The Christmas week Carnival of Latin America and the Caribbean

ARGENTINA
The Kirchner-Baez scandal

Argentina’s socioeconomic statistics
Still lying after all these years
Official figures paint a rosy picture. So why are Argentines rioting?

BARBADOS
Barbados Bonds at Record Yields as IMF Urges Restraint

BOLIVIA
Bolivians cheer satellite launchBolivian indigenous rituals ahead of satellite launch
Thousands of people in La Paz celebrate the launch of Bolivia’s first telecommunications satellite from a base in China

BRAZIL
An Open Letter to the People of Brazil

CHILE
Bachelet y el triunfo de los idiotas

CUBA
Why did Barack Obama shake the hand of my father’s killer, Raul Castro?

RAUL CASTRO ISSUES STERN WARNING TO ENTREPRENEURS

Over 3,000 Cuban Doctors Defected From Venezuela

ECUADOR
How China Just Grabbed 90% of Ecuador’s Oil

Belarus, Ecuador to set up joint laboratory for unmanned systems

JAMAICA
Jamaican bride dumps new husband 20 MINUTES after arriving in the UK… and guess who paid for her £5k visa
Heartbroken charity worker believes she ‘joined boyfriend with whom she planned scheme’
He paid £5,000 for her visa

LATIN AMERICA
EL FORO DE SAO PAULO, UN PELIGRO PARA LA DEMOCRACIA

The Pope and Capitalism

MEXICO
Mexico’s Reforms: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Mexico’s Congress has delivered an energy reform plan that could alter Mexico’s economic outlook for decades to come, but its populist tax policies and profligate spending threaten the steady growth the country has achieved in recent years.

Ciudad Juárez, a Border City Known for Killing, Gets Back to Living

JUDGE: DHS COMPLICIT IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING THAT HELPS FUND DRUG CARTELS

Crime and Growth Convergence
Evidence from Mexico

PARAGUAY
Paraguay’s new president
Cartes plays his cards
Trickle-down economics in one of South America’s poorest countries

PERU
British drug mules sentenced to six years for trafficking in Peru
Michaella Connolly and Melissa Reid have been sentenced to six years and eight months in prison by a Peruvian judge, for attempting to smuggle 11 kilos of cocaine out of the country

PUERTO RICO
Coast Guard rescues man kicked off mountain by goat (h/t Tree-hugging Sister)

URUGUAY
The Economist’s country of the year, for legalizing the mass production and distribution of marijuana.

VENEZUELA
More bad news from Venezuela

OLIVER STONE CONFIRMS HUGO CHAVEZ BIOPIC IN VENEZUELA

The week’s posts and podcast
Colombia: mayor trouble

Colombia: Don’t fire the mayor yet! And how about the GPS?

Cuba: How to starve as a Cuban for 30 days

Venezuela, the next Zimbabwe

Colombia: Maicao, Hezbollah money-laundering center

Mexico: Manufacturing jobs moving back to US

Brazil: Snowden not in asylum

En español: Terapia intensiva de esta semana

Uruguay: UN says pot law against international law

Ecuador’s poor investment climate

Venezuela: Diplomats confirm Venezuelan links to drug trafficking

At Da Tech Guy Blog:
Brazil: Edward Snowden asks for asylum

Podcast:
Venezuela elections outlook & US-Latin America stories of the week