Jamaica's famous for its athletes, Italy for its pizzas. Venezuela, which has just bagged the title of Miss Universe for the sixth time, is seemingly making a name for itself in beautiful women. So what is it about the South American state - unrivalled charm, or easily accessible plastic surgeons? Our Observer (see photo), a former Miss Venezuela competitor, explains it all. Read more...

Over 54% of Venezuelan voters opted for Hugo Chavez to be able to stay in power for an indefinite period on Sunday. Our Observers on both sides weigh in...

Mattias Nilson is a mercenary who doesn't care how it gets it; he just wants an explosive reaction... And it seems that he's got a bone to pick with the new Venezuelan head of state. It's just a video game, but it hasn't gone down all too well in Caracas. Read more and see the videos...

“Miranda regresa” (“Miranda Returns”) is the first major film produced by President Hugo Chavez’s state-run production company. A historical saga, it depicts the life of Francisco de Miranda, leader of Venezuela's independence struggle against Spanish colonialism at the turn of the nineteenth century. Miranda dreamed of creating a republic called Colombia that would have covered a large chunk of South America. Read more...

Since the Colombian army marched into Ecuador to kill the FARC rebel group's number two Raul Reyes, a three-way brawl has erupted between presidents Chavez, Correa and Uribe. Comments from our Observers in Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador...

Material compiled by Cristiano de Sa Fagundes, our regional editor for Latin America.

Hugo Chavez counted on the people to support his constitutional reform. But the people didn't follow. This is the first time the Venezuelan president has been defeated since he was elected. The event was thoroughly celebrated by his opponents and closely watched by bloggers throughout Latin America.
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Post your questions to contributing bloggers: Emiliano Crespo (Mexico), Nelson Franco Jobim (Brazil), Freddy Armas (Venezuela).

A civil servant of the electoral centre filmed Hugo Chavez all smiles as voting came to a close.

Video posted on 2 december

Material compiled by our regional editor for South America, Cristiano de Sa Fagundes

To negotiate the fate of the FARC hostages - including French-Colombian citizen Ingrid Betancourt -Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez relied on the contacts of Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba. The Chavez-Cordoba relationship and their intervention in the hostage case sparked heated online discussions in the two countries. And Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's decision to put an end to the negotiations has only fuelled the debate.