Full Coverage: South America

31.10.2007 In Argentina, the power-couple's presidential-transfer plan has worked to perfection. But a close reading of the election results casts a shadow on Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's triumph, says Celia Szusterman.

31.10.2007 An activist protesting the illegal development of genetically modified seeds was shot and killed at point blank range by armed gunmen allegedly linked to the multinational corporation Syngenta.

25.10.2007 Although a forest fire burned some of the crops Lorenzo Charupá's cooperative expected to use to feed their cattle, he is not overly concerned because, as of June, he knows that at least his land can no longer be taken away.

25.10.2007 A zone on the frontiers of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay has been portrayed by the U.S. media and government as a "hotbed" "teeming with Islamic extremists and their sympathizers," but a group of reporters found these claims inaccurate as they traveled into the region.

25.10.2007 The second Internet Governance Forum to be held at Rio, Brazil from 12-15 November will discuss related issues and make relevant recommendations to the international community.

23.10.2007 A Colombian small-scale farmer was driven off his land by paramilitaries; when he took refuge his terrain was appropriated by companies growing oil palms, used to produce biofuels. His story has been repeated countless times throughout the palm-growing regions of the country.

22.10.2007 WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (OneWorld) - A Colombian senator pushing for justice and peace has been honored in the United States for his human rights activism, accepting a prestigious award alongside co-honorees from the United States challenging the war in Iraq and Washington, DC's "taxation without representation."

19.10.2007 Eight Greenpeace activists trapped in a Brazilian environmental protection agency office for nearly two days have finally escaped. The team was forced to seek refuge after loggers blocked them from transporting a dead nut tree it had government permission to collect and use.

17.10.2007 After the 2001 economic crisis many Argentineans had to resort to self-employment -- mainly collecting trash and reselling it to recycling companies -- to sustain themselves. Now the government is threatening to shut down the train that transports these 'cartoneros' from the capital city's outskirts to the urban center where they work.

16.10.2007 An examination of four local newspapers published from 2003-2007 has revealed that over 1,000 Venezuelans faced economic, political, and free speech intimidation based on their membership or participation in groups not aligned with the government.
From: El Universal

15.10.2007 Saying the Peruvian government has shown a complete lack of leadership on the issue, a team of forensic scientists is demanding that civil society be given authority to locate and identify some thousands of victims unaccounted for during the country's period of internal conflict.

12.10.2007 A referendum was held last month in three Peruvian communities that would be affected by the proposed opening of a pit mine. The vote revealed that a resounding 95 percent oppose the ecologically damaging operation.

10.10.2007 An early morning radio show broadcast in one of the most remote areas on Earth has successfully communicated issues varying from environmental conservation to women's rights for the last ten years.
From: New America Media

04.10.2007 After a resounding electoral victory built on the back of indigenous and social movements, Ecuador's governing party is expected to draft a new constitution to create social and economic institutions that "benefit the people," says Latin America scholar Roger Burbach.

03.10.2007 A corruption probe has implicated some high-level Peruvian officials with personal ties to companies that were awarded no-bid contracts and provided overpriced emergency supplies for the earthquake rebuilding effort.

01.10.2007 Ecuador's president has proposed a pioneering plan to ban oil drilling in a key area of the Amazon, if an effort is made by the world community to compensate the country for the $4.5 billion of revenue it will forego.
From: Amazon Watch