting the majority of people there, so they are joining forces to create Banco del Sur. Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay have become the founding members to Banco del Sur , which is promoted as an alternative to the IMF and WB. The bank which is to begin functions in 2008, is being promoted as coming from Latin America, for Latin America. The idea originated with Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez and is being largely funded with Venezuela’s oil money.

Lack of faith in organizations like the IMF and WB started to gather momentum in Latin American during the 1990s, and this perspective was further solidified after Argentina disregarded IMF advice and defaulted on their loans, which lead to economic recovery. Those opposing this regional bank proposal argue that it is only one more ploy by the emerging left in Latin America, still IMF loans have steadily been declining in the region during the last decade; they currently stand at around $3 billion after being at $50 billion just five years ago. Latin American countries have also been turning to other regional initiatives such as the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) for loans.

Some former and current employees of the IMF and WB explain that maybe this is a wakeup call to these institutions to make more of an effort to customize the services they provide throughout the world. Apparently the IMF has been impacted enough about this to have had to sold some of their gold reserves. This also means that the USA treasury is affected as well, since they are the largest IMF shareholders.

I would like see the Banco del Sur actually succeed and create some wealthy competition.

“… there is life after the IMF, and it’s a very good life.” -Nestor Kirchner, Argentine President

You can read more about this from an article in the Christian Science Monitor, and an article in Upside Down World.

In 1992 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution making March 22 World Water Day; This year’s theme is “Copying with Scarcity”. When thinking about water, a number of complex issues need to be address, including cultural norms, lifestyle, ethnicity, race, and socio-economic level, just to name a few. Water scarcity is a huge issue not only because natural reserves are being depleted, but also because potable water is increasingly being privatized. This has lead to violent confrontations in several cases, the most notable being Bolivia.

This water imbalance in the world has created a movement wanting to address the situation. Water Partners International is part of this effort, trying to provide clean drinking water to communities throughout the developing world. Another one is International Water Management Institute, a non-profit scientific research organization trying to promote sustainable water and land use. There is also the World Water Council, which tries to promote awareness and build political commitment to address water issues at all levels. The International Water Association try to address water concerns both through research and practice.

Although this is just a symbolic drop in the bucket, you can send an e-card and remind others of this important day.