All Americas
What's next for Chávez and Venezuela?President Chávez's predawn return to Venezuela, announced yesterday, raises many questions about the country's leadership and future.
Colombia: Violence flares in lead-up to new round of FARC peace talksRecent kidnappings and intensified fighting have increased public skepticism about the Colombian government and FARC rebel peace talks. Today marks a new round of negotiations in Havana.
Red-letter weekend for Latin America's left as Correa wins reelection and Chávez returns homeWhile Ecuador's Correa celebrated winning his third term in office, Venezuela's Hugo Chávez made a surprise return home. What does this mean for Latin America's leftist leadership?
Modern migrants pose new challenges to Mexican border townsThe US deported record numbers of immigrants over the past four years. Although Mexico provides some basic services, the influx of migrants in border towns means good Samaritans and nonprofits are having to step up.
Why Ecuador's Correa looks set to win Sunday's presidential electionPresident Correa has been criticized internationally for limiting press freedoms and granting Julian Assange asylum in Ecuador's London embassy. But his social programs and public works projects have been popular at home.
- How does Venezuela's police reform measure up?
Since 2009 the Chávez government has carried forward a comprehensive police reform, creating a national police unit and university in Venezuela.
- Violence declines in Juarez - but at what price?
The police have become increasingly aggressive in Juarez, in hopes of reviving trust in the institution and respect from the populace and criminals alike. But some fear the police chief is propagating human rights violations.
A glimpse of Mexico's new crime fighting strategyWhile Mexico's President Peña Nieto hasn't backed away from using the military to fight crime entirely, he's promised a more multifaceted approach. That includes a newly launched crime prevention plan.
Confronting Haiti's housing woesHaiti's cash-strapped government has been criticized for both the size and location of new housing units, built to resolve the lack of post-earthquake permanent housing there.
FocusBrazil's affirmative action law offers a huge hand upPublic universities in Brazil will reserve half their seats to provide racial, income, and ethnic diversity – a law that goes the furthest in the Americas in attempting race-based equality. It will most greatly affect the large Afro-Brazilian population.
FocusAfrican heritage in Latin AmericaAfro-descendants in Latin America have had a different experience from those in the US, experts say. Despite this, social, economic, and cultural discrimination has been historically very strong.
Pope Benedict XVI retires: Will the next pope come from the 'global south?'Latin America is home to 40 percent of the world’s 1 billion Roman Catholics, but there has never been a non-European pope in the modern era.
Is Haiti's musician turned president cracking down on carnival songs?In a country where past carnival songs have predicted the fate of governments, lyrics are viewed as the social and political pulse of Haiti. Some bands behind controversial tunes say they were disinvited from this year's carnival.
Where's the most expensive McDonald's Big Mac in the world?Clue: It's also homeplace of the world's cheapest gas.
Argentina fights inflation by freezing prices. Will it work?Argentina has made an agreement with major supermarkets and appliance stores to freeze prices until April. Price freezes are the sledgehammer of economic policy tools, says a guest blogger.
- In Ontario, abuse of 'hillbilly heroin' being replaced by real thing
Heroin use is booming in the Canadian province, almost a year after the regional government tightened access to OxyContin, sometimes called 'hillbilly heroin,' to stem abuse.
Will blast at Mexico oil company shift opinions on privatization?Official information on the Pemex blast last week is still scant, but the explosion may have shifted perceptions on whether the state-owned oil company should open up to private investment.
- El Salvador's military to withdraw from 'peace zones'
The Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs agreed to hand over weapons and stop homicides, kidnapping, and extortion in four 'peace zone' municipalities as part of El Salvador's national gang truce.
Legal piracy? Antigua gets OK to start selling copies of US hit movies, songsThe World Trade Organization ruled that the tiny island nation is entitled to suspend American intellectual property rights due to an ongoing trade dispute with the US.
Mexico explosion: How will the Pemex blast affect the country's race for oil?In Mexico City, a powerful explosion rocked the headquarters of state oil giant Pemex, killing at least 25 and injuring 100 others.
