In El Espectador of Bogotá Edwin Bohórquez spoke with Luis Alberto Moreno, the president of the Inter-American Development Bank who says that “farming today should not be like it was for our great-grandparents.” 

La Jornada of Mexico City editorialized that as the nation debates President Enrique Peña Nieto’s so-called energy reform, a move that would increase the role of private companies in Mexico’s petroleum industry,

PáginaSIETE of La Paz reported that the government of President Evo Morales has decided to allow a “reasonable” increase in the level of legal coca cultivation in Bolivia,

The Buenos Aires Herald reported that Cuba has taken the first steps towards scrapping its two-tier currency. 

Dominican Today of Santo Domingo reported that a recent World Bank study indicated that the Dominican Republic is still grappling with obstacles to conducting business, and

The Buenos Aires Herald reported that a fire ravaged Copersucar’s sugar terminal in Brazil, paralyzing operations of the world’s biggest sugar trader and putting 10 million tons of export capacity offline for six months or more. 

Prensa Libre of Guatemala City happily stated that Guatemala has become the world’s largest producer of palm oil, over Malaysia and Indonesia, although its cultivation in the country only began in the late 1980s. 

Mercopress of Montevideo reported that Brazil’s currency, the real, declined after Moody’s Investors Service cited rising debt and weak growth in lowering its outlook on the country’s credit rating from positive to stable. 

Benjamin Druttman reported in The Santiago Times that Chile and India plan to cooperate in boosting renewable energy which, it is hoped, will strengthen the relationship between the two countries, and lead to future projects as Chile looks to diversify. 

La Nación of San José, Costa Rica reported that Nicaraguan Vice Minister of Energy and Mines, Lorena Lanza said that Nicaragua hopes the U.S. consortium Noble Energy Limited will find oil in the Caribbean.