Hundreds of indigenous people across the continent took to the streets on October 12, the day of Columbus ' arrival in the Americas , to mark the Indigenous Day of Resistance Against Colonialism and Oppression. Throughout the region, indigenous people protested against human rights violations and demanded a greater respect for their traditions and culture. Today, sadly, poverty and exclusion is a common denominator for indigenous people in Central America and the region's governments remain blind to their plight. Coinciding with the Indigenous Day of Resistance, the United Nations approved a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, which recognizes indigenous peoples' right to preserve their traditional way of life and to be consulted on any decisions that may have an impact on their welfare. Indigenous communities have welcomed the approval of the Declaration but have also expressed concern about the fact that it is not legally binding as governments across the region have often used this as an excuse to disregard other international conventions on indigenous rights.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has been praised for executing the first round of the elections without any delays, while also doubling the amount of voting booths. The TSE's supporters say this marks an historic achievement, as the democratic process today includes a bigger proportion of the population than it did only several yars ago. But due to the recent decentralization of the electoral system, modest rises in the number of registered voters and active voters were far outstripped by a substantial rise in the state's election budget. Abstentionism did drop from 42.1% 39.5% between the 2003 and 2007 elections, but the election budget increased from US$15.99 million to US$53.17 million. The cost of each vote has shot up dramatically - from about US$3.12 to US$8.45 . While certain indicators seem to represent a triumph for the TSE, closer scrutiny reveals that the TSE's success is compromised by inefficiency.

By Eddie Fernández

Translated by James Wilson

According to a recent study by the University of El Salvador (UES), medicine prices in the country are among the highest in the world, which means that many Salvadorans are unable to afford medical treatment. Civil society organizations are increasingly calling for a law to regulate the price of medicines, which is 52 times higher than the international average. However, the initiative has been strongly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry.

Three major storms have hit Nicaragua in less than two months, destroying much of the nation's infrastructure and prompting President Daniel Ortega to declare a state of national disaster. The UN has warned of famine for the coming year - the military estimates that the cost of the relief and reconstruction efforts is equal to almost a third of the national budget. All of this has deepened Nicaragua's alliances with seemingly incompatible forces: the US free market model on one side and the Venezuelan vision of “21st century socialism” on the other.

By Matthew Brooke