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. 

The Buenos Aires Herald noted that political violence escalated in Argentina as campaigning neared an end. 

Fernando Camacho and Georgina Saldierna reported in La Jornada of Mexico City that the U.N Human Rights Council recently recommended that the Mexican state reform its code of military justice,

Sagrario Ortega argued in El Espectador of Bogotá that the “business” of “virtual kidnapping” is spreading from Mexico to other Latin American countries. 

Patricio Navia in Buenos Aires Herald concluded that a year before the presidential election in Brazil, President Dilma Rousseff is vulnerable, but that the opposition has yet to capitalize on her problems. 

El Tiempo of Bogotá noted the challenges to be faced by Óscar Iván Zuluaga, the candidate chosen by former President Álvaro Uribe to represent his new party (since Uribe is constitutionally prohibited from running again).