Costa Rica country profile

26 November 2014 Last updated at 16:00 For decades Costa Rica has stood out for its stability and has benefited from the most developed welfare system in the region.

It has no standing army, and its citizens enjoy one of the highest life expectancy levels in the Western hemisphere, and better living standards than most of Central America.

Traditionally dependent on coffee, banana and beef exports, Costa Rica has diversified its economy. The opening of a large computer chip plant in the late 1990s was a fillip to the economy, but its fortunes have been subject to the fluctuating world demand for microchips.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Left-wing candidate Luis Guillermo Solis won the April 2014 presidential election Economy: One of Central America’s most affluent countries; Costa Ricans voters narrowly approved a free trade deal with the US in 2007

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Tourism is Costa Rica’s main source of foreign exchange. Its tropical forests are home to a profusion of flora and fauna, including 1,000 species of orchid and 850 species of birds, such as macaws and toucans.

The Caribbean coast with its swamps and sandy beaches is also a big draw. But Costa Rica is trying to shake off its reputation as a destination for sex tourists.

Costa Rica has been used as a transit point for South American cocaine and there have been allegations that drug-tainted money has found its way into the coffers of the two main political parties.

Once dubbed the “Switzerland of Central America”, the country’s self-image was badly shaken in 2004 when allegations of high-level corruption led to two former presidents being imprisoned on graft charges.

A turtle lays its eggs as part of an annual mass nesting phenomenon along the coast of Costa Rica, a country recognised for its care of the environment

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Costa Rica country profile

Ecuador profile

19 November 2014 Last updated at 17:02 Ecuador is a patchwork of ethnic, regional and racial identities – a complex legacy of its indigenous and colonial past.

Long the heartland of a series of native Andean civilisations, it was taken over by the Peru-centred Inca Empire in the 15th century, and then Spanish conquistadors a century later.

It won independence from Spain in the early 19th century, initially as part of Gran (Great) Colombia and then – after its collapse – as a separate state.

Traditionally a farming country, Ecuador’s economy was transformed after the 1960s by the growth of industry and the discovery of oil. There was rapid growth and progress in health, education and housing.

But by the end of the 20th century a combination of factors, including falling oil prices and damage caused by the weather phenomenon El Nino, had driven the economy into recession.

Around 7% of Ecuadoreans belong to indigenous communities

Inflation, which had become the highest in the region, led the government to replace the national currency with the US dollar in an effort to curtail it.

Diversification

While the government has moved to diversify the economy away from its dependence on crude oil, growth depends mainly on oil prices.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Three presidents have been ousted since 1997; current leader Rafael Correa has been elected for a third term and has introduced sweeping left-wing policiesEconomy: Ecuador exports oil but many people live in poverty; indigenous groups oppose free trade policiesInternational: Free trade talks with US are frozen; Ecuador has complained of border incursions by the Colombian military

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Special Report: Ecuador Direct

Not all Ecuadorans have benefited equally from oil revenues. The traditionally dominant Spanish-descended elite gained far more than indigenous peoples and those of mixed descent.

Steps to stabilise the economy, such as austerity measures and privatisation, have generated widespread unrest, particularly among the indigenous poor.

Also, efforts to provide impetus to the mining industry has met resistance from the indigenous groups.

Ecuador is the smallest OPEC member and the world’s top banana exporter. It is also a big exporter of coffee, shrimp and cocoa.

For a small country, Ecuador has many geographical zones. They include Andean peaks, tropical rainforests and – 1,000km (600 miles) off the coast – the volcanic Galapagos Islands, home to the animals and birds whose evolutionary adaptations shaped Charles Darwin’s theories.

Blue-footed boobies watch an iguana on the Galapagos Islands, an offshore territory of Ecuador

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Ecuador profile

Mexico profile

28 November 2014 Last updated at 15:04 Mexico is a nation where affluence, poverty, natural splendour and urban blight rub shoulders.

Its politics were dominated for 70 years by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. But elections in 1997 saw a resurgent opposition break what was in effect a one-party system behind a democratic facade.

Elections in 2000 confirmed the trend when Vicente Fox became the first president to come from the right-wing opposition PAN.

Mexico has the second-largest economy in Latin America and is a major oil exporter. Though production has fallen in the last few years, about one-third of government revenue still comes from the industry. Much of the crude is bought by the US.

Revolutionary leader Emiliano Zapata – portrayed at the entrance to a base used by rebels who take his name – is still revered in Mexico

But prosperity remains a dream for many Mexicans, and the socio-economic gap remains wide. Rural areas are often neglected and huge shanty towns ring the cities.

In recent decades many poor Mexicans have sought to cross the 3,000-km border with the US in search of a job. At one point more than a million were being arrested every year

But since 2007 there appears to have been a dramatic fall in numbers, mainly attributed to changing demographics in Mexico and the economic downturn in the US after 2008.

As a result, there has also been a fall in the amount of money sent home by migrant workers in the US, which had provided a useful boost for Mexico’s economy in the preceding decade.

Economic recovery

Continue reading the main story Politics: The Institutional Revolutionary Party was ousted in 2000 after 70 years of ruling Mexico effectively as a one-party state. It returned to power in 2012, promising it would not return to its authoritarian ways Economy: Latin America’s second largest economy is heavily dependent on oil, but has seen a boom in foreign investment since the recession of 2008-9International: Traditionally close to the US, Mexico has demonstrated greater independence since the 1960s, but relations with its larger northern neighbour still loom large, especially as a result of the high volume of trade and extensive Mexican migration to the US

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Mexico was hit hard by the credit crunch of 2008, experiencing its deepest economic slump since the 1930s.

But its economy has recovered since then, with foreign companies pouring billions of dollars of fresh investment into the country. Foreign direct investment climbed nearly 30% in the first six months of 2010 from a year earlier.

Violent crime though remains a major concern; Mexico has one of the highest rates of kidnappings in the world, and over 47,500 people have died in drug-related violence since December 2006.

Powerful cartels control the trafficking of drugs from South America to the US, a business that is worth an estimated $13bn (£9bn) a year.

Mexico’s northern border towns are experiencing the worst of the violence. Ciudad Juarez (just across from El Paso in Texas) is the city suffering the most. There are also high levels of violence in Michoacan and Guerrero states.

However, Mexico is a large country, and there are still many areas which do not experience high levels of serious crime. The overall murder rate is lower than several other countries in the region, including El Salvador and Honduras.

Native rights

Another persistent issue has been the pressure for greater rights for Mexico’s indigenous people. A law passed in 2001 fell short of giving Mexico’s Indians political autonomy.

However, demands for indigenous rights have been largely peaceful since 1994, when at least 150 people died during an uprising in the southern state of Chiapas, led by the Zapatista rebel movement.

Writers such as Octavio Paz and Carlos Fuentes, the mural-painter Diego Rivera, and popular ranchero and mariachi music mean that Mexican culture is known throughout the Spanish-speaking world and beyond.

Hundreds of traditional dancers perform at a festival in Guadalajara

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Mexico profile

Grenada country profile

26 November 2014 Last updated at 16:53 Grenada made world headlines in 1983 when a split in the governing left-wing party led to the overthrow and execution of the country’s charismatic leader, Maurice Bishop, and provided the pretext for a US invasion of the islands.

Set against the background of Grenada’s hitherto peaceful post-independence history, the event highlighted the country’s contradictory character.

From one angle, Grenada has an “exotic” flavour which appeals especially to Westerners. Known as the “Spice Island”, it is the world’s second-largest producer of nutmeg and is a significant producer of mace, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.

St George’s is a popular tourist destination

It also boasts beautiful scenery, with picturesque and fertile valleys, rainforests, fast-flowing streams, hot springs, mountain lakes, a tropical climate and excellent beaches.

Growth in investment and tourism and a construction boom helped reduce unemployment in the 1990s, but the country was dealt a serious blow in 2004 when Hurricane Ivan swept through killing dozens of people, damaging 90% of the island’s buildings and devastating the nutmeg crop.

Tourism has generated its own problems, in the form of threats to the rainforest and beach erosion caused by resort projects.

Hurricane Ivan brought devastation to Grenada in 2004, damaging most of its buildings

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Grenada country profile

Barbados profile

27 November 2014 Last updated at 17:08 The eastern Caribbean nation of Barbados was historically heavily dependent on the export of sugar as its main revenue earner, but in recent decades the economy has diversified into tourism and offshore finance.

Known for its beaches and cricket – its national sport – the former British colony has a dual heritage: English – evident in its stone-built Anglican churches and Saturday race meetings – and African, reflected in its music and dance.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Freundel Stuart first became prime minister after his predecessor died in office in 2010. His Democratic Labour Party was narrowly re-elected in 2013Economy: Tourism, financial services and the sugar industry are economic mainstays

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Barbados is one of the more populous and prosperous Caribbean islands. Political, economic and social stability have given it one of the highest standards of living in the developing world. As well as being a centre for financial services, it also has offshore reserves of oil and natural gas.

However, the economy took something of a knock in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis. The country’s public debt rose sharply in 2009-11, mainly because of a slowdown in the tourism and financial services sectors.

Bajan singer Rihanna is one of the world’s top selling artists

Prior to the economic crisis there was a construction boom, with new hotels and housing complexes springing up. The trend accelerated as the island prepared to host some of the key Cricket World Cup matches in 2007.

However, a shortage of jobs has prompted many Barbadians – more often known as Bajans – to find work abroad. The money that they send home is an important source of income.

Most Barbadians are the descendants of African slaves who were brought to the island from the 17th century to work the sugar cane plantations.

Limestone caverns, coral reefs and a warm climate tempered by trade winds are among the island’s natural assets. Barbados is relatively flat, with highlands in the interior.

Cricket is a big part of life in Barbados, which hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup

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Barbados profile

Guadeloupe profile

13 November 2013 Last updated at 14:37 Known to its one-time Carib indian population as “karukera”, or “island of beautiful waters”, the French territory of Guadeloupe is a centre of Caribbean Creole culture.

French, African and Caribbean influences infuse its music, dance, food and widely-spoken patois.

Guadeloupe’s economy is kept afloat by public salaries and credits from Paris. Unemployment has been a long-running malaise, although its effects are tempered by France’s generous social security system.

Agriculture revolves around sugar cane and bananas; the latter is troubled by regional competition and the phasing out of preferential European quotas.

Some of Guadeloupe’s residents are descendants of the original colonists

Tourism is important. Visitors, most of them from France, are drawn to Guadeloupe’s resorts, beaches, waterfalls and forests and the territory is a port of call for cruise ships.

Guadeloupe is prone to earthquakes and hurricanes. Mount Soufriere, Basse-Terre’s volcano, last erupted in the 1970s.

Visited by the explorer Christopher Columbus in 1493, who named it after a Spanish monastery, the territory was home to Carib indians who resisted Spanish attempts to settle the islands.

French colonists arrived in the 17th century, wiping out the Carib population. The settlers brought slaves from Africa to work on plantations and Guadeloupe prospered thanks to the trade in sugar and tobacco.

Swedish rule

There were several British occupations in the 18th and early 19th centuries – and a brief period of nominal Swedish rule – before the territory was restored to France. It became a French “department” in 1946, and from the 1980s, a region of France.

Although support for the status quo is strong, a campaign for secession from France flared in the 1980s when pro-independence groups bombed hotels and government buildings.

Discontent at the rising cost of living led to violent protests early in 2009, and France sent in troops when rioters killed a trade union official. The French government raised wages for the low-paid, a key demand of the protestors, who ended a general strike in March.

Guadeloupe’s beaches, waterfalls and forests are a major attraction for visitors

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Guadeloupe profile

Puerto Rico profile

24 October 2013 Last updated at 09:33 Hispanic, Afro-Caribbean and North American influences meld in Puerto Rico, a self-governing commonwealth that belongs to the United States.

The tropical Caribbean territory is urbanised, industrialised and relatively prosperous.

The US invaded and occupied Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War of 1898, ending centuries of rule from Spain. The US saw the island as a strategic asset and ran it as a colonial protectorate.

Under American administration Puerto Rico saw growth and development. But nationalist sentiment sometimes spilled over into violence, notably in the 1930s and 1940s. Nationalists staged an armed attack in the US Congress in 1954.

Historic San Juan is made up of colonial homes and cobbled streets

A series of bombings and killings in the 1970s and 1980s were blamed on a pro-independence group, the Macheteros, or Cane Cutters. The group’s fugitive leader was killed by federal agents in 2005.

Puerto Ricans voted in a November 2012 non-binding referendum for full membership of the United States as the 51st State. Sixty six percent of the votes favoured statehood versus 33% for a sovereign free association with the US, and 5% for independence.

Any constitutional change requires approval by the US Congress and president. President Barack Obama has already indicated that he will respect the Puerto Rican decision, and has called on Congress to take steps in that direction.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Puerto Rico is a self-governing overseas territory of the United States at present, but has voted in favour of full US statehoodEconomy: Tourism is an important earner

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Puerto Rican voters, who elect a governor for the island, have tended to favour parties that support the union with the US. Puerto Ricans do not pay US income tax, and the island receives federal funds.

There is an established cycle of migration between Puerto Rico and the US; hundreds of thousands of Puerto Ricans have lived and worked in New York and other cities.

The once substantial US military presence has been scaled down with the closures of a major naval base and a bombing range. Rancour over the latter grew after a civilian employee was killed by a stray bomb.

Puerto Rico is vulnerable to hurricanes, like the one sweeping across the territory in this August 2011 satellite image

Explorer Christopher Columbus claimed Puerto Rico for Spain in 1493, heralding an influx of Spanish settlers. The newcomers, and the diseases they brought with them, decimated the territory’s Taino indian population.

The main settlement, San Juan, became an important Spanish outpost. Slaves were brought to the island in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Puerto Rico’s landscape is varied, and includes rainforests in the north-east. The territory is prone to hurricanes.

Tourism is an important money-earner; the island receives millions of visitors each year and is a port-of-call for cruise liners.

The San Felipe del Morro castle in San Juan is a UN World Heritage Site

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Puerto Rico profile

Argentina country profile

27 September 2014 Last updated at 15:35 Argentina stretches 4,000 km from its sub-tropical north to the sub-antarctic south.

Its terrain includes part of the Andes mountain range, swamps, the plains of the Pampas and a long coastline. Its people have had to struggle with military dictatorship, a lost war over the Falkland Islands, and severe economic difficulties.

Argentina is rich in resources, has a well-educated workforce and is one of South America’s largest economies. But it has also fallen prey to a boom and bust cycle.

A deep recession foreshadowed economic collapse in 2001. This left more than half the population living in poverty and triggered unrest. The country struggled with record debt defaults and currency devaluation.

Continue reading the main story Politics: President Cristina Fernandez is the widow of former president Nestor Kirchner Economy: On the mend since collapse of 2001, but in July 2014 Argentina again defaulted on its international debtInternational: Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falklands, a UK overseas territory

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

By 2003 a recovery was under way, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed to a vital new loan. Since then, Argentina has restructured its massive debt, offering creditors new bonds for the defaulted ones, and has repaid its debt to the IMF. But with poverty rife and unemployment high, many Argentines still await the benefits of the economic upturn.

Argentina remains locked in a territorial dispute with Britain over the Falklands Islands, which are governed as a British overseas territory, but have been claimed by Buenos Aires since the 1830s.

The issue led to war in 1982, when the islands fell to an invasion launched by Argentina’s military junta, but were re-conquered by Britain in a conflict that caused hundreds of deaths on both sides.

The defeat led to the fall of the military dictatorship, but the junta’s legacy is still an open wound. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the seven-year “dirty war”. The bodies of many abductees – known as the “disappeared” – have never been found, although forensic work continues to recover them.

Amnesties which protected former junta members from prosecution were repealed in 2003 and the pardons granted to military leaders overturned.

The Perito Moreno Glacier is one of Argentina’s most important tourist attractions

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Argentina country profile

Guatemala country profile

14 October 2014 Last updated at 11:46 A country of striking features and a strong indigenous culture, Guatemala’s natural beauty and powerful identity stand in stark contrast to its bloody past and troubled present.

Mountainous, heavily forested and dotted with Mayan ruins, lakes, volcanoes, orchids and exotic birds, Guatemala is one of the most beautiful countries in Central America.

Its indigenous population, the Maya, make up about half of the population. Mayan languages are spoken alongside Spanish, the official tongue. Many Guatemalans are of mixed Amerindian-Hispanic origin.

Guatemala’s beauty and strength of identity have not been accompanied by cohesion and prosperity.

Tourists visit the Tikal ruins, remnants of a great Maya civilisation which collapsed in around 900 AD

In 1996 it emerged from a 36-year-long civil war which pitted leftist, mostly Mayan insurgents against the army, which – backed by the US – waged a vicious campaign to eliminate the guerrillas.

More than 200,000 people – most of them civilians – were killed or disappeared.

Despite an official finding that 93% of all atrocities carried out during the war had been committed by the security forces, moves to bring those responsible to account started only after a long delay.

Social inequality is a major feature of Guatemala. Poverty is particularly widespread in the countryside and among indigenous communities.

Illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are among the highest in the region, life expectancy is among the lowest and, in common with many of its neighbours, the country is plagued by organised crime and violent street gangs. It is a major corridor for smuggling drugs from South America to the United States.

Despite talks and international mediation, a long-running territorial dispute with neighbouring Belize remains unresolved. Guatemala lays claim to thousands of square kilometres of land.

Young Guatemalans play Chajchaay, an ancient Maya ball game. Several other aspects of Maya culture are being kept alive

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Guatemala country profile

Chile country profile

26 November 2014 Last updated at 16:43 Chile is one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations. It has been relatively free of the coups and arbitrary governments that have blighted the continent.

The exception was the 17-year rule of General Augusto Pinochet, whose 1973 coup was one of the bloodiest in 20th-century Latin America and whose dictatorship left more than 3,000 people dead and missing.

Chile has steadily come to terms with the legacy of General Pinochet’s rule.

The former military ruler was questioned over the Chilean role in the killing of dissidents by various South American governments in the 1970s and 1980s, and he denied allegations until his death in December 2006.

Mapuche natives have been in conflict with the state over land and rights

The authoritarian Pinochet-era constitution has been revised and the judicial system overhauled.

The country had Latin America’s fastest-growing economy in the 1990s and has weathered recent regional economic instability.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Michelle Bachelet gained a second, non-consecutive term as president in the 2013 elections Economy: Chile has one of Latin America’s strongest economies; high world prices for its copper have swollen state coffersInternational: Chile is a key regional player, but it has long-running territorial disputes with Peru and Bolivia, the latter over access to the Pacific Ocean

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

But it faces the challenges of having to diversify its copper-dependent economy – it is the largest world producer – and of addressing uneven wealth distribution.

Chile’s unusual, ribbon-like shape – 4,300 km long and on average 175 km wide – has given it a hugely varied climate.

This ranges from the world’s driest desert – the Atacama – in the north, through a Mediterranean climate in the centre, to a snow-prone Alpine climate in the south, with glaciers, fjords and lakes.

Chile is a multi-ethnic society, including people of European and Indian ancestry.

Chile has a variety of geographical features, from deserts to a long coastline, to volcanoes

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Chile country profile

Honduras profile

26 November 2014 Last updated at 15:41 Military rule, corruption, a huge wealth gap, crime and natural disasters have rendered Honduras one of the least developed and least secure countries in Central America.

Until the mid-1980s Honduras was dominated by the military, which enthusiastically supported US efforts to stem revolutionary movements in the region.

Since then, civilian leaders have sought to curb the power of the military – with varying degrees of success.

Some army officers have been charged with human rights abuses, but many have still to be prosecuted for violations committed in the 1980s.

Honduran society is rife with economic inequality. Malnutrition, poor housing and infant diseases are widespread.

The ancient Maya civilisation – depicted in a modern mural in the capital – is part of the heritage of Honduras

The country has a youthful population; 50% of Hondurans are under the age of 19. But endemic poverty, chronic unemployment and the prospects offered by drug trafficking have contributed to a virulent crime wave conducted mainly by youth gangs known as “maras”.

The maras are said to have tens of thousands of members and use threats and violence to control poorer districts in towns and cities.

Meanwhile, police officers have been implicated in high-profile crimes, and the police are thought to have been involved in the murders by death squads of youths and street children.

Honduras was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. At least 5,000 people were killed and 70% of the country’s crops were destroyed. The damage was estimated at $3bn, setting development back by decades.

Police destroy a drugs haul in Honduras, the main route for cocaine on its way to the US

Thousands of Hondurans leave the country each year, most of them for the US. The money sent home by the overseas workers is an important source of income for many families.

The economy was dominated, until the mid-20th century, by foreign-owned banana companies that wielded outsized influence in politics and controlled wide swaths of land. Still a major exporter of the fruit, Honduras is also Central America’s second biggest coffee producer.

Part of a regional free trade deal with the United States, Honduras developed its textile industry to diversify away from dependence on agriculture.

Honduras is Central America’s second biggest coffee producer

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Honduras profile

Haiti profile

4 October 2014 Last updated at 18:07 Haiti became the world’s first black-led republic and the first independent Caribbean state when it threw off French colonial control and slavery in the early 19th century.

But chronic instability, dictatorships and natural disasters have left it as the poorest nation in the Americas.

UN peacekeepers were deployed in 2004 to restore order after an uprising, and more than 10,000 uniformed personnel remain on the ground. The mission has drawn controversy, including allegations of excessive force.

Moreover, many Haitians are struggling with the legacy of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake which devastated the capital, Port-au-Prince, in January 2010. More than 250,000 people were killed. Hundreds of thousands more were left homeless, and many of them still live in tent cities.

Students take their lessons at a Catholic church in Haiti, which is still struggling to rebuild after the 2010 quake

These woes have been compounded by a subsequent cholera epidemic which has killed more than 7,000 people.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Democratic rule was restored in 2006, two years after a violent revolt ousted former leader Jean-Bertrand Aristide; bitter divisions persistEconomy: The 2010 earthquake and 2012 hurricane have left an already weak economy in ruins. Unemployment is chronic, and severe deforestation gives crops little chance to recoverInternational: The UN has deployed peacekeepers; international aid is key to recovery

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Billions of dollars in aid, pledged to Haiti after the earthquake, have been slow to arrive amid donors’ concerns about corruption.

Poor infrastructure is another obstacle to investment and environmental degradation is a major concern. But officials have touted Haiti’s tourism potential and there has been some success with exports of crops, including mangoes.

Political volatility, civil unrest and crime pose serious challenges to development. And the huge wealth gap between the impoverished Creole-speaking black majority and the French-speaking minority remains unaddressed.

With unemployment running at around 40%, many Haitians seek work and a better life in the US or other Caribbean nations, including the neighbouring Dominican Republic, which is home to hundreds of thousands of Haitian migrants.

‘Independence debt’

Haiti’s independence came at a cost. It had to pay reparations to France, which demanded compensation for former slave owners. The 19th century “independence debt” was not paid off until 1947. There have been recent calls for France to repay the money.

Between 1915 and 1934, the US occupied Haiti with the aim of protecting American assets and stemming German influence in the region.

Haiti achieved notoriety from the late 1950s during the brutal dictatorships of the voodoo physician Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude, or “Baby Doc”. Tens of thousands of people were killed under their 29-year rule.

The country moved towards democracy in the 1990s, but coups and rebellions continued to plague political life. Twice President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a former priest, was overthrown in a 1990 military coup and again by a popular uprising in 2004.

Laundry dries opposite the destroyed presidential palace two years after the earthquake of 2010, which killed thousands and left many more homeless

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Haiti profile

Paraguay profile

27 September 2014 Last updated at 12:53 Paraguay experienced more than three decades of dictatorship under Alfredo Stroessner, who was ousted in 1989, but the end of his iron-fisted rule did not bring political stability.

Factional splits led to the assassination of a vice-president, the resignation of a president and an attempted coup.

Stroessner’s party, the National Republican Association-Colorado Party, survived his departure and remained in power until 2008, when it was was defeated by the centre-left Patriotic Alliance for Change led by Fernando Lugo.

However, the Colorado Party returned to power in 2013, after Congress controversially impeached President Lugo over the mishandling a land eviction in which police officers and peasant farmers were killed.

Many people are involved in agriculture in Paraguay, one of the world’s major soyabean exporters

More than 80% of Paraguayans are mestizos – people of mixed Spanish and native American descent.

The vast majority of the population speak the indigenous language Guarani as well as Spanish, whereas in the rest of Latin America non-indigenous people rarely know the pre-colonial languages.

With few mineral resources, Paraguay’s economy revolves around agriculture – although the manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors are expanding.

The 1990s saw slow, steady growth, but by 2002 the economy was in serious trouble, partly because of a financial crisis in neighbouring Argentina.

Emergency loans – conditional on economic reforms – were negotiated with the IMF, and the country has enjoyed growth rates much higher than the rest of Latin America in recent years, despite the worldwide slowdown.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Business magnate Horacio Cartes’ presidential election win in April 2013 marked the return to power of the dominant Colorado Party Economy: Agriculture, including subsistence farming, is the main economic activity. Brazil is Paraguay’s biggest trading partner

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Problems with expansion The Triple Frontier region, where Paraguay meets Argentina and Brazil, has long been associated with drug-smuggling and other contraband trade.

It is also home to a large Arab community, and the United States and independent reporters have identified it as a source of funding for Islamic militant groups, in particular Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas – although Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay reject the allegation.

The commercialisation of agriculture, population growth and forest clearances have led to a dramatic increase in the number of landless families. This has boosted migration into urban areas and shanty towns have burgeoned. The landless peasants’ movement has become politically active in recent years.

Much of the north-west is taken up by the Chaco, a vast and largely uninhabited plain. Paraguay and Bolivia fought over it in the 1930s; the war left 100,000 dead.

Paraguay’s semi-arid Chaco region is home to Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians, whose way of life is under threat from land developers and ranchers

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Paraguay profile

Aruba profile

26 August 2014 Last updated at 14:31 A tourist magnet and a fuel exporter, Aruba is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It lies off South America’s Caribbean coast.

Away from the beaches, hotels and casinos, much of the island is desert-like. A strong indigenous heritage, colonisation and Latin America’s influence have given it a distinctive social and linguistic character.

Aruba is one of the most prosperous territories in the Caribbean. A gold rush in the 1820s triggered an economic boom and mining went on for almost a century until reserves were exhausted. In the 1920s a petroleum refinery was opened at the port of San Nicolaas.

Aruba’s beaches are popular among tourists

The money generated by the refinery raised living standards, but its temporary closure in 1985 – amid a global petroleum glut – sparked an economic crisis. Aruba has since invested in tourism, which has become its economic mainstay.

Lying close to the South American mainland, Aruba is susceptible to drug smuggling and illegal immigration. The territory has passed laws to combat money-laundering.

Independence has been widely debated, and the idea was endorsed by voters in 1977. In 1986 Aruba pulled out of the Netherlands Antilles – a federation of Dutch Caribbean territories – and obtained separate status within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Plans for full independence by 1996 were shelved at a meeting in The Hague in 1994. The Dutch government controls defence and foreign affairs and the island’s government handles local matters.

Colonised by the Dutch in the 17th century, Aruba was controlled by the British for a short time during the Napoleonic Wars.

Aruba’s rock formations are among the island’s tourist attractions

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Aruba profile

Brazil profile

16 September 2014 Last updated at 14:03 Brazil is South America’s most influential country, an economic giant and one of the world’s biggest democracies.

It is one of the rising economic powers – otherwise known as BRICS nations – together with Russia, India, China and South Africa. Over the past few years it has made major strides in its efforts to raise millions out of poverty.

The discovery of major offshore oil reserves could propel the country into the top league of oil-exporting nations.

The exploitation of the Amazon rainforest, much of which is in Brazil, has been a major international worry, since the wilderness is a vital regulator of the climate. It is also an important reservoir of plant and animal life.

A drive to move settlers to the Amazon region during military rule in the 1970s caused considerable damage to vast areas of rainforest.

A jaguar, resting in an Amazon reserve, is one of several species threatened by human encroachment

Deforestation by loggers and cattle ranchers remains controversial, but government-sponsored migration programmes have been halted.

In 2005 the government reported that one fifth of the Amazon forests had been cleared by deforestation.

Deforestation has been slowed down by extra policing and pressure from environmental and consumer groups. The government has fined illegal cattle ranchers and loggers, while the food industries have banned products from illegally deforested areas, such as soya beans and beef.

Continue reading the main story Economy: Brazil has Latin America’s largest economy; there has been steady growthInternational: Brazil wants a permanent seat at the UN Security Council; relations with Bolivia suffered in 2006 over access to Bolivian gas

Profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

Officials estimate that deforestation in 2010 fell to 5,000 sq km for the year, down from 7,000 sq km the year before and a peak of 27,000 sq km in 2004.

Brazil’s natural resources, particularly iron ore, are highly prized by major manufacturing nations, including China. Thanks to the development of offshore fields, the nation has become self-sufficient in oil, ending decades of dependence on foreign producers.

There is a wide gap between rich and poor, but the World Bank has praised the country for progress in reducing social and economic inequality.

Much of the arable land is controlled by a handful of wealthy families, a situation which the Movement of Landless Rural Workers (MST) seeks to redress by demanding land redistribution. It uses direct protest action and land occupation in its quest.

Social conditions can be harsh in the big cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, where a third of the population lives in favelas, or slums.

A wave of protests swept Brazil during the summer of 2013 as people took to the streets in cities throughout the country to demonstrate against corruption, inadequate public services and the expense of staging the 2014 World Cup.

Brazil’s Aids programme has become a model for other developing countries. It has stabilised the rate of HIV infection and the number of Aids-related deaths has fallen. Brazil has bypassed the major drugs firms to produce cheaper, generic Aids medicines.

Brazil is revered for its footballing prowess. Its cultural contributions include the music of classical composer Heitor Villa-Lobos and Bossa Nova icon Antonio Carlos Jobim.

A third of the population of Rio de Janeiro live in favelas, or slums

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Brazil profile

Peru profile

12 October 2012 Last updated at 10:50 ET Peru’s rich and varied heritage includes the ancient Incan capital of Cuzco and the lost city of Machu Picchu. The country boasts spectacular scenery, including Lake Titicaca, the world’s highest navigable lake.

A growing number of visitors are being drawn to its variety of attractions, such as its archaelogical treasures, the Andes mountain range and the Amazon rainforest, which makes up about half the country.

It is rich in copper, silver, lead, zinc, oil and gold.

The country experienced an economic boom in the 2000s, and in 2011 Peru was said to have one of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

Foreign investors, attracted by the government and encouraged by favourable conditions, have been keen to get involved in exploiting the country’s mineral wealth.

Many Peruvians – such as this Andean priest at a celebration of the winter solstice – still keep traditions alive

But the authorities have faced opposition in rural areas to the extractive projects that local residents say will cause pollution, use up scarce water supplies and fail to lift them from poverty.

Indigenous groups in the Amazon and Andean mountains argue that the mines, dams and oil fields are destroying their ancestral lands and they have become more assertive in demanding greater recognition and protection.

The country is still trying to come to terms with the trauma of a two-decade conflict – roughly from 1980 to 2000 – between the state and the leftist guerrilla groups, the Shining Path and the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement.

The warfare is thought to have claimed nearly 70,000 lives, most of them Andean peasants. It’s ruthlessness was in large part due to the fanatical following of the leader of the Shining Path, Abimael Guzman, whose capture in 1992 in effect disbanded the guerrilla movement.

Continue reading the main story Politics: Ollanta Humala took over as president in mid-2011Economy: Peru has seen growth, but the lot of the rural poor is little improved; the US and Peru have agreed a free trade dealInternational: Peru is seen as world’s top producer of coca, used to make cocaine; Peru and Chile dispute their maritime border

Country profiles compiled by BBC Monitoring

However, the Shining Path continues to have a small political following.

And offshoots of the group are said to be involved in the cocaine trade.

The United Nations believes that Peru has become the world’s biggest producer of coca leaf, and now rivals Colombia for cocaine production.

Critics of the war on drugs argue that squeezing production in one country – such as Colombia – just makes the traffickers transfer their operations elsewhere, such as Peru.

While drug trafficking has made a major contribution to the economy – almost 17% of the country’s gross domestic product in 2009, according to the Peruvian government – environmentalists are concerned about the impact coca growing and cocaine production is having on the rainforests, both because of deforestation and the dumping of the chemicals involved in the drug’s manufacture.

Peru has had periods of military rule but in recent decades its governments have been democratically elected and its leaders held to account for their actions. Alberto Fujimori, who was president from 1990 to 2000, is now serving a 25-year prison sentence on human rights abuse charges.

The spectacular heights of the Andes as well as the dense, hot jungles of the Amazon are both to be found in Peru

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Peru profile

Honduras profile

29 August 2012 Last updated at 05:53 ET Military rule, corruption, a huge wealth gap, crime and natural disasters have rendered Honduras one of the least developed and least secure countries in Central America.

Until the mid-1980s Honduras was dominated by the military, which enthusiastically supported US efforts to stem revolutionary movements in the region.

Since then, civilian leaders have sought to curb the power of the military – with varying degrees of success.

Some army officers have been charged with human rights abuses, but many have still to be prosecuted for violations committed in the 1980s.

Honduran society is rife with economic inequality. Malnutrition, poor housing and infant diseases are widespread.

The ancient Maya civilisation – depicted in a modern mural in the capital – is part of the heritage of Honduras

The country has a youthful population; 50% of Hondurans are under the age of 19. But endemic poverty, chronic unemployment and the prospects offered by drug trafficking have contributed to a virulent crime wave conducted mainly by youth gangs known as “maras”.

The maras are said to have tens of thousands of members and use threats and violence to control poorer districts in towns and cities.

Meanwhile, police officers have been implicated in high-profile crimes, and the police are thought to have been involved in the murders by death squads of youths and street children.

Honduras was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. At least 5,000 people were killed and 70% of the country’s crops were destroyed. The damage was estimated at $3bn, setting development back by decades.

Police destroy a drugs haul in Honduras, the main route for cocaine on its way to the US

Thousands of Hondurans leave the country each year, most of them for the US. The money sent home by the overseas workers is an important source of income for many families.

The economy was dominated, until the mid-20th century, by foreign-owned banana companies that wielded outsized influence in politics and controlled wide swaths of land. Still a major exporter of the fruit, Honduras is also Central America’s second biggest coffee producer.

Part of a regional free trade deal with the United States, Honduras developed its textile industry to diversify away from dependence on agriculture.

Honduras is Central America’s second biggest coffee producer

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Honduras profile