STWR - Share The World's Resources

Government support for small-scale agriculture in the wake of the earthquake could transform Haiti’s economy. Such rural development could offer employment for those displaced as well as address the long-term problems of hunger and poverty, says Beverley Bell.

At a recent summit in Mexico, 24 Latin American governments joined with their Caribbean counterparts to create a new regional body as an alternative to the Organization of American States. Does this move represent a clear and unified statement of independence from US dominance?

Sebastian Pinera’s recent election victory in Chile makes him the first right-wing President to hold office since General Pinochet. Does the win represent the beginning of the end for the Latin American left, or does it represent a growing disenchantment with ‘politics as usual’?

Despite promises of agrarian reform, the Brazilian government under Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva continues to promote the interests of agribusiness - privileging a landholding minority at the expense of the poor, say Chris Tilly, Marie Kennedy, and Tarso Luís Ramos.

In 2004 a coup ousted Aristide, the Haitian president who represented the interests of the country's poor majority. Since then, Haiti has adopted an economic development plan which prioritises corporate profit over eradicating poverty, writes Kevin Pina.

In Central America the consolidation of corporate and military power at the expense of the poor majority has given rise to social movements which question the legitimacy of the representative "democracies" of the region, writes Carlos Aguilar.

Governments in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia have made constitutional amendments to protect traditional knowledge and biodiversity against patenting. But opposition to these developments may still lead to the privatisation of Andean communities' cultural and environmental heritage, says GRAIN.