Chávez Family ‘Encouraged,’ Bolivia Leader Says at U.N.

By RICK GLADSTONE

President Evo Morales of Bolivia said the family of Hugo Chávez, the cancer-stricken president of Venezuela, was encouraged now that he had returned home.

Memo From Mexico City

Unabated Violence Poses Challenge to Mexico’s New Anticrime Program

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

Recent violence, including gang rapes and the killing of police officers, has put pressure on Mexico’s new leader as he rolls out a less militaristic crime prevention initiative.

President Correa Handily Wins Re-election in Ecuador

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

The vote showed the broad popularity of President Rafael Correa’s government’s social programs and support for the poor.

Obama Faces Risks in Pipeline Decision

By JOHN M. BRODER, CLIFFORD KRAUSS and IAN AUSTEN

In deciding whether to approve the Keystone oil pipeline, President Obama faces a choice between alienating environmental advocates or causing a deep rift with Canada.

Peru Objects to U.S. Embassy’s Warning to American Tourists

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

A United States Embassy official said credible evidence existed of a threat from a Peruvian terrorist group in the Cuzco region, which includes Machu Picchu.

Rio’s Exploding Manholes Menace Residents and Highlight Aging Infrastructure

By SIMON ROMERO and TAYLOR BARNES

Rio de Janeiro, which will host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics, faces criticism for not doing enough to curb the deadly problem.

Memo From Cuba

After Decades, Cuba Eases Travel Rules to Maintain Ties

By VICTORIA BURNETT

Islanders can spend more time overseas before forfeiting their residency, a concession that reflects the government’s desire for closer ties with Cubans abroad.

Caracas Journal

A Celebration That Accentuated an Absence

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, recovering in Cuba from cancer surgery, had no presence on Thursday at an inaugural event tailored for him.

Chávez, or at Least His Sash, Is Set for Venezuela Inauguration

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

President Hugo Chávez’s health crisis and decision to proceed on Thursday with a quasi-presidential inauguration that he is unable to attend is producing national angst about who is in charge.

• Videos: : Chávez Illness Delays Inauguration | The People’s Love for Chávez Continues

With Chávez Ill and State in Flux, Videos Offer an Image of Stability

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

As Hugo Chávez’s health presents political uncertainty, state television plays polished videos of the Venezuelan president in an apparent effort to reassure loyalists.

The Saturday Profile

After Years in Solitary, an Austere Life as Uruguay’s President

By SIMON ROMERO

José Mujica, a former guerrilla who took office in 2010, shuns opulence, donates most of his salary and lives modestly, as he says a leader of a proper democracy should.

Mexico City Journal

A Factory on Bicycle Wheels, Carrying Hope of a Better Life

By DAMIEN CAVE

Amor Muñoz’s mobile sewing factory is about community and “the experience of art” as much as economic development.

Brazil Expands Mines to Drive Future, but Cost Is a Treasured Link to Its Past

By SIMON ROMERO

A mining company is proceeding with a project that could help revive Brazil’s economy, but it would also destroy caves treasured by scholars of Amazonian prehistoric human history.

The Saturday Profile

A Willing Explorer of São Paulo’s Polluted Rivers

By SIMON ROMERO

José Leonídio Rosendo dos Santos has been diving into the polluted Tietê and Pinheiros rivers for more than 20 years, bringing to the surface a list of items that is eerie and bizarre.

Cuba’s Free-Market Farm Experiment Yields a Meager Crop

By DAMIEN CAVE

Although the government has liberalized many aspects of agriculture, inefficiencies caused by central control mean that many Cubans are actually seeing less food at private markets.

• Slide Show | Video

Swallowing Rain Forest, Cities Surge in Amazon

By SIMON ROMERO

The torrid expansion of rain forest cities is alarming scientists, as an array of new industrial projects transforms the Amazon into Brazil’s fastest-growing region.

• Slide Show: Population Growth Fuels Deforestation in Amazon

Memo From Colombia

Displaced Residents Grapple With Hurdles of Going Home

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

The government has made bringing people back to rural towns a priority, but logistics and fears of violence have complicated matters.

A New Leader Pushes a Different Side of Mexico

By ELISABETH MALKIN and RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

In a meeting with President Obama, Enrique Peña Nieto, the Mexican president-elect, highlighted a more prosperous Mexico where high-skilled jobs were increasing.

Battle Between Argentine Media Empire and President Heats Up Over a Law

By SIMON ROMERO and EMILY SCHMALL

A law championed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner will force Clarín to divest most of its lucrative cable operations starting in December.

Reopening an 18-Year-Old Wound in Argentina

By SIMON ROMERO

Jewish leaders have been angered by moves to improve ties with Iran, accused of shielding people who prosecutors in Argentina say authorized a 1994 attack on a community center in Buenos Aires.

Easing of Restraints in Cuba Renews Debate on U.S. Embargo

By DAMIEN CAVE

A new argument is gaining currency, even among many Cubans who had stayed on the sidelines: that more assistance from Americans could speed up tentative moves toward capitalism.

• More Photographs | How Capitalist Are the Cubans?
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Crackdown in Quebec: ‘Le Gap’ Won’t Do

By IAN AUSTEN

A reinterpretation of the province’s 1977 language law has led to stricter rules on company signs not rendered in French and to a lawsuit by six American retailers.

Already Desperate, Haitian Farmers Are Left Hopeless After Storm

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

Haiti is slipping deeper into crisis, officials say, after the huge blow from Hurricane Sandy to the tiny nation still struggling to recover from the devastating earthquake of 2010.

Mexico City Journal

Statue of a Foreign Autocrat Sits Uneasily With Some

By ELISABETH MALKIN

A statue of Heydar Aliyev, an Azerbaijan leader faulted for a poor human rights record, has raised concerns in Mexico City, a capital aspiring to be progressive.

Antigua Journal

In Guatemalan Tourist Haven, Corruption Case Is Talk of the Town

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

In Guatemala, where corruption is ingrained, a case against the mayor of Antigua is being viewed by many as a major step toward tackling the kind of political malfeasance long taken for granted.

• Guatemala Shooting Raises Concerns About Military’s Expanded Role

Mexico City Journal

On These Soccer Fields, a Brief Respite from the Killing Fields

By DAMIEN CAVE

This year’s Homeless World Cup, in Mexico City, drew young people whose lives have been affected by the particular pain of the country these days: drug violence.

• Slide Show: With Soccer, a Break from Violence
• Video: Seeking Refuge in Soccer

Easing Path Out of Country, Cuba Is Dropping Exit Visas

By DAMIEN CAVE

The move by the government would allow many Cubans to depart for vacations, or forever, with only a passport and a visa from the country where they plan to go.

U.S. Rethinks a Drug War After Deaths in Honduras

By DAMIEN CAVE and GINGER THOMPSON

A series of deaths involving a United States antidrug program in Honduras show what can go wrong when war tactics are used against a problem that goes well beyond drugs.

Colombia Tries Again to End Drug-Fed War

By WILLIAM NEUMAN

For the first time in a decade, rebels and the government of Colombia came together with the goal of ending the longest-running war in the Western Hemisphere.

Guatemala Shooting Raises Concerns About Military’s Expanded Role

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

Guatemala has forged closer military ties with the United States as it fights drug trafficking, but the fatal shooting of protesters and revelations of ties between former soldiers and drug gangs are worrying human rights groups.

• Slide Show: Guatemala’s ‘Mano Dura’

Brazilian Corruption Case Raises Hopes for Judicial System

By SIMON ROMERO

In a country where elite citizens are often shielded by the courts, a scandal where prominent politicians and bankers may be punished has caught the public’s imagination in Brazil.

Slow-Burning Challenge to Chile on Easter Island

By SIMON ROMERO

Inspired by other parts of Polynesia that have obtained political autonomy or are seeking independence, leaders of the Rapanui people are mounting a rebellion against Chile.

• Slide Show: Chile’s Challenge on Easter Island

Mexico Kills a Drug Kingpin, but the Body Gets Away

By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

The death of Heriberto Lazcano, known as El Lazca and the main leader of the Zetas, was confirmed through fingerprint analysis, the navy said. But in an odd twist, the corpse was quickly stolen.

Brazilian Corruption Case Raises Hopes for Judicial System

By SIMON ROMERO

In a country where elite citizens are often shielded by the courts, a scandal where prominent politicians and bankers may be punished has caught the public’s imagination in Brazil.

Dunvegan Journal

Canada Puts Spotlight on War of 1812, With U.S. as Villain

By IAN AUSTEN

The Canadian government’s enthusiasm for the conflict has puzzled and angered many in the country, where shows of patriotism are more subdued than they are south of the border.