Guatemala: the decriminalisation of drugs
Guatemala's new president, retired General Otto Perez Molina, has joined the growing group of Latin American dignitaries to call for the legalisation of drugs as the only way to combat the powerful drug cartels.
‘Removing the Veil’: El Salvador Apologizes for State Violence on 20th...
El Salvador says sorry for the violence of the past, but not a word about the violence of the present: the 'war on drugs' and the security interference by the USA.
Uruguay: land occupations
Landless peasants have occupied an estate in the extreme north of Uruguay. The action is mainly intended to put pressure on the Broad Front government, says MercoPress.
Bolivia: new faces of justice
Under a radical new arrangement by which the highest ranking judges are voted into office, women and indigenous people are finally getting the top judicial jobs in Bolivia. Report by Emily Achtenberg.
Mexico: Building democracy
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the presidential candidate of a coalition of three left-of-centre parties in the general elections to be held in Mexico in July, is seeking out support from social movements.
Letter from Marabá
In the second instalment of his blog, Francis McDonagh talks about his return to Brazil's 'faroeste' in the state of Pará.
Colombia’s Eternal Conflict: Will There Be Peace in Our Time?
Colombia: will there be an end to the war? In a special analysis for LAB, Garry Leech, who has published numerous books, including one on the FARC, looks at prospects for finally resolving the internal conflict, in the wake of the FARC
Peru: a violent past that still casts clouds over the present
In Peru, the shadow of the violence of the 1980s is still present in the political debate. Javier Farje, from LAB reports.
Haiti: the ongoing cholera epidemic
Well over a year since the epidemic began, people are still threatened by the deadly diseases, warns Médecins Sans Frontières.
Haiti: bulldozing camps
Rapadoo Observateur expresses outrage in his blog at the way politicians are sending in the police to clear residents out of camps, in a ruthless attempt to sort out age-old land disputes.