Welcome

Welcome to the special section on Latin America, covering all the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries from Rio Grande to Cape Horn. Latin America is a striving region, with many countries aiming at a developed status in the near future, while at the same time facing enormous challenges in inequality, education, and government. The region also supports a great wealth of biodiversity. With generally less resources for research and a more difficult path for technology transfer when compared to developed countries, we aimed at highlighting the excellent level of research in computer science that flourishes in the region, both on basic research and on problems that are unique to Latin America. We launched a general call for contributions welcoming research and development initiatives, large and small, aiming to cover as much as possible the diversity in development along the different countries.