Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas

Mexico

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From the Think Tanks

Human Rights Watch, Brookings Institution, Corporación de Estudios para Latinoamerica The Venezuelan government’s response to the protests that began on February 12, 2014, led to accusations of human rights abuses. In its report, “Punished for Protesting: Rights Violations in Venezuela’s Streets, Detention Centers, and Justice System,” Human Rights Watch analyzes 45 allegations of abuses perpetrated … Read more

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Dispatches: Mexico’s New Demographic Dividend

With contributing research from Miryam Hazán and Carlos López Portillo Maltos of Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together (MATT). Read a sidebar on Mexicans and Americans Thinking Together (MATT’s) electronic job bank. Read a sidebar on Mexican migrants’ return to restaurant work. José Antonio Pérez remembers as a child seeing migrants climbing onto La Bestia (“The … Read more

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Policy Advocacy: NAFTA and the New Regionalism

The world has changed dramatically since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed. Today, 20 years later, we live in an era of mega-regionalism. This new reality calls for a new strategic vision for North America. “Distant neighbors.” That’s how Alan Riding, then The New York Times bureau chief in Mexico, labeled the … Read more

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Ask the Experts: Higher Education

Artur Cherbowski Lask answers: It’s important to keep in mind that a region consists of different countries, each with its own needs and strengths, and bound to its particular culture and history—although tied firmly to a common, shared history and culture. In this mosaic, universities try to respond to their regional, national and local demands. … Read more

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Behind the Numbers: Women’s Rights

The gender-based data on social inclusion clearly indicate the opportunities and obstacles facing women in Latin America—as well as numerous contradictions and complexities. An examination of new trends, laws and policies brings to mind the Spanish expression, “Del dicho al hecho, hay mucho trecho.” In other words, even in many areas where there appears to … Read more

 

The Future of Latin American Studies

The field of Latin American studies has been a target for critics ever since it became a prominent feature of the U.S. academic landscape in the 1960s. Earlier critiques were quite severe, often permeated by the premise that studying Latin America from the North (and even the very concept of “Latin America” as an object … Read more

 

Short and Long-term Solutions to Migration in Central America

During the past few months, the United States, Mexico and Central American governments have brought attention to the number of unaccompanied minors fleeing towards the U.S. from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that the number of unaccompanied children ages 12 and younger caught at the … Read more

 

Approval of Reforms Jolts Mexican Telecommunications Powerhouse

Mexican telecom giant América Móvil stands to lose its stronghold on the telecommunications market after the Mexican Congress approved legislative reforms on Wednesday intended to break down telecommunications monopolies in the country. President Enrique Peña Nieto proposed the reforms on March 24 as part of his campaign to create more competition in the Mexican telecommunications … Read more

 

Monday Memo: Argentine debt – Putin in Latin America – Italy investigates Plan Cóndor – Earthquake – Trapped Honduran Miners

This week’s likely top stories: Argentine negotiates with holdout creditors; Russia’s Vladimir Putin will visit Cuba, Argentina and Brazil; Italy investigates dictatorship-era murders; an earthquake hits Mexico and Guatemala; and Honduran authorities search for eight missing miners. Argentina begins debt negotiations: Argentina will begin negotiating a settlement today with its holdout creditors, who are owed … Read more

 

In World Cup, on to Round Three…

With the second round of the World Cup soccer tournament concluded the main storylines have been the success of teams from the Americas, the early exit of previous stalwarts England, Italy and Spain, the relatively high number of goals, and—at least in the United States—the sudden realization that soccer actually has a strong and passionate … Read more

 

Mexican Culture and the World Cup

The World Cup is a lot more than just soccer. It is a global celebration and in many regards, a showcase of cultures, not just from the host country but from all nations participating in it. While Mexico did not become the World Cup soccer champion in Brazil, international media sources did call it the … Read more

 

Teachers, States Protest Mexico’s Education Reform

Mexico’s Coordinadora Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educación (National Coordinator of Education Workers–CNTE), the powerful teacher’s union, took to the streets of Mexico City yesterday to protest President Enrique Peña Nieto’s educational reform, including a 3.5 percent increase in teachers’ wages. The leaders of the union sent a message to the president calling the increase … Read more

 

Carlos Slim and Mexico’s Telecom Reforms

Every year around February, Carlos Slim Helú’s name is tossed around in the offices of Forbes magazine. Numbers are crunched, and Forbes’ editors determine if they will publish the Mexican businessman’s name with a 1 or a 2 beside it in their famous “World’s Richest People” list.  In a country ranked 88th in the world … Read more

 

Peña Nieto Proposes New Energy Rules

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto proposed new rules yesterday aimed at increasing oil production and boosting the economy. The proposed legislation includes the creation of eight new laws and the modification of 13 existing laws. Mexican Secretary of Tax, Luis Videgaray, and Secretary of Energy, Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, have said that, with the exception of … Read more

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