Fair Observer's five best Latin America articles of 2012.

1: The Fallacy of Female-Friendly Urban Spaces in Latin America — Alex McAnarney

The outlook on sexual violence in Latin America stays grim, despite great efforts in urban planning and law.

2: An Era of Chavez — Trevor Cohen

Chavez: love him for his benevolence, hate him for his megalomania, but heed the dangers of his era.

3: Brazil’s New Economy — Jeremy Wellington

Brazil has captured a decade of steady export growth within an emergent middle class, strengthening the domestic economy and protecting its people from stagnation in Europe and the US, as well as from the slowdown in China and India.

4: Tango: A Metaphor for Argentine Culture — Julián Chappa

Tango has had a phenomenal influence, not only in Argentina, but around the world.

5: The Chavez Administration and the Demise of Citizen Security in Venezuela — Daniela Alzuru

How in times of drastically increasing violence in Venezuela citizen security has become a private good.