Mexico’s Foreign Policy Agenda in Central America
In the past decade, Mexico has made strengthening ties with Latin America a top priority, reorienting its gaze from north to south. This is the product of two factors: criticism that Mexico was ignoring its southern neighbors, and strategic concern over Brazil’s assertion of leadership in the region. Starting in the 1990s with the implementation … Read more
What’s Putin’s Game in the Western Hemisphere?
Click here to read a sidebar on Russian arms sales to Latin America. Haz click aquí para leer una versión de este artículo en español. When President Vladimir Putin announced plans to visit Latin America, most observers would have been right to conclude that it reflected Russia’s renewed interest in building ties with a region … Read more
Re-Thinking the OAS: A Forum
Growing regional divisions between—but not limited to—the north and the rest of the hemisphere and the emergence of new regional organizations have focused attention on the role and purpose of the 66-year-old Organization of American States (OAS). This discussion comes as the 10-year term of the much-criticized Secretary General José Miguel Insulza draws to an … Read more
Brazil’s Global Ambitions
When President Dilma Rousseff first took office in 2010, Brazil’s future looked exceptionally bright. For nearly a decade, the country had benefited from Asia’s enormous appetite for its commodities. This allowed Brazil to reduce poverty and expand the middle class while at the same time sustaining a remarkable growth rate, becoming the seventh largest economy … Read more
Latin America’s New Era of Regionalism
The twenty-first century has witnessed a change of era in Latin American regional governance projects. Those projects seek—explicitly or implicitly—to reduce the influence of countries north of the Rio Grande in political, economic and social processes and outcomes in the region. With these regional policy initiatives has come a new academic focus on diplomacy and … Read more
A Post-Hegemonic Paradise in Latin America?
Click here to view the table of contents for the Winter 2015 issue of AQ. As Latin America tries to get a better grip on the precise contours of the post-Great Recession world order, a few assumptions have calcified into conventional wisdom. The first assumption is that the United States is no longer the hegemonic … Read more
Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico Sign Bilateral Agreement
Dominican President Danilo Medina arrived in Puerto Rico yesterday to meet with Puerto Rican Governor Alejandro García Padilla in a series of meetings aimed at creating stronger ties between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, as well as improving relations in Latin America and the Caribbean. New agreements were also aimed specifically at expanding the … 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
The Decline of U.S. Power?
Articles: A Post-Hegemonic Paradise in Latin America? by Daniel W. Drezner How the region can turn a multipolar world to its advantage, and stay friendly with the U.S. Full text available. Latin America and UN Climate Talks: Not in Harmony by Guy Edwards and Timmons Roberts COP15 and the fissures inside the Latin American bloc. … Read more
Chile Refuses Mediation in Bolivia Sea Access Dispute
Chilean Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz said yesterday in a press conference that the country rejected any possible mediation from the Pope in a dispute with Bolivia over sovereign access through Chile to the Pacific Ocean that dates back to the nineteenth century. Muñoz’s comments came after Bolivian President Evo Morales’ statement on Sunday that Pope … 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
U.S.–Cuba Agreement: Diplomacy At Its Best
That there would be a thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations seemed inevitable. After all, the Cold War ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, and the Castro brothers are getting on in years. And yet, there is a sense that a new era is beginning with the joint Barack Obama–Raúl Castro announcement, and … Read more
Cuba Releases Alan Gross on Humanitarian Grounds
Cuba released 65-year-old former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contractor Alan Gross from prison today on humanitarian grounds, paving the way for normalizing relations between the U.S. and Cuba. Gross was sentenced to 15 years in prison for alleged espionage after he was arrested in December 2009 for bringing satellite equipment to Cuba. This … Read more
Ecuadorian Lawyers take Chevron to Canadian Courts
A group of lawyers representing Ecuadorian villagers asked Canada’s Supreme Court on Thursday to try their decades-long case against Chevron in Canadian courts. The lawyers, led by primary attorney Steven Donzinger, are seeking compensation of about $9.5 billion dollars, granted by a judge in Ecuador for environmental damages in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Whether or not … Read more
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