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This article describes the recent rise in films being produced in Ecuador. I see this as a very positive thing for the country so that their film industry is not dominated by Hollywood. Local filmmakers often give voice to those who are not typically heard such as Quechua speaking people. I hope that some of these films will be available in the U.S. as well.

In this article, the author details Chavez's control of the oil industry of Venezuela. Of particular interest is how Chavez utilized oil profits to support his own political campaign, and how state spending increased by 30% this year, subsidising food, housing, fuel and healthcare, all while oil production dropped to 2.5mb/d. This is indicative of the type of mismanagement and misappropriation that has been contributing to the decline of Venezuelan power in the Latin American sphere. Many are unsure of how much longer the "rob Peter to pay Paul" model can persist.

Chavez is up for reelection, and the populations is inspired by his opponent, a former governor. If Chavez is defeated, this would have world-wide ramifications for the oil industry, but also make sweeping change in Venezuela. Though it could easily turn out to be the same as the recent Russian elections, plagued with fraud and a refusal to let go of power.

According to a government report, deforestation of the Amazon by Brazil as decreased by twenty seven percent in the last year. This is a big improvement for a country who's economy has previously relied very much upon the industries that accompany deforestation. Unfortunately, even with a twenty seven percent decrease in deforestation, deforestation is still occurring at an alarming rate. Also worrisome is the fact that Brazil seems to have recently loosened some of it's environmental protection laws.

Chinese economic growth is set to decline according to forecasts, which alarms S. American analysts because Latin America provides many of the materials and commodities that China is buying. Note how China's long term goal of urbanization is cited as proof of hope for Latin American markets, since as more Chinese move into the cities they will have need for appliances and lifestyles powered by materials and commodities acquired from S. American countries.

Although the article is talking about long term vs short term analysis, China is still the fastest growing country in the world, even if its growth rate declines by a few percentage points. Seeing as the United States has been able to maintain post-industrial growth rates in GDP over the past few decades, I don't see why that wouldn't be the case with China.

For those of you interested in ecological preservation.

another instance where contaminating the water with toxic waste is a culprit. It's rather remarkable that we've done so much intensive mining and agriculture and industrial animal raising (CAFOs) and somehow never stopped to worry too much about what happens when we pollute the water (groundwater, rivers, lakes, the ocean....) Just getting a grip on this kind of pollution would seem to me to go a long ways toward rectifying bad practices in a number of areas simultaneously.