All Latin America Monitor
A glimpse of Mexico's new crime fighting strategyWhile Mexico's President Pe帽a 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.
Where's the most expensive McDonald's Big Mac in the world?Clue: It's also homeplace of the聽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.
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.
Guatemala's Rios Montt to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanityA judge in Guatemala ordered former military leader Efrain Rios Montt to stand trial. He is the first ex-president charged with genocide by a Latin American court.
Mixed feelings south of the border on Senate immigration planAn activist for Mexican migrants wonders if the proposal would encourage more to illegally go to the US, setting back a revival in rural Mexico.
Venezuela's fourth prison riot in two years raises questionsVenezuela's Uribana jail riot highlights the need for proper training of security forces assigned to prisons and addressing overcrowding by bringing prisoners to trial, writes WOLA.
Could Brazil's nightclub fire spur more regional accountability?The deadly nightclub fire is not unique in a region plagued by multiple tragedies that are often the result of lax safety standards, poor oversight, and overcrowded conditions.- Trickling down: Latin America's glacier problemA new study shows glaciers in the tropical Andes have shrunk 30-50 percent in the past four decades, affecting water sources in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina.
Stopping child labor: There's an app for thatA smartphone app in Colombia uses crowdsourcing to document and fight child labor. Whenever users see a child working they can take a picture, log the location, and the app sends it to Colombia's child welfare agency.
Haitians heap the nation's burdens on a half-ton crossIn a grassroots initiative that is bringing Haitians together across the country, men, women, and children are carrying a half-ton piece of wood roped together like a cross for some 435 miles.
Venezuela cracks down on TV station questioning Ch谩vez moveVenezuelan officials ordered opposition news channel Globovision to stop airing videos questioning the constitutionality of postponing Hugo Ch谩vez's聽inauguration. This is the eighth complaint against the news station.
Attack of the wild dogs in Mexico City?Authorities have blamed five Mexico City residents' deaths on packs of dogs. But relatives are asking for further investigation, and animal rights supporters have raised a furor about wild dog roundups.
A losing battle for Venezuela's opposition?The opposition sent a letter聽to the OAS arguing that the government will violate the Constitution if Ch谩vez is not sworn in on Thursday. But many Venezuelans see this as taking advantage of聽Ch谩vez's health.
Got water? Hard to know in Mexico City.Every day, 50 to 60 broken water pipes are repaired in this megacity of over 20 million residents. Sometimes that means a surprise loss of water for Mexico City residents.- Four Nigerians arrested for drug trafficking in VenezuelaUS officials say Colombian and Venezuelan drug traffickers聽are increasingly reliant on smuggling routes that move drug shipments to Europe via West Africa.
Falklands again? Why Argentina's Kirchner keeps pushing the issue with Britain.Kirchner's populist platform targets debt reduction, social inclusion, unorthodox economic policies, and repeatedly pressing Britain over the South Atlantic archipelago.
2013 elections in Latin America: Does victory at the polls ensure a full democratic term?Ecuador, Paraguay, and Honduras have each had at least one irregular power transition in the past decade. Given their histories, finishing a term may be more meaningful than democratic elections.
Cuba keeps a keen eye on Ch谩vezAlmost half of all Cuban trade is with Venezuela, and such a high level of dependency leaves the island vulnerable to the political and economic swings of its partner.