Across the U.S., the Mexican immigrant community faces countless daily challenges. One of the most pressing is the lack of access to financial services and advice. Just half the nation’s Hispanic population has a bank account and less than 10 percent hold stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
When Colombian journalist Marcella Echavarría wrote to Donna Karan Inc. with a novel proposal, she didn’t expect an answer. Her idea, aimed at creating fairer terms of trade for the Southern Hemisphere, was revolutionary: bring traditional crafts to luxury markets while supporting artisans’ socioeconomic development. But the top fashion house was intrigued and bought the first collection, allowing the 35-year-old Echavarría to launch SURevolution in 2005.
Americas Quarterly speaks with three former Venezuelan mayors who were among the 300 candidates barred from running in last November’s regional elections. Leopoldo López planned to run for mayor of Caracas, while Antonio Barreto and William Méndez hoped to compete for the governorships of Anzoátegui and Táchira, respectively
Fair trade, once the pet cause of social activists, has gone mainstream. As concepts like global awareness and social responsibility penetrate the mass consumer market, “fair trade” labels have spread beyond gourmet shops to neighborhood grocery stores and supermarket aisles. Wide acceptance of the idea that consumers can also help others with their purchases is changing the way we shop, drink and eat. With fair trade-labeled goods, such as coffee, the goal is to raise the incomes of small producers in developing countries by guaranteeing a “fair price” for their goods.
From the perspective of financial markets, the U.S. and even the world, the financial and economic meltdown of October 2008 is already greater than what we saw in the 1980s—something not experienced since the Great Depression. Mervin King, the Governor of the Bank of England, calls it “the largest financial crisis since World War I.” And the long-term effects on the economy are only just becoming apparent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) now forecasts global growth at or below 1 percent (in market prices) in 2009.
On April 17, The Port of Spain, capital of Trinidad and Tobago, will host President Barack Obama’s inaugural visit to Latin America and the Caribbean. Even before Air Force One touches down in this Spanish colonial port, he is assured a warm welcome from the 33 other leaders of member nations of the Organization of American States (OAS) gathered for the Fifth Summit of the Americas.
The movement for transparency in government has made great advances in Mexico since the defeat of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) in 2000. Parallel to the legal and constitutional reforms that opened up reams of government records and even the salaries of public officials, the Internet has improved the tools available for common citizens to … Read more
From afar it looks like an evangelical campaign. Alongside the squat white building that houses the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God in Kathlehong, a poor South African township 16 miles from Johannesburg, a group of young people clad in identical black T-shirts and jeans, carrying leaflets and small packages, chatter quietly. Occasionally, one … Read more
In the past 250 years, five technology waves have swept the world—each one leaving a profound transformative impact. The industrial revolution changed the nature of work. Then came the changes produced by the advent of motorized flight and electronics, followed by the development of aerospace technology. Today we are going through the fifth and arguably … Read more
Look up a definition of the digital divide and you will not find information about patents, trademarks or copyrights. Nor will you find a photo of a trade official or an international bureaucrat. Instead, the explanation will focus on cheap computers, mobile phones and free Internet. There may be some discussion of the skills necessary to use these technologies.
If the new Cuban government has a remarkable resemblance to the old, that’s because they are one and the same. No real change has taken place in Cuba. Yet. The same group that accompanied Fidel and Raúl Castro since their days in the Sierra Maestra—all now senior citizens—remains firmly at the helm of government. They … Read more
On February 19th, Fidel Castro made it official: he was resigning the presidency and ending his 50-year reign over Cuba.
Since 1980 Chile has been at the forefront of the debate over social security reform in Latin America—though not always happily. More than two decades after then-Chilean Labor Minister Jose Piñera announced a ground-breaking plan for individual retirement savings accounts that he promised would lead to “a new political, social, and economic reality,” Chile is … Read more
For many young Latin Americans, a military career is still an attractive route to advancement. In 2006, an average of five applicants registered for each available opening in the region’s military schools. In some countries the proportions were far higher than the average: in Venezuela, the ratio was 20 to 1; and in Brazil it was 37 to 1. But even as a new generation of officers eagerly dons the uniform, the region’s new democracies have not figured out a sustainable strategy to pay for their services, or to build modern military institutions that will keep them usefully occupied.
