Too often, especially in emerging economies, the exorbitant investment necessary to prepare for these events goes to projects with little long-term economic value.
The World Cup, the Olympics and other mega sports events give cities and countries the opportunity to be in the world’s spotlight for several weeks. And the competition among cities to host these events can be as fierce as the competition among the athletes themselves. Bids that had traditionally gone to wealthier countries have recently … Read more
The urgency and scale of hosting can provide a needed boost to public investment and transform a country’s image, infrastructure and business conditions beyond the games.
In the next two years, Brazil will host the three largest mega sports events in the world: the 2014 FIFA World Cup this summer, and then the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio in 2016. Other nations in the Americas and across the globe will be watching to see if Brazil’s hosting duties lead to … Read more
Speaking a Common Language with Latin America: Economics
United States-Latin American relations have often suffered from a disconnect. While we stress security issues, the region’s leaders speak of poverty reduction and trade. They resent being seen as afterthoughts to U.S. policies focused elsewhere. As a result, the region is sporadically open to new suitors, such as Spanish investors 15 years ago, or the … Read more
International Cooperation or Gridlock?
A shift of the global balance of power is under way. Emerging countries are increasingly playing significant roles on global issues, such as the global economy, trade, and investment, as well as in diplomacy and multilateral decision making. In a few years, we will witness a historically rare phenomenon, when a new country will become … Read more
Brazil Sends Troops to Bahia After Police Strike
The Brazilian government sent 2,500 troops to the city of Salvador on Wednesday after a police strike led to looting and attacks on public transportation. Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, is set to host six matches during the World Cup this June. The police strike, over higher pay and better working … Read more
Security or Counterinsurgency in Rio favelas?
In anticipation of the 2014 World Cup, the Brazilian government enacted a policy to have special units of police occupy favelas in Rio de Janeiro. As of last week, one of Rio’s most dangerous shanty towns, Complexo da Maré, was taken over by close to 3,000 Brazilian troops. The shift—from using the elite Unidade de … Read more
Modernizing Brazil’s Ports: A Plan for 2014
Brazil’s Minister of Ports, Antônio Henrique Pinheiro Silveira stopped in Washington, D.C. last week on his hemispheric road-show to present the details of Brazil’s latest port modernization efforts. In June of 2013, the Brazilian government passed new regulatory reform laws for ports, in hopes of modernizing current infrastructure, increasing efficiencies and driving competition. Since 2005, … Read more
Monday Memo: Costa Rican Elections – U.S. Deportations – Venezuela-Spain Spat – FIFA Delays
Unchallenged Costa Rican Candidate Wins Presidency: Luis Guillermo Solís of the Partido Acción Ciudadana (Citizen Action Party—PAC) won Sunday’s presidential election in Costa Rica, claiming 78 percent of the vote. The challenging candidate, Johnny Araya of the Partido Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Party—PLN), dropped out of the running after a March 5 opinion poll ranked … Read more
Monday Memo: Investment in Cuba – Venezuela – Costa Rican Elections – Rio Police – Mining in Peru
Cuba Approves New Foreign Investment Law: The Cuban government on Saturday unanimously approved a law that provides new incentives for foreign investment in the island. The law will reduce taxes on profits from 30 to 15 percent in most areas, will speed up the approval process for foreign investment, and will exempt new investors from … Read more
Brazil Charges Execs with Price Fixing
Thirty executives from a dozen international companies were charged on Tuesday with price-fixing during the construction and maintenance of subway and train systems in São Paulo, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro. The companies named by the São Paulo State Prosecutor’s Office include Siemens of Germany, CAF of Spain, and Alstom of … Read more
Monday Memo: Chilean Protests – Rio Violence – Guantánamo – Venezuela Protests – Buenaventura, Colombia
Likely top stories this week: Chileans protest in Santiago; Brazil sends the military into Rio’s favelas; Uruguay will receive five Guantánamo prisoners; Venezuela will investigate abuses during protests; Colombia sends troops to Buenaventura. Chilean Protests: Newly-elected Chilean President Michelle Bachelet faced the first major protest of her new administration on Saturday, which was organized to … Read more
World Cup Tickets Close to Being Sold Out
Two-thirds of the 345,000 remaining World Cup tickets were sold within three hours of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)’s final sales phase on Wednesday. Tickets were made available for 60 of the 64 World Cup matches set to take place in June and July. The fastest selling tickets were to Brazil matches, followed … Read more
Curitiba Narrowly Hangs on to World Cup Host Claim
Curitiba, Brazil narrowly avoided losing its spot as a 2014 World Cup venue city on Tuesday, after the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football—FIFA) threatened to exclude the city from the tournament. The news comes one month after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said that the delays in construction of Curitiba’s … Read more
Brazil’s Diplomatic Retreat
When world leaders recently gathered in Switzerland to discuss the future of Syria last week, Brazil’s foreign minister, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo, was in the northeastern city of Natal to participate in the inauguration ceremony of a soccer stadium. He had rejected an invitation to join the peace conference. A day later, one of Brazil’s major … Read more
Monday Memo: Turf Battle in Michoacán — Venezuelan Media — Manaus Stadium Death — Keystone Pipeline — Guatemala Massacre
Knights Templar and Vigilante Groups Clash in Apatzingan, Michoacán: Vigilante self-defense groups drove into the town of Apatzingan, Michoacán on Saturday, bolstered by support from local police and army personnel. The town, previously a command center for the Knights Templar drug cartel, has been caught in a bloody battle since the self-defense groups launched an … Read more
