Monday Memo: Peru-Chile Relations—Panama Hydroelectric Dam—Guatemala-Honduras Customs—São Paulo Drought—Venezuela Conspiracy Charges
Allegations of Espionage Threaten Peru-Chile Relations: Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz announced on Sunday that Chilean Ambassador Roberto Ibarra would not return to his post in Peru in light of the country’s espionage complaints against Chile. On Friday, Peruvian Ambassador Francisco Rojas Samanez was recalled to Lima after Peruvian prosecutors claimed that several Peruvian … Read more
AQ Slideshow: El Bote at Cambalache: Life at a Landfill
“El Bote” is a fitting name for a large, now-defunct landfill in the community of Cambalache, along the Orinoco River in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. The Indigenous people known as the Warao rely on El Bote—often translated as “the can” or “throw away”—for their livelihood. The Warao once lived far up the Amazon River, but years … Read more
Costa Rica to Invest $100 Million to Modernize Border Crossings
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved $100 million dollars for Costa Rica to modernize its border-crossing infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday. The plan seeks to bolster trade competitiveness at Costa Rica’s four border crossings with Nicaragua and Panama. In late 2014, Nicaragua completed the construction of a bridge at the Las Tablillas … Read more
Resource Extraction and Protest in Peru
Resource extraction—and especially mining—has powered Peru’s economic growth and driven the country’s social investment policies since the 1990s. Since its transition to democracy in 2001, Peru has seen its gdp more than double. However, the benefits of this growth haven’t been distributed equally, and increasing reliance on the extractive industry has brought rising levels of … Read more
Family Farming: Accomplishments and Next Steps
In the past 20 years, Latin America and the Caribbean have seen the most dramatic decline in malnutrition of any developing region. The percentage of undernourished people in the region has fallen by almost two-thirds since the early 1990s, and currently stands at 6.1 percent. The region has not only met the UN Millenium Development … Read more
Latin America and UN Climate Talks: Not in Harmony
When it comes to climate change, Latin American citizens and their leaders get the big picture. According to surveys, the region’s citizens are very worried about global warming, and its leaders frequently cite climate change as a major national security threat at United Nations conferences. However, the consensus appears to largely end there. National positions … 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
I’m No Scientist, But It’s Sure Hot in Rio
In last night’s State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama spoke about climate change (among many other things) and challengd climate change skeptics who “try to dodge the evidence by saying they’re not scientists.” “Well, I’m not a scientist, either,” Obama said. “But you know what? I know a lot of really good … Read more
Policy Updates
A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.
Dispatches: Amazonas, Brazil
Glenn Cheney on the life-and-death struggle of Indigenous Tenharim to preserve their land and their resources. (slideshow available)
Geothermal Energy Potential Unleashed at COP20
Debates about renewable energy rarely focus on geothermal energy, despite its impressive potential. However, this may be changing: on December 8, the Geothermal Development Facility (GDF) was launched during the UN climate change talks in Lima, Peru, mobilizing $1 billion towards geothermal development across Latin America. Geothermal reservoirs are located on tectonic plate boundaries or … Read more
Peru Shares Proposal for Reducing Emissions
Peruvian Minister of the Environment Manuel Pulgar-Vidal, who is presiding over this year’s United Nations summit on climate change in Lima, said on Tuesday that building a national carbon inventory will be his country’s first step for reducing emissions and formulating an “intended nationally determined contribution” (INDC), which countries will submit March 2015. INDCs, developed at … Read more
UN Climate Change Delegates Under Pressure to Reach Consensus
On assuming the presidency of the 20th Conference of Parties (COP20) annual climate change conference in Lima on Monday, Peruvian Minister of the Environment Manuel Pulgar-Vidal reminded delegates from 194 countries that they should seize the opportunity to reach a global consensus to reduce emissions ahead of next year’s Paris agreement. “Never has it been … Read more
Climate Change: COP 20 in Peru
As host of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in December, Peru has assumed a challenging burden. Ministers and high representatives of 195 countries and international organizations, along with roughly 15,000 visitors, will gather in Lima to mark the 20th annual session of the Conference of the Parties (known as COP 20)—the governing body … Read more
Policy Updates
A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.
