Stories about Governance from March, 2012
Slovakia: Paying More Due to Corruption in the Area of State Tenders
Tibor Blazko highlights the ongoing public debate on corruption in the area of state tenders in Slovakia.
Puerto Rico: “He Leaves at Last”
Blogger and historian Yvonne Acosta comments on the recent dismissal [es] of the Superintendent of the Police Emilio Díaz Colón.
Spain: The Faces of the Young and Unemployed 51%
Three Barcelona-based journalists, Lucija Stojevic, Jennifer Baljko and Marc Herman, have launched the excellent digital magazine 51percent with the mission “to go beyond the news headlines and put a face to the youth unemployment crisis facing Spain. We’ll be investigating this issue for the next couple of months, on-the-ground around Barcelona.”
Georgia: Tongue-in-cheek development forecast
A satirical video posted on YouTube takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the development of Georgia ahead of parliamentary elections later this year and a presidential vote in 2013. With the current president, Milhail Saakashvili, unable to run for a third term in office it foresees him following in the footsteps...
East Timor: Early Warning Early Response Mapping System
NGO Belun in East Timor has teamed up with Columbia University to establish the Early Warning Early Response mapping system which was designed to increase early responses to conflict and prevent the escalation of violence at the national and community levels.
Human Rights Mapping in Cambodia
Human rights advocates in Cambodia have been using online maps to document, monitor, and expose human rights violations across the country. Some of the maps track land conflicts, media killings, freedom of expression violations, and prison overcrowding
Bulgaria: Construction of the Nuclear Power Plant “Belene” Cancelled
The Bulgarian government announced the cancellation of the construction of the nuclear power plant "Belene" on March 28. This controversial project and the consequences of its halt drew quite some attention. Rayna Stamboliyska reports.
Spain: General Strike Across Cities and Neighborhoods
Hundreds of people took the streets around cities and neighborhoods in Spain yesterday to participate in a general strike (29M) to protest against proposed government cuts to indispensable social services. March 29 became a new important date in the movements' agenda.
Guinea-Bissau: Constitutional Limits on the Presidential Elections
Claims of widespread fraud during the presidential elections in Guinea Bissau, on 18 March, allows for the possibility that the April ballot will take place with a single candidate – Carlos Gomes Jr. His concurrent Kumba Ialá, refuses to participate in the second round, and the Constitution doesn't allow the replacement of candidates.
Peru: Focusing on Technology for Social and Economic Development
What if Peru were more committed to supporting and developing technology? This is what Oscar Montezuma asks in the blog Blawyer [es]. He looks at the current cabinet of ministries and suggests changes to give technology a leading role in the government's strategy for social and economic development.
Moldova: 917-Day Marathon to Elect the President is Over
After two and a half years of repeated failures to elect the head of state, the Moldovan politicians finally managed on March 16 to give the country its new president, Nicolae Timofti. But will this former judge become a true leader of the nation?
Guatemala: Indigenous and Rural Communities March to Defend Their Land
Thousands of Guatemalan indigenous people and countrymen participated in a nine-day march to defend their lands, protest forced relocations, and call attention to other issues affecting rural communities. We share some images of the march posted online by blogger and photographer James Rodríguez.
Slovenia: Family Code Referendum (and Other “Election Season” Updates)
Sleeping With Pengovsky has been covering Slovenia's referendum on the Family Code (here and here), the mayoral by-elections, and the upcoming presidential election.
Chile: Blogging About Government Transparency in ‘El Vaso’
Ciudadano Inteligente, an organization that aims to make Chilean politics more transparent, has created a blog titled ‘El Vaso’ [es] to inform and promote a discussion about technology and government transparency. Readers are invited to contribute [es] content.
Armenia: US Ambassador urges free, fair and credible elections
Ambassador Heffern's Video Blog's comments on the upcoming parliamentary elections in Armenia. Posted on the U.S. Embassy's YouTube Channel, the American diplomat stresses the need for free and fair elections, details some of the changes introduced in the electoral code, and urges the government, opposition and civil society to ensure...
Russia: Kenyans at Pro-Putin Rally Identified As Moscow Circus Acrobats
A month ago, the video of a group of anonymous Kenyan men, who allegedly participated in a pro-Putin rally, received much attention on the RuNet. One blogger recognized the Kenyans as the acrobats who had been brought to Moscow by the Russian circus authorities, to hone their skills and have them later perform here.
Georgia: Anti-discriminatory legislation ahead of Armenia, Azerbaijan
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on the passage of legislation in Georgia outlawing discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, and political as well as religious views. The blog notes that the inclusion of sexual orientation makes Georgia “clearly the most advanced country in the South Caucasus in terms of legislative provisions...
Trinidad & Tobago: Divisive Politics
The Eternal Pantomime is critical of what she considers to be divisive politics on the part of the ruling government, which “has also sought to promulgate the good old colonial stand-by practice of divide and rule to ensure that it keeps its party base solidly behind it and in support of all...
Philippines: Government Fails to Stop ‘Noynoying’
What started as a substitute to the now banned planking protests is now the latest hit sensation in the Philippines. Filipino netizens discuss how and why the 'Noynoying' protest has gained its present popularity despite efforts by the government to stop it.
Armenia: Ushahidi deployed for parliamentary elections
Georgia was the first country in the South Caucasus to deploy a bespoke crowd-sourcing and crisis mapping platform for its local elections in May 2010, but Armenia will be the first to use Ushahidi to monitor the conduct of national elections in the form of the upcoming May 2012 parliamentary...
Chile: Twitter Debates Therapeutic Abortion While the Senate Waits
While the senate continues to postpone the debate over the legalization of therapeutic abortion, the exchanging of opinions has continued unabated in Chilean cyberspace, most noticeably following two televised debates on the subject.
