Right-wing billionaire Sebastián Piñera led the presidential race in Chile's general elections on Dec. 13 with about 44% of the vote, followed by the candidate of the ruling center-left Concertation coalition, the Christian Democratic former president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (1994-2000), with about 30%. The two candidates will face each other in a runoff on Jan. 17, with both seeking votes from supporters of former Socialist deputy Marco Enríquez Ominami, who came in third with 20%; he has refused to endorse either of the front-runners. Jorge Arrate of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh), in fourth place with 5% of the vote, threw his support to Frei after the voting on Dec. 13. (Agence France Presse, Dec. 14)

Former navy captain Alfredo Astiz AKA "Blond Angel of Death" went on trial Dec. 10 with 18 other former police and military officers charged with crimes against humanity during Argentina's 1976-1983 "dirty war." Astiz, whose nickname came from his cherubic looks when in the 1970s he infiltrated human rights groups whose members were later abducted, is charged in the killings of two French nuns, and the disappearance of dozens—including an Argentine journalist, a Swedish adolescent, and the founder of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo movement, Azucena Villaflor. With his co-defendants, Astiz is accused of overseeing abuses at the Navy Mechanics School detention center. Dozens of people, among them relatives of people who disappeared, attended the opening of the trial, holding pictures of the victims. (BBC News, Dec. 12; AFP, Dec. 11)

Honking car horns and waving flags in a heavy rain, tens of thousands of Uruguayans gathered on Montevideo's main avenues the evening of Nov. 29 to celebrate the victory of José "Pepe" Mujica in that day's runoff election for the presidency. According to projections based on early returns, Mujica, the candidate of the center-left Broad Front (Frente Amplio, FA), had won 50.1-51.6% of the votes, against 44.4-46.2% for former president Luis Alberto Lacalle (1990-1995) of the center-right National Party. Mujica had been heavily favored in opinion polls, and Lacalle quickly conceded in a televised address.

Israel's Knesset Nov. 29 unanimously approved a resolution demanding that Argentina extradite those military officers involved in mass killings during the country's 1976-1983 military dictatorship so that they can be put on trial. MK Yossi Sarid (Meretz) proposed the move, saying that it was a "hypocritical discussion since all the facts have long been known and the government of Israel never once lifted a finger and cooperated with the Argentine murders because of their interest in arms deals."

The Argentine Senate on Nov. 19 voted 57-1 to approve a law that would authorize the government to obtain DNA samples from individuals suspected to have been born to forced disappearance victims of the 1976-1983 "Dirty War." The law will amend Article 218 of the Criminal Penal Code to allow minimal biological samples to be taken from a person to determine identity, authorizing judges to issue warrants to obtain samples using the least coercive methods necessary. Controversy around the law stemmed from issues of consent and right to privacy, as well as an individual's right to refuse knowledge of their biological parents.

Amnesty International has called on Brazilian and Paraguayan authorities to redouble their efforts to find an indigenous teacher who has been missing since Oct. 30, following a violent eviction of activists on the border between the two nations. Fears for the life of the teacher, Rolindo Vera, have intensified following the discovery of the badly bruised body of his cousin and fellow indigenous teacher, Genivaldo Vera, in a nearby river.

Populist leaders in Latin America increasingly use legal and political means to silence critics in the media, Enrique Santos Calderón, president of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), said Nov. 6. Tactics include revoking broadcast licenses, fostering hostility toward journalists, and giving a free hand to government supporters who have attacked broadcast stations, newsrooms and printing plants. "We are extremely concerned at the growing level in recent weeks of harassment and violence in various countries," Calderón said at IAPA's annual meeting in Buenos Aires. "Democratic systems require a free and unfettered press."

Paraguay's President Fernando Lugo fired the head of the armed forces Nov. 6, two days after he sacked the commanders of the army, navy and air force amid rumors of a coup. Rear Admiral Ciber Benitez was replaced him with Gen. Juan Oscar Velázquez, who was dismissed as army commander. Before the shake-up, Lugo warned that there were "pockets of coup-plotters" in the armed forces. However, a statement issued by the president's office said the changes were part of a "normal and legal administrative process" that should not be considered any indictment on the officers' record. The statement said "there is no reason they should be the subject of speculation."