Americas

All Americas

Where's the most expensive McDonald's Big Mac in the world?

Clue: It's also homeplace of the world's cheapest gas.
Argentina fights inflation by freezing prices. Will it work?

Argentina has made an agreement with major supermarkets and appliance stores to freeze prices until April. Price freezes are the sledgehammer of economic policy tools, says a guest blogger.
In Ontario, abuse of 'hillbilly heroin' being replaced by real thing

Heroin use is booming in the Canadian province, almost a year after the regional government tightened access to OxyContin, sometimes called 'hillbilly heroin,' to stem abuse.
Will blast at Mexico oil company shift opinions on privatization?

Official information on the Pemex blast last week is still scant, but the explosion may have shifted perceptions on whether the state-owned oil company should open up to private investment.
El Salvador's military to withdraw from 'peace zones'

The Mara Salvatrucha and Barrio 18 gangs agreed to hand over weapons and stop homicides, kidnapping, and extortion in four 'peace zone' municipalities as part of El Salvador's national gang truce.
Legal piracy? Antigua gets OK to start selling copies of US hit movies, songs

The World Trade Organization ruled that the tiny island nation is entitled to suspend American intellectual property rights due to an ongoing trade dispute with the US.
Mexico explosion: How will the Pemex blast affect the country's race for oil? (+video)

In Mexico City, a powerful explosion rocked the headquarters of state oil giant Pemex, killing at least 25 and injuring 100 others.
Why Argentina is reaching out to Iran

Argentina announced it would work with Iran to resolve a deadly 1994 anti-Semitic attack in Buenos Aires. Trade considerations underlie the deal.
Guatemala's Rios Montt to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity

A judge in Guatemala ordered former military leader Efrain Rios Montt to stand trial. He is the first ex-president charged with genocide by a Latin American court.
Mixed feelings south of the border on Senate immigration plan

An activist for Mexican migrants wonders if the proposal would encourage more to illegally go to the US, setting back a revival in rural Mexico.
In aftermath of nightclub fire, some Brazilians question 'culture of impunity'

Safety consultants say the lack of sprinklers, adequate illumination, smoke detectors, and fire exits is tragically common in Brazil.
Venezuela's fourth prison riot in two years raises questions

Venezuela's Uribana jail riot highlights the need for proper training of security forces assigned to prisons and addressing overcrowding by bringing prisoners to trial, writes WOLA.
Could Brazil's nightclub fire spur more regional accountability? (+video)

The deadly nightclub fire is not unique in a region plagued by multiple tragedies that are often the result of lax safety standards, poor oversight, and overcrowded conditions.
In reversal, Spain woos investment from Latin America

European leaders spent the weekend in Chile meeting their Latin American counterparts – and talking up possibilities for investment on the old continent.
Trickling down: Latin America's glacier problem

A new study shows glaciers in the tropical Andes have shrunk 30-50 percent in the past four decades, affecting water sources in Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina.
As Mexico's traffickers ship drugs north, they leave addicts in their wake

Being the top supplier of illegal drugs to the United States has made Mexico a consumer nation too.
Is Canada telling Hungary's Roma 'Do not seek asylum here'?

The Harper government has launched an ad campaign in the Hungarian city of Miskolc – from which many Roma have migrated to Canada in recent years – warning of tougher immigration laws.
Stopping child labor: There's an app for that

A smartphone app in Colombia uses crowdsourcing to document and fight child labor. Whenever users see a child working they can take a picture, log the location, and the app sends it to Colombia's child welfare agency.
Got sugar? Venezuela faces shortages of staple foods

The increased difficulty in finding basic consumer goods in Venezuela is raising concerns about the viability of Chávez's socialist economic policies at a time when the country is already on edge due to his prolonged absence.
Progress Watch Good news from Central America: Homicides fall in Guatemala, El Salvador

Attributed, in part, to an evolution away from hardline 'iron fist' policy approaches to crime and violence, El Salvador and Guatemala saw homicides fall in 2012 from record highs.