Caribbean & Central America - May 2013 (ISSN 1741-4458)

In a remarkable turn-up for the books, Guatemala’s notoriously flawed justice system is being held up as an example not just for Latin America but the world.... Read More

In a remarkable reversal of fortunes, the right-wing opposition Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena) has not only managed to lose its position as the largest party in El Salvador’s 84-seat legislative assembly but has also lost its power to block legislation that requires a two-thirds majority, with six deputies leaving the fold in the past six months.... Read More

President Laura Chinchilla this month claimed a key victory after her Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN) recovered control of congress for the first time in two years.... Read More

OAS contract cancelled: On 23 April President Laura Chinchilla announced she was cancelling the concession granted to OAS for the upgrade and expansion of the San José-San Ramón national highway between the capital and the north central province of Alajuela.... Read More

Energy crisis: On 7 May the government of President Ricardo Martinelli declared a state of emergency in four regions - Coclé, Veraguas, Los Santos and Herrera - and ordered several energy-saving measures to avoid the imposition of scheduled blackouts.... Read More

Foreign debt rises: Last month, Nicaragua’s central bank released a report which showed that at the end of 2012, the country’s foreign debt reached US$8.66bn, 11.2% up on the previous year.... Read More

The 26 July 2012 draft legislation for a new elite military-police unit called ‘Tigres’ (Tropa de Inteligencia y Grupos de Respuesta Especial de Seguridad - Intelligence Troop and Special Security Response Troop) is to be taken up for a second time by congress, prompting fresh concern about the militarisation of internal security in Honduras.... Read More

Political uncertainty in Venezuela has focused Cuban government minds on the need to find new trading partners and reduce vulnerability to energy shocks.... Read More

After months of intense political and public pressure, Canadian mining firm, Barrick Gold Corp., has agreed to renegotiate its concession for the Pueblo Viejo mine, the Dominican Republic (DR)’s main gold mine.... Read More

The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) has updated its Overview of the Latin American and Caribbean economies, and has now revised downwards its GDP growth figure for 2012 (from 3.1% to 3.0%).... Read More

*** DECISION TIME FOR CAYMAN ISLANDS.... Read More

More than two years after his return to Haiti former president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1991, 1994-1996, 2001-2004), is finally showing signs of political life.... Read More