On November 16, four consortia applied for qualification to build the US$3.35 billion locks that will be the heart of the massive expansion to the Panama Canal – including four companies with long histories of negligence, greed, and abuse. US-based Bechtel and AECOM have both played instrumental roles in the invasion of Iraq and its aftermath; French engineering firm ALSTOM is involved in building a dam in Sudan where widespread human rights abuses have been committed; while Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation has been described by corporate watchdog CorpWatch as “the most environmentally destructive corporate force on earth.”

The rising cost basic consumer goods have forced the government to establish price controls on 19 basic food items. This measure has provided a respite for the poorest sectors of Honduran society, which were struggling to survive as the price of basic goods soared. According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), the consumer price index rose by an average of 15.58% since the current administration came to power in January 2006. But while the general public has welcomed government intervention to curb prices, the opposition as well as the business sector have accused the Zelaya administration of interventionism.

By Nicolás Masci

Translated by Dylan Ramshaw

On October 17, Costa Rica signed a deal with the United States in which the US will pardon US$26 million worth of debt and in exchange Costa Rica will establish projects for the protection of its own tropical forests. Two other parties are involved in the deal: The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International. Responsibility for running the projects will fall on Costa Rican NGOs which will be selected through a bidding process detailed in the agreement.

A year and a half before the general elections but always eager to score points against their opponents, Salvadoran parties have begun one of the earliest election campaigns in the country's post-war history. The race for the presidential office has started to heat up and the FMLN seems to be a step ahead of the ruling ARENA party. FMLN candidate, TV journalist Mauricio Funes is proving to be an opponent to be reckoned with. He is popular, media-savvy and the latest polls show the FMLN is catching up with ARENA and stands a good chance of winning next year's election. Meanwhile, ARENA has yet to name its candidate and has embarked on a smear campaign against the FMLN.

By Mirian Abarca

Translated by Louisa Reynolds

Under pressure from the powerful and highly influential pro-adoption lobby, the Guatemalan Congress might delay the ratification of the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption until April next year. The Convention seeks to regulate the adoption process – in Guatemala this is largely unregulated and dominated by rapacious lawyers seeking extortionately high fees. This could soon change though, as the United States has just ratified the Convention which means that unless Guatemala reforms its adoption practices, the US government will prohibit its citizens from adopting Guatemalan children.

By Louisa Reynolds