Tomás Brockenshire pointed out in the Buenos Aires Herald that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner opened the 132nd session of the Argentine Congress with a speech that included tentative olive branches to the political opposition, and only superficially set out the legislative agenda for the coming year. 

Hermann Bellinghausen reported in La Jornada of Mexico City that the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) unveiled its new publication, Rebeldía Zapatista, to be directed by Subcomandante Moisés. 

Luís Rosero wrote in El Telégrafo of Guayaquil that the Ecuadorian right “in its different shades” captured local power in a number of mayoral races in several large and medium sized cities.   

In Semana Magazine of Bogotá Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos addressed the issue of military interceptions of his communications, including emails.  He confirmed that his communications were intercepted, including those of his family members. He “did not hesitate” to call such actions “serious criminal activity” that were “unusual and unacceptable.” 

In Clarín of Buenos Aires Leonardo Mindez noted that “with barely concealed tensions” the peronistas have started talking about who will follow President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner at the top of the Justicialist Party.  The Peronistas of Buenos Aires province met for four hours of speeches in which “the mantra that was repeated was that

In early February, as Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro commemorated the 15th anniversary of the coming to power of the late president Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), his political opponents conducted anti-government demonstrations that turned deadly. 

On February 3, 2014 Semana Magazine of Bogotá broke the story that members of the Colombian Army’s intelligence division were spying on government and FARC negotiators as they discuss a peace deal in Havana, Cuba. 

MercoPress of Montevideo reported that the Economy Minister of neighboring Uruguay, Mario Bergara, believes that “it is not very clear who is in charge of” Argentina’s economic policy, nor what is its “logic.”   

Xavier Bonilla, the Ecuadorean humorist and political cartoonist also known as Bonil, has received the dubious honor of being the first journalist to be sanctioned under his country’s new and controversial communications law.  By implementing the new law, the government of President Rafael Correa has fined his newspaper, El Universo of Guayaquil, $93,000 and ordered

So noted El Espectador of Bogotá.  The Peruvian president’s approval rating rose to 39%, 8 points more than in January, due to the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague in favor of Peru over Chile regarding a territorial dispute.