6 Reasons Latin America Will Make Big News in 2018

An old joke among foreign correspondents in Latin America says that Americans will do almost everything for Latin America -- except read or watch news about it. But that may not hold true in 2018. It's going to be a year in which the region will make big headlines worldwide.Here are six major reasons why:1. Elections: In 2018 there will be presidential elections in Mexico and Brazil, the two biggest countries in the region, as well as in Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay and Costa Rica. That means that nearly 80 percent of Latin America's population will be electing presidents in the coming year.In Mexico, leftist candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador is leading in the polls for the July 1 presidential vote. If he wins, perhaps helped by a nationalist reaction to President Donald Trump's anti-Mexican rants, the United States may for the first time in recent history have a detached -- if not hostile -- neighbor.That could hurt the U.S. badly, because Mexico is the third-largest U.S. trading partner, and its government's cooperation is key to fighting trans-national drug cartels and organized crime. Furthermore, the U.S. would lose a key regional ally in its efforts to restore democracy in Venezuela.  Continue reading...