Monica Pachon (Los Andes) and Royce Carroll (Rice): The Legislative Agenda in Presidential Democracies. From Americas Quarterly, a special issue on the past 50 years of economic, social and political change in Latin America. Honduras gone wrong: Dana Frank on how playing Tegucigalpa as a proxy is undercutting U.S. influence. In the 1970s, Chile was on the verge of developing sophisticated technology to monitor its economy — then America intervened. The fight for the favelas: Brazil’s most famous city has launched a huge offensive against drug gangs and militias before the next World Cup and Olympics. Meet Joao Santana, Brazil's James Carville — and the other political consultants who are shaking up Latin America's electoral landscape. Cuba’s new now: After half a century under Fidel, Cubans feel a wary sense of possibility — but this time, don’t expect a revolution. Gavin O'Toole reviews The FARC: The Longest Insurgency by Garry Leech. Colombia lost a large swath of the Caribbean but kept a series of far-flung islands that had been at the heart of a long-running dispute with Nicaragua. Sea change in Spain: Latin America's economic growth and Europe's debt crisis have turned Ibero-American relations upside down.
