The week at a glance...Americas

Mexico City

Drop the U.S.: Outgoing President Felipe Calderón has proposed changing the official name of his country from Estados Unidos Mexicanos—the United States of Mexico—to just plain Mexico. After gaining independence from Spain in the 19th century, the country adopted the longer name as an homage to the democratic example of its northern neighbor. “Mexico does not need a name that emulates another country and that none of us Mexicans use every day,” Calderón said. “Mexico is the name that corresponds to the essence of our nation. Pardon the expression, but the name of Mexico is Mexico.” He did not say why he chose to wait until his last week in office to propose the change.

Caracas, Venezuela

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Judge raped: A judge who was jailed after angering President Hugo Chávez was raped while in prison and had an abortion, a new book claims. Judge María Lourdes Afiuni was imprisoned in 2009 after she allowed the release of a businessman who had been charged with subverting currency controls but was held without trial longer than Venezuelan law permits. An enraged Chávez called for her to be given a 30-year sentence, but Afiuni has yet to be tried: She has been in pretrial detention for three years. A book by Francisco Olivares, based on interviews with the judge, details her rape and abortion as well as other abuse, including being cut with blades and burned with cigarettes. Her lawyer confirmed the allegations this week and said Chávez had been informed of them at the time but did nothing.

Rio de Janeiro

Don’t share the wealth: Tens of thousands of protesters marched this week to protest a bill to redistribute some of the nation’s oil royalties from oil-producing states like Rio de Janeiro to the poorer inland regions. Oil producers say they need the revenues to cope with the environmental risks of drilling, as well as to prepare Rio to host the 2014 World Cup in soccer and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Brazil’s Congress has already passed the law, but President Dilma Rousseff signaled this week that she might veto parts of it.

Buenos Aires

Massive ‘dirty war’ trial: Argentina has launched its largest trial ever of alleged human rights abusers. The case, expected to last two years, has 68 defendants facing close to 800 charges of murder, torture, and rape committed during the 1976–83 military dictatorship. Most of the accused are former military officials of the Navy School of Mechanics, a notorious secret detention facility. They include such bigwigs as Jorge “The Tiger” Acosta and Alfredo “The Blond Angel of Death” Astiz, who are both already serving life sentences, as well as lesser figures, like the pilots accused of flying the planes from which torture victims were dropped, sometimes still alive, into the Rio de la Plata-—a favorite regime method of hiding bodies.