Latin America

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI blamed both capitalism and Marxism for Latin America's problems in a speech yesterday in Brazil, the world's most Catholic nation. Benedict blamed Marxism for "a painful destruction of the human spirit," but also worried that capitalism gives rise to "degradation of personal dignity through...

(Newser) - Hugo Chávez said yesterday he will pull Venezuela out of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, institutions the leftist leader blames for contributing to poverty in Latin America. Venezuela will also take control of foreign oil projects previously run by multinational companies, some U.S.-based, in...

(Newser) - Mexico City has passed a law legalizing first-trimester abortions and offering them virtually free. The move by the city's predominantly leftist leadership was bitterly opposed by the Catholic Church and Mexico's conservative government, CNN reports.