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The leftward tilt of Latin America has dominated headlines
over the past five years, but during the same time, more of the region has
moved toward the political center. The number of Latin Americans identifying
themselves as moderates grew from 29 percent in 2003 to 42 percent this year. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
The Brazilian government's National Indian Foundation (Funai)
recently said it would conduct flyovers in Amazonia, where it suspects Indians
might be in danger from encroaching farmers, loggers and miners. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Since Hugo Chávez was elected president in 1998, the
homicide rate has gone from 63 to 130 murders per every 100,000 inhabitants.
It's one of the world's worst rates. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
A desire by President-elect Obama to enter the White House
signaling change in US foreign policy may well lead to quick – though perhaps
modest – action on Cuba. See story from Christian
Science Monitor
The ongoing hemispheric alliance between Venezuela and Cuba
was punctuated by the Venezuelan visit of Cuban President Raul Castro. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Mexicans are becoming disenchanted with the governments two
year campaign against drug traffickers. Federal authorities have disarmed
scores of police departments, boasted of bundles of cash and caches of weapons
confiscated, and heralded arrests of some of the highest-profile traffickers as
proof of success. But the effort's first year, 2007, also turned out to be the nation's
deadliest in modern history; and the death toll for 2008 has, as of Dec. 2, far
exceeded that, spiking by 117 percent. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
As Detroit pleads with lawmakers for a bailout package,
Mexico is watching closely, keenly aware that failure of the Big Three to stave
off bankruptcy could devastate auto workers south of the border – and
reenergize the northward flow of illegal migrants. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
As Mexico's drug war rages, military takes over for police
Tijuana's anticorruption police chief was fired and replaced with an Army
officer, following three days of drug-related violence that left 37 people
dead. See story
from Christian Science Monitor
Russia will send a naval squadron and long-range patrol
planes to Venezuela this year for a joint military exercise in the Caribbean,
an announcement made at a time of increasingly tense relations with the United
States. The apparently retaliatory move follows the U.S. deployment of
warships to deliver aid to the former Soviet nation of Georgia, barely a month
after Russian armor and aircraft crushed the Georgian military in a five-day
war. See
story from Associated Press
Skyrocketing oil prices, escalating labor costs in China,
and an appreciating currency there are causing companies to give Mexico another
look. So-called "nearshoring" could generate a reverse globalization
that brings manufacturing back to Mexico. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Mexican citizens took to the streets to protest the out of
control crime wave that has swept the country in the past decade. The ability
of the government to effectively respond to the concerns is questionable. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Since Raúl Castro took Cuba's helm in February 2008, he's
rolled out a series economic changes, including allowing Cubans to buy cellphones
and giving farmers profit-incentives. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Peru has a bright economic outlook. The country has seen 84
consecutive weeks of sustained growth and foreign investment is pouring in. Peru's
economic boom has buoyed the country, both rich and poor. Poverty is down by 5
percentage points in the past year, to about 40 percent. But the windfall from
record mineral prices, textile exports, and foreign investment has fueled
wealth much faster than it has reduced poverty – giving rise to resentment,
protests, and strikes that many observers say is paving the way for the victory
of a hard-line nationalist, like former presidential candidate Ollanta Humala,
in Peru's next elections in 2011. See story from Christian
Science Monitor
The high food and commodity prices hurting most countries
are buoying Brazil, a top exporter of minerals, soy, beef, chicken, and grains.
High food and commodity prices have boosted Brazil's economy, giving more
people the disposable income to buy items such as cars, homes, and electronics.
See story from
Christian Science Monitor
As kidnapping rates soar, Mexico City's mayor is recruiting
300,000 residents to monitor – and turn in – corrupt cops. But the efficacy of
such tactics is doubtful as residents are understandably fearful of such
renegade authority. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
After a series of setbacks, leftist President Hugo Chávez
welcomed his conservative nemesis – Colombia's Álvaro Uribe – to a reconcilatory
meeting. See
story from Christian Science Monitor
Sixteen months after Venezuela's leftist President Hugo
Chávez drew bipartisan hurrahs in Nicaragua with his promise to solve the
country's "oil problem," the cheers have turned to jeers as Nicaragua's
fuel crisis has become more crippling than ever. See story from Christian
Science Monitor
At an emergency food-security summit held in Managua, Nicaragua,
14 Latin American and Caribbean nations convened under the umbrella of the
Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the leftist trade bloc founded
in 2004 by Cuba and Venezuela as an alternative to United States free-trade
agreements. U.S. policies were directly blamed for creating the crisis. See story from Christian
Science Monitor
The House delayed indefinitely a U.S.-Colombia free-trade
agreement that President Bush had sent to Capitol Hill under "fast-track"
legislative rules. This vote on H Res 1092 canceled a deadline in those rules
for the House to approve or reject the trade pact. The deferral did not require
Senate or presidential concurrence and took effect immediately. See
vote
A class divide hardens for Argentina's growing poor as a
quarter of the nation now lives in poverty in a country that once prided itself
on an egalitarian ethos. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Emboldened by the recent defeat of the constitutional
referendum to expand Hugo Chávez's "21st-century socialist
revolution" in Venezuela, the opposition in Nicaragua has started to
organize against what it claims is President Daniel Ortega's similar intentions
to consolidate power in this country. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
By a narrow margin, Venezuela rejected socialism and refused
to hand its president almost unlimited powers to rule indefinitely, in what is
the first major defeat for the controversial Hugo Chavez in nine years of
government. See
story from Scotsman
The Senators voted to implement a U.S.-Peru free-trade pact
that requires Peru to meet labor and environmental standards while locking in Peru's
duty-free access to U.S. markets and lifting Peruvian duties on 80 percent of U.S.
farm and consumer exports. See vote
The Senate voted to continue a congressional ban on
long-haul Mexican trucking in the United States despite a Supreme Court ruling
that the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement obligates the United States
to permit long-haul Mexican trucking. See
vote
Gangland-style slayings and kidnappings reached record
levels in Mexico during the first half of the year, a new report from Mexico's
Congress has found, making Mexico one of the world's most dangerous countries.
See story from
McClatchy News Service
In Venezuela, uncertainty spurs a middle-class exodus as
frustration with Chávez's reforms, inflation, and crime are causing many to
leave. See story
from Christian Science Monitor
Guatemala has held elections where the major concern
surrounds the staggering murder rate in the capital. Much of the violence is
related to gang activity and drug trafficking. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
An escalating drug war grips Mexico as drug cartels battle
for smuggling routes into the US. Officials are now even comparing the violence
to the drug wars that plagued Colombia for more than a decade. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Brazil is undertaking much-needed infrastructure although some
officials believe the goals are unrealistic. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
President Calderón is adopting programs of his leftist
opponents in a bid to bridge the persistent rich-poor wealth gap which has
cause the deep political divide in the country. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
As Castro fades, new leaders appear to be more sympathetic
to economic reforms and more-liberal social policies. See story from Christian
Science Monitor
As he begins his third presidential term, Venezuelan
President Hugo Chávez has laid the groundwork for a sharp leftward shift and
launched a clampdown on dissent, in what analysts see as a broad-based effort
to strengthen his grip on power. Mr. Chávez announced plans to nationalize
power and telecom companies as part of an accelerated move toward socialism. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Rafael Correa was elected President of Ecuador and thus
another country enters the leftist regional orbit of Hugo Chavez. But Correa
is unlikely to become as radical or isolationist as some have painted him. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Sixteen years after falling from power, Daniel Ortega, the
former Marxist revolutionary who battled US-backed rebel forces in Nicaragua
throughout the 1980s, appeared to emerge victorious in Sunday's presidential
election, according to preliminary results and quick counts by two of the
country's respected observer groups. See story from
Christian Science Monitor
Sixteen years after falling from power, Daniel Ortega, the former Marxist revolutionary who battled US-backed rebel forces in Nicaragua throughout the 1980s, appeared to emerge victorious in Sunday's presidential election, according to preliminary results and quick counts by two of the country's respected observer groups. See story from Christian Science Monitor
By most economic measures Nafta has been a success. Millions
of Mexican families who were lower middle class or working class have made the
leap to middle class security. This can be measured in new houses, new cars, private
schools for their children, vacations taken together and the number of iPods
school children enjoy. But for an equal number of Mexicans, Nafta has not only
passed them by, it has hurt them.
U.S. farm subsidies have rendered obsolete Mexican farming,
and millions of farmers have lost their livelihoods. It is this Nafta failure
that it driving illegal immigration. See
story from New California Media
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is focused on advancing his
anti-American agenda by obtaining a seat on the United Nations Security
Council. See
story from Christian Science Monitor
Bolstered by more than $1 billion in discounted oil and
other assistance from its key ally Venezuela, Cuba has put behind it the
chronic blackouts and other problems that once plagued this nation. The
assistance has put life into a socialist economy whose primary goal is to
provide full employment and a social safety net for Cuba's 11 million
residents. Yet the Cuban economy remains precarious at best, dependent on the
largesse of Venezuela and unable to significantly lift living standards as it
faces a potential crossroads with Castro temporarily ceding power to his
younger brother, Raul, and Cubans contemplating a future without their longtime
leader. See
story from Chicago Tribune
The disputed Mexican election has heightened tensions over a
controversial NAFTA deadline for removal of Mexican tariffs on corn and beans.
Many Mexican farmers believe the removal of tariffs will destroy their way of
life. See
story from Christian Science Monitor
The carnival-type protest atmosphere orchestrated by Andrés Manuel López Obrador to dispute the election results has
disrupted the Mexican economy and inconvenienced many. But it is also the sign
of a vibrant new democracy in a country that previously would not tolerate
dissent. See
story from Christian Science Monitor
The Bush administration is banning arms sales from the U.S. to Venezuela, America's fifth-largest source for oil imports, because of what it says is a lack of support by President Hugo Chavez's government for counterterrorism activities. See story from Associated Press
As leftists and populist politicians - some of them overtly anti-American - gain strength across Latin America, Colombia's conservative president, Alvaro Uribe, stands out as a political island. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Recent protests highlight the problems of Chile's public education system which has been stagnant as the country has otherwise developed. See story from Christian Science Monitor
A cooperation agreement signed last week between Nicaragua's Sandinista leader and Presidential candidate Daniel Ortega and Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez is being touted by many here as an initiative to sell oil to Nicaragua on credit, allowing the country to invest more in poverty-fighting projects. Critics call it a blatant attempt to buy the Nov. 5 presidential election for Mr. Ortega. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Felipe de Jesús Calderón, the PAN candidate, has surprisingly taken the lead in the Mexican Presidential polls. His use of negative advertising by comparing charismatic frontrunner Andrés Manuel López Obrador to Hugo Chavez has proved very effective. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Many of President Hugo Chávez's supporters wonder when his changes will improve their lives. See story from Christian Science Monitor
While the world community scrutinizes Iran's nuclear plans, Latin America's biggest country is weeks away from taking a controversial step and firing up the region's first major uranium enrichment plant. That move will make Brazil the ninth country to produce large amounts of enriched uranium, which can be used to generate nuclear energy and, when highly enriched, to make nuclear weapons. See story from Knight Ridder
Hundreds of kidnappings are occurring in Haiti amid poverty and political uncertainty. See story from Christian Science Monitor
In perhaps the most remarkable sign of the Sino-U.S. tug of war on energy, supertankers are making the costly 40- to 45-day journey to China from Venezuela, a traditional and consistent U.S. supplier. See story from Knight Ridder
Cuba reported 11.8 per cent growth in 2005. The increase was calculated using a formula that estimated the market value of free social services and subsidized goods and services to Cubans and included massive medical and other services exported mainly to Venezuela. See story from Associated Press
Costa Rica has traditionally been a showcase of human development in Latin America, but has faced increasing difficulties in maintaining its traditional socioeconomic model during the last two decades. While the country has succeeded in attracting multinational firms in high technology sectors, economic growth has been uneven and income inequality has steadily increased. Moreover, social tensions are on the rise, and the political elite severely questioned, as a result of conflicts between the proponents and critics of neoliberal reforms. Costa Rica also faces the challenge of securing human and social rights for an increasing migrant population from Nicaragua. See story from One World Net
Argentina is the eighth largest country in the world with a wealth of natural resources, but its recent past has been marred by one of the bloodiest military dictatorships in Latin America, which left 30,000 people missing. Two decades later, Argentineans saw their country plummet into another national disaster; the most severe economic crisis in the country's history. Argentina has been on its way to recovery since 2002, achieving high rates of economic growth. Nevertheless, unemployment, inequality, crime and corruption are still soaring, leading the country's disillusioned population to constant protest and demonstrations. See story from One World Net
An incredibly diverse country with many different roots and cultures, Brazil has the largest number of both Portuguese speakers and Catholics in the world. Although the country is perhaps best known for football and the glamour of carnival, the unequal reality of life in Brazil has many negative consequences for both development and human rights in general, and specifically for the country's ability to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Brazil's government is internationally admired for its progressive attitude towards HIV/AIDS control and encouragement of open source software, whilst remaining impotent in the face of the continuing destruction of the Amazon rainforest. See story from One World Net
After a bitter civil war that lasted a generation, Guatemala is eager to regain its proud identity. The task is formidable, with human development indicators amongst the lowest in the Americas, and a largely agricultural economy at the mercy of global commodity prices and the uncertain benefits of multilateral trade agreements See story from One World Net
Mexico, one of the Latin American countries overrun by the tide of neo-liberal economic philosophy, transformed its economy over a ten-year period to become one of the most open in the world. The actual benefits in development terms remain uncertain and uneven, and the country still contends with a large informal sector and sensitive US border issues. The human rights record and political progress for minority indigenous groups remain sketchy, but local civil society is increasingly vocal on these issues. See story from One World Net
Uruguay was once considered the Switzerland of the Americas. The country was home to Latin America's first social democracy and cradle-to-grave welfare system, and has historically been the region's leader in social indicators. Recent history, however, has not been so kind. Prolonged recession and crisis since the economic implosion of neighboring Argentina in 1999 left 30% of the Uruguayan population living below the poverty line. In elections in 2004, disenchanted voters backed a new left-wing government led by Dr. Tabaré Vázquez. See story from One World Net
The money sent home by migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean amounted to 45 billion dollars last year, double the total from 10 years ago. Thanks to these remittances, an estimated 2.5 million people in the region have been able to escape poverty. See story from Inter Press Service
A wave of presidential elections over the next year in Latin America promises to reshape a region that's seen modest economic growth in recent years but soaring opposition to U.S. influence. Polls show that leftist candidates who are critical of U.S. policies have good chances to win presidencies in Bolivia and Mexico. Voters also are poised to elect female presidents in Chile and Peru, which would be a first in both countries. See story from Knight Ridder
A Cuban scientist who helped develop a low-cost synthetic vaccine that prevents meningitis and pneumonia in small children says he was offended the US government denied his request to travel to the US to receive an award. See story from Associated Press
Led by Chile and Costa Rica, governments throughout Latin America are showing increasing commitments to democracy according to the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Those two nations led the region in overall democratic development while Venezuela and Guatemala scored the lowest of the 18 countries surveyed. See story from Associated Press
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean says the percentage of people living in poverty in the region has declined for the second straight year. In a report released Friday, the U.N. panel said 13 million people have climbed out of poverty since 2003. It says better economic conditions and remittances sent home by emigrants working abroad have contributed to the decline. The organization's executive director, Jose Luis Machinea, said projected figures for this year show the lowest poverty rates since the early 1980s, but he cautioned that two years of growth will not solve the region's problems. The U.N. report says 213 million people, or nearly 41 percent of Latin Americans, live in poverty. (From Voice of America)
Almost every country in the United Nations General Assembly urged the U.S. Tuesday to end its four-decade-old embargo against Cuba. The resolution demanded that the U.S. lift its trade, financial and travel embargo and stop penalizing foreign firms that deal with the island nation. Siding with the U.S. were Israel, Palau and the Marshall Islands. Micronesia abstained, while El Salvador, Iraq, Morocco and Nicaragua did not vote. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Leaders from across the Americas ended their two-day summit without agreeing whether to restart talks on a free trade zone stretching from Alaska to Chile. See story from CNN
The summit of the Americas pits the clash of hemispheric visions between free market system advocated by the Bush Administration and the quasi-socialist model advocated by Venezuelan President Chavez. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Latin America that is less attached to US priorities - and more diversified in its own international relations - than at any time in the recent past which presents a new challenge to US policy makers. See story from Christian Science Monitor
After much progress in the booming 1990s - including the dropping of 9 million from welfare rolls after welfare reform - poverty has returned in force. Starting in 2001, the share of Americans in poverty has increased each year. In 2004 alone, their ranks grew by 1 million. In all, some 12.7 percent live below the poverty line: defined as $15,067 for a family of three. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Proof that Chile is enjoying Latin America's most vibrant economy is everywhere. Massive public-works projects crisscross the country. Steel and glass skyscrapers sprout in the business districts of the capital, Santiago. New freeways climb the Andes Mountains and connect towns long separated by distance and poor infrastructure. Chile's economy, which depends on exporting copper, grew by about 6 percent last year and is on track for a similar expansion this year, as international copper prices have soared. See story from Knight Ridder
A 22-nation summit on immigration and alleviating Latin America's debt burden opened in Spain, but the region's most controversial leader, Cuban President Fidel Castro, stayed away. See story from Associated Press
A Peruvian government anti-poverty program will give $30 a month in cash to the poorest families - often doubling their income, but only if they meet certain criteria, including enrolling their children in school and providing basic healthcare. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The Bush administration is taking a more cooperative and less ideological approach to Latin America, a departure from the earlier confrontational stance that accompanied a waning of US influence in the region. See story from Christian Science Monitor
More than 15 years after relinquishing power, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet has few public friends left in the country he once ruled, while the reputation of Salvador Allende, the man whose government Pinochet destroyed, is making a comeback. See story from Knight Ridder
Venezuelans enjoy highly subsidized gasoline, which retails for between 10 and 15 cents per gallon, and 7 cents for a gallon of diesel. But critics argue that besides feeding perpetual traffic jams and worsening air pollution, the subsidy is a multibillion-dollar drain on the national budget, sapping money that could help schools, hospitals, or public transit, and transferring it to the wealthier classes, who own the cars. See story from Christian Science Monitor
While Brazilians live with levels of poverty and violence that mark them as Third World citizens, they are emerging as trailblazers in the kind of high technology that's propelling many First World economies. Evolving fields such as open-source software, online banking and social networking through the Internet are finding a welcome home in this nation of more than 180 million people. So are legions of sophisticated hackers, who regularly make international headlines with their exploits. See story from Knight Ridder
The CAFTA agreement has considerable support in impoverished Nicaragua despite some leftist opposition. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Four years ago, newly elected Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo inherited a country battered by years of war and corruption, and he promised to save it. He would stop the stealing of public funds, which had marred the administration of his predecessor, Alberto Fujimori, he said. He would create jobs for millions and ease poverty. As the nation's first president of indigenous descent, he would bring dignity to long- oppressed communities. Now, with his term ending and the race to replace him gearing up - elections will be held in April - millions of Peruvians see his administration indeed as one of lost hope. See story from Knight Ridder
In the latest sign of deteriorating relations with the United States, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has vowed to cut off all bilateral antidrug cooperation and expel the US Drug Enforcement Administration from a country whose porous borders make it a leading transshipment point for cocaine and heroin from neighboring Colombia into the United States and Europe. See story from Boston Globe
Fifteen years after unexpectedly being voted out of power, and with two unsuccessful runs for the presidency since, the iconic head of the Marxist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) is back on the campaign trail. Ortega, a name many US officials had hoped to consign to the history books, has a fighting chance of returning to power. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The Chavez government is successfully assisting and promoting worker's cooperatives among the urban poor. See story from Christian Science Monitor
While Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez can spark rancor within his own country and prompted U.S. evangelist Pat Robertson's call Monday for his assassination, South American countries have a less malevolent view of their oil-rich neighbor. See story from Knight Ridder
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has aggressively using oil diplomacy in neighboring countries. Venezuela has been offering preferential oil deals, barters, and loans to leftist and left-of- center governments. In the past 30 days, the leader of the world's fifth-largest oil exporting country, has inked deals with Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Paraguay. Thirteen Caribbean nations signed a deal for cheap oil in June. And since April, Cuba has been getting almost all of its oil from Venezuela in exchange for doctors and gym teachers. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Cuba and Panama restored diplomatic ties Saturday, one year after they were broken off in a dispute sparked by the decision by Panama's previous president to pardon four Cuban exiles accused of trying to assassinate Cuban President Fidel Castro. See story from BBC
When Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva came to power nearly three years ago, the former union leader promised to carry out an ambitious agenda of anti-poverty programs that he said would right historic injustices. Now, with his administration besieged by a money-for-votes scandal, celebrated initiatives such as the government's Zero Hunger program and the redistribution of unused land to landless farmers largely have been abandoned. See story from Knight Ridder
Large farm owners have turned Brazil into an agricultural superpower, making it the world's biggest exporter of many agricultural products. But the agricultural boom also is responsible for much of the deforestation occurring in the environmentally sensitive Amazon region. See story from Los Angeles Times
A new pan-Latin American TV channel, Telesur, has begun its first broadcast from the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. It is backed by the governments of Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay who say they want it to promote Latin American integration. Last week the House of Representatives voted to enable the US administration to begin broadcasting its own TV signals to Venezuela. See story from BBC
Eschewing Marxism-Leninism, Venezuela's Hugo Chavez has developed an economic model called "endogenous development" whereby state oil money will finance the creation of thousands of small-scale cooperatives in agricultural and other areas to provide jobs and foster community development. A second leg of Chavez's master plan is something known as "cogestion," roughly translated as co-management, where the state is helping workers purchase shares of companies they work in to give them a greater say in management. The goal of all this, they say, is to lift millions out of poverty by reducing Venezuela's reliance on oil, which has left the country with a weak manufacturing and agricultural base and over- dependent on imports of food and almost everything else. Chicago Tribune
Having portrayed itself for so long as owning a monopoly on virtue in political life, the fall from grace of Brazil's governing, left-wing Workers' Party (PT) has been spectacular as a "vote-buying" scandal has led to a series of resignations of major officials, jeopardizing the political future of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brazil has not done so badly since Lula came to power. Fears of an Argentine- style economic meltdown and debt default have not been realized; inflation has stayed low; and growth, especially in the past year or so, has been respectable. But there is now a concern that this progress will be sidetracked by the growing scandal. See story from The Economist
The full scale U.S. embargo of Cuba ended several years ago. With no fanfare or "fall of the Berlin Wall" celebration, a mighty flow of American goods is streaming into Cuban stores and kitchens. See story from About.com
Twelve years ago, amid heated rhetoric over job losses and heavy union pressure, the House passed the North American Free Trade Agreement with 102 Democratic votes. This month, as President Bush pushes the far less economically significant Central American Free Trade Agreement, he will be lucky to get more than 10. A core group of as many as 50 pro- trade Democrats are voting against CAFTA; those lawmakers say the agreement is a step backward on labor standards after years of steady gains under previous trade accords. See story from Washington Post
Reversing years of congressional votes that showed supporters of easing U.S. sanctions on Cuba gaining strength, the House gave a categorical win to supporters of a tough line on Havana. An amendment seeking to overturn limits on Cuban-Americans' family travel to Cuba was defeated 211-208 (see vote). An amendment that would have completely lifted the U.S. trade embargo on Cuba, submitted by Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., was rejected on a 250-169. (see vote). See story from Miami Herald.
The Senate voted 54-45 to approve a controversial free-trade deal with six Central American. However, the bill faces a tough battle in the House amid rising concern about overall U.S. trade policy. See story from USA Today See vote
In an attempt to pass a controversial trade agreement with Central America, the Bush administration indicated for the first time that it might be willing to negotiate a deal to benefit U.S. sugar producers, the major roadblock so far to passing the agreement. See story from Chicago Tribune
In a controversial plan, Brazil's government is preparing to let private companies embark on a $417 million paving project to turn an Amazon route into a modern two-lane toll highway stretching 1,100 miles, nearly the distance between Philadelphia and Miami. That would link Brazil's most important soy-growing region with a deep-water Amazon River port. Truck traffic will skyrocket as the country opens up a new export corridor for soybeans, Brazil's most important crop. Trips that now take weeks during the half-year rainy season will be cut to hours. The pavement is bound to boost migration, prompting warnings from environmentalists of an ecological disaster driven by deforestation. But no one is trying to stop the paving and supporters and critics agree that the economic forces driving the project are unstoppable. See story from Associated Press
Cuba's economy grew 3 percent last year, and is projected to grow more than 4 percent in each of the next two years. This growth - driven by cheap Venezuelan oil, a $500 million investment by China, and a rebounding tourist industry - has emboldened Mr. Castro to curb the market reforms he reluctantly introduced in the 1990s, allowing him to tighten his socialist grip. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Corruption. Weak democracy. These two enduring problems help account for the lack of economic opportunity for Bolivia's poor masses. They also explain why that country is on the verge of tipping left - mirroring a trend by six other Latin American nations in the past three years. But another big issue at play needs to be more openly addressed, and that's racism. The protests in La Páz leading to a breakdown in the government are led largely by indigenous people. Making up at least 65 percent of the population, these subsistence farmers and miners live mostly in poverty. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The threat to Latin America's fragile democratic order grows steadily more visible, from the latest round of paralyzing strikes in Bolivia, to the creeping Sandinista coup against Nicaragua's beleaguered president, to Hugo Chavez's preparations to militarize Venezuela with Cuban-style popular militias. But the greatest danger of all may be the refusal of the region's remaining democrats to acknowledge what they see. See story from Washington Post
Corruption is one of the main obstacles to development in Central America, according to experts commenting on the recent series of scandals involving top-ranking officials in the region. See story from One World Net
An estimated 3,000 kidnappings took place in Mexico in 2003, second only to Colombia worldwide. And while historically it has been a scourge only for the wealthy - foreign executives pulled from their fancy cars, children of the elite snatched from the school playground - lower- and middle-class families are increasingly being targeted. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The efforts of the Columbian government to address the paramilitary situation in the country are being undermined by an increasing presence of narcotraffickers. See story from Christian Science Monitor
In recent months, Latin America has made significant progress in the struggle to redress the human rights abuses committed during the dictatorships of the 1970s and '80s. See story from Christian Science Monitor
In a challenge to President George W. Bush, the House of Representatives approved an amendment that would allow Cubans residing in the United States to travel once a year to their country of origin. See story from Granma See vote
Less than 15 years after the end of the Cold War, the United States government is increasingly militarizing its relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean, according to a new report released here this week. See story from One World Net See chart
Former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso's eleventh-hour pardons to four incarcerated Cuban-Americans may have been good news for Miami's anti-Castro extremists, but they created a diplomatic disaster for her successor and dealt a heavy blow to the White House's crusade against terrorism. See story from Scoop (New Zealand)
In a Rudolph Guiliani-inspired campaign to clean up crime, Mexico City is clamping down on street vendors. See story from Miami Herald
Venezuelans turned out in record numbers to vote to recall President Hugo Chávez or confirm his mandate, which extends until the end of 2006. Former President Jimmy Carter, who helped monitor the referendum, endorsed returns showing that Chávez won the vote. "Our findings coincided with the partial returns announced today by the National Elections Council," Carter told a news conference. See story from Christian Science Monitor
The government of Honduras is savoring a victory. Exactly one year ago, it declared war on the "mareros" - members of street gangs accused of terrorizing the country. Today, Honduras's mareros - once estimated at 30,000 strong - are for the most part dead, imprisoned, or in hiding. But even as the country celebrates its freedom from violence and fear, there are those who look with dismay at what has taken place in Honduras. Yes, they say, the brutality of gang rule has been checked, allowing the country's 6.6 million citizens to return to normal life. But, these critics add, a high price has been paid for this new- found peace. Civil liberties have been eroded and, they worry, oppressive anti-gang legislation will push the remaining gang members further to the margins of society - into a position both precarious and menacing. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Canada has leapfrogged from eighth to fourth place in the United Nations' "Human Development Report 2004" while the United State slipped a notch and Ireland nudged Switzerland from the top 10 list. See story from United Press See United Nations Human Development Report Website
The Dominican Republic will join a proposed free-trade pact with the United States and five countries of Central America known as CAFTA. See story from Agence France Presse
International donors promised violence-ravaged Haiti 1.085 billion dollars in reconstruction aid to help the country overcome a debilitating crisis. See story from United Press International
The House dealt an election-season setback to President Bush by voting to overturn restrictions his administration has issued on the gift parcels that Americans can send to family members in Cuba. The 221-194 vote was won by a coalition in which Democrats were joined by nearly four dozen farm-state and free-trade Republicans to rebuff the president. See vote
After a decade in which Latin America struggled with financial crises, all of the region's economies grew in 2004. The average increase was 5.5 percent, the highest in 25 years. It "exceeded the most optimistic forecasts," according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Thanks to a reduction of red tape in domestic markets, more investment from giants like the US and - increasingly - China, and high commodity prices, growth is expected to continue this year, though more slowly. See story from Christian Science Monitor
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