LA Quick Hits: Correa and Hugo, Evo, Evo, Evo, No Coke Tax. Re-Election for Me but Not for Thee and Much More

• Correa went to Caracas to see Hugo in a plane provided by Hugo. (en esp.) Talks centered around mutual interests and trade. Hugo backed Correa in his fight with Colombia over spraying along the border. Hugo blamed the US for the mess. Correa goes to Bogota next.
• The US is unhappy with Evo's expanded coca production plan (en esp.) and is knocking drug eradication funds by 25%. The link will take you to the main page, sorry.
  
• Evo's land reform has the Mennonites of Bolivia worried. According to the NYT story there are 41 Mennonite community's in Bolivia.
• The Civic Movement of South and East (Bolivia) blew off Evo's request for talks (en esp.) deeming them cynical.
• Cubans are preparing for life without Fidel. By the way what is going to annoy Miamians is that when Fidel dies there will be genuine mourning in the streets. Expect plenty of pics of sobbing women and despondent men. In the USSR they cried when Stalin died and he was a whole lot worse obviously.
  
• Mexico raised it's minimum salary by 3.9%. (en esp.) Mexico actually has three different minimum salaries with the highest in the north, 50.57 pesos p/day, and the lowest in the south, 47.60 pesos p/day. The Mexican Senate beat back the effort to raise taxes on sodas but did nail cigarettes. (en esp.) Inside the PAN there is finger pointing (en esp.) going on over the surprising loss.
• The man leading the fight in Michoacan says the Zetas are through. (en esp.) I think it is a little early for that.
  
• Calderon wants to stem emigration by creating better jobs.
• Former prez and current house arrest prisoner Aleman says that Nicaragua should not have consecutive re-elections for presidents, Danny Ortega disagrees. This is of course rather convenient for Aleman, don't you think.
  
• Oscar Arias will donate his presidential salary to charity.
• Costa Rica cut the subsidy to diesel (en esp.) upping the price by 17 cents, this knocked down the regular gas price by 28.