Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
 

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

 

Monday Memo: Santos Wins in Colombia – Argentine Appeal Rejected – Biden Visits Latin America – Bolivia Hosts Summit – Neves to Face Rousseff in Brazil

This week’s likely top stories: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wins re-election; the U.S. Supreme Court rejects Argentina’s appeal; U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visits Latin America; Bolivia hosts the G77+China Summit; Aecio Neves will represent the PSDB in Brazil’s elections. Following the 2014 World Cup? Read more coverage here. Santos Re-elected President in Colombia: … Read more

 

U.S. Secretary of State Declares, “The Monroe Doctrine is Dead”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced this Monday that the Monroe Doctrine—a policy that has defined U.S.-Latin American relations for nearly two centuries—has come to an end. During his speech at the Organization of American States (OAS), Kerry emphasized that the era of U.S. interventionism in the region was a matter of the past, … Read more

El_Alto_04 510x340

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

 

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

 

Can Games Influence Development Policy?

Often referred to as “games for good” or “games for change,” a new generation of socially- and environmentally-oriented online simulation games aims to go beyond entertainment by raising awareness of global issues and securing funds for projects—making a real-word difference. Over 10 million people worldwide have played World Food Programme’s (WFP) “Food Force,” for example, … Read more

 

Brazilian Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Diplomatic Scandal

The Brazilian government confirmed Monday night that Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota has resigned after the Brazilian embassy in La Paz facilitated the passage of a Bolivian opposition senator to Brazil. The diplomatic scandal has heightened tensions between Brazil and Bolivia, which accuses Brazil of violating international agreements. Brazil granted Bolivian Senator Roger Pinto asylum last … Read more

 

ALBA and Snowden: It’s Not All about You

The spectacle of certain Latin American countries lining up to offer asylum to National Security Administration (NSA) contractor and leaker Edward Snowden has become a sad reminder of the lack of diplomatic maturity of those countries and a red herring to the whole issue that they want to highlight.   Whatever you may think of the … Read more

 

Bolivian and Chilean Representatives Meet at The Hague

On Wednesday, representatives of the Bolivian and Chilean governments met for the first time at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for a preliminary meeting to establish the timetable and other details for a case around a long-standing disagreement over the countries’ maritime borders. Bolivia filed a formal lawsuit against Chile with … Read more

Evo Morales_by Sacred Sites 510x340

From George Washington to Evo Morales: Re-electionism in the Americas

George Washington, the first president of the United States, ran for re-election just once, in spite of being tremendously popular and receiving countless pleas from his supporters to remain in power. He thus started a healthy U.S. tradition that lasted a century—until Franklin Delano Roosevelt chose to break it by running for re-election twice. After … Read more

 

Government and Bolivian Workers Union Begin Talks Today

After two weeks of street protests, the Central Obrera Boliviana (Bolivian Workers Union—COB) will begin negotiations with the Bolivian government today to discuss changes to the 2010 Pensions Act after a series of strikes, marches and road blockades in  the capital city.    The COB protests began on May 6 as a means to push … Read more

 

Bolivia Takes Chile to International Court of Justice over Land Dispute

On Wednesday, the Bolivian government filed a formal law suit against Chile in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague to recover territory and access to the Pacific Ocean it lost during the 19th century War of the Pacific. Bolivia has been landlocked since 1904, when Bolivia and Chile signed the Treaty of … Read more

Innovators 510x340

Innovators

Some of our hemisphere’s emerging leaders in politics, business, civil society, and the arts.

Sign up for our free newsletter