January 2: Brazil

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is sworn in for a second term. Lula pledges to continue to boost the economy and to fight poverty. Despite corruption scandals within his Worker’s Party, the president continues to be a favorite candidate among Brazilians, winning more than 60 percent of the vote.

January 3: Mexico

Mexico sends more than 3,000 soldiers and police to the northern border city of Tijuana to help fight drug trafficking and gang violence. This operation reflects President Felipe Calderon’s vow to fight drug trafficking in Mexico and to curb the country’s drug-related violence. Tijuana is a major transit point for drugs entering the United States. In 2006, drug violence killed more than 300 people in Tijuana.

February 9: Venezuela

The Venezuelan government purchases Electricidad de Caracas, the country’s main privately owned power company, a move that advances its nationalization program. Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez plans to nationalize all key industries, saying this will allow more efficient distribution of the country’s wealth to all of its people. The nationalization program worries foreign investors.

March 26: Venezuela

The Venezuelan government seizes more than 815,450 acres of private land to be used for cattle production. In the past five years, the Venezuelan government has seized about 5 million acres of land as part of an agrarian reform program to move toward a collective property policy within a socialist system.

April 16: Ecuador

Ecuadorian voters support President Rafael Correa’s proposal to form a people’s assembly that would bypass congress and rewrite the constitution. Correa says that a new constitution will reform the country’s political system. His critics, however, accuse him of authoritarianism and an attempt to consolidate power in his own hands.

May 1: St. Lucia

Taiwan restores diplomatic relations with St. Lucia, making this Caribbean island its 25th official ally. The agreement angers China, which has long denied Taiwan’s independence. Taiwan pledges to help St. Lucia with agriculture, education, business, and medical assistance. St. Lucia first established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1984, before switching its recognition to China in 1997.

May 29: Venezuela

The Venezuelan government shuts down Venezuela’s oldest private broadcaster Radio Caracas TV (RCTV) and replaces it with a state-sponsored broadcaster, Televisora Venezuelan Social (TVES). It also accuses a local television station, Globovision, and the U.S. CNN station of threatening President Hugo Chávez. The RCTV staff, its supporters, and other critics accuse the government of undermining democracy and press freedom.

June 26: Ecuador

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declares that the Galapagos Islands, the first place it officially designated as a World Heritage site in 1978, is in danger. Situated 620 miles off of Ecuador’s coast and home to unique animals and plants, the islands are endangered by increased tourism, growing immigration, and the introduction of more invasive species.

June 26: Venezuela

The Venezuelan government extends state control of the country’s oil industry by taking a majority control of operations in its oil-rich Orinoco Belt. As a result, U.S. oil companies ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil end their operations in Venezuela, while others, including Chevron Corp, Great Britain’s BP, Norway’s Statoil, and France’s Total, agree to reduced stakes in the industry.

August 5: Nicaragua

Nicaragua and Iran sign a trade deal enhancing the relations between the two countries. According to the agreement, Nicaragua will export coffee, meat, and bananas to Iran. In return, Iran will finance the building of four hydroelectric plants, five milk processing plants, two piers in the port of Corinto, and 10,000 houses. The United States has warned Nicaragua that closer relations with Iran might harm its relations with the United States.

August 29 — Guatemala

Clara Luz Lopez, a Guatemalan politician running for a local council seat, is assassinated while on her way home after campaigning. More than 40 politicians, activists, and party workers have been killed in one of the most violent election campaigns in Guatemala since the end of the civil war in 1996. The country is preparing to vote in the run-up to the parliamentary and presidential elections on September 9.

September 3: Panama

Panama begins the expansion of the Panama Canal, a project designed to double the Canal’s capacity and allow it to accommodate bigger ships. The undertaking, scheduled for completion in 2014, is expected to cost $5 billion and to create 7,000 jobs. Advocates of the project say the expansion will boost trade; however, opponents argue that the project will lead to displacement and environmental damage.

October 7: Costa Rica

Costa Rican voters narrowly approve a controversial free-trade agreement with the United States, the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), in a national referendum. If approved by the Costa Rican parliament, the agreement will abolish all trade barriers among Costa Rica and other CAFTA members over the next ten years.

October 8: Nicaragua/Honduras

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) settles an eight-year territorial dispute between Nicaragua and Honduras, setting a new maritime border in the Caribbean Sea. The ruling also grants Honduras sovereignty over four small Caribbean islands. The area in dispute is rich in fish and is thought to contain oil and natural gas.

October 15: Brazil

The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules that cotton subsidies to American farmers by the United States government are illegal. Cotton industries in West Africa and Brazil welcome the ruling, saying the subsidies drive down prices, making it difficult for cotton farmers in developing countries to compete.

October 22: Mexico

United States President George W. Bush asks Congress to approve the first installment ($500 million) of the proposed $1.4 billion-aid program to help Mexico fight drug trafficking. Upon approval by the U. S. Congress, the program will pay for equipment, such as helicopters, boats, and inspection equipment, as well as intelligence and training. Critics of the plan question whether the plan will be effective, saying that it is not designed to tackle the core of the drug problem, such as corruption and demand for drugs.

October 30: Argentina

Argentina’s first lady and senator from the province of Buenos Aires, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, wins the country’s presidential election, becoming its first elected female president. Kirchner has promised to continue her husband’s policies.

November 2: Venezuela

Venezuela’s parliament approves constitutional reforms that give the president more powers. The reforms allow a president to run for reelection indefinitely, increase the presidential term to seven years, end the central bank’s autonomy, and cut the work day from eight to six hours. The constitutional reforms have to be approved in a popular referendum scheduled for December.

November 2: Mexico

Mexican authorities seize 23.5 tons of cocaine concealed in two cargo containers on a ship from Colombia, making it one of the world’s largest drug seizures. The drugs’ value is estimated at more than $400 million. In October, the country’s soldiers captured more than 11 tons of cocaine at the port of Tampico. The recent drug seizures demonstrate President Felipe Calderon’s commitment to fighting illegal drugs and drug cartels. This year alone, about 2,350 people have been killed in Mexico as a result of drug violence.

November 5: Guatemala

After a campaign dominated by violence, Alvaro Colom, representing Guatemala’s center-left National Unity of Hope (UNE) party, wins the presidential election. Colom defeats Perez Molina of the Patriotic Party by a narrow margin. The president-elect promises to tackle the country’s crime by fighting poverty.

November 27: Venezuela/Colombia

Venezuela recalls its ambassador to Colombia after a dismissal of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as a mediator in hostage-prisoner exchange negotiations between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has accused Chavez of violating an agreement in his attempt to broker a deal with the rebels by speaking directly to a Colombian military official. His decision to dismiss Chavez prompted strong protests from relatives of the hostages who hoped Chavez would have a chance to secure the hostages’ release.

December 3: Venezuela

In a referendum vote, Venezuelans narrowly reject President Hugo Chavez’s controversial plan to change the constitution. The plan, which was to speed up Venezuela’s embrace of a socialist system, included ending presidential term limits, increasing the presidential term to seven years, ending the central bank’s autonomy, and cutting the work day from eight to six hours. Chavez accepts the defeat, but vows to pursue his agenda.