Portillo: from Prisoner to Political Return?
Former Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo could be set for a stunning return to the political arena in the country’s upcoming elections in September. Portillo will be released from federal prison in the U.S. in February, having served less than 12 months of his six-year sentence for conspiracy to launder $2.5 million—money he received from the … Read more
Venezuela’s Post-Chávez Foreign Policy
President Nicolás Maduro inherited a dramatically changed country—and economic situation—when he came to power following Chávez’ death from cancer in 2013. Within a year of Maduro’s election in March 2013, oil prices had started a steady decline. And as investment in the industry also dropped, production fell to 2.62 million barrels per day (bpd) from … Read more
Fighting Corruption: Easy to Promise, Hard to Achieve
The disappearance and apparent murder of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico, last September is a stark reminder of how organized crime and corruption are intertwined. The students were arrested by police officers allegedly sent by the mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, to intercept their buses on their way to a demonstration. Reportedly, the students … Read more
Mexico After Ayotzinapa: Ya Me Cansé, Por Eso Propongo
Translated by Paulina Suárez-Hesketh The Ayotzinapa case (in which 43 students were disappeared by local government forces in the city of Iguala, Mexico) has galvanized an unexpected amount of social energy in Mexico. The healthy civic agitation that followed the case, along with the countless expressions of protest and dissatisfaction, reveal the desires of a … Read more
Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics
This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more
Is This The Return of Barack Obama?
If there is one thing consistent about President Barack Obama, it’s his ability to defy the odds. His nomination over Hillary Clinton in 2008 and his eventual election as president made history. His seventh State of the Union speech, delivered on Tuesday, clearly showed his intention to resist any lame-duck status as he enters the … Read more
New Study Ranks Democracy in Latin America
Only two countries in Latin America—Costa Rica and Uruguay—can be considered “full democracies,” according to an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study commissioned by BBC for Democracy Day on January 20. The report says that a majority of Latin American countries hold “free and fair” elections and are better ranked than their counterparts in the Middle … Read more
Amid Turmoil, Evans Paul Becomes Haiti’s New Prime Minister
Evans Paul took office yesterday as Haiti’s new prime minister amid continued political uncertainty after Parliament was dissolved on Tuesday. Paul, a former journalist, former mayor of Port-au-Prince and presidential candidate, was nominated by Haitian President Michel Martelly to replace Laurent Lamothe, who stepped down as the country’s prime minister in December. Florence Duperval Guillaume … Read more
Harper, Mulcair, Trudeau: 2015 Election Showdown
Shortly after winning his first majority government in 2011 (he won two minority governments in 2006 and 2008), Conservative Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper passed legislation to set the next election date no later than October 19, 2015. In a pre-holiday interview, Harper reiterated his commitment to holding the next general election on that … Read more
Monday Memo: Haiti Deadlock – Cuba Prisoners – PEMEX – U.S. Gay Marriage – China and CELAC
This week’s likely top stories: Haiti attempts to negotiate its way out of political deadlock; Cuba frees 53 political prisoners, holding up its end of the rapprochement deal with U.S.; Mexico cuts funding to PEMEX causing major oil sector layoffs; the U.S. Supreme court declines to review a challenge to Louisiana’s gay marriage ban; China … Read more
U.S.-Mexico Relations: The Gifts of Three Kings?
More than Christmas, Three Kings Day on Tuesday was the holiday to celebrate if you come from Latin America. Starting in Mexico and going south, the holiday—the Dia de los Reyes Magos—commemorates the New Testament story in Matthew that describes the visit of three wise men to Bethlehem to see the newborn baby Jesus. Each … Read more
Policy Updates
A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.
Guatemalan Genocide Trial Suspended Indefinitely
The resumption of the genocide trial against former Guatemalan president Efraín Ríos Montt ended as confusingly as it began, in a theatrical first day of renewed proceedings on Monday. Following a three-judge panel’s 2-1 vote that determined that court president Irma Jeannette Valdéz was too biased to judge the case, the trial was suspended for … Read more
Mario Cuomo: Poetry and Prose in Politics
The phrase “campaigning in poetry and governing in prose” was coined by the late and former New York governor, Mario Cuomo. In the interests of full disclosure, I have been an admirer of Mario Cuomo ever since he gave the keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention. Since he passed away on January 1, … Read more
AQ Video: Entrevista con Sergio Dahbar
Americas Quarterly habló con el periodista venezolano-argentino Sergio Dahbar durante su visita a Nueva York sobre el estado de la libertad de expresión en Venezuela. Nacido en Argentina, Dahbar trabajó en el diario venezolano El Nacional durante 20 años, donde sigue siendo columnista. Es además fundador de la revista El Librero y de los sellos editoriales … Read more
