This working paper explores energy and climate issues in Brazil and elaborates on recommendations regarding biofuels, the country's environmental profile, and prospects for a U.S.-Brazilian energy partnership.

Presidents Barack Obama and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made their case to the Olympics Committee in Copenhagen on Friday as Chicago and Rio vied to host the 2016 Summer Games. But only one of the popular leaders could return home with a victory in hand. Rio will be the first South American host of the Olympics.

Venezuela's new plan to make a $2.2 billion arms purchase from Russia stoked U.S. fears that the deal could lead to an arms race in the Americas. While Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez took a whirlwind tour including the Moscow stop, France and Brazil signed their own multi-billion-dollar arms pact.

While some journalists reporting in Latin America face threats to personal security, others deal with official intimidation in what some warn could roll back hard-won press freedoms. But governments and journalists have also taken steps to ensure greater access to information.

New data shows the global economic downturn has hurt trade in Latin America, with exports expected to decrease through 2009. Still, despite signs of the crisis, some bright spots shine.

Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s meeting with Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva gave the leaders of the two biggest Latin American economies the chance to talk about boosting cooperation on trade and energy.

The presidents of Paraguay and Brazil signed an accord that puts the former on more equal footing with its neighbor in the sale of electricity produced at the jointly owned Itaipu hydroeletric dam.