Hugo Chávez's Venezuela: Showing his true colours
Venezuela's slide towards dictatorship turns into a plunge(18)
Politics in St Vincent and the Grenadines: ALBA aboard
An ally of Hugo Chávez ekes out an electoral victory(4)
Colombia's foreign policy: Seeking new friends
Juan Manuel Santos tries diplomacy(5)
Wikileaks and Latin America: Truth in advertising
THE diplomatic cables released so far by Wikileaks have offered a trove of salacious details about international relations in Latin America. Hillary Clinton inquired whether Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentina’s president, takes any medication and how she handles her anxieties (perhaps by laughing, judging by the photo above). Sergio Massa, Ms Fernández’s former chief of staff, referred to Néstor Kirchner, her late husband and predecessor as president, as a “psychopath” and a “monster”. Over a year ago Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández, Mexico’s deputy interior minister, warned that the government had 18 months to show concrete progress in its war on drug gangs before it risked losing public support for the fight, and was worried about the state losing control of the most violent regions. The country’s defence secretary even advocated suspending civil liberties. Brazil has privately recognised that the FARC guerrillas operate freely in Venezuelan territory. Israel is worried that Iran may be seeking uranium from Venezuela and Bolivia, its South American allies.(3)
The Latinobarómetro poll: The democratic routine
Resilience in the crisis and a robust recovery have brought a sunnier mood(9)
Venezuela's economy: Towards state socialism
A wave of nationalisation promises scarcity and decline(22)
Venezuela's legislative election: The revolution checked
The opposition bounces back(15)
Practical architecture: Making life easier
An exhibition in New York provides simple, stylish ideas for improved living(1)
Venezuela's legislative elections: A Pyrrhic victory
SELDOM has an election victory tasted so bitterly of defeat. Hugo Chávez, Venezuela’s leftist president, had defined the legislative elections held yesterday as a plebiscite on his rule, spoken of the need to “demolish” the opposition and said that nothing less than a two-thirds super-majority in the 165-seat National Assembly would do. But with six races still to be defined, the ruling United Socialist Party (PSUV) had won just 96 seats, with the opposition taking 63.(39)
Venezuela's legislative election: Chávez grapples with a 50/50 nation
A newly united opposition hopes that a legislative election will at least start to dent the president’s monopoly of power(13)
AMONG the many innocent victims of Colombia's violent struggles with guerrillas and paramilitaries over the last few decades were rural peasants, whose land was often forcibly seized by belligerents. The Americas section of this week's print issue leads with a look at how Juan Manuel Santos, the country's new president, plans to restore their ownership. The issue also addresses Venezuela's byzantine foreign exchange controls, the Cuban government's plan to fire 1m state employees and Mexico's celebration of the 200th anniversary of its independence struggle.(0)
Venezuela's economy: Disappearing dollars
An oil producer’s strange foreign-exchange squeeze(11)
A special report on Latin America: So near and yet so far
A richer, fairer Latin America is within reach, but a lot of things have to be put right first, says Michael Reid(61)
A special report on Latin America: It's only natural
Commodities alone are not enough to sustain flourishing economies(2)
A special report on Latin America: Democracy, Latino-style
Visible disorder, hidden progress(6)
Prisoners' rights in Venezuela: Silenced suffering
FOUR days ago, Franklin Brito died from a hunger strike he had staged to protest the Venezuelan government allowing squatters to occupy his land. Now, thousands of prisoners in four jails in the country are following his example. Just as Mr Brito expired on Monday, 900 prisoners in the state of Yaracuy declared hunger strikes over alleged improprieties in their trials. Another 30 in Tocuyito, near the Caribbean coast, did the sameand called for solidarity after they said they were beaten by guards. Some 850 inmates in the Vista Hermosa prison, in southern Venezuela, joined on yesterday. And over 3,000 prisoners at Tocorón, west of the capital, Caracas, have declared hunger strikes to complain of overcrowding and lack of health care.(5)
Property rights in Venezuela: Life, liberty and property
FRANKLIN BRITO is not well-known outside Venezuela, and the country’s government would like it to stay that way. Late on Monday night, the 50-year-old farmer and biologist died from a hunger strike in the military hospital in Caracas, the capital, where he had been held against his will, virtually incommunicado, since December.(15)
Crime in Venezuela: Shooting gallery
The government blames the media for crime(25)
Crime in Venezuela: Shooting the messenger
RESIDENTS of Caracas, Venezuela’s crime-wracked capital, have become grimly accustomed to shootings. Yet when a stray bullet hit a baseball player from Hong Kong last Friday during a game of the Women’s World Cup—which was being held inside the city’s main military base—it was enough to startle even the violence-weary inhabitants of this dysfunctional metropolis. The player, Cheuk Woon Yee Sinny, was shot in the calf, and has already been released from hospital. Even so, Hong Kong withdrew from the tournament, and the government moved the remaining games to a different city.(23)
Colombia's presidential transition: Still in charge
Álvaro Uribe tries to undermine his successor’s tentative reconciliation with Venezuela’s government(49)
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