The world at a glance . . . Americas

Mexico City

Yellow underwear: The dismal economy had a major impact on Mexicans’ choice of underwear last week. It’s traditional for Mexican women to buy new underpants to wear on New Year’s Day for good luck. Most buy red ones, which are said to help the wearer find love in the new year. But this year, yellow panties—which symbolize gold, or wealth—outsold red by a margin of two to one, El Universal reported. It’s not surprising that more Mexicans are seeking money instead of love: Mexico’s economy was the hardest hit in all of Latin America last year, shrinking by more than 7 percent. Remittances by Mexicans living in the U.S. to their families back home dropped by more than 15 percent.

Quito, Ecuador

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U.S. conspiracy? Right-wing extremists in the United States are conspiring to bring down Ecuador’s government, President Rafael Correa charged this week. Correa said Patriot League Party leader Gilmar Gutiérrez—the brother of former President Lucio Gutiérrez—was planning a coup and had been “receiving help not just from the U.S. government but from U.S. right-wing organizations.” He said the Americans were also behind recent anti-government protests by indigenous groups in Ecuador. “This is the new method for destabilizing progressive governments that don’t want to follow orders from a foreign master,” he said. Correa, a socialist, is close to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.