Latin America

With the 2009 coup d’etat in Honduras still a fresh memory, the presidents of the Unasur bloc gathered as quickly as they could to vigorously condemn Thursday’s attempted coup in Ecuador and warn that they would not tolerate any such assault on democracy in the region.

The woman likely to be elected president of Brazil, Latin America’s giant, either on Sunday or in an Oct. 31 runoff, is idealistic but pragmatic and has a reputation as a tough, seasoned administrator.

With the backing of large crowds of supporters in the streets and of statements from presidents throughout Latin America, the Ecuadorian government of Rafael Correa is attempting to quell a riot by hundreds of police protesting a cut in their benefits which has thrown the country into chaos.

Amid new calls for Washington to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities if its diplomatic efforts at curbing Tehran’s uranium-enrichment program fail, the United States Wednesday.

With a recent study warning that the Caribbean could lose six percent of its Gross Domestic Product annually to the ravages of climate change, some experts say that a combination of
adaptation funding and risk pooling is the region’s best hope for the future.

The vigorous comeback of the opposition in Venezuela’s newly elected parliament strengthens pluralism in this oil-rich country, although it may presage a new political crisis in the medium term, according to analysts.

The opposition is getting ready for a comeback in Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Venezuela, although President Hugo Chávez’s allies seem set to win a comfortable majority, perhaps as much as two-thirds of the seats.

“I don’t understand why we should celebrate [Independence]. There will be no freedom in Mexico until repression against indigenous peoples is eliminated,” says Sadhana, whose name means “moon” in the indigenous Mazahua language.