In a process that began in the fall of 2007, representatives of the European Union (EU) and Central America continue to hold discussions on a proposed Association Agreement between the two regions. The groups have recently concluded their third round of negotiations, which took place in El Salvador on April 14-18th. This agreement, which EU representatives claim goes beyond a simple free-trade treaty, focuses on three key areas: political integration, trade, and cooperation aid. It's trade however, that has been the greatest source of conflict between the two blocs during the latest round. The third round has been marked by the same disagreements on trade regulations that have surfaced since the negotiations began.

The Spanish electrical distributor Union Fenosa, a company highly criticized throughout Latin America for the poor quality of its services, struck a deal with the Nicaraguan government allowing the state to become a partial owner of the company. The corporation has allowed Nicaragua to own 16% of its operations in exchange for the cancellation of its debt owed to the nation. The new partnership was officially announced on April 14th by Nicaragua's Minister of Energy and Mining, Emilio Rappaccioli. Although the deal has not yet been finalized, many are already claiming that both the electrical company and the Nicaraguan government have their own motivations in the arrangement that go beyond providing a better electrical service to the country.

By Asier Andres Fernández

Translated by Dan Gordon

Rising food and gas prices recently sparked a day of nation-wide demonstrations, with 250 thousand Hondurans participating in the country's biggest protests in recent memory. These April 17 demonstrations were organized by unions and other groups demanding that President Manuel Zelaya fulfill his campaign promises to shore up the rapidly eroding purchasing power of the working class. Demonstrators also delivered a twelve point petition calling for substantial reform of a number of government services - water and health services in particular, which activists say the government intends to privatize. The assassination of two prominent union leaders six days later seems to have confirmed the demonstrators' broader grievance: that Honduran politics have been captured by the economic elite.

In response to complaints that the Panama Canal's revenues have failed to benefit ordinary Panamanians, the government created the Community Development Program (PRODEC) in January 2006. Since then, the substantial PRODEC budget has supposedly been in the hands of local communities. But a year and a half later, the program has received mixed reviews. Some analysts have cautiously supported it, while others say that it has become as politicized as past public works projects. Meanwhile, the recent undertaking of the Panama Canal expansion project has raised new questions about the role of the waterway in the national economy. To date, the canal has created few jobs and will likely take only a small bite out of the sizeable unemployed population.

By Sharon Pringle

Translated by Matthew Brooke

Guatemalan President Álvaro Colom recently fired Mario Gordillo, the country's Attorney General and replaced him with a hand-picked appointment. Although the president's intention to fire Gordillo was announced in late March, the lead prosecutor has stubbornly clung to his position, claiming that the firing was unconstitutional and refusing to leave office. While the press, politicians, and political analysts speculated on a wide range of possible justifications for his dismissal, in the end the President refused to give a clear reason, saying only that Gordillo's ideology was “incompatible” with the new administration. As the Attorney General vowed to take his fight to the courts, Baudilio Portillo was sworn in as his replacement on April 23rd.

By Dan Gordon