A new issue of the Journal of Politics in Latin America in out. From Guernica, international adoption is not always the unambiguous act of altruism it might seem — in Guatemala, it may be creating orphans. A look at how Colombia has becomes the new star of the south. Christopher Hitchens on what he learned about Hugo Chavez's mental health when he visited Venezuela with Sean Penn. The “spice of danger” once added to the allure of towns like Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez — but now the danger from drug violence is very real, and a culture and economy are threatened. From NYRB, Alma Guillermoprieto on a quiet shift in Mexico's drug war; and Robert Darnton is talking about Brazil with Lilia Schwarcz. A review of Favela: Four Decades of Living on the Edge in Rio de Janeiro by Janice Perlman. Can Brazil live up to its promise as a "natural knowledge economy"? William Powers on high anxiety amid giant Tree Ferns and landslides in Bolivia’s little-traveled — and dazzling — Carrasco National Park. Over a thousand people die on Bolivia's roads every year, largely because the drivers are a little crazy. Sketches of Spanish: Edith Grossman has reimagined the Latin American canon for readers of English, who perhaps, like she, have ventured to Latin America only via the page. From Solutions, how can Cuba’s sustainable agriculture survive the peace? Fidel Castro, columnist: Cuba’s chief opinionator goes online to talk about sports, politics, and capitalist evildoers.
