Peter Siavelis of Wake Forest University writes about the challenges ahead for Chile’s two dominant political coalitions in the new issue of Americas Quarterly,out May 7. View the preview article.

Nicaraguan legislators reentered the National Assembly after government supporters blocked the entrance. They protested opposition lawmakers' attempts to overturn a decree that would enable President Daniel Ortega's reelection.

After sweeping victories in December, lackluster gains in the April 4 elections may point to future troubles for the MAS party.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva this week announced a major infrastucture investment plan valued at roughly $880 billion. News of the plan could provide a boost to the political campaign of his chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, ahead of the October 2010 election.

With the recent death of a Cuban hunger striker and harassment of the Ladies in White dissident group in Havana, U.S. President Barack Obama criticized human rights conditions on the island. His March 24 statement came ahead of a large Miami-based rally supporting dissidents.

The Colombian elections are off at a gallop, with former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos the current frontrunner. But Noemí Sanín clinched the Conservative Party nomination on March 19 and could serve as a strong contender at the first round of polls on March 30. They face a number of other candidates.

On February 26, the Constitutional Court of Colombia ended more than two years of speculation about a possible third term in office for President Álvaro Uribe. With Uribe out of the running, AS/COA looks at Colombia’s presidential candidates.