In La Tercera of Santiago David Muñoz proudly pointed to the U.S. State Department’s inclusion of Chile into its Visa Waiver Program, which eliminates the requirement of a visa for Chileans to enter the United States. 

Carolina Julio wrote in La Tercera of Santiago that three months in the year, when the Bucalemu coast appears white as if it were covered by snow, the salineros appear. 

Carlos Mariano Godoy reported in ABCColor of Asunción that 37% of Paraguayans live without running water, and that the 63% that do have it may not have consistently potable water. 

In La Hora of Guatemala City Marion Castañón examined the outlook for young people in Guatemala, where 69% of the nation’s 15 million inhabitants are under 30 years of age. 

El Heraldo of Tegucigalpa reported that Honduras joined Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama in reducing the portion of its population that suffers from undernourishment to fewer than 10%, according to data provided by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

Vistazo Magazine of Quito noted that Ecuador is the Latin American country with the largest number of theft victims, followed by Peru and Bolivia, according to the Human Development Report for the region, 2013-2014, by the United Nations (UNDP). 

El Comercio of Quito observed that despite the widespread “body worship” found in Rio de Janeiro, and its beach culture of “dental floss” bikinis, and the so-called “monokini,” the Brazilian city still retains a good deal of “modesty” and legal “taboos.” 

El Espectador of Bogotá editorialized about attempts to intimidate and control the press in Ecuador, and insisted that Colombia’s media “cannot help but protest the situations faced by our colleagues” there. 

In The Rio Times of Rio de Janeiro María López Conde pointed to the “irregularities” exposed in Brazil’s “More Doctors Program” as Cuban doctors defect.  Groups that represent Brazilian doctors published an open letter criticizing the harsh conditions imposed by the Programa Mais Médicos (More Doctors Program) on its participants on Sunday, February 9th.

Giuliana Vallone wrote in Folha de São Paulo that everyday fear of aggression makes gay people walk in groups in São Paulo.  Biologist Julián Polidoro, 26, joined the sad statistics when he became a victim of a homophobic attack on Paulista Avenue.