Congress Offers Broken PROMESA to Puerto Rico
The U.S. Senate this week voted to pass the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act, known as PROMESA (“promise” in Spanish), without amendments. Cast as “Puerto Rico’s last chance” before a July 1 default, the bill is a classic congressional compromise in which neither Democrats nor Republicans are completely satisfied. The bill offers Puerto Rico the … Read more
Far From Silicon Valley, Cuba Cultivates Startup Scene
The barriers to founding a tech startup in Cuba are high. For starters, hardly anyone has access to internet connections faster than dial-up. But that’s not stopping a generation of young entrepreneurs on the island, where a nascent tech community is challenging the idea that tech innovation has to come from places like Silicon Valley. Two of those … Read more
Puerto Rico’s Student Activists See Default as Only Option
Desperate for a lifeline from the U.S. Congress, university students in Puerto Rico are pushing local politicians to take an extreme step – default on their debt. With the island’s fiscal troubles going from bad to worse, student leaders say default on upcoming payments is the only way to force Congress to pass restructuring legislation … Read more
One Transgender Refugee’s Journey through Central America
A transgender refugee’s personal journey is interrupted when violence forces another to begin. A photo essay. A transgender refugee’s personal journey is interrupted when violence forces another to begin. – See more at: http://americasquarterly.org/content/a-trying-transition#sthash.NZeRcYoo.dpuf
Centroamérica no mejorará mientras los temas de las mujeres no sean una prioridad
Read in English El fracaso de América Latina en prestar atención a las mujeres está rezagando a la región. A pesar del gran éxito en la reducción de la pobreza y de la desigualdad de ingresos durante la primera década del siglo 21, la amplia brecha de género en la región continúa siendo un freno … Read more
AQ Top 5 de Chefs Jóvenes: Xavier Pacheco
Read in English Cuando el chef Xavier Pacheco regresó de Barcelona a su natal Puerto Rico sabía que abrir un restaurante que sirviera platillos con ingredientes frescos de la localidad sería una lucha cuesta arriba. Puerto Rico, antes poseedor de un próspero sector agrícola, ahora importa el 85 por ciento de sus alimentos, pero Pacheco, … Read more
Which Future? Ideas for a Better Central America
When I hear people talk about troubled areas of Central America, using terms like “hopeless” and “failed state,” it reminds me of what many said about Colombia in the 1990s and early 2000s. During that terrible era, drug cartels and guerrilla groups were so powerful – and the Colombian government so weak – that criminals … Read more
How Surfing Helps El Salvador’s Economy
At the onset of the 1980s, surf tourism in El Salvador seemed like a fading pipe dream. The country’s fledgling industry, which had shown some potential in the 1970s, stalled as Salvadorans braced for civil war. For the next 12 years, as battles raged between the right-wing government and political dissidents of the Farabundo Martí … Read more
Homegrown Solutions to Central America’s Narco Nightmare
Six months after getting elected on a tough-on-crime platform, Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández blamed his country’s spiraling crime problem on U.S. drug policy. Washington’s strategy of pouring funds into drug interdiction efforts — first in Colombia, then in Mexico — had actually pushed cartels and gangs to safer havens in Central America, he charged. President Hernández added that … Read more
Where Are Central America’s Real Jobs?
These days, Celso López is a naturopathic doctor living a quiet life on a farm. But during the 1980s, he led a column of about 100 guerrilla fighters in the mountains surrounding San Martin, Guatemala. López said he was “the most wanted man in the area,” with a hefty price on his head, and he … Read more
How Central America Can Make the Most of a $750 Million U.S. Aid Package
The passage of a $750 million U.S. aid package for Central America is an example of the collaboration needed to end violence and rebuild society in the Northern Triangle. As policymakers spend these funds, having the right data to inform spending will be crucial. For over 15 years, INCAE Business School has helped collect and … Read more
Centroamérica sigue tan violenta como siempre. ¿Cómo podría cambiar?
Read in English La primera vez que intenté visitar Suchitoto era una ciudad en estado de sitio. Las guerrillas de izquierda que controlaban el cercano volcán Guazapa estaban tratando de correr a los militares. Tres cuartas partes de sus 40.000 habitantes habían huido o muerto. La vida era miserable para los que se quedaron en … Read more
Central America Won’t Get Better Until Women’s Issues Become a Priority
Leer en español Latin America’s failure to pay attention to women is holding the region back. Despite great success in reducing poverty and income inequality in the first decade of the 21st century, the region’s yawning gender gap continues to be a brake on future development. No clearer example of this exists than in Central … Read more
Central America Is As Violent As Ever. What Would it Take to Change?
Leer en español The first time I tried to visit Suchitoto, it was a town under siege. Left-wing guerrillas who held the nearby Guazapa volcano were trying to drive the military out. Three-quarters of the town’s 40,000 population had fled or been killed – and life was miserable for those who remained, as sabotage attacks … Read more
