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
Racial Apartheid Persists in Latin America
In the second annual release of its Social Inclusion Index, Americas Quarterly measured 16 Latin American countries based on numerous performance variables, including access to formal employment and adequate housing, enrollment in secondary school and civil society participation. Among its most interesting findings, the Index provided insight on the systemic nature of racial discrimination in … Read more
The Bright Side of the Venezuelan Exodus
World leaders and migration experts met in New York this week to participate in the UN General Assembly High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development. Participants discussed the growing impact of migrants’ contributions to the economic and social realities of member countries and the need to include migration as a key topic in the development … Read more
Vargas Llosa Supports Same-Sex Unions in Peru
Peruvian writer and Nobel laureate Mario Vargas Llosa, released a public statement on Monday in support of a bill that would legalize same-sex unions in Peru. The statement, titled “Yes to equality,” was published in the main Peruvian newspapers such as El Comercio, La República, Perú21 and Diario 26 and calls for “equal rights for all … Read more
Monday Memo: Immigration Reform – Correa in Bolivia – Colombia-Panama Border Security – Jesse Jackson – Chilean General Commits Suicide
Likely top stories this week: U.S. legislators make a last push for immigration reform; Correa visits Bolivia; The Colombian defense minister travels to Panama; Juan Manuel Santos declines help from Jesse Jackson; a Chilean general involved in the “Caravan of Death” commits suicide. Renewed Push for Immigration Reform in U.S. House of Representatives: Despite a … Read more
Maduro busca ayuda en China
No son tiempos fáciles para Venezuela. En el tercer trimestre del año, la escasez de productos básicos continúa siendo una piedra en el zapato del Gobierno, el dólar paralelo—que inició 2012 cotizando en 17BsF—pasó la línea de 40BsF, la inflación se ubicó en 42,5 por ciento para agosto pasado, y la inversión extranjera fue de … Read more
Comedy and Tragedy, Venezuelan-Style
Next up on the world’s stage of Theater of the Absurd: Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro. Like his predecessor, the late Hugo Chávez, Maduro has as his mentors—in things big and small—Fidel and Raul Castro of Cuba. Always the masters of deception, the Castro brothers were caught red-handed this summer trying to ship weapons to North … Read more
Monday Memo: UN General Assembly – Peruvian Mining – Mexican Storms – Venezuela – Amazon Trial
Likely top stories this week: the UN General Assembly kicks off in New York; Peru’s minister of mines is optimistic about controversial projects; Mexico assesses damage from Tropical Storm Manuel and Hurricane Ingrid; Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro travels to China after sparring with the U.S.; a Brazilian rancher is sentenced in the murder of American nun … Read more
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