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Latin America is all too familiar with financial volatility. The policy tools developed by Latin American central bankers and economic policymakers in response to previous crises will therefore serve them well today. But those tools still need to be improved. The boom-bust tendency of liberalized financial and capital markets has again been evident in recent … Read more

With every passing year, Latin American media confront more restrictions on their freedom. While outright state censorship has declined since democratization (though intimidation by private groups such as the Mexican drug cartels has grown), governments are increasingly influencing which stories are reported and how they are covered. This worrisome trend is the subject of The … Read more

Bogotá is 8,500 feet closer to the stars, or so goes the city motto. But Bogotá boasts more than just beautiful Andean views and year-round spring-like weather. The array of cultural and gastronomic offerings makes the city one of the best-kept secrets in South America. 1) Salseando. For the un-initiated, Bogotá’s club scene—a mix of … Read more

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a booming business in Latin America. Major companies like the Chilean copper giant Codelco and the Brazilian energy multinational Petrobras proudly use their environmental stewardship and good labor practices to demonstrate that their corporate operations are aligned with social goals. Across the region, Latin American firms are making social investments … Read more

The perennial argument over social policy—universalism versus targeted subsidies to the poor—is once again galvanizing policymakers and scholars across the region. In recent decades, Latin American governments have generally inclined toward limited social assistance programs, but that model is increasingly under attack in a continent where high levels of inequality continue to be endemic.

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Twelve Elections: Two Messages The rounds of elections in 2005–2006 carry two messages, the presidents say. The first was positive: Latin Americans remain committed to elections as the path to political change. Even the sharp political differences, clashing political visions exposed by the electoral campaigns, and the persistence of stark inequalities did not dampen citizens’ … Read more

The nations of the Americas have never been as important to each other as they are today. With exponential advances in technology and strong natural connections, our societies are bound together as never before across the full spectrum of human contact. From migration and demographic changes, to a record level of commercial interaction and interdependence, … Read more

The 2007 defeat of comprehensive immigration reform was one of the bitterest and bloodiest routs in recent memory in the U.S. Senate. The President and powerful lawmakers from both parties had invested their reputations in an overhaul. More than a million people had marched in the streets in support. Some 85 percent of the public had an opinion on the legislation. And no one on either side questioned that the immigration system desperately needed an overhaul. Yet after the vote, Congress dropped the issue as if it were radioactive.

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