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den 3 september 2010 11:00 GMT

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AMERICAS: THE BATTLE OVER VENEZUELA
Ignacio Ramonet

Two decisive contests are fast approaching in the struggle for ideological supremacy in Latin America: the legislative elections in Venezuela on September 26 and the presidential elections in Brazil on October 3, writes Ignacio Ramonet, editor of Le Monde Diplomatique in Spanish.

CUBA: STABILITY AND SECURITY
Joaquin Roy

While Fidel Castro was making his reappearance and prisoners were being freed, Obama announced that he was willing to "ease" travel restrictions to Cuba and receive some of the released detainees. This isn't the first time that Cuba has opened the spigot - with conditions. Nor will it be the last time that Washington winks, writes Joaquin Roy, ''Jean Monnet'' professor and Director of the European Union Centre of the University of Miami.

WE MUST UNRAVEL THE SECRETS OF NATURE TO SUPPORT LIFE AND THE PLANET
Jose Mujica*

These days no one can ignore the challenges of co-existence and environmental sustainability. We are all responsible. However, paradoxically the responsibility is far greater for those who first enjoyed the benefits of modern civilisation. But it is not a national but a universal matter. No one is exempt. No country, however powerful, can guarantee the continuity of what is at risk, writes Jose Mujica, president of Uruguay.

HUMAN RIGHTS SHOULD BE THE HEART OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Rowena McNaughton

Income inequality is severe and worsening in many developing countries and yet equality is absent in the Millennium Development Goals, despite the fact that it is a human rights imperative and a foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, writes Rowena McNaughton, CIVICUS Media Officer.

MDGs: THE 2015 TARGET DATE LOOKS DIMMER THAN EVER
Supachai Panitchpakdi

The past decade was an optimistic period for developing countries and their development partners. Economic growth rates achieved high levels in many regions -exceeding 5% in sub-Saharan Africa, for example- and after a decade of stagnation, aid flows began to rise. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) initiative to tackle poverty and related development challenges through a set of internationally agreed development targets certainly galvanized donor country support. Since the recent financial crisis, however, economic growth has shrunk. The impact has been severe, not just on poor developing countries in great need of aid, but also in donor countries that are coming under increasing fiscal pressure to cut their aid budgets. Prospects for achieving the MDGs by the 2015 target date look dimmer than ever, writes Supachai Panitchpakdi, Secretary- Generalof UNCTAD.

HAS THE EUROPEAN UNION LOST ITS WAY?
Mario Soares

The two main political-ideological families that contributed most to the unity of Europe, social democracy and Christian democracy are and have long been in decline, writes Mario Soares, ex-president and ex-prime minister of Portugal.

THE CORRUPTION OF DEMOCRACY
Ignacio Ramonet

The "Bettencourt Case", which is rattling France with its storm of arrests, family feuds, suspicious checks, secret recordings, fiscal misdemeanours, and illegal donations to the party of French premier Nicolas Sarkozy, is plunging the country into a profound crisis, writes Ignacio Ramonet, editor of "Le Monde diplomatique en espanol".

CUBA: SPECULATION
Leonardo Padura Fuentes

What is undeniable in the mix of predictions and the lack of hard information is that the Cuban government is seeking economic alternatives that could shore up its political position. There is no other way to interpret the encouragement of free-lance work or plans for opening up tourism, writes Leonardo Padura Fuentes, a Cuban writer and journalist whose novels have been translated into a dozen languages.

MYTHS, REALITY AND THE WORLD CUP
Pravin Gordhan

What does the 2010 World Cup, recently concluded in South Africa, have in common with Nelson Mandela, ex-president of the country who on July 12 celebrated his ninety-second birthday, having selflessly dedicated 67 years to bringing about a free nation, and, since 1994, creating a better life for the majority of South Africans? The life of Mandela and the hosting of the World Cup share a common thread: the destruction of old myths and the creation of new realities and possibilities, writes Pravin Gordhan, Minister of Finance of South Africa.

OBLIGATORY NEOLIBERALISM
Ignacio Ramonet

Once again the markets and the speculators are in the driver's seat and the politicians are on their knees. What happened? The weight of the sovereign debt incurred by states to save the banks has been used as the pretext for a spectacular change of situation. Without scruples, the markets and financial speculators, backed by the ratings agencies which had been completely discredited for months, launched a direct attack, in the heart of the European Union, against the most indebted countries, now accused of living beyond their means, writes Ignacio Ramonet, director of "Le Monde diplomatique en espanol".

TWO GENOCIDES AND THE PERPETRATORS REMAIN FREE
John Heffernan

Fifteen years after the worst war time massacre in Europe since World War II and now a second arrest warrant issued for the architect of this century's first genocide. Srebrenica and Darfur. Both genocides, each carried out in very different ways and each orchestrated by notorious thugs who remain free, writes John Heffernan, Director of Speak Truth To Power, a project of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.

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