-Bolivia is having all kinds of civil unrest. The steep 50% drop in state oil revenues in the past year has caused President Evo Morales to call a press conference asking the general population to officially tighten their belts. Yes, the public is being forced by necessity into doing that right now (like they needed his official proclamation, duh!) but you can bet that no government official will ever follow suit (yup, less 5 star hotels, champagne and caviar maybe?)

-People want to know why some Latin countries (Panama, Ecuador, Belize and El Salvador) use the US dollar as their official funny money. How do those Franklins affect local economies, and what about the dollar effects on the surrounding Latin countries who use their own homegrown funny money?

-With the Latin real estate bubble about ready to pop, it’s definitely a renter’s market. But fresh clueless gringos often don’t get in on the good deals. So then how can you get the best deal on rent? Today, frequent contributor Captain Mango tells us how he got his $650 a month rent sliced all the way down to $250 a month- a 60% reduction!!!

-A “boots on the ground” real estate and cost of living report from Medellin Colombia.

-Did you know that Colombia’s peso has crashed 27% against the dollar in the last year? It’s really causing havoc especially at the border towns. That means many gringo opportunities… but do look out for potholes!!