News about the Americas from The Economist Dec 12 Issue

Here are this week's political news blurbs about the America's from The Economist.  (Website requires subscription.)  In this week's issue you will also find stories about Paraguay's president, a very interesting poll on how Latin Americans view government, and a story about Amerindians in Canada.

Bolivia’s president, Evo Morales, appeared to win a second term by a landslide, with exit polls giving him 61% of the vote and his Movement to Socialism party a two-thirds majority in Congress. The result will allow him to implement a new constitution granting new rights to indigenous peoples and to strengthen state control over the economy. See article

Venezuela’s government closed seven small banks and accused several of their owners of fraud. Some of those involved had close ties to leading figures in President Hugo Chávez’s regime. See article

Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderón, designated his finance minister, Agustín Carstens, as the next governor of the Bank of Mexico, the central bank. Ernesto Cordero, the social-development minister and a former aide to Mr Carstens, will be the new finance minister.

A court in Chile charged three people connected to the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet with poisoning Eduardo Frei Montalva, a former president, in 1982. Frei led the moderate opposition to the dictatorship. His son, the presidential candidate of the ruling Concertación coalition, faces a difficult election on December 13th.