Honduran rice farmers struggle to adapt to free trade

Rice farmers in Honduras have suffered since the country opened its borders to US products in the early 1990s, and many dispute the massive aid the US government bestows on farmers in the form of subsidies and barriers on imports. Government support from developed country governments for their farming industries topped $279b last year, according to the OECD. (Los Angeles Times)

Belgian firm intends to globalize Brazilian beer

Belgian beverage company Inbev, owner of Stella Artois and Beck's, intends to bring the Brazilian beer Brahma to more world markets after successfully introducing it to 15 new countries this year, including the US and the UK. (BBC)

Pipelines bombed in Venezuela

Venezuelan government officials reported Sunday that explosions occurred late Saturday night at the pipeline leading to the Amuay-Cardon refinery. The attacks were presumably intended to destabilize Sunday's Congressional elections, though officials say that the damage was minimal and that exports will not be affected. (Reuters)

Newsweek profile: Evo Morales

Newsweek offers a sympathetic portrait of Bolivian presidential candidate Evo Morales as part of an upsurge in indigenous assertion of political rights in Latin America. (Newsweek)

Ecuador prepares to issue up to $750m in bonds

Representatives of Ecuador's finance ministry are set to embark on a roadshow this week in New York to generate interest in the sale of up to $750m in bonds. This marks the first time Ecuador has turned to international markets for financing since the government's 1999 default. (Financial Times)

A new iron lady for Chile?

-Taylor Kirk

This weekend, Chileans are expected to elect their first female president, who happens to be a former Minister of Defense and a single mother. Michelle Bachelet is well ahead in most polls, though carrying less than 50% of the likely vote, making it likely that her victory will ensue from a runoff election. Though well-liked and popular in her homeland, few outside Chile are familiar with her history or her proposals for Latin America's most dynamic economy.

Bachelet's success stems from her ability to project her status as a common Chilean, her anti-Pinochet credentials, and her Socialist party affiliation, whose brand and reputation is in good condition after years of a booming economy under Ricardo Lagos. Her gender seems not to have stunted her popularity, though she puts to rest any accusations of being soft on defense with her success in reforming the military, an institution historically dominated by the male elite. As Minister of Defense she pushed through reforms to upgrade defense capabilities and include women in the military, making the percentage of female conscripts higher even than in the United States. A pediatrician by training, she also headed the Health Ministry until 2002, where she worked to reduce waiting times at public hospitals.

Her proposed economic policies are similar to those of her party colleague, Ricardo Lagos. As socialists, they are both committed to reducing the wide wealth gap and broadening access to education and telecommunications. Bachelet has proposed improvements to the country's pensions system, famously privatized by former secretary of labor and social security, Jose Pinera. Bachelet has said that she will maintain the current sales tax, crack down on tax evasion, and spend carefully the revenues produced by copper exports, which provide almost 15% of government revenues.

If she is in fact elected, she will be the first Chilean leader to rule under the newly reformed Constitution, signed by Lagos this September to reduce the entrenched control of the military over the country's politics. Thus she will have the power to fire the armed services commanders and summon the military-affiliated National Security Council, instead of the previous system that granted the NSC automatic advisory powers over the President. The reforms also changed the President's term from 6 years to 4, to coincide with Congressional elections, giving Bachelet less time to prove her worth as just the second female ever to be elected president in a South American nation.

Fourth opposition group boycotts Venezuelan elections

A fourth opposition group announced its withdrawal from the Congressional elections in Venezuela this Sunday, making it increasingly likely that President Hugo Chavez will attain an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly. Though polls suggest that Chavez allies would have prevailed without the boycott, the withdrawal will allow a victory by a larger margin. (Chicago Tribune)

Kirchner, Lula express support for Morales

At a meeting in Puerto Iguazu Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed support for Evo Morales' bid for the Bolivian presidency. Both expressed hope that he would win in the December 18th elections, saying he would be a leader that 'really cares for the people'. (MercoPress)

Bachelet's lead narrows before election

An IPSOS poll conducted in late November suggests that 39% of Chilean voters will go for Michelle Bachelet in elections December 11th, making it almost certain that she will be forced into a runoff election with her closest opponent, Sebastian Pinera. Polls in September put her share of the vote as high as 45%. (Wired)

Argentine citizens now organ donors by default

Citing the success of organ donation rates in Spain, Austria, and Belgium, Argentina's Congress passed a law making all citizens organ donors after death unless they explicitly state otherwise. President Kirchner introduced the bill a year ago, which was unanimously approved by Congress Wednesday. (XinhuaNet)

Lula: Brazil's economy could be stronger

More than two weeks after Brazilian Finance Minister Antonio Palocci testified that the government would maintain fiscal discipline, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reiterated his statements by saying the economy could be stronger with a narrowed budget deficit and slower inflation. (Bloomberg)

Weekly Debate: Should Fujimori be allowed to run for president in Peru?

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori, who fled from the country in 2000 after a corruption scandal, returned to Latin America earlier this year only to be arrested in Chile. He has been trying to run for next April's presidential elections since he launched his 'Si Cumple' party from Tokyo, despite a Congressional decision that bars him from running until 2010. According to Angus Reid, 45% of Peruvians approve of his performance as president, and though he is under investigation for corruption and human rights abuses, he has not been tried. Should lawmakers change their decision to ban him from office until he is convicted of a crime?

BlackBerry coming to Latin America

Canadian company Research in Motion announced Wednesday that it plans to partner with Telefonica Moviles to launch BlackBerry service in 13 Latin American countries, beginning in early 2006. (Forbes)

Low-cost HIV treatment effective in Haiti

A report published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week indicates that the AIDS survival rate triples when patients receive low-cost comprehensive treatment. The study, performed in Haiti with 1,004 participants, debunks claims that such treatment does more harm to AIDS sufferers than good. (Reuters)

Uruguay search for 'disappeared' yields results

An initiative led by Uruguay's President Tabare Vasquez to uncover the truth about the nearly 180 people killed under the country's military regime has led to the discovery of human remains at a farm near Montevideo. The bodies are believed to be those of Communist activists killed during the 12-year military regime. (BBC)

Fixed investment in Chile reaches 30% of GDP

Chilean President Ricardo Lagos announced Thursday that the level of fixed investment in his country has reached 30% of GDP, the highest level ever. Analysts examine the ratio of fixed assets to GDP to approximate future GDP growth, so the record-setting levels allows Lagos to leave office with a powerful legacy. (DowJones)