How Sept. 1 Could Be the Beginning of the End for Venezuela’s Maduro
September 1 may mark a “before and after” moment in Venezuela’s political and economic crisis. Following further delays by the electoral authority on advancing a recall referendum against President Nicolás Maduro, opposition leaders have called on residents across the country to mobilize in the capital city this Thursday in what they have dubbed “The Grand … Read more
Venezuela’s Life-Saving Social Networks
Amid supermarket rationing and lines of empty store shelves, Venezuelans are taking day-to-day survival into their own… smartphones. Twitter, Facebook, and messaging service WhatsApp have become go-to platforms for thousands of Venezuelans as they undertake the increasingly difficult task of finding and paying for everything from cooking oil to cancer medication. @delmercadoencontre (“At the market I … Read more
Here’s What Latin Americans Want to Tell the Next U.S. President
“Heal the relationship with Mexico.” “Fix the war on drugs.” “Help us lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution.” We asked Latin Americans: If you could tell the next president of the United States anything, what would it be? Those are just a few of the responses we’re publishing in the new issue of Americas Quarterly, entitled … Read more
AQ Top 5 Latin American Academics: Ricardo Hausmann
Venezuela’s “know-how” economist has helped countries like Colombia, Mexico and Peru shield themselves from boom and bust cycles.
AQ Top 5 Latin American Academics: Mónica Ponce de León
Leer en español See the rest of the AQ Top 5 As a child growing up in booming, prosperous 1970s Caracas, Mónica Ponce de León found inspiration for a future career in the modernist architecture springing up around her. “Everyone felt that the buildings represented the progressive culture of the city,” Ponce de León, now … Read more
Ayude a los boomers a retirarse en América Latina
Leer en inglés Estimado(a) Sr(a) Presidente(a): Los baby boomers de Estados Unidos a menudo parecen representar las importaciones de mayor crecimiento en México. En la región del Lago de Chapala, en donde vivo, una cifra estimada de más de 10,000 estadounidenses –o el doble de ese número dependiendo de la época del año– llaman “su … Read more
Include the Indigenous in Climate Change Talks
Leer en español In the new issue of Americas Quarterly, we asked people, “What would you tell the next U.S. president about Latin America?” To see other authors’ responses, click here. Dear Mister / Madam President, Indigenous communities have contributed the least to climate change, but they have suffered the most from its consequences. Extreme … Read more
Rethink the War on Drugs, President Santos Says
In the new issue of Americas Quarterly, we asked people, “What would you tell the next U.S. president about Latin America?” To see other authors’ responses, click here. Dear Mister / Madam President, I want to take this opportunity, before your term, to discuss an important matter for both of our nations and many other … Read more
Incluya a los indígenas en las discusiones sobre cambio climático
Leer en inglés Estimado(a) Sr(a) Presidente(a): Los pueblos indígenas somos los que menos hemos contribuido al cambio climático pero los que más sufrimos sus consecuencias. Las catástrofes climáticas han puesto en riesgo nuestras fuentes de alimentación y medios de vida tradicionales. Pero nuestros problemas palidecen ante la crisis global de mayores proporciones que no sólo … Read more
This Week in Latin America: Brazil’s New Speaker
Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Brazil’s New Speaker: Brazil’s lower house will elect a new speaker on Wednesday, following the tearful resignation of Eduardo Cunha on July 7 amid an ethics investigation. Accused of taking up to $40 million in bribes and lying about an offshore bank account linked to the vast … Read more
Help Boomers Retire in Latin America
Leer en español Dear Mister / Madam President, U.S. baby boomers often seem like Mexico’s fastest-growing imports. In the Lake Chapala region where I live, an estimated 10,000-plus Americans — or double that number, depending on the time of year — call the area between the cities of Chapala and Jocotepec home. While most come … Read more
Threats to Environmental Activists Put Colombia’s Indigenous at Risk
While Colombia has made remarkable strides in reducing violence over the last two decades, the country remains a dangerous – and even deadly – place for environmental activists. According to a report released June 20 by the advocacy group Global Witness, at least 26 land and environmental activists were killed in the country in 2015. … Read more
Venezuela: Is This the Final Straw?
To see a full list of electoral irregularities that have occurred since Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro took office, scroll to the bottom of the page I recently wrote about the one institutional factor that, in my opinion, is keeping Venezuela’s government alive. I called it the judicial shield, which refers to how the Supreme Court … Read more
This Week in Latin America: Polls Close in Peru
Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Peru Votes: With over 90 percent of votes counted as of publication, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski holds a slim lead in Peru’s run-off presidential election thanks to a late surge against his rival Keiko Fujimori. The 77-year-old Kuczynski, who would be the country’s oldest president at the time of taking office, positioned … Read more
How Latin America Should Address the Crisis in Venezuela
This morning’s call from the chief of the Organization of American States (OAS) for an emergency meeting to discuss the erosion of democracy in Venezuela signals that regional leaders are taking a tougher stance with the Caracas government. But to go beyond mere rhetoric, Brazil and Argentina must also step up. Susana Malcorra and José … Read more
