A delegation of Guatemalan Congressmen embarked on a controversial trip to Canada, in an attempt to revive the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Canada and the isthmus countries. The Canadian business sector is eager to push forward with the agreement and is hoping that once in power, the new Guatemalan government will place the issue at the top of its agenda. According to the official version of events, the delegation was invited by the Canadian-Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce in an attempt to boost Canadian investment in Guatemala. However, a scandal erupted when the local press revealed that the Congressmen were in fact invited by Canadian financed oil corporation Quetzal Energy.

After 15 months of efficient and occasionally bold diplomacy, President Óscar Arias' administration has won Costa Rica a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Costa Rica resoundingly beat the Dominican Republic in a bid for the seat -analysts credit two noteworthy foreign policy shifts in particular. The first was to move Costa Rica's embassy in Israel from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv – a relatively risk-free venture that likely gained Costa Rica the support of the Arab world. The second and more significant move was to cut off diplomacy to Taiwan in favor of recognizing mainland China. One analyst says the seat on the Security Council might prove to be a “high-mark” for Arias' administration.

By Javier Córdoba

Translated by Matthew Brooke

The Bank of Nova Scotia (Scotiabank), of Canada, is becoming an ever larger player in the Central American financial market. After its recent merger with Banco Interfin of Costa Rica, Scotiabank is now considering its options in the Guatemalan bank system - it is already in negotiations to acquire the Guatemalan Banco de Antigua and is aiming to expand its business into Honduras. Scotiabank's efforts to buy out Central American banks are hardly isolated – for the past decade the isthmus banking system has become increasingly concentrated in foreign hands.

On September 24th members of the Ngobe-Buglé Student Federation openly opposed the Damani Beach tourist project, which is to be developed on the coast of the Bocas del Toro province. Despite a supposed compromise with investors, opposition still exists, although it is barely heeded. These types of projects have created long-standing dissent among indigenous communities, whose rights are constantly abused. And while the idea of a Ministry of Indigenous Affairs has emerged, some observers believe that it is not a viable solution.

By Sharon Pringle

Translated by Joshua Covey

Although abortion is illegal in Guatemala and is heavily punished by the law, evidence suggests that an increasing number of women risk their health and even their lives by resorting to clandestine abortions to terminate their pregnancies. On September 28, known as “Free Womb Day” or the International Day for the Decriminalization and Legalization of Abortion in Latin America and the Caribbean, women's organizations demanded that the government increase access to family planning methods in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies. Guatemala has the highest fertility rate in Latin America – Guatemalan women, on average, have 4.4 children, far above the regional average which stands at 2.6, and many of these births are unplanned. Although a law to guarantee universal access to family planning methods was approved in 2006, the demand for contraception among Guatemalan women by far outstrips the available supply.

By Louisa Reynolds