The NYTimes has a front page story on Ecuador today: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/13/international/americas/13ECUA.html
In Ecuador's Banana Fields, Child Labor Is Key to Profits By JUAN FORERO ... "The presence of children on the plantation of a man who may win Ecuador's presidential election in October is one of the more glaring examples of how enduring the use of child labor remains in Latin America, where some 42 million children from ages 5 to 14 have been estimated to be working in recent years. ... Growers and exporters here, who supply 25 percent of the bananas eaten in the United States, say the product earns them about 30 percent less today than a decade ago, often prompting them to turn a blind eye to labor codes. Child labor is common on plantations, large and small."
Still I see no need to soft-peddle the cultural and political repression of Castro's Cuba. Elsewhere in Latin America, Bolivia seems to be turning Chavez's way and the Brazilian left's drive for the presidency is inspiring. Argentina and Mexico are both dealing with the legacy of Cold War anti-leftist governments.
"BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, July 10 — A judge on Wednesday ordered the arrest of former junta leader Leopoldo Galtieri as part of a probe into human rights abuses during Argentina's dictatorship." http://famulus.msnbc.com/FamulusIntl/ap07-10-193056.asp?reg=AMERICAS
NYTimes Op-Ed: "Meticulously typed notes on millions of index cards are confirming Mexicans' worst suspicions about their nation's recent past. The cards, part of secret archives opened this year by President Vicente Fox, reveal that during the 1960's and 70's Mexico's ostensibly democratic government waged a "dirty war" against leftist student activists, peasant organizers and other dissenters, one as ruthless as those prosecuted by South America's military dictatorships." http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/13/opinion/13SAT2.html
Peter