Four South American countries are holding elections Sunday topped by the presidential election in Uruguay.
There, leftist candidate Tabare Vazquez is widely favored to win the presidency by more than the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff. Analysts say his Broad Front coalition could also win majorities in Uruguay's Congress.
Anger over Uruguay's recent economic crisis is expected to hurt candidates from the traditional ruling parties, the Blanco and the Colorado.
Meanwhile, Brazil is holding municipal elections, with the ruling Workers Party expected to lose control of the country's largest city, Sao Paulo.
In Venezuela, President Hugo Chavez is looking to gain allies through state governor and district mayor elections.
And municipal elections in Chile are largely seen as a test of whether the ruling center-left coalition can win next year's presidential race.
Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters and AFP.