Josefina Vázquez Mota: Mexico’s First Female President?
Last weekend Mexican presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota officially launched her election campaign, as did the other two primary contenders, Enrique Peña Nieto and Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The media have focused on whether Peña Nieto can convince voters that he represents a new Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI, the governing party for 70 years until … Read more
Monday Memo: [i]AQ[/i]’s Top-Five Expected Stories for the Week of March 12-16
Top stories this week are likely to include: U.S. congressional interest in Iranian activity in Latin America; Brazil responds to low 2011 growth numbers; Hugo Chávez returns from Cuba; drug legalization to be a topic of debate at the Summit of the Americas; and Costa Rica and Nicaragua agree to cooperate on their shared border. … Read more
Biden Discusses Arms Trade, Bilateral Ties in Mexico
During Vice President Joe Biden’s one-day visit to Mexico City on Monday, President Felipe Calderón asked that the United States do more to “strengthen actions against the trafficking of weapons into our country and money laundering,” according to a statement from the president’s office. More than 60,000 of the weapons used by Mexican cartels have … Read more
Monday Memo: [i]AQ[/i]’s Top-Five Expected Stories for This Week
What does AQ Online expect to be the anticipated headline grabbers for the week of March 5-9, 2012? The top-five stories include: Joe Biden’s Latin America tour; FIFA’s criticism of Brazil; Hugo Chávez’ health recovery; new presidential polls in Mexico; and the UN making further preparations for Rio+20. 1) Biden in Mexico and Honduras: U.S. … Read more
Monday Memo: [i]AQ[/i]’s Top-Five Expected Stories for the Week
AQ Online today launches its weekly Monday Memo that looks ahead to what it expects to be the top headline grabbers for the week. The top anticipated stories for the week of February 27 include: Hugo Chávez’ surgery; U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano’s current five-country Latin America tour; U.S. Vice President’s forthcoming visit … Read more
Vice President Biden to Travel to Mexico, Honduras in Early March
The White House announced yesterday that Joe Biden will travel to Mexico and Honduras on March 4–6. In Mexico City, he will meet with President Felipe Calderón to underscore the U.S. commitment to dialogue and collaboration on a range of issues important to both countries. Following that, Vice President Biden will travel to Tegucigalpa for … Read more
Exporting Corruption
In 2008, when I was a Fulbright professor at Nankai University in Tianjin, China, the international school my children attended hired a local contractor to build a new classroom wing. As the building reached completion, the relationship went sour: the construction did not meet the criteria originally agreed upon. As the parties began to fight … Read more
Much in Common
China and Latin America may be distant geographically, but they share a long history of friendship and common challenges. Both are at similar stages of development, and both seek more development. As our economies grow closer, we are pursuing even greater opportunities for mutual understanding and closer cooperation. The Chinese government views its relations with … Read more
Guatemala’s Military Man, Nicaragua’s Revolutionary
Guatemala and Nicaragua, two Central American nations grappling with uncertain futures, chose starkly different paths in the November 2011 elections. Their presidents, both inaugurated in mid-January, will face challenges—some of their own doing—in an unstable region with scant resources, fragile public institutions, and the constant threat of organized crime. Guatemala swore in a hardline former … Read more
Telecommunications: The Region’s Growing Customer Service Industry
Latin America has a new competitive edge: call centers. The growing Spanish-speaking population north of the Rio Grande, combined with increased English proficiency, has made the region a highly desirable near-shore customer care destination for U.S. and Canadian companies. Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Mexico are the industry’s top investment destinations. In each, … Read more
[i]El Regreso[/i] (video available)
Above: trailer for El Regreso (The Return).
Guatemala’s Election and Looking Toward the Second Round
On the day that the United States reflected over the 10-year anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Guatemala went to the polls to elect its next president. The contest pitted three leading candidates against each other: Otto Pérez Molina, a former army general, of Partido Patriota (Patriotic Party, or PP); Manuel Baldizón, business tycoon, … Read more
Caudillos Can Be Already Removed from Office in Honduras—Just Not the Way It Was Done with President Zelaya
Last week, the Honduran Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Commission) confirmed that the June 28, 2009 forced removal of former President of Honduras Manuel Zelaya was a coup d’état. This is good news. Unfortunately, the report goes on to recommend a series of unnecessary constitutional reforms intended to allow for a legal process to remove a … Read more
From San José. Chinchilla Embarks on a U.S. Charm Offensive
Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla will visit the United States next week in a bid to build on the charm offensive with American investors and media that she kicked off last September. Chinchilla and a selection of top cabinet members and investment promoters will set off May 14 for San Francisco, California, and then to … Read more
[i]AQ[/i] Interview: Judith Morrison on Afro Latinos in the Region
Afro Latinos continue to make significant strides in furthering their integration across the Americas. Judith Morrison, senior advisor in the social sector of the gender and diversity unit at the Inter-American Development Bank talks with AQ online about how African descendant communities are using technology to increase inclusion as well as the role of government … Read more
