Environmentalist protests against IIRSA projects are often mixed with intra-state rivalry; in Bolivia, for example, opponents of a recently proposed highway cite not only environmental destruction, but also the worry that the new road will only benefit the cattle grazing and agricultural industries -- two businesses that are dominated by Brazilians owners operating in Bolivia. Above, an aerial view of Bolivia's tropical lowlands that have been converted to cattle land. Bolivia is facing some of the highest deforestation rates in the region.

Noah Friedman-Rudovsky