Policy Updates
A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.
Fresh Look Reviews
Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Higher Ed: Private Investors Get Into the Game
The combination of sustained economic growth in Latin America, a region-wide expansion of the middle class, and a newly competitive business environment has boosted demand for quality education, and stoked desires for alternatives. The alternatives are coming from a slew of new and lower-cost online courses. This innovation has produced a wave of private investment … Read more
MOOCs in Development: Fad or Future?
Those following tech and continuing education news have been surprised by the rising popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).1 The basic promise for professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean is quite alluring: free online access to a world-class knowledge base. But questions remain. Will this new learning methodology last, or fade quickly once … Read more
Security in South America: The Role of States and Regional Organizations by Rodrigo Tavares
Nowhere in the world is the web of treaties, agreements and agencies concerned with regional security needs as thick as in Latin America. The region has seen one of the most dramatic institutional transformations of the late twentieth and early twenty-first century. Among the many reasons for this transformation is the widespread rejection of U.S. … Read more
Venezuela: How Long Can This Go On?
On April 10, Venezuelans stayed up past midnight to watch an event on TV that just a few weeks prior would have seemed incredible, almost miraculous: after three months of intense protests, headed by students in alliance with the most combative sectors of the opposition calling for President Nicolás Maduro’s departure, the government and the … Read more
Latin America at the Winter Olympics
Latin American and Caribbean countries may not be as well-known for their winter sports as Canada, Russia or the United States, but the region does have a storied tradition at the Winter Olympic Games. Argentina, the first Latin American country to participate, sent a five-man bobsled team to the second-ever Winter Games in 1928. Chile … Read more
Venezuela Before Chávez: Anatomy of an Economic Collapse by Ricardo Hausmann and Francisco R. Rodríguez
During the 1970s, Venezuela was the richest country in Latin America. With the region’s highest growth rates and the lowest levels of inequality, it was also one of the most stable democracies in the Americas. But starting in the early 1980s, things fell apart. The nation endured three coup attempts and one presidential impeachment. Per … Read more
Protest U.
Millions of students have taken to the streets across Latin America in recent years in protests that reflect an unprecedentedly broad mobilization of popular opinion. Following massive demonstrations led by secondary school students in 2006 in Chile, university students launched a series of protests in May 2011. Powered by a coalition of public and private … Read more
Indigenous Enrollment
Since its formation in February 1971, the Consejo Regional Indígena del Cauca (Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca—CRIC) has made the education of young Indigenous Colombians one of its most important goals. The dream of creating an autonomous university for Indigenous youth was finally realized in November 2003—when the CRIC’s high council formally created the Universidad … Read more
Student Debt in the Americas
The promise of upward mobility for Latin America’s new middle classes has led to swelling university enrollment rates, but also to growing debt.1 In Colombia, high school graduates enrolling in higher education rose from 24.87 percent in 2002 to 45.02 percent in 2012.2 Meanwhile, in 2011, 23 percent of 25- to 34-year-old Mexicans had attained … Read more
Former Chávez Aid Detained in Aruba
Caracas announced yesterday its opposition to the “illegal and arbitrary” arrest of former Venezuelan general, Hugo Carvajal in the Dutch-administered Caribbean island Aruba. While Carvajal–ex-director of military intelligence in Venezuela and personal advisor of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez–awaited his approval as consul in Aruba, he was detained on Wednesday night at the request of the U.S. government for his … Read more
Monday Memo: Colombian Legislature – Argentine Debt – Peruvian Environmental Law – Deaths in Nicaragua – Bolivian Child Labor
This week’s likely top stories: Colombia inaugurates a new legislature; Argentina must pay its debt by July 30; Reforms to Peru’s environmental agency are criticized; Five Nicaraguans are killed after a Sandinista anniversary celebration; Bolivia allows those as young as 10 to work. Colombia installs new legislature: As Colombia’s new legislature was sworn in on … Read more
Hacer periodismo en Venezuela
A comienzos de julio, Rafael Osío Cabrices, un periodista venezolano con una trayectoria respetada en Caracas, describió en un emotivo artículo su proceso al exilio. “Ya no soy más un reconocido periodista, apenas un inmigrante,” comentaba en una de sus líneas. La frase, que me tocó personalmente, podría describir a decenas de colegas que en … Read more
Humala and Merkel Discuss Climate Agenda in Berlin
Participating in the fifth-annual Petersberg Climate Dialogue in Berlin on July 14th, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala asked that European countries sanction European-based mining companies that commit labor abuses in Peru. Humala’s comments come after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the two countries’ bilateral relationship. During the meeting, Merkel expressed Germany’s commitment to … Read more
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