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This mix of substance and style has won the journal a loyal following; it is the most widely read English-language magazine on Latin American affairs. Most of the work is commissioned, says Ballv?, from academics and journalists who are happy to write for a periodical that affords them the space to dig deep. 'The result is a form of intelligent journalism that's pretty rare,' Ballv? says.

In addition to shorter reports from various regions, the magazine typically collects related articles in a feature section. A recent issue explored Caribbean politics, with articles ranging from a report on the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Haiti to a study of Jamaican gang violence. Another ambitious package called 'The Bio Politic' offered wide-ranging analysis of international politics and biology, including the appropriation of native plants, the global trade in human tissue, and the use of digital technology to enforce borders.

NACLA has served as a catalyst for activism in the United States, although that work has languished as the organization struggled for survival. 'We began our life as a hybrid activist organization,' explains Steve Volk, who has been with NACLA since 1969 and sits on the board. The information in the NACLA Report forms one arm of its activism; the other consisted of building networks among organizations interested in Latin American policy. 'We had a staff of 8 or 10 people on two coasts,' Volk says. But as budget pressures constricted the staff, 'we withdrew more and more into the office and we lost that vital connection with the grass roots.'

In recent years, the organization has taken steps to reconnect, beginning with a dramatic turnover in staff. Editor Ballv?, 27, represents the new face of the organization. 'We brought a lot of younger people on board,' he says, 'so the organization could take a new direction. We are a new generation of activists, arising in part from the Seattle World Trade Organization protests, and we're building new, organic ties to the wider movement.'

A central tool in creating these ties is NACLA's web presence. The group is about to launch a new site that will add breaking-news reports to the NACLA Report's in-depth coverage. It will also, says Volk, help to forge ties between activists in the United States and Latin America.

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