According to Dom Phillips in Folha de São Paulo “the continent-sized country also has a vast interior, with forests, mountain ranges (serras) and plateaux (chapadas) of at times staggering beauty.

Mónica Mateos-Vega reported in La Jornada of Mexico City that poet, journalist, and diplomat Hugo Gutiérrez Vega was awarded the Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes 2013 for Literature.  

In Semana Magazine of Bogotá Alberto Najar reported that Mexican writer Elena Poniatowska was awarded the 2013 Cervantes Prize, the highest honor in Spanish letters. 

So noted Estado de São Paulo.  After four consecutive years of decline, deforestation in the Amazon is increasing once again.  

Inside Costa Rica of San José reported that Nicaragua described Costa Rica’s construction of a road on its border parallel to the Rio San Juan as an “environmental nightmare”

Vistazo.com reported that China seeks to build a relationship with Ecuador that will provide a model for its cooperation with all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. 

La República of Lima says that Peru is the seventh largest producer of avocados, with a share close to 4% of the world total. 

Inside Costa Rica of San José reported that the United States will provide technical support to Costa Rica to increase use of “reduced-risk” pesticides, which have a lesser impact on the environment, official sources said. 

El Espectador of Bogotá reported that while the U.S. is the largest buyer of Venezuelan oil, Venezuela accused it of “meddling.” 

MercoPress of Montevideo noted that the Panamanian Foreign minister, Fernando Núñez Fábrega, underlined his country’s longstanding support for Argentina’s sovereignty claims