Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
 

Ecuador’s Ex-President Wanted by Interpol

Interpol issued a warrant for the arrest of former Ecuadorian President Jamil Mahuad on Tuesday for embezzlement, mishandling of public funds and causing the country’s banking crisis in the late 1990s. Mahuad became president in 1998 when Ecuador was on the brink of war with neighboring Peru over a territorial dispute. Mahuad and then Peruvian president … Read more

 

Wives of Venezuelan Mayors Win Election

Patricia Gutierrez de Ceballos and Rosa Brandonisio—married to Daniel Ceballos and Vicencio Scarano, ousted mayors of San Cristobal and San Diego respectively—won landslide votes in Venezuela’s mayoral elections on Sunday to replace their husbands after both men had been arrested and jailed as part of the opposition protests. The women are both part of the … Read more

 

History Ready to Repeat Itself? Context for Colombia’s Presidential Election

It has been a surprising trend that, for the past several years, a number of Latin American countries have voted into power democratically elected left-wing governments of some kind—whereas Colombia has steered toward governments from the right of the political spectrum. Even in countries in the region where right-wing presidents continue to hold office, like … Read more

 

Camino a la presidencia: la pelea de la derecha en Colombia

Tradicionalmente, las elecciones presidenciales en Colombia se han caracterizado por sus escándalos de corrupción, filtración de dineros del narcotráfico, y compra desmedida de votos. Lejos de romper con esta penosa tradición, la actual carrera presidencial pasará a la historia, por sumar a este prontuario el espionaje, la polarización, los insultos y acusaciones, y la falta … Read more

 

Comprendiendo la Doctrina Maduro

En nombre de la Revolución Bolivariana, Hugo Chávez le dio una prioridad nunca antes vista a la política exterior venezolana. Ni en el periodo de la Doctrina Betancourt—diseñada para aislar a los regímenes autoritarios de las Américas—ni en el del Tercermundismo de primer gobierno de Carlos Andrés Pérez, tuvo Caracas un protagonismo internacional como el … Read more

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In Aftermath of Venezuela’s Protests, Whither Chavismo?

The wave of social unrest that hit several cities in Venezuela in February and March is nothing new for a country that has been deeply polarized politically since Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in 1998. What is different this time is that Chávez—who died of cancer in March 2013—is no longer around, and the protests … Read more

 

Additional Reforms Needed in Colombian Mining Sector

Exportation in Colombia has been, and remains, a significant driving factor for large-scale mineral exploration, extraction and production by multinational corporations. According to the Banco de la República, the Colombian mining sector contributed to a record high proportion of the country’s total exports in 2011 and 2012, at 71 percent. Fossil fuels especially constituted an … Read more

 

Monday Memo: Panama Elections – Haiti and the Dominican Republic – Uruguayan Marijuana – Colombian Mine Collapse – Brazil Soccer Death

This week’s likely top stories: Juan Carlos Varela will be Panama’s next president; talks between Haiti and the Dominican Republic are postponed; marijuana legalization goes into effect in Uruguay; a Colombian mine collapse kills at least 12 people; a Brazilian soccer fan is killed in Recife. Juan Carlos Varela Wins Panamanian Election: Juan Carlos Varela … Read more

 

It’s Long Past Time to Get a U.S. Ambassador to Lima

In early March, The Washington Post ran an article on pending ambassadorial nominations worldwide, highlighting the fact that political maneuvering in the U.S. Senate was stalling numerous nominations and that, by implication, U.S. interests abroad were suffering.  Nowhere is this more evident than in the Western Hemisphere, which, at the time the article was written, … Read more

 

Monday Memo: Panama Elections – Colombian Farmers – Venezuela – Mexico Telecom Reform – Brazilian Colonel’s Death

This week’s likely top stories:  Panamanian voters go to the polls on Sunday; Colombian farmers launch another strike; Venezuelan dialogue enters its third week; protesters demonstrate against Mexican telecom reform; the murder of a former colonel could challenge Brazil’s truth commission. Panama Prepares for Presidential Election: Panamanians will go to the polls on Sunday, May … Read more

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Country Study: Peru

Read the introduction here. Read a case study from Chile here. Read a case study from Colombia here. Read a case study from Guatemala here. Read the sidebar Indigenous or Not? During his 2011 presidential campaign, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala promised a new relationship between the Peruvian state and Indigenous peoples, in which the rights … Read more

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Country Study: Colombia

Read the introduction here. Read a case study from Chile here. Read a case study from Guatemala here. Read a case study from Peru here. In Colombia’s 2010–2014 National Development Plan, President Juan Manuel Santos listed the mining sector as one of the five engines of the country’s economic growth, alongside infrastructure, housing, agriculture, and … Read more

 

Ask the Experts: Consulta Previa

Sonia Meza-Cuadra answers: Governments aim to make decisions that will improve the economic and social development and welfare of their citizens. But historically, decisions affecting Indigenous and tribal people’s culture, ancestral lands and habitats have too often been made without their participation. ilo 169 and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples seek … Read more

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