The first step in designing effective programs to reduce poverty in the region is to figure out the real numbers. Unfortunately, that's harder than it looks, writes Sanjay G. Reddy. Read the full article in the Spring 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly.

In a recent referendum, Costa Ricans narrowly voted in favor of joining the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement. Costa Rica,the first country to hold a public vote on whether to join, was deeply divided. During AS/COA's Latin American Cities Conference in San Salvador, participants discussed DR-CAFTA as an engine for Central American economic growth. 

Over 300 private sector representatives and government officials gathered in El Salvador to analyze growth prospects and the new opportunities created by DR-CAFTA at the first AS/COA Latin American Cities Conference in Central America.

This issue showcases selections of fiction, poetry, creative essays and images by writers and artists from the Caribbean and its diaspora.

It hasn't happened often in recent years, but some good economic news is now coming out of the Caribbean.

In Memoriam: “John Coleman on Spectacle Lane,” by Belkis Cuza Malé; “Towards a Reading of Ortiz’s Cuban Counterpoint,” by Enrico Mario Santí; “Creolité: Power, Mimicry, and Dependence,” by A. James Arnold; “Paris Isn’t Always a City in Texas,” by Dany Laferrière; Interview with Raphaël Confiant; “Who Slashed Celanire’s Throat,” by Maryse Condé; “Cherries” and more.