The Latin American Growth Slowdown
In January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated its growth forecasts—and the news was not uplifting for Latin America and the Caribbean. Average regional growth for 2015 was revised downward from 2.2 percent to 1.3 percent. The report forecast that Brazil, the region’s largest economy, would remain stagnant for another year, while the economies of … Read more
The Caribbean’s Fiscal and Economic Challenges
Pack your bags. The vacation is over. This was the panorama of the Caribbean in 2008 and 2009, when the Great Recession emptied the islands’ beaches of tourists and dried up foreign direct investment for hotels, condos and restaurants. Current account and fiscal deficits widened in many of the Caribbean nations, and belt-tightening was the … Read more
Is Bitcoin Latin America’s Next Big Thing?
The new technology for financial transactions is a boon for people who lack access to traditional banks and financial systems. The historic surge of global Internet access and usage underlines the tremendous potential of the technology known as Bitcoin.* In two decades, the number of Internet users worldwide grew from approximately 25 million in 1994 … Read more
Fresh Look Reviews
Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Brazilian Economy Projected to Suffer Worst Contraction in 25 Years
Brazil’s economy is expected to contract by 0.83 percent this year and inflation to climb to 8.12 percent, according to the Brazilian Central Bank’s weekly survey of financial experts, which was released yesterday. The growth forecast for 2016 was also lowered from 1.3 percent last week to 1.2 percent this week. According to Bruno Rovai, … Read more
Monday Memo: U.S.-Cuba Talks — Colombia Peace Talks — Latin American Currencies — New Uruguayan President — Peruvian Ecotourism
This week’s likely top stories:U.S.-Cuba talks promising; New delegation for FARC peace talks; Dollar strengthens against Latin American currencies; Tabaré Vázquez takes office; Peruvian businesses to learn from Costa Rican ecotourism. U.S.-Cuba Normalization Talks Promising: After two rounds of talks—one in Havana last month and the second in Washington DC on Friday—the U.S. and Cuba … Read more
La barbarie venezolana
El año comenzó con eventos que conmocionaron al mundo y llamaron a reflexionar sobre seguridad, radicalismo y civilización. Venezuela no fue inmune al contexto internacional. El 31 de enero de 2015, Caracas difundió una nota de pesar por el asesinato del periodista japonés Kenji Goto. En tres párrafos, el presidente Nicolás Maduro condenaba “enérgicamente” su decapitación. En las … Read more
Argentina’s Debt: A Conflict of Principles
The reverberations of Argentina’s loss in NML Capital Ltd. vs. Republic of Argentina continue. The conflict stems from a 2012 decision by United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) Judge Thomas Griesa in a case brought by the hedge fund NML Capital Ltd. and others (NML), over $1.3 billion of … Read more
Monday Memo: Haitian Immigrants – Venezuelan Currency Losses – Abortion in Chile – Iguala Relatives in Geneva – Puerto Rico’s Economy
Likely top stories this week: the deadline passes for children of undocumented immigrants to apply for legal status in the Dominican Republic; U.S. companies stand to lose billions of dollars in Venezuelan currency losses; Michelle Bachelet moves to end Chile’s abortion ban; relatives of Mexico’s 43 missing students meet with UN officials in Geneva; Puerto … 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
Maduro Addresses Venezuelans about Faltering Economy
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro made his annual address to the legislature on Wednesday, defending his government’s socialist economic model and accusing the Venezuelan political opposition of waging an “economic war” that has led to the country’s current financial crisis. That crisis has worsened in recent weeks as global oil prices have plummeted and the price … Read more
Monday Memo: Panama Canal – Venezuela Diplomacy – 114th U.S. Congress – Guatemala Trial – Uruguay Elections
This week’s likely top stories: the Panama Canal gears up to expand its Pacific coast facilities; Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro travels to China and OPEC countries; the 114th U.S. Congress starts its session on Tuesday with a Republican majority and plenty of hot button issues for the Americas; the trial of Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos … Read more
Un barril de problemas para Venezuela
Ernesto Villegas, director de propaganda del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (PSUV), aseguró hace dos semanas que si el petróleo venezolano llegase a cotizarse a 7 dólares por barril, la “revolución bolivariana no caería, se fortalecería”. La afirmación parece aventurada, incluso para los dirigentes del chavismo, acostumbrados a permear la realidad nacional con desconexos jingles … Read more
Monday Memo: Brazil Petrobras — Haiti Protests — LatAm Currencies — Guantánamo Prisoners —Mexico Missing Students
This week’s likely top stories: Brazilian prosecutor plans to indict at least 11 in the Petrobras scandal; Haitian protestors in Port-au-Prince demand long-overdue elections; Latin American currencies drop as U.S. job growth surges in November; U.S. releases six Guantánamo prisoners to Uruguay; Meixcan government identifies the remains of one of 43 missing students. Brazilian Prosecutor … Read more
Monday Memo: Peru COP20 — Uruguay Election — Colombia Peace Talks — Venezuela Oil — Cuba GDP
This week’s likely top stories: Global leaders gather in Lima for the COP20 Climate Summit; Tabaré Vázquez wins the runoff presidential election in Uruguay; With FARC hostages released, Colombian peace talks are set to resume in Havana; Venezuela braces for impact as oil prices hit rock bottom; Cuba misses the mark on economic growth in … Read more
