The week at a glance ... Americas

Mexico City

Catholic group reformed: The Vatican has taken direct control of Mexico’s most powerful Catholic order, the Legionaries of Christ, saying its founder was an “immoral man” with “no true religious sentiment.” It emerged recently that the group’s founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, who died in 2008, was a serial sex abuser of young boys, including his own illegitimate sons. The Vatican said it would rewrite the Legion’s constitution to eliminate the code of obedience that allowed Maciel to hide his “true crimes.” But some victims say the edict doesn’t go far enough and that the group’s current leaders, who were appointed by Maciel and covered up his abuses, should be removed. In 1998, Pope Benedict XVI, then a cardinal, did not defrock Maciel when he learned of the abuse. Benedict’s supporters note that Maciel had powerful defenders, including then–Pope John Paul II.

La Paz, Bolivia

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Power to the people: Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalized four electrical companies this week, further cementing state control of the economy. “Basic services cannot be a private business,” said Morales, a socialist with close ties to Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez. “We’re recovering the energy, the light, for all Bolivians.” He said the state now owns 80 percent of electrical production and will soon control all of it. France, which was part owner of one of the nationalized plants, demanded “prompt and adequate compensation” for its loss.

Ponta Pora, Brazil

Lawless border: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo met this week in one of the most dangerous spots along their mutual border to highlight the burgeoning drug-trafficking problem. The twin towns of Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay, and Punta Pora, Brazil, form a notorious nexus of the marijuana and cocaine trade where kidnappings and shootings are common. Just last week, gunmen believed to be Brazilians shot up the car of a Paraguayan senator, killing his driver and bodyguard. Lula said his own security detail had warned him against going to the area. “But we need to show ourselves here,” Lula said, “to prove that honest people outnumber the drug traffickers.”