New Latin American Group Unlikely to Have Teeth
Andres Oppenheimer

A summit of Latin American and Caribbean leaders in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, decided to create a new regional bloc excluding the United States and Canada, in what most international media described as an act of defiance against Washington. But there are three big reasons to believe that it will be something very different.

Hubris Behind Brazil's Ties With Iran
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil's key diplomatic support of Iran's increasingly isolated regime is baffling the international community. There are several theories about Brazil's behavior, some of them quite troubling.

Time to Make the OAS More Effective
Andres Oppenheimer

The future of the Organization of American States is definitely not something that keeps Washington D.C. awake at night, but OAS chief Jose Miguel Insulza's campaign to win reelection has created a noisy clash in the U.S. capital.

Chile's New Leader Vows to Speak Out for Democracy
Andres Oppenheimer

Chile's president-elect Sebastian Pi�era, the right-of-center billionaire who is scheduled to chair the 23-country Rio Group of Latin American nations, sounds like he will not be shy about pushing for the collective defense of democratic freedoms in Venezuela, Cuba and other autocratic countries.

Brazil Election to Offer Definite Contrast
Andres Oppenheimer

With Brazil's government-backed presidential hopeful Dilma Roussef rising in the polls, some of her most prominent critics are raising the specter that South America's biggest country will move closer to the radical left if she wins the October elections

U.S. Foreign Aid Cutback Plan Sends Wrong Message
Andres Oppenheimer

Perhaps, Obama's 2011 foreign aid budget request reflects priorities in world affairs as it looks like Obama is saying 'adios' to Latin America. Obama's foreign aid request to Congress calls for a 13 percent increase for Africa, 7 percent increase for the Middle East and nearly 60 percent increase for South and Central Asia. By comparison, a nearly 10 percent cut in aid for Latin America.

Venezuela Needs a Violeta Chamorro
Andres Oppenheimer

Venezuela's narcissist-Leninist President Hugo Chavez is facing one of the worst political moments of his 11-year presidency, and new polls show that -- for the first time in several years -- there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the opposition. In recent weeks, things have gone from bad to worse for Ch�vez.

Haiti: Reforestation Should Be Part of Rebuilding Process
Andres Oppenheimer

Haiti has long been the poorest country in the hemisphere, to a large extent because of deforestation. Early in the 20th century, about 60 percent of Haiti's landscape was covered with forests. But since then, Haitians have cut down nearly 99 percent of the trees in the country to use them as firewood or charcoal for cooking.

Pentagon Wrestles With Haiti Relief
Anna Mulrine

In one of the largest humanitarian efforts in its history, the U.S. military has sent nearly 20,000 personnel, 23 ships, and an estimated 100 flights a day in and out of Haiti since it was hit by a horrific earthquake. But as the casualty figures mount and the scale of the destruction becomes more clear, Pentagon officials are now wrestling with what comes next

President Porfirio Lobo Might Put End to Honduran Crisis
Andres Oppenheimer

Honduran President Porfirio Lobo's inauguration was a pretty lonely affair, with most Latin American presidents shunning the ceremony because of the country's 2009 coup. But judging from what I'm told by key Latin American and U.S. officials, Lobo's isolation won't last long.

Chile Unlikely to Lead Anti-Ch�vez Bloc
Andres Oppenheimer

There is a lot of speculation that Chile's president-elect, Sebasti�n Pi�era, a Harvard-educated economist and business tycoon, will lead an anti-populist bloc in Latin America. But judging from what I'm hearing from people in his inner circle, it won't happen.

Chile's Sebastian Pinera Unlikely to Be South American Silvio Berlusconi
Andres Oppenheimer

The conventional wisdom in the media is that Chile's president-elect Sebasti�n Pi�era will be Latin America's version of Italy's scandal-ridden leader Silvio Berlusconi. Both are right-of-center business tycoons who won their countries' elections with the help of their media empires and soccer teams. In fact, there are five powerful reasons why he may do better than the Italian leader

Politics Behind Hugo Chavez's Currency Devaluation
Andres Oppenheimer

A lot has been written in recent days about the economic impact of drastic devaluation of the Venezuelan currency announced by Venezuela's authoritarian-populist President Hugo Ch�vez. But the measure's political impact may be just as important, if not more.

Uruguay's Leader May Join 'Responsible Left' Bloc
Andres Oppenheimer

Uruguay has just elected a former guerrilla fighter who has surrounded himself by radical leftist aides, but there is no climate of panic among opposition politicians and business leaders.

Corruption Puts Argentines in Sour Mood
Andres Oppenheimer

Contrary to what one might think, the general sense of hopelessness is not due to the economy. Argentina has sailed through the world economic crisis relatively unscathed thanks to high commodity prices, and economists project a growth of at least 4 percent this year. Rather, it's because Argentines see no way out for the massive political corruption

Latin America's Economy Risks a Chicken's Flight in 2010
Andres Oppenheimer

The good news is that Latin American economies are expected to do reasonably well in 2010. But economists warn that unless they become more competitive, their recovery will look like a chicken's flight -- they get a few feet off the ground, and fall

A Few Not-So-Crazy Ideas for Latin America in 2010
Andres Oppenheimer

Now that it's 2010, let me apply some of the things I learned in 2009 while writing my columns on Latin American affairs. Some of them are surprisingly simple, but could make a big difference in 2010. Here they go, in no particular order

Latin America: For Trade, Obama Doesn't Look South
Andres Oppenheimer

The Obama administration's first big move on international trade is good news for Asia, but it doesn't bode well for much of Latin America.

Latin America: Chile Now One Step Closer to First World
Andres Oppenheimer

Recently, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -- the club of the world's richest democracies -- formally invited Chile to become a member. Chile had applied for membership two years ago. Chile will become the first South American member of the OECD

Latin America: For Chavez, Money no Longer Buys Love
Andres Oppenheimer

Venezuela's narcissist-Leninist President Hugo Ch�vez is not getting his money's worth for the billions of dollars he is spending in public relations abroad: According to a new poll, his approval ratings in Latin America could hardly be worse.

U.S. May Take New Look at 'War on Drugs'
Andres Oppenheimer

In a tacit admission that current U.S. anti-drug policies are not working, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill to create an independent commission to review whether the U.S. anti-drug policies of the past three decades in Latin America are producing positive results. What's interesting about the planned independent drug policy commission ...

Latin America's Honeymoon With Obama May Be Over
Andres Oppenheimer

Only a few months ago, Latin American leaders hailed the Obama administration as a new beginning in hemispheric relations. But now, the honeymoon is over as Brazil is leading criticism of U.S. foreign policy

Brazil, United States, OAS Flunked Honduras Test
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil, the United States and the Organization of American States deserve a gold medal each for their awful handling of recent presidential elections in Honduras. Let's examine how the main international players behaved ...

New Corruption Ranking Says a Lot
Andres Oppenheimer

A new survey on corruption around the world confirms what many of us have long suspected: Fiery populist leaders who rise to power vowing to eradicate corruption often end up leading sleazier governments than their predecessors

Latin America Sends Few Students to United States
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

While looking at a new report on foreign students at U.S. universities, it's hard not to conclude that the gap among developing nations is widening: While Asian countries are sending more students to some of the world's best colleges, Latin American countries are lagging behind

Latin America: Street Blockades Breed 'Anything-Goes' Culture
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

The street blockades that almost paralyzed Mexico City and Buenos Aires in recent days, interrupting traffic and keeping millions of people from going to work, are becoming a major economic problem. But their invisible costs may be larger than their immediate monetary impact

Latin America: Chavez's Headline Addiction Might Cause Conflict
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Watching Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez call on his armed forces to 'prepare for war' with Colombia, I couldn't help wondering whether he will end up like the late star of the TV series The Crocodile Hunter -- a victim of his own addiction to headlines

Latin American Economy Will Do Well, but Not Great
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

The news that Brazil and Mexico have come out of the recession and are poised for solid growth in 2010 should be celebrated, and both countries' leaders should be given credit for their sound economic management. But in the global economic context, the two Latin American giants' recovery will be modest.

Latin America Low on Obama's Priority List
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

One year after the election of President Barack Obama, it's time to ask whether his ambitious campaign promises about Latin America are being fulfilled, or whether, like others before him, he has placed the region at the bottom of his foreign policy priorities. Let's look at Obama's key campaign promises for Latin America

Time for Common Latin American Visa
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

While the 27-nation European Union has just approved creation of a common foreign service with embassies throughout the world, Latin American countries cannot even agree on a common visa for tourists from other parts of the world in time for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil.

Royal Spanish Academy Ponders Changes to Spanish Language
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

One of the pleasant surprises I found during a recent visit to Spain is a new trend by the Royal Spanish Academy to officially modernize the Spanish language and make it much easier to read and write.

Spain Nudging European Union to Ease Cuba Stand
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Spain's announcement that it will seek a major improvement in European ties with Cuba's dictatorship once it takes over the presidency of the 27-country European Union on Jan. 1 is bad news not only for pro-democracy activists on the island, but also for oppositionists in several other authoritarian-ruled Latin American countries.

Brazil a Nuclear Power? Probably Not
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil's Vice President Jose Alencar made big headlines recently when he stated that Brazil should have the right to have nuclear weapons, which he said would give his country a greater 'dissuasive' power and more 'respectability' in world affairs.

Politics Not Economics Sinking Mexico
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Everything that could possibly go wrong seems to be going wrong for Mexico, Latin America's worst performing economy this year. But a new government idea could put this country back on the road to prosperity for decades to come -- if government officials really are serious about it.

Alvaro Uribe Is Closer to a Third Term and to Self-destruction
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who enjoys sky-high popularity rates at home thanks to his successful crackdown on narco-terrorist groups, is a step closer to changing the constitution and running for a third consecutive term. The big question is whether this will turn Colombia into a banana republic.

Some Latin Nations Lead World in Red Tape
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Once upon a time, it used to be that communist countries like China had more business-phobic bureaucracies, more red tape and a worse business environment than capitalist ones. Not anymore. According to Doing Business in 2010, a new World Bank study, China and Vietnam offer better conditions to local and foreign business people than most Latin American countries.

Despite Crisis, Latin Countries' Military Spending Rising
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Despite the world's worst economic slump since the 1930s and projections that the number of poor in Latin America will rise this year, countries in the region have embarked on their biggest military spending spree in recent memory.

Venezuela's Iran Ties Raise Eyebrows
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Here's an issue that is drawing growing attention in Washington, but is going almost unnoticed in Latin America -- allegations that Venezuela is helping Iran develop nuclear weapons, and that Iran's fundamentalist regime is setting up a foothold in Latin America from where to threaten the United States

Fate of Honduras Crisis Will Hinge on Riots
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Diplomats see three possible outcomes of the bizarre political crisis in Honduras, a country with two leaders -- one in control, the other powerless but recognized by the world community -- since ousted President Manuel Zelaya's brazen return. The final outcome will ultimately depend on.

Presidential Candidates Key to Solving Honduras Crisis
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

There is a new possible solution to the Honduran crisis that is gaining traction in Washington and key Latin American capitals: Bypass the country's two presidents, and get leading presidential candidates to work out a deal that would give credibility to the Nov. 29 elections.

Joseph Stiglitz Left's Favorite U.S. Nobel Economist
by Andres Oppenheimer

U.S. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz has become a sort of rock star in left-of-center Latin American countries for his vocal criticism of free-for-all capitalism. But in a wide-ranging interview, he offered some advice that many of his fans in the region may not want to hear.

Childhood Tragedy May Affect President Rafael Correa's Policies
by Andres Oppenheimer

I'm not a great fan of using psychological profiles to explain people's political leanings, but a report on Ecuador's rabidly anti-U.S. President Rafael Correa, which I read during a visit to Colombia last week, left me wondering.

Growth With Equity: Brazil's Path to Economic Recovery
by Patrus Ananias

The financial crisis has left few corners of the global economy unscathed, but many of the loudest cries reflecting the deepest pain are largely ignored. These are the cries of the world's poorest citizens whose suffering is not measured in battered portfolios and retirement plans but in their daily survival

'U.S. Bases' in Colombia May Be Less Than Meets the Eye
Andres Oppenheimer

What's most surprising about South America's growing uproar over Colombia's plans to allow 'U.S. military bases' on its territory is that there may be no such thing in the making -- but rather a major Colombian PR blunder.

What's most surprising about South America's growing uproar over Colombia's plans to allow 'U.S. military bases' on its territory is that there may be no such thing in the making -- but rather a major Colombian PR blunder.

Israel Fortifies Presence in Latin America
Andres Oppenheimer

Following three years of frantic Iranian activities in Latin America that included three trips by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the region -- a fourth visit is scheduled in August to Brazil -- and the opening or enlargement of a half-dozen Iranian embassies, Israel is beginning to raise its own profile in the region.

Partisan Split on Honduras Can Be Costly
Andres Oppenheimer

The conflict in Honduras is rapidly becoming the focus of a fierce partisan fight in Washington, D.C. -- and that may not bode well for the future of U.S. policy in Latin America. Sources in Washington tell me that 17 senators -- mostly conservative Republicans and not part of the usual crowd of legislators interested in Latin American affairs -- are trying to open a new front against Obama on top of healthcare accusing him of being "soft" on anti-American leaders in Latin America.

China Rising in Latin America, but Won't Overtake United States
Andres Oppenheimer

The latest figures showing that China is emerging from the global crisis sooner than anticipated is triggering speculation that China will soon overtake the United States as Latin America's top business partner. Granted, speculation about China's impending leap to becoming Latin America's top economic partner spread like wildfire recently when Brazil announced that it will trade more with China than with the United States this year for the first time. It sounds very interesting, but don't bet on it.

Latin America's Economic Forecast Good but Not Good Enough
Andres Oppenheimer

Good news for Latin America: a new United Nations study projects that the region's economy will start recovering in the second half this year, and that it will grow by a respectable 3.1 percent next year.

OAS Oddly Silent on 'Coup' in Caracas
Andres Oppenheimer

While the Organization of American States is rightly denouncing the coup against ousted President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, there are growing questions about why it hasn't said a word about the coup against Antonio Ledezma in Venezuela.

Argentine Finance Chief's Tenure an Economic Indicator
Andres Oppenheimer

When Argentina earlier this week appointed its sixth minister of economy in the past six years, it was hard not to conclude that there should be a new economic indicator to measure countries' reliability: the length of their economy minister's time in office.

Chile Should Tout Its Passage to First World
Andres Oppenheimer

By the end of this year, Chile is likely to become the first South American country to join the exclusive club of the world's 30 richest countries.

ALBA Bloc Leaders' Main Obsession: Indefinite Rule
Andres Oppenheimer

It's hard to keep cool while watching the dismantling of democracy in Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Honduras. When the presidents of these countries met in Venezuela, for a special ALBA bloc summit -- the Venezuelan-led alliance of mostly radical leftist countries -- it was hard not to see the group as a society of mutual support for self-perpetuation in power.

The Real War in Mexico
Shannon O'Neil

Mexico is engulfed by escalating violence. The question is not whether the Mexican state will fail. It will not. The actual risk of the violence today is that it will undermine democracy tomorrow

Another Swine-Flu Casualty: Good Journalism
by Andres Oppenheimer

The swine flu outbreak that has wrecked Mexico's economy may become a case study in reckless journalism. Like most of you, I had taken it for granted that the disease had started in Mexico.

Latin American Region Silent Amid Attacks on the Media
Andres Oppenheimer

The most immediate threat to democracy in Latin America: a concerted move by authoritarian leaders to silence independent media throughout the region. Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, a disciple of Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez, said that when he takes over as president of the 12-nation Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in July he will propose creation of a regional body to defend governments against critics in the media.

Brazil Deserves Criticism for Awful Foreign Policy
by Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, has received well-deserved praise in recent years for its responsible economic policies. There is hardly a dictator -- or repressive government -- that Brazil doesn't like, human rights groups say.

Brazil Stretching Clout to Central America
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazilian President Luiz In�cio Lula da Silva's largely unnoticed trip to Central America last week underscored an interesting phenomenon: Brazil is making big inroads into a region that was traditionally seen as Mexico's backyard

U.S. Should Do More to Compete With Cuba's Student Programs
Andres Oppenheimer

The House of Representatives approved a proposal last week to dramatically increase the number of U.S. college students studying in Latin America and other parts of the developing world.

Latin America Foreign Investment Outlook Grim
Andres Oppenheimer

A new United Nations report predicts a 40 percent drop in foreign investments in Latin America this year. I hope I'm wrong about this, but the fall in foreign funds may be even steeper.

Commodity Price Hikes Might Not Save Venezuela, Others
Andres Oppenheimer

The nearly 30 percent rise in the price of oil and other raw materials over the past month raises a big question: Will commodity-dependent populist governments in Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador get a second wind? They are certainly hoping for that to happen.

Will Colombia's President Uribe Run Again?
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

After Tuesday's vote in the Colombian Senate many well-placed Colombians tell me they are convinced that President �lvaro Uribe is serious about running in 2010.

Many Believe End of Argentina's 'K' Era Nears
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Seven weeks before Argentina's much-awaited June 28 legislative elections, there is a growing consensus that populist President Cristina Fern�ndez de Kirchner will lose her majority in Congress, and that there will be major political changes in this country.

Brazil, China & India Can Mitigate Global Crisis
Global Economic Viewpoint

Brazil, India and even China will not be able, by themselves, to correct the dysfunctions that produced the global crisis. But it is true that the economic power of these three countries can mitigate its negative consequences. ...

Power cut plunges Chile into dark
A massive power failure plunges much of earthquake-ravage Chile into darkness, affecting up to 90% of the population.

Brazil leader begins Mid-East tour
Brazil's president arrives in Israel at the start of a Middle East tour to throw his country's weight behind the peace process.

Mission: Impossible actor dies
Peter Graves, star of the TV series Mission: Impossible and the Airplane films, dies of a suspected heart attack in LA, aged 83.

UN boss reassures Haiti victims
Ban Ki-moon tells Haiti the world will continue to support them as they recover from the devastating earthquake.

US fury at Mexico consular deaths
Three people connected to the US consulate in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez have been killed, the White House says.

Obama aide stokes US-Israel row
A top Obama adviser criticises Israel over settlement homes in East Jerusalem, thwarting Israeli hopes of ending the row.

Avalanche hits snowmobile rally
An avalanche hits an unauthorised snowmobile rally in Canada, killing at least two people.

Bloodshed blights Acapulco resort
Thirteen people die, four of whom are beheaded, in drug-related violence at the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco.

Colombia votes for new Congress
Colombians are set to vote in legislative elections that may indicate how the May presidential election will shape up.

US school prom axed as lesbian student asks to bring girlfriend
A student at a high school in Mississippi says the school board cancelled her school's prom rather than let her attend it with her lesbian girlfriend

Political analysis and a British perspective on life in the US
Mark Mardell's take on politics and life in the US and North America.

US bank regulation bill expected
A new bill to tighten regulation of US banks is due to be unveiled, but it may struggle to get backing in the Senate.

US woman freed in Vilks 'death plot'
A US woman held in Ireland over an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist is freed, as three others are still questioned.

US and Russia 'near' nuclear deal
Russia and the US are close to concluding a new nuclear disarmament treaty, officials in Washington and Moscow say.

Gum disease 'link' to early birth
Successful treatment for gum disease cuts the risk of pregnant women giving birth early, say US researchers.

Winter Paralympics get under way
Hundreds of disabled athletes gather for the opening of the 10th Winter Paralympics in Vancouver, Canada.

Cocaine found in Colombia artwork
Colombian police find 16kg (35lb) of cocaine inside replicas of sculptures by artist Fernando Botero being shipped to Spain.

Apollo men decry Obama Moon plans
Nasa Moon astronauts tell the BBC President Barack Obama's decision to cancel the US lunar programme is "catastrophic".

Chile puts quake damage at $30bn
The cost of rebuilding Chile after its monster earthquake will be at least $30bn, the country's new president announces.

China buying Argentine oil stake
China National Offshore Oil Corporation is paying $3.1bn for a 50% stake in Argentine oil and gas group Bridas Corporation.

California sues Toyota for faults
Prosecutors in California are suing Toyota, claiming the carmaker sold hundreds of thousands of vehicles it knew had defects.

US retail sales in surprise rise
US retail sales showed a surprise rise in February as consumers braved extreme bad weather to get to the shops

Step closer to the American Dream?
Door creaks ajar for undocumented Haitians in the US

Haiti challenge
Rebuilding a devastated economy

Pinera's challenges
Challenges ahead for new president in quake-hit Chile

Venezuela energy-saving
Light bulb switch offers Venezuela hope in a crisis

Rebuilding Chile
Quake-hit nation could see economy bounce back

Deadly legacy
Ridding Falklands of its landmines, 30 years after war

Yes, we Kenco
New US movement tells politicians to smell the coffee

Warzone practice
How US trains civilians for big Afghan surge roles

Fever pitch
Is American politics now nastier than ever before?

Tidy tents
Staying safe in Haiti while keeping up appearances

Toxic shock
New York's 9/11 dust victims split on compensation deal

BBC News | World | Americas | UK Edition
Get the latest BBC News from the Americas: breaking news, features and analysis plus audio and video content from the United States and the Americas.

 

Two Drug Slayings in Mexico Rock U.S. Consulate
The White House responded angrily to deadly attacks that appeared to be the first on U.S. officials and their families by Mexico’s drug cartels.

Avalanche Called ‘Human Triggered’
An avalanche that killed two people on Saturday at an informal snowmobile rally in Canada’s Rocky Mountains might have been set off by three daredevil sledders, witnesses said.

Fearing Drug Cartels, Reporters in Mexico Retreat
Attacks on the media along the border with the U.S. have resulted in what amounts to a news blackout.

Arrests in Europe Expose ETA’s Ties to Venezuela
A shadowy underworld of Basque exiles in Caracas is under scrutiny after an indictment from a Spanish judge.

24 Killed in Western Mexico; 11 in One Shootout
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- A series of shootings killed 24 people Saturday in a Pacific coast state plagued by drug gang violence. Nearly half died in one shootout between soldiers and armed men.

Aftershocks Jolt Chile as New Leader, Piñera, Is Sworn In
An earthquake hit central Chile as the inaugural ceremonies for President Sebastián Piñera were under way.

World Briefing | The Americas: Haiti: Kidnappers Free Aid Workers
Five days after they were kidnapped in the Port-au-Prince area, two Swiss women, aid workers for Doctors Without Borders, were released unharmed on Wednesday night.

World Briefing | The Americas: Cuba: Europe Condemns Striker’s Death
The European Parliament voted to condemn Cuba for the “avoidable and cruel” death of a dissident hunger striker, Orlando Zapata Tamayo, who died last month after an 83-day hunger strike.

Chile’s New President Enters a Changed Political Landscape
The aftermath of the earthquake may give the country’s new right-wing government a chance to entomb the ghosts of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

Obama Pledges U.S. Aid to Haiti
President Obama made the pledge after meeting with President René Préval of Haiti on Wednesday, even as the U.S. military begins withdrawing forces.

Sandy Alderson to Review Baseball’s Troubled Dominican Pipeline
Sandy Alderson, a longtime baseball executive, is looking into a feeder system in which performance-enhancing drug use and age fraud are commonplace.

Donors Asked For $4.3 Billion For Vaccines For Poor
LONDON (Reuters) - A further $4.3 billion is needed if a global vaccines alliance is to meet its goal of supplying life-saving immunizations to millions of children in poor countries by 2015, the organization said on Monday.

Narcos Blamed for Killings of 3 With US Consul Tie
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) -- Suspected drug gang hit men separately ambushed two cars carrying families with ties to the U.S. consulate in this violent border city, killing an American couple and a Mexican man. Three young children survived, although two suffered wounds.

Uribe Allies Win Colombia Congress Vote
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's governing party and allies won a majority in Sunday's congressional elections in a test of the country's political pulse before a May presidential vote to succeed the U.S. ally.

Pro-Uribe Parties Dominate Colombia's Senate Vote
BOGOTA (AP) -- Candidates from parties allied with outgoing President Alvaro Uribe dominated Sunday's elections in Colombia to replace a Congress tarnished by lawmakers' links to far-right criminal bands.

Blackout Leaves Millions of Chileans in Darkness
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- A power failure plunged nearly the entire Chilean population into darkness Sunday night, rattling a country already anxious after last month's 8.8-magnitude quake.

Power Blackout Hits Chile Two Weeks After Quake
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Cities across Chile were without power on Sunday and output at some mines disrupted after a main power grid failed in an outage in the wake of a massive earthquake that killed hundreds and ravaged infrastructure a fortnight ago.

UN Chief Urges Donors to Keep Haiti Funds Flowing
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vowed on Sunday to work to keep donor funds flowing for Haiti's recovery and reconstruction following the devastating January earthquake in the poor Caribbean state.

UN Chief Sees Dangers Up-Close in Haiti Quake Camp
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon promised Haitians on Sunday that the world has not forgotten the quake-torn nation as it suffers from a shortage of shelter and growing violence in teeming camps for the homeless.

American, 22, Completes Solo Row Across Atlantic
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) -- A 22-year-old American rower completed a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, touching a pier in the coffee-brown waters of Guyana to claim a record as the youngest person to accomplish the feat.

3 With Ties to US Consulate Killed in Mexican City
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (AP) -- Gunmen killed a U.S. consulate employee and her husband as they drove in this violent border city with their baby in the back seat, minutes after the husband of another consular employee was shot to death and his two children wounded, officials said Sunday. Security forces suspected a drug gang hit, but offered no motive.

Mexico Gunmen Kill American Consulate Staff
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (Reuters) - Gunmen in the drug war-plagued Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez killed two Americans and a Mexican linked to the local U.S. consulate and President Barack Obama expressed outrage at the attack.

Bolivia Drops Bid to Host Miss Universe Contest
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) -- Bolivia is dropping its bid to host the Miss Universe pageant because it would cost more than anticipated.

Uribe Allies Edge Out Early Lead In Colombia Vote
BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's governing party and allied Conservative Party took an early lead in congressional elections on Sunday in a barometer of May's presidential ballot to replace the Washington ally.

Venezuelan Web Site Rejects Chavez's Allegations
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- A Venezuelan Web site that was accused by President Hugo Chavez of spreading false reports of killings said Sunday the government is trying to restrict criticism, but announced it had banned the visitors who posted the inaccurate rumors.

Avalanche Kills 3 at Canadian Snowmobile Rally
An avalanche struck a rally of up to 200 snowmobilers in Canada’s Rocky Mountains on Saturday, killing at least three people and leaving an unknown number missing, police said.

After the Earthquake, a Military Chile Can Love Again
Even during Gen. Augusto Pinochet’s bloody rule, his countrymen admired the ideal of order and flocked to the big parades.

Amateur Video Shows Flooding in Chile After Last Week's Earthquake
Amateur video, shot in the coastal town of Penco, Chile last Saturday shows the impact of a tsunami triggered by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake.

A Survivor's Tale From Chile
The first-hand account of an earthquake survivor from Constitucion, Chile.

How to Contribute to Disaster Relief in Chile
Organizations that are accepting donations to help with relief efforts in Chile.

Latest Updates on Chile's Earthquake
The Lede is tracking the response to the earthquake online. Readers who are in Chile are encouraged to submit first-hand accounts in the form of text, video or photographs by posting comments or links below.

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Mexican opera tackles the myth of 'Camelia la Tejana,' icon of narcocorridos
In the world of narcocorridos -- Mexican folk songs that recount the exploits of drug traffickers and criminals -- few are better known that "Contrabando y traicion," one of the earliest such tunes that was popularized by the trailblazing Los Tigres del Norte in the early 1970s. "Contraband and Betrayal" tells the story of Camelia la Tejana, a woman who smuggles drugs into the United States then shoots and kills her lover in a jealous rage. (Here's an early video of the song on YouTube.) The original author of "Contrabando y traicion" has long insisted the story is made up. Yet in 1986, in an issue of Mexico’s blood-and-gore tabloid Alarma!, a woman identified as "Camelia la Tejana" appeared in a news photograph weeping over the body of a lover who was decapitated by a train in Ciudad Juarez. Curiously, two different women subsequently appeared in the Mexican press claiming to be Camelia la Tejana -- and telling wildly divergent stories about their lives. The myth of this narcocorrido figure is the subject of "Unicamente la verdad," or "Only the Truth," an experimental new opera that debuted this week at the Festival de Mexico in Mexico City. The opera, written...

Gay couples marry in Mexico City
The first same-sex marriages got underway Thursday in Mexico City, and "the city put on quite a show" for the historic weddings, reports Tracy Wilkinson in The Times: The ceremony took place in the columned courtyard of the 300-year-old Municipal Palace, on a stage festooned with white lilies and a larger-than-life bust of Benito Juarez. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard attended, applauding warmly and hugging all of the newlyweds, as did the heads of the city's legislature and highest court. Five couples were married, including the first lesbian couple to wed in Latin America, Lol Kin Castaneda and Judith Vasquez. Elsewhere, two male couples have wed in Argentina since December. The events have been called milestones for gay rights in Latin America, where the Roman Catholic Church and the culture of machismo remain strong social forces in everyday life -- particularly so in Mexico. Yet the law approved in December by Mexico City's legislative assembly is one of the most liberal and far-reaching to emerge anywhere. Same-sex couples within the Federal District who marry may also now adopt children. President Felipe Calderon and his conservative National Action Party have attempted to challenge the law, and anti-gay marriage demonstrators were present at Thursday's...

Latin America Digest: Chile's new president, illness on a cruise ship in Brazil and a Cuban hunger striker
Today's one-line news briefs: Santiago, Chile -- President Sebastian Pinera, who met with his ministers until early Friday after temblors shook inaugural ceremonies, vowed “to work without rest” on relief and reconstruction, promising Chileans could sleep soundly, confident “a government team will be working so you and your children can have a better dawn.” Sao Paulo, Brazil -- Nearly 50 passengers aboard a Royal Caribbean International cruise ship docked in Santos suffered vomiting and diarrhea apparently brought on by noroviruses that cause gastroenteritis, a health official said. Havana -- Cuban hunger striker Guillermo Farinas was receiving fluids and medical care in a government hospital in Santa Clara a day after passing out at home, and has refused requests by other dissidents and religious leaders to abandon the protest he launched Feb. 24 demanding the release of 26 ailing political prisoners. -- Times wire reports

Activists tell Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno a new birth certificate law harms mainland residents
A new birth certificate law in Puerto Rico creates serious problems for more than 1 million U.S. mainland residents born on the island who now face unjust difficulties if their documents are considered invalid, a civil rights and Latino advocacy group said Thursday. In a letter to Puerto Rico Gov. Luis G. Fortuno, the New York-based LatinoJustice PRLDEF called for the governor to delay by at least six months the effective date of the law, which as of July invalidates all previously issued birth certificates in an attempt primarily to combat widespread identity theft. The group also urged the governor to allow more time for local and federal agencies to make policy adjustments and called for an extensive public relations campaign to alert Puerto Ricans of the new law. “I am certain that you understand this new law damages all people born in Puerto Rico who are entitled to have their birth certificates respected and thus undermines the efforts of many of us [who] have worked for decades to secure equal treatment for Puerto Ricans living in the mainland,” wrote Cesar A. Perales, the group’s president and general counsel. “Here on the mainland no one will remember the date that...

Mexico now has the world's richest person: Carlos Slim
Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim Helu has topped Forbes magazine's new ranking of the wealthiest people in the world, making him the first person to do so from a developing country. Slim occupied the No. 3 spot last year, but with a surge in his two major telecom holdings, Telcel and America Movil, he skipped over Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffet on the Forbes list for 2010. Slim, 70, controls dozens of companies in a variety of industries, making his wealth the subject of frequent criticism as social inequalities still plague many regions of Mexico. Millions of Mexicans live below the poverty line. Slim's net wealth is now estimated at $53.5 billion, up by $18.5 billion in just one year, the magazine says. Another famous Mexican on the Forbes billionaires list dropped in the rankings this year -- perhaps because his wealth is the target of an international law enforcement campaign. Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, kingpin of the Sinaloa drug-trafficking cartel, went from debuting at No. 701 on the list to dropping to No. 937 this year. His appearance on the Forbes list in 2009 caused a scandal among Mexico's power elite, who saw his inclusion in the rankings...

Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes goes to Washington
El Salvador's president, Mauricio Funes, has been making the rounds in Washington this week, another sign of changing times as a Democratic administration welcomes the representative of a party of former leftist guerrillas whom previous U.S. governments tried to annihilate. Funes dropped in on President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and other members of Congress. He lobbied for an extension of the temporary-protection program that allows nearly a quarter-million Salvadorans to live and work legally in the U.S. And he sought (and said he'd been promised) around $1.5 billion in loans from the World Bank and other institutions. Funes praised the "new relationship" between El Salvador and the U.S. but also said Washington's focus must go beyond fighting drug trafficking and criminal gangs, the Obama administration's stated top priorities. Underlying causes behind violence, such as poverty and social inequality, must also be defeated, he said. Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village), at his meeting with Funes, said: "We think about El Salvador 20 years ago, and the terrible conflict, and then the taking hold of democracy. But the real test of democracy taking hold comes when you could have a successful transition of power from one political party...

Chile earthquake aftermath: A look at Santiago
There's been a sweeping outpouring of solidarity in Santiago with victims of the magnitude 8.8. earthquake in Chile's central-southern regions, as reported in the L.A. Times. Chile's modern capital city was not as heavily damaged by the Feb. 27 quake as other more heavily affected areas, but its landscape and culture have been affected in subtle ways in the quake aftermath. I've spent a week exploring the culture here, checking out interesting neighborhoods, riding the metro, watching the local news and reading a range of local newspapers. Residents tell me the city feels calmer since the quake. People dropped coins into collection boxes, hung Chilean flags from windows and balconies, and donated tons of food, clothing, and supplies intended for the victims. In the press, psychologists are reminding Chileans that it is “OK to cry.” It's as though Chileans are still searching for ways to deal with the emotional and psychological aftershocks that come with a historically devastating seismic event. “Before we were just staring at our bellybuttons, individualists, not knowing our neighbors,” said Catherine Mayozer, a television actress emceeing a rowdy benefit concert at Bustamante Park in downtown Santiago. “This has made Chileans speak to one another again, to...

Brazil and the U.S. agree to work together on deforestation
The United States and Brazil signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to slash greenhouse gas emissions from tropical deforestation, one of the main drivers of global climate change. The deal, signed by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Brasilia on Wednesday, marks the first time the two countries have formally agreed to work together on deforestation. In the past, Brazilian leaders have been wary of foreign interference in the Amazon, Earth's largest tropical forest. But climate scientists are raising loud alarms that the slashing and burning of forests, which cause about 15% of the emissions that are trapping heat in the atmosphere, threatens to dangerously disrupt the world's climate. Indonesia and Brazil are, respectively, the globe's third- and fourth-biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, after the U.S. and China, mainly because of how rapidly they are destroying their forests. In Copenhagen in December, a group of nations made progress in negotiating rules for quantifying the carbon saved by avoiding deforestation, so that credits could be used to offset industrial emissions, a program known as "Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation" -- or REDD. Continue reading "Rainforest pact: Brazil and the U.S. agree to cooperate" by Margot Roosevelt on...

Fear, despair haunt Chile coast
A deadly tsunami followed the massive earthquake, leaving the small beach enclave of Dichato a ghost town. Aid has been slow to arrive, but looters were swift.

Chile earthquake: President-elect takes reins, though he's not in charge yet
President-elect Sebastian Pinera doesn't take office until next week, but he is already acting like a leader in charge amid Chile's post-quake turmoil.

Let the weddings begin for Mexico City gay couples
Gay couples converged at Mexico City government offices Thursday to apply for marriage licenses under a new law that gives same-sex pairs permission to wed and adopt children. Fiercely opposed by the Roman Catholic Church, the law applies only to the Mexican capital and is the most permissive in Latin America. Conservative political parties and the federal government have said they will fight in courts to overturn the law. For the happy couples, however, this was a historic moment that many said gave them a sense of freedom and belonging they had long missed. Actual weddings will begin late next week, officials said. You can read about passage of the law late last year in The Times, plus our editorial on the matter. -- Tracy Wilkinson in Mexico City Photo: Same-sex couples fill out paperwork for marriage licenses in Mexico City. Credit: El Universal newspaper

Destination Chile: Two L. A. Times journalists hustle to the earthquake zone
Times staff writer Patrick J. McDonnell, a veteran foreign correspondent, scrambled to quickly get from Los Angeles to Chile to cover the massive earthquake that struck there last weekend. McDonnell and Times photographer Michael Robinson Chavez have spent the past few days on the ground reporting on the chaos and efforts to bring order and deliver aid. McDonnell filed the following dispatch on how the pair managed to get to Chile for the big story: Sometimes, reporting on breaking news is almost as much about the logistics of getting to the location as actually getting the story. After all, if you can’t get there, what difference does it make how good the story is, or was? It’s often a dilemma for reporters, especially those working abroad who repeatedly grapple with what many travelers see: capricious airplane schedules, unreliable airports and grumpy ticket counter personnel, among other hurdles. Disasters and wars multiply the challenge: Airports shut down, roads are closed, officials and travel bureaucrats go into a deny-access mode. That’s a bit of background for a small logistics tale about covering the Chilean earthquake. A photographer colleague and I were tasked Saturday with getting to Chile to cover the big quake....

Chile earthquake: Army arrests curfew violators, more bodies recovered
The Chilean army, enforcing emergency decrees aimed at containing widespread looting, arrested scores of people Monday for violating an overnight curfew as the country reeled from the weekend's devastating earthquake. The death toll climbed to 711 as more bodies were pulled from the ruins of cities and towns hardest hit by the magnitude 8.8 quake. Faced with outbreaks of looting in Concepcion, just 70 miles from the quake's epicenter, President Michelle Bachelet deployed 10,000 troops to restore order and assist in the recovery of bodies and search for survivors. She slapped a dusk-to-dawn curfew on Concepcion, Chile's second-largest city. Most of the city's quarter-million residents seemed to heed the warning, remaining in their homes or makeshift camps overnight. But about 150 people were arrested for violating the curfew, officials said. Deputy Interior Minister Patricio Rosende downplayed reports of roving mobs and vigilantes in suburbs around Concepcion. Continue reading In quake aftermath, Chile's army arrests curfew violators, more bodies recovered by Patrick J. McDonnell and Tracy Wilkinson from Santiago, Chile, and Mexico City. Photo: A man pushes a coffin. Victims' bodies are lined up at a gym in Constitucion, Chile. Credit: Roberto Candia / Associated Press. RELATED: Photos: 8.8 earthquake rocks...

Chile earthquake: Southern California's Chilean community organizes to help quake victims
Southern California's small but tightknit Chilean community scrambled Sunday to contact loved ones affected by the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck their homeland Saturday, and began organizing to help victims. "We have a lot of anguish," said Jorge Rojas, 44, whose family is from Talca, a region hit hard by the quake, which was centered offshore of the southern city of Concepción. "You can't see your family. You can't even talk with them." Rojas' San Bernardino group, Club de Huasos, which celebrates Chilean cowboy traditions, planned to meet with the consul general Monday to ask how club members might help. The group is small, Rojas said, but "if we can do anything to help them, I'll be happy." Continue reading Southern California's Chilean community organizes to help quake victims by Paloma Esquivel.

Chile earthquake: Clinton says U.S. ready to work 'in solidarity' with leaders of Chile
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday the United States is ready to work "in solidarity" with the leaders of Chile to provide disaster assistance to the earthquake-stricken country. Speaking to reporters while traveling in Montevideo, Uruguay, Clinton said the Chileans had asked for communications equipment and said she'd be bringing some with her when she traveled to Santiago Tuesday. Clinton said more will come after that, adding that "one of the reasons they have asked me to continue my trip is to assess whatever else they might need and immediately begin the process of providing it." Earlier, U.S. Ambassador Paul Simons said he knew of no American deaths from the earthquake but stressed that officials were having a difficult time getting information from Concepcion, the area most devastated by the quake. In an interview by telephone with CBS' "The Early Show," Simons said, "We do not have any confirmed reports of Americans who have died." He added that while officials have been able to contact "a few" of the estimated 1,000 Americans in Chile, "information is still very, very scarce." Simons said that although life was returning to normal in the capital of Santiago, the Concepcion area...

Chile earthquake: U.N. readies aid for Chile after receiving government request for help
The United Nations says it will rush aid deliveries to Chile after the government asked for help in its recovery from this weekend's massive earthquake. U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs says Chile officially made its request Monday, two days after the 8.8-magnitude quake struck about 200 miles south of the capital, Santiago, and killed more than 700 people. Byrs told the Associated Press that the global body was now "ready to take action." Before the request, international aid groups had sent some funds and experts. But their action was limited as Chilean officials were busy assessing the destruction from the earthquake and the needs of up to 2 million affected people. -- Associated Press Photo: A resident walks amid debris in Constitucion, Chile. Credit: Roberto Candia / Associated Press

Chile earthquake: Google's Person Finder tool
Google's Person Finder for the Chile Earthquake has now reached more than 39,000 records. The U.S. State Department sent out an e-mail with a link to the tool shortly after the quake hit. The same tool was used during the Haiti earthquake and has more than 55,000 records. Credit: Google Person Finder is an open source, released under the Apache 2.0 License.

Chile earthquake: Not without suffering, Santiago counts its blessings
Along Jasmin Street in this capital's middle-class Villa Olimpica neighborhood, residents were packing up their belongings in trucks Sunday, hauling out furniture, clothing and keepsakes from damaged and unlivable apartments. Deep cracks and crooked balconies marred the 1960s-era three-story residential buildings along the quiet street, testament to the damage from the massive earthquake that struck Chile early Saturday, stunning the nation. "It's a lot to deal with, but at least we're all safe," said Carolina Jimenez, 32, a mother of two who was forced to flee her apartment as the quake struck, collapsing a wall and sending furniture flying, slightly injuring her 11-year-old daughter. "It could be a lot worse, like what happened to the poor people in the south." Most had by now seen television footage of the extreme damage about 125 miles to the south, where the quake and a tsunami killed hundreds of people and left tens of thousands more homeless. Continue reading Santiago counts its blessings by Patrick J. McDonnell from Santiago, Chile. Photo: People camp outside their homes in the Yungay neighborhood in Santiago. Credit: Carlos Espinoza / Associated Press

Death toll jumps to 708 from Chile earthquake
The death toll nearly doubles as rescuers reach isolated and devastated towns. About 2 million people are hurt or without their homes in the aftermath of the 8.8 quake.

Chile earthquake emergency effort not limited by finances, government says
Chile's government can pay for the emergency relief effort related to Saturday's earthquake without taking extra budget measures or seeking congressional approval, Finance Minister Andres Velasco said Sunday. “In this tragedy, this government's response isn't limited by resources because we fully understand the immense needs of the people in Chile,” Velasco said in comments broadcast on national television. “The budget law allows immediate access to the financing, not subject to future measures.” -- Bloomberg

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Visiting Haiti, Ban pledges that world will remain at its side
Shelter remains the biggest and most urgent priority in Haiti, two months after it was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he visited the country for the second time since the disaster and stressed that the world has not forgotten its people's plight.

Chile: UNICEF to reach out to 1 million quake victims
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is providing emergency education and water services for 1 million Chilean children and their families in the wake of the powerful earthquake that struck the South American nation on 27 February.

Ban to visit Haiti on Sunday as post-quake relief efforts reach two-month mark
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will make a one-day visit to Haiti on Sunday, his second to the Caribbean country since the 12 January earthquake, his spokesperson announced today.

Ban hails US Secretary of State Clinton for her work towards female empowerment
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon paid tribute today to the long-running efforts of United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to advocate for the rights of women, saying her leadership on the issue should serve as an inspiration to others.

Haiti: UN scaling up efforts to ensure shelter needs ahead of rainy season
The main priority for post-quake Haiti remains emergency shelter, the top United Nations relief official said today, adding that the world body is scaling up efforts to ensure that everyone has a roof over their heads by the time the rainy season begins in May.

Ban urges Member States to rally behind Chilean quake relief efforts
United Nations Member States must play their part to help Chile rebuild after last month's deadly earthquake and tsunami, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he announced he has tasked senior UN officials with ensuring coordinated support for the emergency and recovery phases in the wake of the disaster.

UNESCO chief reaffirms commitment to protect Haiti's cultural heritage
Wrapping up a visit to Haiti, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today reiterated the agency's support to help the nation protect its cultural heritage - including works of art and libraries - in the wake of January's catastrophic earthquake.

Secretary-General leads UN tribute to colleagues killed in Haitian quake
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today led United Nations staff and the family and friends of personnel who perished in the Haitian earthquake in honouring the memory of the 101 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of the Organization.

Head of UN mission in Haiti says humanitarian aid will be needed until 2011
Nearly two months after Haiti was struck by a catastrophic earthquake, the top United Nations official there says the country is moving towards recovery and reconstruction but will need continued urgent humanitarian relief for at least the next 12 months.

Shelter critical need for post-quake Haiti and Chile, says Ban
Returning from seeing first-hand the destruction wrought by the earthquake that struck Chile last month, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the urgent need for shelter, which is also a priority for millions of quake survivors in Haiti.

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US citizens shot dead by Mexican drug gangs
Three people with links to the US consulate in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juárez were gunned down at the weekend by 'drug cartel hit teams', according to a US official

Argentina's bank chief likely to keep post
Argentina's central bank governor Mercedes Marcó del Pont looked closer on Friday keeping her job after a rift in the opposition which had vowed to vote against her in Congress.

Mexico: City of darkness
Mexico: The experience of one blood-stained town on the US border highlights flaws in the battle with billion-dollar drug cartels, on which the stability of the state could depend

Brazil orders recall of Fiat model
Italian group fined R$3m for continuing to sell the cars after it had been warned of the alleged defect by Brazil's national traffic department

Piñera's term given urgency by Chile quake
"Cheer up," Sebastián Piñera, the billionaire businessman who was sworn in yesterday as Chile's president, was fond of saying on the campaign trail. "Better...

Study claims natural disasters hit the unborn
Unborn babies exposed to natural disasters such as Chile's earthquake may suffer long-term consequences including lower educational attainment and employment prospects, according to a new study

Brazil poised to grow at least 5.5%
A surge in consumer demand and a strong recovery in investment suggest that Brazil's economy is on course to grow at least 5.5 per cent this year, according to the country's national statistics office

Mexico's Slim heads Forbes rich list
Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecommunications billionaire with a net worth of $53.5bn, has been crowned the world's richest person by Forbes magazine – the first time in 16 years the post has been held by a non-American.

Ferrous considers $3bn-$4bn London flotation
Ferrous Resources, the emerging Brazilian iron ore producer, has revived plans for a London flotation that could be worth $3bn-$4bn

Chile quake sours Bachelet's legacy
Though the country's outgoing president exuded empathy as she toured wrecked towns, warnings of a tsunami were botched and she looked slow to deliver aid or deploy the military to quell looting

Tax move by Brazil risks US trade war
Brazil moved to raise tariffs on a wide range of American goods, potentially igniting a trade war with the US over cotton subsidies after eight years of litigation at the World Trade Organisation

Brazil and US near cotton subsidies showdown
Brazil takes another step towards a final showdown with the US in its long-running battle over cotton subsidies when it releases a list of about 50 American products it will punish with higher tariffs

Chávez under fire from international community
Mr Chávez's socialist government has come under heavy fire from the international community for allegedly assisting drug traffickers and violating human rights at home, and has been accused of co-operating with Spanish and Colombian insurgents on assassination plots

Despair grows in Chilean port
A week after the quake, people are scavenging for essentials as they wait for aid

Piñera vows to rebuild ruined state
New president will have to rethink his ambitious programme, which promised 1m jobs and 6 per cent a year growth during his term

FT.com - World, Americas
FT.com - World, Americas

 

The Next and Even Bigger Quake
Geologists say it is impossible to predict earthquakes. But there is a far more important lesson for America.

Latin America Spurns U.S.
Latin American and Caribbean nations vote to keep the U.S. out of their affairs.

Could Britain Beat Argentina?
The Falklands row highlights the shocking state of Britain’s armed forces.

Argentina Reignites Falklands Row
The Falklands War round two may be on its way.

Europe to Seek Latin American Pact in 2010

Is It Haiti That's Cursed--or America?
U.S. takes on yet another impossible task.

ALBA Trade Alliance Pledges to Give Up the U.S. Dollar

Mexican Border City Calls for UN Peacekeepers
Just yards away from El Paso, Texas, violence engulfs a city of 1.5 million.

Now Venezuela Wants to Go Nuclear

Venezuela Recognizes Pro-Russian Breakaway Provinces of Georgia
Russian influence expands in America’s backyard.

Defending Dictators
U.S. response to Honduras crisis is beyond shameful.

Venezuela and Iran Continue to Boost Ties
The two petroleum economies sign more energy deals.

Russia Returns to America's Back Door
As the struggling U.S. administration thrashes around to save a sinking U.S. ship, an old enemy sails up to its back door.

World Prepares to Dump the Dollar
American economists think the world can’t afford to let go of the dollar’s reserve currency status. The world is about to teach them differently.

China Stepping Up Trade Presence in Latin America
Business is booming between China and Latin America as the competition for resources continues.

"Stand With Democracy" in Honduras
Right alongside Hugo Chávez and other champions of freedom

Argentina Wages Economic War on the Falklands
Is Great Britain too weak and too distracted to respond?

Report: Drug Cartels, Terrorist Organizations Cooperating
More than just drugs could be crossing the border.

Venezuela, Bolivia Accused of Sending Uranium to Iran
Uranium flows out, and terrorists flow in.

China Flexes Economic Muscle
Beijing seizes the global economic crisis as an opportunity to assert its influence.

Reaching Out to Our Enemies
While the new U.S. administration cuddles up to confirmed enemies at its back door, other nations have already sealed vitally strategic alliances with Cuba and Venezuela destined to threaten U.S. security.

Hezbollah Agents Flood Into America
Iran is using the Mexican drug cartels to smuggle terrorists onto American soil.

The Drug Cartels Are on Our Payroll
A vivid illustration of how America’s sins are becoming curses

Is a Trade War With Mexico Imminent?

China Reaches Out to Africa and Latin America

theTrumpet.com: Latin America
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Violence Kills Three People Associated with US Consul in Mexico
Officials say they do not know the motive for the killings in Ciudad Juarez

Drug Violence Kills 24 in Western Mexico
Police say fighting erupted Saturday during a police patrol in the small town of Ajuchitlan del Progresso

UN: Environmental Degradation in Haiti Made Worse by Earthquake
UNEP says cleaning up Haiti's environmental mess will be long, difficult, and expensive

Strong Earthquakes Rock Chile as Piñera Takes Office
6.9 magnitude quake registered during inauguration; no injuries or damage reported

13 Killed in Mexican Resort City
Five of the dead were police officers whose patrol was attacked in the outskirts of Acapulco

Obama, Haitian President Discuss Earthquake Relief Efforts
Haitian President Preval thanked Americans for flood of official and private aid, moral support

French President Calls for Stronger Forest Preservation Effort
Nicolas Sarkozy is calling for rich nations to contribute more to fighting deforestation, particularly in Africa and Latin America

Red Cross Revises Chilean Emergency Appeal Upwards
Spokeswoman says a lot done to restore electricity, water to cities, but says many necessities still lacking in rural areas

Index: Democracies Decline in Quality, Not Number
Of 76 democracies studied, for every well-functioning democracy, two fall short; some, like Iraq, 'highly unstable'

US Officials: Corruption Still Threatens Border Security
Budget shortfalls, lure of big bribes compromise anti-drug war

Preval Urges Reconstruction Emphasis in Haitian Provinces
President Rene Preval says rebuilding capital Port-au-Prince as it was before January's quake would be 'major historical mistake'

Russia Sends Mobile Hospital to Chile
Parts of Chile shook Thursday after getting hit by a magnitude-6.9 aftershock

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Guatemala and organised crime: Reaching the untouchables

Attempts to stop drugs money corrupting public life in Guatemala are making some progress. In Jamaica (see article) the worries are growing

FOR the second time in less than a year, Guatemala’s national police chief has become one of its most prominent criminal defendants. Last August Porfirio Perez Paniagua was arrested for stealing drugs and cash. He was replaced by Baltazar Gomez (pictured above, left), a respected officer who had passed a polygraph test. Yet on March 2nd Mr Gomez was himself apprehended, along with Nelly Bonilla, the country’s anti-narcotics tsar. They were charged with involvement in drugs trafficking and with thwarting the investigation of a firefight last April, when five corrupt cops attempting to seize cocaine for resale were killed by the drugs’ owners. This parade of police chiefs in the dock shows both how much progress has been made in the fight for justice in Latin America’s most lawless country, and how much remains to be done.

Just a few years ago, such high-level arrests would have been unthinkable. Guatemala’s 36-year civil war was the Americas’ worst armed conflict of the 20th century: it killed 200,000 indigenous people, and was declared a genocide by a commission sponsored by the United Nations. Yet unlike most of its regional peers, the country was unable to establish a clear break with the past after a peace treaty was signed in 1996. A generous amnesty law meant that no members of the army were jailed for their participation until last year. One of the authors of a truth-commission report, Juan Jose Gerardi, was bludgeoned to death two days after its publication. Efrain Rios Montt, who was president of the military regime when the worst atrocities took place, remained a congressman until his unsuccessful bid to return to the presidency via the ballot-box in 2003. ...

Jamaica and organised crime: Seeking Mr Coke

American anger at Jamaica’s slowness in handing over an alleged gang boss

UNTIL recently the United States was pleased with the co-operation it was getting from Jamaica over the extradition of people accused of serious crimes. The Jamaican authorities were responding promptly to requests and, last year, sent 15 suspects to the United States. But the case of Christopher “Dudus” Coke seems to be different. The American authorities have become frustrated at what they see as foot-dragging by Jamaica’s government over their request last August for the extradition of a man they say is the leader of an “international criminal organisation”.

A “Gang Threat Assessment Survey” conducted by the Jamaican government last year reckoned there were 268 criminal groups in Jamaica, earning cash from extortion, selling cannabis, transporting cocaine, contract killings, prostitution and international cybercrime. Many of them are merely small-time thugs. But the United States Justice Department has put Mr Coke on its “world’s most dangerous” list, accusing him of directing drug deals as far away as New York. ...

Canada's Parliament returns: Seal of approval

Bereft of controversy, lawmakers chew seal meat and sing a sexist anthem

WHEN Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, prorogued Parliament in December for more than two months, to avoid some bothersome debates, he said this was so his minority Conservative government could “recalibrate” its policies. Now that the recession was over, he said, the emphasis needed to shift towards budgetary control. However, as the new session began on March 3rd, the throne speech outlining the legislative programme was notable for its dearth of new ideas. Likewise the rather dull budget speech the next day.

The Liberals, the main opposition, were so stumped for something to quibble with in the budget that they decided not to vote it down, which at least spares Canadians a third general election in just over four years. So, with little of substance to joust over, lawmakers have been turning their attention to some less urgent matters. In response to a proposal by a Liberal senator, the parliamentary canteen served seal meat for the first time on March 10th. The idea is to show solidarity with hunters, on Canada’s Atlantic and Arctic coasts, who are enraged at the European Union’s recent ban on imports of seal products. Last year Canada’s governor-general, Michaelle Jean, caused a stir by eating raw seal meat on a visit to the Arctic. The lawmakers enjoyed theirs cooked, in a port sauce. ...

Brazil's quilombos: Affirmative anticipation

A dispute over land becomes an argument about race

OF ALL the peoples that make up Brazil, the quilombolas have perhaps the most remarkable story. Like the Saramaka in Suriname or Jamaica’s Maroons, they claim to be descended from groups of runaway slaves who founded settlements, or quilombos, deep in the forests. Most still live in the countryside, farming rice, bananas and other staples, but increasing numbers now live in towns. In the 1988 constitution, drawn up after the end of Brazil’s military dictatorship (exactly a century after slavery was abolished), the quilombolas were granted special guarantees to the title on their land, in recognition of their ancestors’ suffering.

These rights were amplified in a decree from President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in 2003. A bill that would, among other things, solidify their land claims has passed in Brazil’s lower house and is now in the Senate. However, not everybody is carried away with the romance of it all. ...

Cuba and the United States: Honeymoon cancelled

A familiar mistrust descends

THE Cubans who hawk second-hand books from makeshift stalls in Havana’s Plaza de Armas were thrilled when Barack Obama was elected. Could millions of American tourists be far behind, they wondered. Word went out that the vendors were in the market for pre-revolutionary American paraphernalia such as Life magazines and Coca-Cola signs or newspapers from the Spanish-American War. But hopes that Mr Obama and his Cuban counterpart, Raul Castro, would end a 50-year freeze in relations between their countries have proved wildly premature.

Mr Obama began with some gestures. Last April his administration lifted curbs on visits and remittances by Cuban-Americans imposed by George Bush. It also said that it would allow American firms to provide telecoms services to Cuba. It quietly switched off an electronic ticker-tape on the wall of the United States’ Interest Section in Havana which had relayed news (propaganda, complained the Cubans, who erected a barricade to obscure it). The administration also restarted talks on practical issues, such as migration, that had been halted under Mr Bush. ...

Rebuilding Haiti: Island in the sun

Use solar power, not firewood

IT MIGHT seem callous in the aftermath of 230,000 deaths in January’s earthquake to talk about the opportunity offered by the rebuilding of Haiti. But merely restoring the most benighted country in the Americas to its previous misery would be culpable. Among the opportunities is to improve Haiti’s energy infrastructure.

Lacking domestic fossil-fuel supplies, Haiti was spending some $500m a year importing them. Its energy infrastructure was dismal, most Haitians having no access to electricity. Of those who do, perhaps half are hooked up illegally. The grid lost about half the generated energy, and missed out swathes of the country. ...

Chile's earthquake: Counting the cost

A richer, better organised country fared less badly than Haiti. Even so, the government struggled to respond to the massive scale of the destruction

THE mood in Chile over the past few days has swung as violently as buildings did in the early hours of February 27th. The terror of the massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake—so intense that many still cannot bear to talk about it—quickly turned to relief, at least in the capital, Santiago, which escaped relatively unscathed. That was tribute to the quality of the country’s building standards. Even the sheet-glass of modern office and apartment blocks was unbroken, despite the alarming swaying they suffered. But farther south, where the devastation and disorder was much more severe, anger set in.

By March 3rd the deaths of over 800 people had been confirmed, but officials said that several hundred remained missing. Worst hit were a string of towns and villages on the coast either side of Concepcion, the country’s second city, as well as the remote Juan Fernandez islands. The earthquake triggered several giant waves that swept away thousands of houses. The victims included fishermen and farm workers—some of Chile’s poorest people—as well as campers and backpackers who had been enjoying the last week of the country’s summer holidays. ...

Presidential politics in Colombia: After Uribe

Suddenly, a wide-open race among half-a-dozen would-be successors

FOR months Colombian politics has come down to just one question: would Alvaro Uribe, the country’s tough and popular president, succeed in his effort to change the constitution to allow him to run for a third term at a presidential election in May? Such has been Mr Uribe’s sway over his country’s institutions that many pundits assumed the answer was yes. But when it finally came on February 26th the ruling by the Constitutional Court was a rejection sufficiently emphatic as to seem inevitable in retrospect. And with that Colombia finds itself suddenly contemplating a wide-open election.

The court ruled by seven to two that the re-election law would have violated the spirit of the constitution as well as being vitiated by irregularities and “substantial violations of democratic principles”. Their verdict means that Mr Uribe is barred from ever seeking the presidency again, not just this year. This spirited defence of judicial independence and checks and balances was met by immediate, if emotional, acquiescence from the president. The important thing, he said, was that his “democratic security” policy, which has beaten back left-wing guerrillas and demobilised right-wing paramilitaries, should continue. ...

After Canada's Olympics: Golden glow

Sporting success and brash patriotism

CANADIANS used to think of themselves as being quiet, modest and unassertive. No longer. After their athletes topped the medals table with 14 golds at the winter Olympic games, some 100,000 flag-waving locals took to the streets of Vancouver and the nearby ski resort of Whistler, deliriously singing the national anthem. The crowning triumph had come with victory over the United States in the men’s ice-hockey final. Even though this mood of brash patriotism had been building steadily both before and during the games, it took outsiders and even some Canadians by surprise.

The Vancouver Olympics got off to a dreadful start. Early on the opening day, a Georgian athlete, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was killed during a practice run when his luge flipped over, throwing him into a steel pole and raising questions about the track’s safety. Foreign journalists pounced on a series of glitches. The Olympic torch did not burn properly during the opening ceremony, an ice-making machine broke down as did several buses, and unseasonably mild weather caused events to be postponed. Visitors to Vancouver were frustrated that the outdoor Olympic flame was cordoned off behind a chain-link fence (it was quickly opened up). “The worst games ever,” wrote a columnist in The Guardian, a British newspaper, much to the annoyance of Canadians. ...

Canada's Mohawks: Get out of our canoe

When a Canadian is not a Canadian

THE dozen chiefs who make up the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake expected criticism when they began presenting eviction notices this month to 25 non-natives living on their 13,000-acre (5,260-hectare) reserve just south of Montreal. They hoped Canadians would understand their desire to protect a threatened language and culture, and refrain from interfering in internal Mohawk affairs. But many saw their action as a racist and illegal denial of Canada’s constitutional Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Despite centuries of coexistence, the First Nations, as Canada’s indigenous people call themselves, and other Canadians still live in mutual incomprehension. For a start the Mohawks do not see themselves as Canadians.

The council passed a bylaw in 1984, supported by the majority of the reservation’s 8,000 residents, which stipulated that a person must have at least four Mohawk great grandparents to live or own property there. Any Mohawk who marries a non-native must leave. “Everyone knows the law: if you marry out, you stay out,” says Joe Delaronde, a spokesman for the council. “If we don’t protect who we are, we will become Canadian citizens.” ...

Latin American summitry: In ever-closer union, divided we stand

It’s a tough life being a Latin American president nowadays, with so many summits to go to. The latest, involving 32 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, took place this week in Playa del Carmen, a resort on Mexico’s Caribbean coast. The leaders agreed to set up a permanent regional body. That seems sensible. But there is a subtext: despite protestations to the contrary, the new body will be a rival to the Organisation of American States, which includes the United States and Canada, but not Cuba. It also looks like a Mexican riposte to the Brazilian-inspired South American Union. And all this escalating summitry takes place as Latin America is more divided than ever, between its liberal democracies on the one hand and Venezuela and its allies on the other, with Brazil trying to paper over the divide. Time, perhaps, for fewer but better summits.

...

Corruption in Brazil: The money trail

Many corruption scandals stem from the high cost of politics, and unrealistically tight campaign-finance rules

WHERE money, politics and scandal meet in Brazil, there is usually a camera somewhere nearby to take the pictures that will make any later profession of innocence ring hollow. Roseana Sarney’s presidential bid was killed in 2002 when images of half a million dollars in banknotes found at her husband’s office were broadcast on television. But the scandal that has been rumbling on since the end of November in Brasilia has bested all previous efforts in this genre.

The secretary of Jose Roberto Arruda, the governor of the Federal District, was filmed handing over bundles of cash to his boss’s various allies. They stuffed it down trousers, into handbags and, when other pockets were full, into socks. But this film has a surprising ending. On February 11th Mr Arruda was placed in police custody, to await trial for coercing a witness and attempting to destroy evidence. (His deputy governor has resigned over the affair, leaving the capital leaderless.) This is unusual in a country where politicians accused of corruption often lose nothing more precious than their mandates or their dignity—and even then they seem to bounce back quickly. ...

Presidential ambitions in Peru: Political satire

Jaime Bayly’s breath of fresh air

WHEN it comes to Peruvian writers seeking the presidency, history threatens to repeat itself as farce. In 1990 Mario Vargas Llosa, one of Latin America’s foremost novelists, enraged by a government attempt to nationalise his country’s banks, cast aside his pen and threw himself into politics. Opinion polls at first made him a shoo-in for the presidency. Fortunately for the cause of literature, if not for Peruvian public life, he was defeated by Alberto Fujimori.

This month Jaime Bayly, a writer of humorous novels of rather lesser stature who is also a television talk-show host, has launched his candidacy for a presidential election due in April 2011. Like Mr Vargas Llosa, Mr Bayly is a liberal. But he is a highly irreverent one. Mop-haired and rumpled, he talks freely about his bisexuality (he says that at the moment he prefers women but that this might once again change); his taste for mood-altering pills that are apparently damaging his liver; his past cocaine habit and his continuing fondness for an occasional joint. His television programmes, broadcast in Colombia and Peru (he previously worked in Miami), mercilessly mock Venezuela’s leftist president, Hugo Chavez. ...

The Dominican Republic and Haiti: Helping a neighbour in need

A break in a history of mistrust

JUST two days after Haiti’s earthquake, Leonel Fernandez, the president of the neighbouring Dominican Republic, ordered a helicopter to fly him over the border for an unannounced visit. He was worried that his Haitian counterpart and friend, Rene Preval, was still incommunicado. What made this neighbourly gesture remarkable was that the two countries that share the island of Hispaniola have long been divided by mutual suspicion. During a previous term in the 1990s, Mr Fernandez became the first Dominican president to visit Haiti in 60 years.

Mr Fernandez says he found Mr Preval alone in a small, dark back office at a police station near the airport. They talked about how the Dominican Republic could help. It has, a lot. Crews of Dominicans, including engineers, telecoms technicians and the Red Cross, were among the first to join the relief effort. Mr Fernandez dispatched 15 mobile kitchens to provide hot meals to survivors. He is now sending 100 old buses, refitted with desks and chairs, to serve as temporary classrooms. Dominican health teams are helping to treat earthquake survivors at a makeshift hospital in Jimani, on the border. Victor Atallah, a Dominican cardiologist, is building a rehabilitation clinic in Jimani where he plans to fit amputees with prosthetic limbs. ...

Correction: Brazil's economy

In our story on Brazil’s economy (“Joining in the carnival spirit”, February 13th), we quoted economists at Itau, a bank, as arguing that the government would have to strip out 496 billion reais, or half its total discretionary spending, to meet its fiscal-surplus target. In fact they said 49 billion reais and a quarter of its discretionary spending. Our apologies to them, and to the government. This has been corrected online.

...

Argentina and the Falklands: Oil and troubled waters

Drilling a vein of nationalism

EACH year a well-rehearsed performance takes place at the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation. Argentina’s government protests that Britain’s sovereignty over the islands it calls the Malvinas is a colonial injustice, and that the principle of territorial integrity demands that they be reunited with the mainland. Representatives from the Falkland Islands counter that they have a right to self-determination; that they have no wish to be part of Argentina; and that they do not consider themselves to be a colony of Britain anyway. Most of the time the argument gets no further than that. After going to war over the islands in 1982, Britain and Argentina have enjoyed reasonably cordial relations for the past 20 years. But the arrival of an oil exploration rig in the Falklands, due this month, has given new fuel to a dispute that dates back to 1833.

On February 16th Anibal Fernandez, chief of staff to Argentina’s president, announced that ships sailing between Argentina and the Falklands, or to them through Argentine waters, would henceforth require a permit. Earlier the government barred a ship which it said had called at the islands from loading a cargo of pipes. (Techint, the Argentine manufacturer of the pipes, said they were destined for the Mediterranean.) Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina’s president, said she would “work unceasingly for our rights in the Malvinas, for human rights.” ...

A Canadian conservative split: A wild rose blooms

A prairie echo of the tea party

WHEN the Progressive Conservatives won power in Alberta, Richard Nixon was still in the White House and Britain had only just abandoned shillings. Under various leaders, they have ruled continuously for almost four decades. Alberta, the home of oil, gas and cattle, has become the bedrock of Canadian conservatism. Yet now the Progressive Conservatives face a rebellion on the prairies—from the right, rather than the left.

Ed Stelmach, Alberta’s premier since 2006, won 72 of the 83 seats in the legislature at an election just two years ago. Now he is Canada’s least popular premier, with an approval rating in a recent poll of 14%. The recession has not helped. It has driven up unemployment in a province accustomed to the good life during a prolonged commodity boom, and caused Alberta’s finances to fall into the red for the first time in 15 years. The premier has antagonised the oil and gas industry, first with a bungled attempt to raise royalties and then by his lacklustre defence of the province’s tar sands from attacks on their carbon emissions by greens at home and abroad. ...

Mexico's murder capital: A “dying” city protests

It may have come late, but the president’s emergency plan to save the country’s fifth-biggest city from carnage and crime looks promising

WHEN Arturo Valenzuela addressed Felipe Calderon at a meeting on public safety in Ciudad Juarez on February 11th, Mexico’s president had already apologised for arriving two hours late. “Two years too late,” retorted Mr Valenzuela, a surgeon who treats two gunshot victims a day in the border city that has become Mexico’s murder capital. That rebuke summed up the icy welcome the president received on a rare visit to what has become the central battlefield in the “war” on drug gangs that he launched on taking office more than three years ago.

Juarez, in the northern state of Chihuahua, is a critical site for the traffickers. It is Mexico’s second-largest local drug market. Its Texan neighbour, El Paso, lies on vital American freight routes. For nearly two decades, a mob called the Juarez “cartel” controlled the trade in the city. Two years ago the Sinaloa gang, Mexico’s largest, began an aggressive takeover battle. The resulting carnage prompted Mr Calderon to send 10,000 troops to pacify the city. Officials have insisted that the violence is a sign that weakened gangs are scrapping over diminished spoils, and will soon subside. Yet despite the army’s presence, the killing continues: 2,660 of Juarez’s 1.3m residents were murdered in 2009, making it the world’s deadliest city outside a war zone. ...

Haiti a month on: Tarpaulin cities

Shelter is now the pressing need

A MONTH after the catastrophic earthquake that flattened much of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and according to the government killed perhaps 230,000 people, there has been some fragile progress. Hospitals are working, though not before thousands of survivors died of their injuries. The World Food Programme says that it has handed out a two-week supply of rice to 2.5m people in the capital and nearby areas. Most streets in Port-au-Prince have been cleared of rubble.

The immediate worry now is providing shelter robust enough to withstand the rains (and landslides) that normally begin in earnest in May, and the hurricanes that may follow from June onwards. Around 550,000 people have gathered in 337 makeshift camps; almost as many are sleeping rough. With aftershocks continuing, they are too scared to venture back into their houses even when these survived. Some have been issued with tents. But relief workers reckon that simple plastic tarpaulins, suspended on poles, are a more durable option. One says that some tarpaulins handed out after floods in 2004 are still doing duty. The plastic can later be incorporated into huts. ...

The Economist: The Americas
The Americas

 

Daylight Saving Time in Mexico

Daylight Saving Time begins in the United States and Canada this weekend but here in Mexico we won't be setting our clocks forward until the first week of April. So make a note if you'll be traveling to Mexico this month - there will be an extra hour difference in time. Known as el horario de verano, Daylight Saving time has been observed in Mexico since 1996, and is observed from the first Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.

Read more about Daylight Saving Time in Mexico.

Daylight Saving Time in Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Friday, March 12th, 2010 at 09:00:00.

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Día de la Samaritana: Lenten Tradition in Oaxaca

_{Photo &copy Suzanne Barbezat}

On the fourth Friday of Lent (this year on March 12) a special celebration known as La Samaritana takes place in Oaxaca. Aguas frescas, refreshing fruit drinks, and ice cream are given out free to passersby. Originally this was done in church atriums, but now schools and businesses also join in. This tradition is inspired by the biblical passage that describes Jesus' encounter with a Samaritan woman at a well (John 4).

The Día de la Samaritana is a great time to sample traditional Mexican drinks such as horchata, a drink made with rice and flavored with cinnamon, and agua de jamaica, made with dried hibiscus flowers, as well as many other refreshing drinks made from fruit.

• Lent in Mexico
• Holy Week and Easter in Mexico

Día de la Samaritana: Lenten Tradition in Oaxaca originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 09:00:44.

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Tell Us About Your Mexico Blog
Do you write a blog about Mexico? We're compiling information about Mexico blogs in order to create a resource for people planning a trip to Mexico, those planning to move to Mexico, as well as people who just love reading about Mexico. Your blog can cover Mexico travel, any city or region of Mexico, Mexican food or culture, or just about anything else related to Mexico. Share your blog with Mexico Travel readers by using this form: Submit your Mexico blog.

Tell Us About Your Mexico Blog originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 12:00:27.

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Mexico Requires Passports

A new rule brought into effect by the Mexican government this week will require U.S. and Canadian citizens to present a passport or equivalent travel document to enter Mexico. Until now, whether or not a passport was required for travel to Mexico was determined by the United States' Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which brought in passport requirements in several phases. The rules were phased in gradually depending on whether travelers entered by air, land or sea, with the intention of keeping disruption to travel to a minimum, but did cause a lot of confusion. Many people have been unclear about whether or not they need a passport to travel to Mexico.

There are still exceptions to the rule: people traveling within the border zone and staying in the country for 72 hours or less, will not be required to present a passport.

Find out how to get a passport, or read more about Mexico travel documents.

Mexico Requires Passports originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 08:47:26.

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Safety in Cancun

A year ago I wrote about concerns of prospective visitors about safety in Cancun. Many readers commented on that blog post, several who were in the process of planning a trip and were concerned about the safety of their destination choice. Two people who have recently returned from Cancun have written about their experience, and their perception of risks to travelers there.

Singlemom writes:

I left a comment on November 25 asking if it was safe to travel with my two daughters alone. Well we have gone and returned and I can tell you that I never once felt in danger. I used my common sense. I was very worried before I left and swore I would not leave the resort. I ended up not being on my resort very much, as we did so many activities like swimming with the dolphins, jungle tour, captain hook cruise, going to the mall.. etc. We were always back at our resort for dinner and tired from our days of excitement we were in bed by 11. So in answer to is Cancun safe... absolutely. Just don't put yourself in a situation that it may not be. It was an awesome family vacation that we will always remember but if you are looking to go get drunk in an unfamiliar place, well then yes, you are taking the chance of putting yourself in danger.

John writes:

Just spent a week in Cancun at the Gran Melia Resort earlier this month and had a wonderful vacation! People are extremely nice and definitely make you feel very welcome. Always felt safe along the main strip in the hotel zone (Avenida Kukulcan) and even when I ventured out into town. The only warning: only drink bottled water. Other than that, have a great time in Cancun!! I would definitely return to Mexico.

These travelers to Cancun are affirming what I've been saying all along: you can have a safe and fun vacation in Cancun, just practice general safety precautions and party safe.

More information about Cancun:

• Cancun Destination Guide
• Day Trips from Cancun
• Cancun Beaches

Safety in Cancun originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 00:52:33.

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Lent Observances in Mexico

The craziness of Carnaval is over and in the church calendar, this period leading up to Easter is supposed to be a time for reflection and self-restraint. There are some particular traditions associated with Lent in Mexico, including special foods that are prepared at this time of year and celebrations that take place on each of the Fridays of the season.

Find out how Lent is observed in Mexico, or to learn more about Lent, read What is Lent?, from About.com's Guide to Christianity.

Lent Observances in Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Monday, February 22nd, 2010 at 09:44:52.

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Ancient Cultures of Mexico
Mexico's many archaeological sites are an enigma and a source of wonder for visitors of all ages and backgrounds. However, it's sometimes a challenge keeping the different ancient cultures straight. If you don't know the Olmecs from the Zapotecs or the Toltecs from the Mayas, you may find this overview of ancient Mexican civilizations helpful.

_{Photo by Guillermo Aldana, courtesy of the Mexican Tourism Board.}

Ancient Cultures of Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 08:07:53.

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Valentine's Day in Mexico
Heart shaped balloons, flowers, candies and teddy bears are as common in Mexican Valentine's celebrations as they are in other places, but there are some special things about the way Valentine's Day is celebrated in Mexico. February 14th is celebrated as the Día de San Valentin, but it's also commonly referred to as El Día del Amor y la Amistad, the "Day of Love and Friendship." So even if you're planning a hot date with your sweetie, it's a good opportunity to show your friends some appreciation too.

Read more about Valentine's Day in Mexico.

_{Photo Stephen Chernin/Stringer/Getty Images}

Valentine's Day in Mexico originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Saturday, February 13th, 2010 at 11:30:20.

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Flooding in Monarch Butterfly Territory

This is usually the best time of year to visit Mexico's Monarch butterfly reserves, but unfortunately, flooding and landslides in eastern Michoacan state have made it impossible to visit the reserves there, at least for the time being.

The town of Angangueo, located very close to Michoacan's Monarch butterfly reserves, has been devastated by landslides caused by very heavy out-of-season rains, which have destroyed property and roads, and caused several deaths. The Mexican government has declared Angangueo and surrounding areas a disaster zone and the area's inhabitants have been evacuated. There is also the possibility of more rain, which could compound the situation.

The monarch population was already at an all-time low, even prior to the flooding, so the prospects for the butterflies are looking grim, though the full extent of the damage has yet to be assessed. If you're still planning to visit the Monarch butterfly reserves this year, your best bet is to visit the ones that are located in Mexico state (Estado de Mexico).

More about the Monarch butterfly in Mexico:

• Monarch Butterfly Reserves in Mexico
• Overwintering Monarch Population Hits All-Time Low

Flooding in Monarch Butterfly Territory originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 15:38:11.

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Best Mexico City Sights
Many travelers flying into Mexico have connecting flights in Mexico City. The majority of them are anxious to get on another plane to their final destination as quickly as possible, and never see more of Mexico City than the Benito Juarez International Airport and what they can glimpse out of the plane window.

Admittedly, everything in Mexico City is on a grand scale. With its 680 years of history; urban sprawl that covers over 1500 square miles; and population hovering around 20 million, the city can be intimidating, but those who do venture into the nation's capital may be pleasantly surprised by all the city has to offer.

If you'll be flying into Mexico City, consider spending a few days before continuing on to your final destination. Some time spent exploring this city can be a great complement to your trip. This list of the Mexico City sights you shouldn't miss will help you make the most of your time.

More about Mexico City:

• Mexico City Walking Tour
• Take the Mexico City Turibus
• Frida and Diego's Mexico City

Best Mexico City Sights originally appeared on About.com Mexico Travel on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 08:00:08.

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About Mexico Travel
Mexico Travel

 

How You Can Help Chileans' Earthquake Recovery Effort
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all impacted by the recent earthquake in central Chile, which has left hundreds dead or injured and displaced many more. I encourage you to look beyond this devastation and help support the country by planning to visit in the near future.

About.com's Guide to Nonprofits has outlined a number of other ways you can aid in the recovery effort, including how you can make easy $10 donations to the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, and other charities simply by sending a quick text message.

- Brian Spencer, Travel Editor

How You Can Help Chileans' Earthquake Recovery Effort originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 14:36:27.

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Alternate Suggestions for Chile Tourism

What NOT to Do in Chile (matadortrips.com): "Matador's destination expert on Chile lays out the country's avoidable attractions...and what you should do instead."

Listing the most attractive and crowded destinations during the summer season, the author suggests alternate locations that are often uncrowded and very scenic.

In addition, the author suggests "shoulder season" activities and alternate activities for food, shopping, transportation and language tips.

Do you agree? Or have additional tips for the visitor to Chile? Add your comments below.

View of Cerro Aconcagua, viewed from Santiago area, is displayed with the kind permission of Brian Pearson of Santiago Adventures, Ltda.

Alternate Suggestions for Chile Tourism originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Sunday, November 29th, 2009 at 13:29:08.

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Another Blackout Hits Brazil

New Blackout Hits Rio's Popular Tourist Spot (foxnews.com): "Rio de Janeiro's posh beach neighborhoods lost power for hours in sweltering summer weather Tuesday, prompting restaurants to toss out spoiled food and business owners to send their employees home.

The outage came two weeks after a massive blackout left more than 60 million people in the dark and raised questions about the nation's ability to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio."

In addition to these power outtages and the inconvenience they cause, tourism now and between the Olympic Games might be impacted in various locations in Brazil.

This view of Copacabana by night thanks to ClipArt.com.

Adding more trouble and trauma, Violent storms, tornado kill 16 in South America (www.usatoday.com):"A violent storm that spawned a tornado and mudslides killed at least 16 people across northern Argentina and southern Brazil, authorities said Tuesday. Dozens were injured in the winds and hail as their homes were destroyed.
At least 10 died in Argentina, said Ricardo Veselka, civil defense director for the town of San Pedro, where the twister hit."

Another Blackout Hits Brazil originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 15:55:09.

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New Tourism Deal Between Argentina, Brazil and Isra

Tourism agreement to be signed between Israel and Argentina (www.jpost.com):"Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and his Argentinean counterpart Carlos Enrique Meyer will sign a tourism agreement in the near future, after Misezhnikov, who was accompanying President Shimon Peres on his South American tour, said on Tuesday that "Israel considers Argentina to be a country with great tourism potential."

This adds to the services when "In May 2009, El Al began to operate a direct flight route between Tel Aviv and Sao Paolo," Brazil's economic center.

Meyer said he aspires to promote code-sharing agreements on the Brazil-Israel route and encourage the inception of direct flights between Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv." Lots of potential tourism options!
However, Argentina authorizes industrywide air fare hike (Reuters)
which might affect travel plans.

View of Buenos Aires's iconic Obelisk and Avenida 9 de Julio is displayed with the kind permision of Roberto Ingledew.

View of a busy street in São Paulo is displayed with the kind permission of Ron Miller - author of Escape from the Happy Cannibal.

New Tourism Deal Between Argentina, Brazil and Isra originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 06:08:30.

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Travel Tips for Brazil and Peru

Shoulder Seasoning South-American Style
(away.com): "When it comes to countries, we don't play favorites. So consider the information parsed in the stories below to be light fare for your larger South American banquet--a glimpse into the continent's largest country, and an exploration of one of its most mystic, mythical, and physically taxing locales.

Take a look at our off-season guides to Peru and Brazil, where tropic climes and sporadic rains reduce prices and crowds, and then explore the rest of our coverage on the entirety of South America. Then all that's left is to plan your trip and curse the fact that vacations can last for only so long..."

Check out the overview of off-season travel, and zero in on the topics and destinations that most appeal to you in Brazil and Peru.

View of Itacare Beach in Bahia is displayed with the kind permission of
Luis Veiga / Getty Images.

View of the Anascocha Trail through the Peruvian Andes is displayed with the kind permission of Ariana Svenson - Apus Peru. You can learn more about this isolated area by reading Christmas Hiking In Peru.

Travel Tips for Brazil and Peru originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 12:18:56.

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"Guyana is a Rare Opportunity for Travellers"

Tourism professionals say Guyana is a rare opportunity for travellers (caribbeannetnews): "Guyana played host to an esteemed group of tourism professionals - tour operators, researchers, journalists, and conservationists - on a product familiarization trip spotlighting the South American country's nature and cultural tourism activities. The participants were all seasoned world travelers and their feedback places Guyana on par with other top nature destinations.

The trip featured birding, wildlife watching and cultural activities in Georgetown, Kaieteur Falls, Karanambu Lodge, Caiman House at Yupukari Village, Rock View Lodge, Aranaputa Village, Surama Village and Eco-Lodge, Fair View Village, Iwokrama River Lodge, Atta Rainforest Lodge and Iwokrama Canopy Walkway, and Baganara Island Resort."

Explore Guyana with a view to your own familiarization tour.

View of Kaieteur Falls, a favorite destination in Guyana, is displayed with the kind permission of Bill Curtsinger / Getty Images.

"Guyana is a Rare Opportunity for Travellers" originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 06:27:38.

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Biking in Peru: Trip Reports

There's more to this feature about biking in Peru than just the Lake Titicaca: The Bike Tour (livinginperu.com).

There are blogs about rides in and around Cumbe Mayo in Abancay, Traveling the Milky Way in Cajamarca, Cuzco, El Refugio de Francesca in Ancash, Chasing the Sun from Lima to sunnier spots, Lambayeque, Back Road from Cajamarca to Chachapoyas, Ballestas islands and an overall view of biking in Peru.

View of Santa Apolonia Church in Cajamarca is displayed with the kind permission of Paul Kennedy / Getty Images.

Biking in Peru: Trip Reports originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 06:00:37.

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Hot Tips for 2010 South American Travel

Adventure holidays: hot tips for 2010 (guardian.co.uk) "We asked the experts to reveal the trips they are most excited about - from Papua New Guinea's jungles to Greenland's ice floes."

Two of South America's locations made the list: Off the beaten track in Northern Peru and Island-hopping in The Falkland Islands.

View of the adobe pyramid of Huaca del Sol is displayed with the kind permission of Peter and Jackie Main.

Hot Tips for 2010 South American Travel originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 19:45:45.

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Cholitas in La Paz battle it out

The author describes an entertaining evening at a wrestling match in the Los Altos section of La Paz in which women, called cholitas tackle each other and male contestants in free-for-all matches: Slammin' ma'ams win over the fans (brisbanetimes.com)

Included are some recommendations for reasonable accommodations.

Cholitas in La Paz battle it out originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Sunday, November 15th, 2009 at 06:00:06.

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Meatless in Argentina

With descriptions of meals, photos and some suggestions, the author asks: Can a Vegetarian Survive in Argentina? (concierge.com)

And the answer is Yes! Take a look at more traditional Recipes from Argentina for ideas and you can always ask to have a vegetarian dish prepared for you.

Meatless in Argentina originally appeared on About.com South America Travel on Saturday, November 14th, 2009 at 16:14:23.

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