The week at a glance...Americas

Mexico City

A woman running: The ruling party in Mexico has picked a woman as its presidential candidate, a milestone in a country that denied women the vote until 1953. Josefina Vázquez Mota, an economist and former congresswoman, will stand for the National Action Party, or PAN, in July’s presidential elections. Vázquez Mota gained fame with her 1999 book God, Please Make Me A Widow, a feminist manifesto urging women to work and develop their potential. A devout Catholic married to her high school sweetheart, Vázquez Mota said she encountered plenty of sexism while seeking the nomination. “One of the hardest questions I have been asked is, ‘How will you manage the army if you are having menstrual cramps?’”

Panama City

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Bring us your corrupt: Panama has become the go-to asylum destination for indicted former Latin American officials. Last week it demonstrated why when it turned down Colombia’s request to extradite former spy chief María del Pilar Hurtado, who faces charges of tapping phones and falsifying documents to benefit her boss, former President Álvaro Uribe. Hurtado is now safe, and she has plenty of company. Also enjoying asylum in Panama are former Presidents Jorge Serrano Elías of Guatemala and Abdalá Bucaram of Ecuador. Haitian strongman Raoul Cédras, who ousted Jean-Bertrand Aristide in a 1991 coup and whose troops killed thousands of civilians, has been lounging comfortably in Panama since 1994.

Salvador, Brazil

When police go on strike: Criminals are on a spree in the Brazilian city of Salvador, where one third of the police force walked off the job last week. The murder rate has doubled, and robberies and violent crimes are up. This week, the federal government sent soldiers to patrol the city. The chronically underpaid police force is striking for a huge salary increase and better working conditions, and officers say they will boycott upcoming Carnival celebrations unless their demands are met. “Without us to patrol the streets, Carnival would be chaos. It would be so deadly, it’d be impossible,” said state police officer Iosvaldo Cardoso de Jesus. Hundreds of his fellow officers have barricaded themselves inside the state legislature building to draw attention to their cause.

Jorge Montt Glacier, Chile

On the rocks: Chilean police arrested a man last week for harvesting 5 tons of ice from a protected glacier. Police said the unidentified man was carrying the ice in a refrigerated truck headed for Santiago, where he hoped to sell it to fancy restaurants and bars as gourmet ice cubes. The man has been charged with theft and may also be charged with violating a national monument. Jorge Montt, part of a national park, is retreating by half a mile a year, making it one of the world’s fastest-shrinking glaciers.