Day: September 26, 2005

The U.S. Congress and the Central American nations are currently considering the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Through CAFTA, Central American governments hope to attract new inflows of foreign direct investment. Washington

Latin America is being invaded by genetically engineered (GE) crops. The promoters of these crops say they will help fight hunger, reduce agrochemical use, and bring prosperity to farmers and rural communities

In early March Guatemala began the process of ratifying the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) despite mass protests by popular movements throughout the country. Repression by military and police security forces

A little more than a century after the abolition of black slavery in the Americas, economic and other forms of racial discrimination remain its dismal legacy. In Brazil, the black civil rights

Recently the presidents of South American nations launched a proposal to form a “Community of Nations” that would group twelve countries covering 17 million square kilometers, with 361 million inhabitants, and a

Most environmentalists see the Kyoto Protocol as the last best hope to counter global warming. But a growing number of civil society critics point out that the Protocol’s “flexible,” market-based mechanisms allow

Colombia’s immense contribution to the planet’s biodiversity is being undercut at an alarming rate by policies that deny funding for environmental protection and promote destructive development. Compared to many nations, Colombia is

How 100% debt cancellation for poor countries–now being debated by wealthy nations–was transformed from an implausible demand into a winning issue, and what barriers lie ahead for the debt relief movement. An

After 17 years at the helm of Latin America’s largest source of development financing, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is stepping down. Enrique Iglesias is slated to pass the