Chile’s Piñera Moves Front And Center

Just over two months after taking office, President Sebastián Piñera delivered his inaugural state of the nation speech on May 21. But rather than shock or even rile his opponents in the Concertación, the center-left opposition coalition, the new president presented a laundry list of plans and promises that simply stole their thunder.

El Salvador’s Funes Blazing New Political Trail

Expecting to end his first year on the job with a celebratory bash, Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes instead marked the milestone in full crisis mode, declaring a state of emergency on May 30 as Tropical Storm Agatha lashed the Central America isthmus.

Lame Duck Lula Pushes For Huge Amazon Dam

Unfazed by entrenched environmental opposition, a threat of war by local indigenous groups, and celebrity lobbying by a handful of Hollywood stars, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is putting the pedal to the metal on a controversial hydroelectric project slated for the country’s Amazon jungle region.

El Salvador to Guatemala: Don’t Poison The Well

No strangers to the pressures of foreign mining interests, Salvadoran activists, church leaders, and government officials have joined forces of late to keep would-be gold diggers in check. Now, however, the country’s many mining opponents face a new challenge–just across the border in Guatemala–that is exposing the limits of their lobby.