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After an election process that lasted almost a year and a half—and was marred by fraud and controversy—Haiti’s new president, Michel Martelly, takes office in May. In the words of former U.S. President Bill Clinton, now United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti, President Martelly will face the daunting task of “building back better.” The challenge … Read more

When trade relations between Argentina and China hit choppy waters early last year, a new partner suddenly appeared on the horizon. In April 2010, Beijing stopped buying Argentine soybean oil in retaliation for Argentina’s restrictions on Chinese imports. That could have dealt a serious blow: Argentina is the world’s largest exporter of soybean oil, and … Read more

This is the first article I have written since leaving the foreign ministry of Brazil. As someone who was very active in formulating foreign policy during what might be called “the Lula era” (and still without the benefit of much hindsight), it is an opportunity to begin taking stock of what has been achieved so … Read more

The formal name of the Statue of Liberty, which has greeted visitors sailing into New York harbor since 1886, is “Liberty Enlightening the World.” A bronze tablet inside the statue’s pedestal displays a poem by Emma Lazarus that reads, in part, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free/The wretched refuse … Read more

Thirty years ago, Canada lowered its import tariffs on European shoes. Now, Canadian shoemakers are pushing for full tariff elimination. Why? They want cheaper access to European manufacturing machinery. After three decades of sizing up the competition, Canadian manufacturers have established a comparative advantage on shoe models that can compete in European markets—and they need … Read more

According to the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics, half of Brazil’s estimated 60 million poor have entered the lower middle class in recent years. But the country still faces the daunting task of sustaining this trend and overcoming deeply rooted social and economic injustice. This challenge is brought into sharp focus in Adalberto Moreira … Read more

Over four decades ago, South America experienced a dark period of home-grown terrorism led by socialist revolutionary groups, whose armed rebellion in turn sparked military dictatorships and state terrorism on a massive scale. By the 1970s, one Argentine group, the Montoneros, stood out from the rest. They had amassed significant clout, with a membership that … Read more

The Cold War was marked by relative stability in the relationship between the superpowers and their European allies and dependencies, but scarred by bloody tumult in most of the rest of the world. Other than Vietnam, the blood ran thickest in Latin America. In Latin America’s Cold War, Hal Brands, a security historian and assistant … Read more

Mexico is squarely on the global map of haute cuisine thanks to the pioneering work of the Instituto Culinario de México (ICUM) in Puebla. Launched in 1994 in the home of founder Giovanna Medina, ICUM now boasts over 1,500 graduates, including some of the region’s most talented and prize-winning chefs. Students come from all over … Read more

The phrase “Taiñ Azkintun” in the Mapudungun language of the Mapuche people of Chile translates into English as “our view.” It is also the name of an innovative arts training program, launched in 2010, to teach young indigenous Chileans—who constitute 4 percent of the national population—how to capture their ideas and experiences on video. The … Read more