Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
 

La Captura del Chapo Guzmán

El pasado sábado 22 de febrero de 2014, en el estado mexicano de Sinaloa, fue capturado en el puerto de Mazatlán Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán, el narcotraficante más buscado del mundo. Nadie en su sano juicio podría estar en contra de su captura. Como líder del cartel de Sinaloa, se le achacan infinidad de muertes … Read more

 

Transforming Monterrey’s Landscape

Monterrey, one of the largest cities in Mexico, has recently become a hotspot for criminal activity and host to a number of violent incidents. An ambitious urban development initiative, however, is set to change the city’s deteriorating reputation. Seventy years ago, an institution that transformed the educational system in Mexico was born, Tec de Monterrey, … Read more

 

Mexico Will Not Extradite Drug Lord to U.S.

A Mexican judge ruled on Tuesday that Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán will stay in Mexico to face drug-trafficking charges. The former head of the Sinaloa cartel will not be extradited to the U.S. in the near future and will remain locked up in the country’s highest security prison while he awaits trial. Guzmán, who was captured on Saturday after 13 … Read more

 

North American Leaders Meet at NAFTA Summit

North American heads of state met in Mexico on Wednesday to discuss the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Presidents Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico and Barrack Obama of the United States, widely known as the “three amigos,” commemorated two decades of NAFTA in Toluca, Mexico and … Read more

 

North American Energy Integration and the NALS

The three North American leaders—Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and U.S. President Barack Obama—will meet today in Toluca, Mexico. Obama’s agenda is set to focus on trade, education, border security, and drug trafficking. Yet the elephant in the room is the Keystone XL pipeline, whose approval by the United States … Read more

 

The Three Amigos and the Lure of Bilateralism

As the North American leaders Stephen Harper, Barack Obama and Enrique Peña Nieto meet in Mexico City this week, we can expect smiles and all the rhetoric about intensifying the relationship between the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners. While the trade numbers justify applauding and celebrating the NAFTA agreement 20 years after its … Read more

 

Most Americans Support Normalizing Cuba Relations

A new poll by the Atlantic Council released yesterday found that a majority of Americans are now in favor of stabilizing U.S.-Cuba relations. Of those sampled nationwide, six out of 10 said they favor policy changes that would allow more business transactions between the two countries, as well as the lifting of restrictions that don’t … Read more

 

Members of U.S. Congress Demand Redskins Name Change

Two members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter yesterday to Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), asking that the league change the Washington Redskins’ controversial name and logo. Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington State and chairwoman of the Indian Affairs Committee, and Representative Tom Cole, a Republican from Oklahoma … 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

 

House GOP Abandons Comprehensive Immigration Reform Push

Yesterday, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) effectively squashed the possibility of passing comprehensive immigration reform legislation this year, blaming President Barack Obama for stalled negotiations. During a midday news conference on Capitol Hill, Boehner said “There’s widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws,” and that reform has a slim chance … Read more

NAFTA@20: A Bittersweet Celebration

Read NAFTA @20: Where We Go From Here by Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León here. Read NAFTA @20: The Perils of Partisanship by Thomas F. McLarty III here. Read sidebars on aerospace, medical devices and the automotive sector. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has never occupied a particularly secure place in the public … Read more

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NAFTA @20: The Perils of Partisanship

Read NAFTA @20: Where We Go From Here by Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León here. Read NAFTA @20: A Bitterweet Celebration by Carol Wise and Joshua Tuynman here. In his December 8, 1993, remarks at the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), then-U.S. President Bill Clinton observed that the treaty debate had … Read more

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NAFTA @20: Where We Go From Here

Read NAFTA @20: The Perils of Partisanship by Thomas F. McLarty III here. Read NAFTA @20: A Bitterweet Celebration by Carol Wise and Joshua Tuynman here. Has the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) fulfilled its promise? I believe it has. NAFTA was conceived first and foremost as an instrument to promote trade and investment … Read more

 

Narcocorridos Drum up Support for the Knights Templar in Michoacán

Narcocorridos—songs that celebrate drug dealers as folk heroes—have been a part of Mexican culture for as long as the illicit activity has existed in the country.  Attempts to censor them from reaching radio airwaves have triggered debates over freedom of speech, as well as outcries from the more liberal media.  But as a recent concert … Read more

 

Approving the Keystone Pipeline Project

If there is one issue that has pitted the Canadian government against a U.S. administration in recent years, it has been the Keystone Pipeline XL project.  The project is meant to transport crude oil from the Alberta oil sands to the Gulf of Mexico.  Final approval of the trans-border pipeline rests with President Obama. It … Read more

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