Monday Memo: Argentine Midterms – UN Anti-Spying Measure – U.S. Immigration – Paraguay and Mercosur – FARC Releases Captive
Likely top stories this week: Argentine opposition gains influence in midterms; Brazil and Germany lead a UN anti-spying initiative; lobbyists push for U.S. immigration reform; Paraguay to represent Mercosur in negotiations with EU; hostage Kevin Scott Sutay is released by the FARC. Argentines Vote in Midterm Elections: With 72 percent of the votes counted in … Read more
Venezuela’s Electricity Deficit
Venezuela is currently suffering its second electricity emergency in three years. The first was declared by the government in February 2010. Closings of major roads, public complaints in the media and frequent outage reports on the #Sinluz (No light) Twitter account paint a grim picture of daily life in Venezuela. The reasons are fairly straightforward: … Read more
The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
The 1993 death of the drug-cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar ended the bloodiest chapter in Colombia’s modern history, allowing the country—a decade later—to begin a process of collective catharsis. This catharsis first became clear on Colombian television. Once dominated by romantic melodramas, the industry began producing realistic “narco-series” that portrayed the violent and glamorous life of … Read more
Capital Controls:Investment Flows in Latin America
Capital control policies in emerging market (EM) economies have fluctuated for the past two decades as markets have responded to changing global dynamics. This continues to be the case in 2013. The term capital controls refers to a wide array of tools policymakers use to limit the flow of capital in and out of their … Read more
Arts Innovator: Gopher Illustrated, Venezuela and the United States
In the age of on-demand entertainment and Internet memes, Latin America’s rich cultural achievements often get lost in the cloud of information available in the English-speaking world. But Michelle Benaím Steiner, 26, and Lope Gutiérrez-Ruiz, 31—two Austin, Texas–based Venezuelans—have found a way to penetrate the cloud: start their own print journal. The two editorial and … Read more
Business Innovator: Lenddo, United States and Colombia
Getting approval for a loan normally requires an extensive credit check to prove that the borrower is likely to pay it back. But in emerging markets across Latin America, even well-qualified, middle-class candidates often lack a credit history and bank accounts. That is, until Lenddo burst onto the scene in 2011. Founded by Jeff Stewart … Read more
The FARC’s escalating demands; ongoing attacks and intransigence demonstrate that it doesn’t really want peace.
The current dialogue between the Colombian government and the FARC has no chance of ending in a definitive peace agreement. Various factors threaten its success: the guerrillas’ arrogant and demanding negotiating style, the lack of public support for the talks and sheer time constraints. Since the peace talks began in Havana, the FARC has sabotaged … Read more
Pragmatism on both sides of the negotiating table suggests a willingness to end the armed conflict.
After 50 years of armed conflict, the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) have an unprecedented opportunity to break with the patterns of violence and underdevelopment that have plagued the country for decades. The Colombian government had promoted similar peace talks between 1999 and 2002, yet two … Read more
Dispatches: El Alto, Bolivia
Blazing sun, freezing nights, roads clogged with traffic, and a vast maze of adobe houses populated by nearly a million people. This is the Bolivian city of El Alto. Once an outlying neighborhood on the high plains above La Paz, El Alto has today surpassed its population. Matching El Alto’s growing profile, the city is … Read more
El Guión Venezolano
La vida en Venezuela es imprevisible. No se sabe cuándo los bienes básicos llegarán a los anaqueles, ni cuánto tiempo un corte eléctrico puede dejar el país a oscuras. Desplazarse de una ciudad a otra—en un país de 916 mil kilómetros cuadrados—puede llevar una hora como cinco. Ni siquiera el crimen es organizado. En términos … Read more
Fresh Look Reviews
Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Innovators
Some of our hemisphere’s emerging leaders in politics, business, civil society, and the arts.
Dispatches from the Field: El Alto, Bolivia
Bolivia’s most politically influential city remains restless. (slideshow available)
Hard Talk
Will the negotiations between the government and the FARC bring lasting peace to Colombia? Yes: Aldo Civico; No: Alfredo Rangel
Latin America’s New Friend, Janet Yellen
Janet Yellen, nominated by President Obama last week to be the new chairwoman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, might not know it yet, but she has friends in high places in Latin America. This is because many in the region rightly believe that Yellen’s forecasted doveishness will give Latin America time to make the necessary … Read more
