Since our last e-newsletter we examined the case of Brazil’s north-east region. Although it remains the poorest region in the country with 28% of the country’s people but just 14% of its GDP, it has become Brazil’s star economic performer: in the past decade the region’s GDP rose by 4.2% a year, compared with 3.6% for the country as a whole.

We have also reported on Haiti’s new president inauguration day. Michael Martelly, a singer turned politician, began his presidency on May 14th addressing many of the country’s woes, including both the slow pace of rebuilding and the country’s longstanding poverty, unemployment and poor infrastructure.

And we have brought to you the latest information on bribery in Mexico, a country where households paid around 200m backhanders to companies and public officials last year, according to a report published on May 10th by the Mexican branch of Transparency International.

This week’s featured content include:

Brazil

Brazil’s north-east

Catching up in a hurry

Read this article by The Economist to learn more about how the Brazil’s poorest region is narrowing the gap with the prosperous south thanks to government policies such as Bolsa Família or Crediamigo, the state-owned Banco do Nordeste’s micro-credit programme.

Haiti

Haiti’s new president

Martelly takes over

Read this article by Americas View blog to get all the insight regarding the inauguration of Michael Martelly’s presidency of Haiti. Yet the day was festive, the spirit was tempered with reminders of how little progress has been made since a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010.

Mexico

Bribery in Mexico

A state-by-state guide to graft

Read this article by Americas View blog to keep updated on the results of a report on bribery published by the Mexican branch of Transparency International, an anti-corruption outfit. The document asserts that Mexican officials are charging 20% more for their corrupt services than they did in 2007 and that the situation worsens in over-populated areas where there is excess of demand for public services, which allows officials to auction off the scarce resources.

And this week on ViewsWire:

Venezuela/Colombia politics
FARC ties

Recent events have refocused political debate again on the relationship between Venezuela and Colombia’s leftist guerrilla group, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC). But developments have been conflicting. On the one hand, the Chávez government has helped to apprehend a FARC leader; on the other, an analysis of computer files seized from FARC rebels suggest that ties between the Venezuelan administration and the rebels have run deep. The revelations have not yet derailed recently improved relations between Caracas and Bogotá, but they could put these under renewed strain.

Honduras politics
Reconciliation?

Ever since the ouster of the elected president in July 2009, Honduras has been in a state of political limbo within the Latin American region. However, a surprise encounter between the current president, Porfirio Lobo, and his counterparts from Colombia and Venezuela in April has raised hopes that the Honduran government will regain full international recognition in the coming months. Reconciliation domestically, however, could take considerably longer.

Any questions? Contact us!

By e-mail: latam@economist.com

By telephone: 212.541.0577

Twitter: @EconConfLatAm

Future Economist Conferences

Mexico 2011 – Change from the bottom up
October 6th, Mexico City

Brazil 2011 – Brazil in 2022: Ordem e Progresso?
November 8th, São Paulo

Click here to see the complete list of the Economist Conferences.