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[i]AQ[/i] Videos: Natural Resource Extraction in Chile, Colombia and Peru
AQ traveled to Colombia, Chile and Peru in 2012 to study natural resource extraction and its effect on social inclusion, made possible with the generous support of the Ford Foundation. On each trip, the team met with mining officials, local government representatives, community leaders, and environmental activists to gain a broad, nuanced and diverse understanding … Read more
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[i]AQ[/i] Q&A: Richard Aborn on Reducing Pretrial Detention Rates
Richard M. Aborn, president of the consulting firm CAAS LLC, speaks with Americas Quarterly about the consequences of high pretrial detention rates in the Americas, and explores ways of rethinking pretrial detention so that it can be made more equitable. “People linger in jail for years and years because of their poverty,” Aborn says. Poor defendants cannot … Read more
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Mining Tensions in Peru and Argentina
The mining boom has brought huge economic benefits to some of Latin America’s least developed countries. But in big mining countries like Colombia and Bolivia the industry’s success is accompanied by an increase in protests, violence and human rights abuses. Not everyone has been able to share in the wealth created by mining—and in many … Read more
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Cuba and Cholera: Good Hygiene and Good Government Can Save Lives
Almost five months ago, the Cuban government announced the end of a cholera outbreak in eastern Cuba. At the time, Cuba’s Public Health Ministry blamed the three deaths and 417 cases on overflowing toilets, heavy rains and contaminated wells. According to the government, thanks to its prompt reaction and the quality of the country’s public … Read more
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The Economic Reality Facing Nicolás Maduro
Hugo Chávez engineered an electoral budget boom on steroids to win the 2012 presidential election. His economic strategy resulted in a significant appreciation of the real exchange rate, an increase in imports to a historical peak, and a considerable increase in public wages. Facing a strong contender in Henrique Capriles—and the limits to his campaign … Read more
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Haiti Three Years After the Earthquake
Haitians in Haiti and throughout its Diaspora will gather on January 12 for a day of remembrance to honor the quarter-million people who lost their lives as a result of the earthquake three years ago. The tremendous international response to the earthquake brought a degree of hope amid the devastation. But on the three-year anniversary, … Read more
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The 2012 Gay Year in Review: The Top-20 Stories from the Americas
In 2012 the Western Hemisphere continued to make headlines in terms of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights. The courts in Colombia and Mexico and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights emerged as LGBT champions, while transgender rights advanced in Argentina and Canada. An openly lesbian woman entered the cabinet in Ecuador, and another … Read more
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Venezuela’s Regional Elections and the Implications for the Opposition
While President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela remains in Cuba recovering from his fourth cancer surgery on the island, millions of his supporters delivered a solid political victory for his party in the country’s regional elections on December 16. Of the 23 governorships that exist in Venezuela, the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party—PSUV) … Read more
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Maduro is No Chávez, For Now
After much speculation President Hugo Chávez announced on December 8 that his cancer was back (for the second time in a year), and that he now had a person in mind to succeed him—Nicolás Maduro, the minister of foreign affairs who was elevated to vice president in October 2012. Designating Maduro as the official successor … Read more
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The United States: Good Neighbors, Finally, toward Latin America
Every presidential candidate pledges, as Mitt Romney recently did, to do more to “focus on Latin America” and “take advantage” of the “huge opportunities” there. It’s been a long time since one followed through. Even by the standards of campaign promises, this one has become so empty that it hardly registers. It’s not that candidates … Read more
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An Opportunity for Mexico’s New President, Enrique Peña Nieto
In a recent encounter between one of the authors and Arnold Schwarzenegger, long-time actor and former governor of California (2003-2011), he offered a stinging rebuke about California’s neighbor to the south. “When is Mexico going to wake up?” Schwarzenegger opined. “It is with great natural resources and great people. I have filmed movies there and … Read more
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Get the Story Right: Time for Stories of Fading U.S. Interest to Fade
It gets tiresome hearing the constant assertions by reporters and analysts that U.S. influence in the Americas is ebbing. Not only are they wrong—let alone trite, by now—they miss the actual complexity (and yes, maturity) of U.S. diplomacy in the region today. Ironically, much of evidence cited for “declining U.S. power” is rooted in … Read more
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OAS’s Electoral Observation: Evolving to Good
This year the Organization of Americas States (OAS) marks 50 years of observing electoral processes in the region and–more recently–beyond. Those efforts have helped strengthen democracy and have become critical tools and functions for the OAS and other international organizations. Over the course of the last half century we have professionalized the work and have … Read more
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The Middle Classes and Foreign Policy: Engaging in it but not Changing it…Yet
As the middle class grows in Latin America’s prospering democracies, especially in prominent and globalizing states like Brazil and Mexico, citizens are growing more aware of the wider world they live in. Through ever expanding travel, trade, migration and international communications, they are discovering new lands and languages and building networks next door and around … Read more
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Chile’s Municipal Elections: Everyone Loses, but the Ruling Coalition Loses More
The center-right ruling Alianza coalition led by President Sebastián Piñera suffered a setback in the municipal elections held on October 28. A year before the presidential election, prospects for the Alianza look grimmer. The Piñera administration—inaugurated two weeks after the devastating February 2010 earthquake—is now confronting the political aftershocks of his coalition’s losses and hoping … Read more
