Latin America

The Worst of the Worst

Bad dude dictators and general coconut heads.

BY GEORGE B.N. AYITTEY | JULY/AUGUST 2010

Watch List

Four countries in big trouble.

BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | JULY/AUGUST 2010

The Known Unknowns

When U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld referred to the "known unknowns" that remained in Iraq in 2002, he was mocked endlessly -- and those mysterious black holes ended up confounding his administration's project there. Rumsfeld's not the only one to encounter this epistemological puzzle: Known unknowns are everywhere, waiting to trip us up. Here are a few of the most enigmatic.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JULY/AUGUST 2010

Out of the Closet, into the Chat Rooms

How the Internet is revolutionizing gay rights in Latin America.

BY ELISABETH JAY FRIEDMAN | JUNE 17, 2010

Gasbags

Politicians, oilmen, and green-energy boosters love to invoke the idea of energy security. None of them know what they're talking about.

BY MICHAEL LEVI | JUNE 15, 2010

Stoned

Oliver Stone's new movie about Latin America makes the case for Hugo Chávez. Good luck with that.

BY CHRISTIAN CARYL | JUNE 9, 2010

Ahmadinejad's Sugar Daddy

How Brazilian ethanol could help Iran outwit American sanctions.

BY GAL LUFT | JUNE 3, 2010

A Proxy War in Peru

A rumble in the Amazonian jungle turns into a referendum on colonialism, genocide, and the role of foreign infiltrators in Peruvian policy.

BY ARNO KOPECKY | MAY 19, 2010

Time to Speak up on Military Abuse in Mexico

When Felipe Calderón comes to Washington this week, his army's troublesome human rights record should be front and center.

BY JOSÉ MIGUEL VIVANCO | MAY 17, 2010

Creating New Soldiers in Mexico's Drug War

How U.S. drug policy is making Mexican cartels more deadly.

BY MARCELO BERGMAN | MAY 17, 2010

Lula's Tehran Misadventure

In the last days of his tenure, the Brazilian president is reaching for his crowning foreign-policy glory. Will it go horribly, horribly wrong?

BY PAULO SOTERO | MAY 11, 2010

President Spandex?

The man who once mooned an auditorium of students, dressed up as a superhero to teach civics lessons, and cleaned up Bogotá while he was at it just might become Colombia's next president. 

BY MICHAEL SHIFTER | MAY 4, 2010

Don't Panic, Go Organic

Be not troubled by Robert Paarlberg's scaremongering. Organic practices can feed the world -- better, in fact, than wasteful industrial farming.

BY ANNA LAPPÉ | APRIL 29, 2010

A Saint for Lost Souls

Mexico's increasingly destitute poor are turning to what the U.S. military calls a "death cult" for comfort.

BY D.E. CAMPBELL | MAY/JUNE 2010

The Ultimate Bug Zapper

Could a new weapon deal the definitive blow in the long battle of man vs. mosquito? Forget bed nets; think lasers. Nathan Myhrvold, Bill Gates's ideas guy, tells FP about his plans to defeat malaria.

INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | APRIL 23, 2010

The Dirty Underside of Lula's Clean Energy Revolution

Brazil's biofueled paradise is looking more and more like a carbon-spewing wasteland.

BY NIKOLAS KOZLOFF | APRIL 9, 2010

Interview: Raymond A. Joseph

Haiti's ambassador on his hopes for the more than $5 billion pledged in aid at this week's donor conference -- and why Haiti can't be rebuilt as a republic of NGOs.

INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | APRIL 2, 2010

Tapped Out

Why Hugo Chávez's friends can't save his petrostate.

BY DANIEL FREIFELD | MARCH 18, 2010

Trouble in Paradise

Welcome to the world's newest narcostate.

BY DORN TOWNSEND | MARCH 11, 2010

Cristina Gets Her Handshake

But it won't do her any good. Why the Clinton visit isn’t enough to bolster Argentina's sagging president.

BY ANNA PETHERICK | MARCH 4, 2010

Uribe Checks Out

Washington's most reliable ally in Latin America, the Colombian president, is on his way out. That's a good thing.

BY ADAM ISACSON | MARCH 4, 2010

Adios, Amigos

How Latin America stopped caring what the United States thinks.

BY MICHAEL SHIFTER | MARCH 2, 2010

How Locavores Could Save the World

The latest yuppie craze could do more than just cut emissions -- it might also help feed the poor.

BY FELIX SALMON | FEBRUARY 26, 2010

Epiphanies: Paulo Coelho

One of the world's most popular novelists, Coelho has sold more than 100 million books in 150-plus countries. He spoke with FP about growing up in Brazil, the importance of artists today, and how to sell novels in Africa.

INTERVIEW BY DAVID KENNER | MARCH/APRIL 2010

How to Fix Haiti’s Fixers

Aid groups in the earthquake-battered country are inefficient and unaccountable. Luckily, there’s a solution.

BY PAUL COLLIER | FEBRUARY 18, 2010

Only Haitians Can Save Haiti

The world has tried before to fix this troubled state -- and failed each time. Now will be no different, unless Haitians take the lead.

BY HOWARD W. FRENCH | FEBRUARY 11, 2010

Olympic Outliers

Forget the Jamaican bobsled team. This year, there’s a pack of Olympic underdogs from countries that aren't well known for cold-weather sports.

BY KAYVAN FARZANEH, ANDREW SWIFT | FEBRUARY 10, 2010

Lost in #Haiti

How Haiti's disaster showed Twitter's limits as a news medium.

BY JOSHUA E. KEATING | JANUARY 22, 2010

Our Hapless Man in Havana

For a month, Cuba has detained a USAID contractor for passing out laptops. It's time for the U.S. to send over a whole lot more.

BY CHRISTOPHER SABATINI | JANUARY 7, 2010

Mexico's Abortion War

The culture clashes aren't just in the United States anymore.

BY ALEXIS OKEOWO | DECEMBER 17, 2009