An AS/COA panel explored the ramifications of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's January 2012 visit to Latin America, as well as Tehran's ties to the region.

President Rafael Correa marked his fifth year in office on January 15. With rising approval ratings, he’s poised to run for reelection in 2013, though he faces challenges in the year ahead.

In order to expedite an overhaul of Ecuador’s judiciary, President Rafael Correa has declared a 60-day state of exception. But opponents allege that the president is blurring the separation of powers.

"In both Ecuador and Bolivia, the rhetoric of political inclusion is crashing into the politics of identity and collective rights," writes AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini for The Huffington Post.

An Ecuadoran court convicted a daily newspaper's directors of defamation July 20, sparking an international uproar from press freedom advocates and shining a light on Latin American libel laws.

"These reforms—if implemented as President Correa has promised—will vest the executive with a troubling degree of discretionary power over two areas key for democratic stability," says AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini of the Ecuadorean referendum that would give the president increased control over the media and judiciary.

Exit polls show that Ecuadorans largely voted in favor of a 10-point referendum on May 7. But even though voters backed President Rafael Correa’s proposals, some changes—such as media and judiciary reforms—remain controversial.