North America Archives - Page 46 of 61

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

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

State Of The Union: Is this Obama’s Last Hurrah?

The State of the Union (SOTU) address can be considered an institutionalized “bully pulpit” for the President of the United States. It is delivered yearly on the last Tuesday in January. As expected, the President forcefully made his case for new proposals to Congress before a primetime television audience. President Obama’s speech was delivered in … Read more

House GOP Releases Immigration Reform Plan

Republican leaders in the House of Representatives released a long-awaited list of standards on immigration reform legislation on Thursday. The announcement comes seven months after the Senate approved its own comprehensive bill that stalled in the House. The GOP standards include a pathway to citizenship for young people brought to the U.S. as children, and … Read more

Mexico’s Energy Reforms Are Good for Canada

Reforms to Mexico’s energy sector were signed into law late last year. The legislation proceeded rapidly from President Enrique Peña Nieto’s announcement of the reforms in August, to the negotiations among the major political parties during the fall, to voting in both houses of Congress, resulting in a majority of the 31 state legislatures changing … Read more

Mexican Government and Vigilante Groups Join Forces

The Mexican government announced a temporary agreement on Monday that will incorporate vigilante groups in the state of Michoacán into national law enforcement. Over the past year, civilian groups have taken arms to combat the violent Knights Templar drug cartel (Caballeros Templarios) based out of Apatzingan, Michoacán. The government moved to integrate the local groups … Read more

Safe Streets, Safe Cities

Discussions of sustainable cities tend to focus on environmental goals such as developing eco-friendly architecture, recycling, and improving the resiliency of urban infrastructure systems. But public or citizen security is an equally important aspect of building a sustainable city. Often, it is the issue that tops the list of citizens’ concerns—and with good reason. Violent … Read more

Rethinking Buildings

Read sidebars on public space, governance and energy efficiency. Cities are concentrations of people, buildings and activity. Infrastructure helps knit all of the pieces together and delivers essential services. The traditional infrastructure that supplies many of these services consists of a centralized, fixed-point service facility and a delivery network. Think energy (power plant and transmission … Read more

How Do We Make Sustainable Cities Sustainable Policies?

Read a sidebar on waste and recycling. Several of the region’s high-profile mayors who championed sustainability during their administrations have recently left—or will soon leave—office. This raises an important question: what will happen to the policies and programs they left behind? Incoming mayors have their own agendas and policy preferences, and sustainability initiatives—unlike crime or … Read more

USTR Head Announces Enviro Trade Negotiations in Davos

U.S. Trade Representative Mike Froman announced today in Davos that the United States would join others including China, Canada, the EU, and Japan to negotiate freer global trade in environmental goods. An economic sector estimated at over $950 billion annually, the market for such products is already significant and it is only expected to grow. … Read more

Shifting Mood in Canada–U.S. Relations

In a recent blog, I described Canada’s new and emerging American economic challenge with our neighbor to the south as it was heading towards energy self-sufficiency with its consequent impact on the manufacturing sector of its economy. While Canada has increased its trade with new partners in recent years and is actively pursuing new markets … Read more

Independent Watchdog Says NSA Program Is Illegal

The Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, an independent federal privacy review board, has concluded that the National Security Agency (NSA)’s phone call record collection program is illegal and should be discontinued. The 238-page report published yesterday finds that the spying program “lacks viable foundation” under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, violates the First … Read more

From “Make-Sicko” back to Mexico City: The Greening of Mexico’s Distrito Federal

Read a sidebar on transportation. Mexico City has one of the world’s most complex concentrations of people. In the early sixteenth century, Mexico City already had 200,000 inhabitants, and the Valley of Mexico almost half a million—which is to say, it has always been one of the world’s largest cities. Due to its longstanding position … Read more