Last week, Prime Minister Stephen Harper interrupted his trip to India to offer President Barack Obama his congratulations on his reelection. In Canada, there had been talk that Conservative Prime Minister Harper may have preferred a more ideologically-similar partner like Mitt Romney to govern our closest political neighbor and ally and strongest commercial partner. But … Read more
Mexico’s successful deep-water drilling of wells “Trion-1” (August 29) and “Supremus-1” (October 5) in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico has caused national euphoria. It has shown the country’s considerable oil potential and revamped public confidence in state-owned company Pemex (Petróleos Mexicanos), whose reputation had dwindled for the past years following a decrease in production, corruption … Read more
The Mexican government signaled this week that its approach to fighting drug trafficking in the region could change after voters in the U.S. states of Colorado and Washington decided to legalize the recreational use of marijuana on Tuesday. A top aide for Mexican President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto, who will take office in December, said Thursday … Read more
Latino voters could make the difference Tuesday in a tight presidential race—especially in battleground states such as Colorado, Florida and Nevada, where the Latino population has grown exponentially. Latinos are now 16 percent of the U.S. population and account for a record 11 percent of the nation’s eligible electorate. This year, 23.7 million Latinos are eligible to vote—four … Read more
Los movimientos estudiantiles en México no son nada nuevo. En 1912 una huelga estudiantil dio origen a la Escuela Libre de Derecho y en 1929 otra huelga de estudiantes consiguió la autonomía para la Universidad Nacional. Pero el gran momento llegó en 1968 cuando, enmarcado en un movimiento global de rebelión juvenil del cual muchos … Read more
Canada has only had two political parties who have governed the country’s affairs and destiny—the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. Just as in the United States, the two-party approach has served our democracy well. Unlike the U.S., however, our parliamentary system leaves more room for the establishment and the sustaining presence of a third … Read more
Mexican President Felipe Calderón inaugurated line 12 of the Mexico City subway yesterday, which will incorporate 20 new stations and connect Tláhuac, a largely poor semirural area, to the city’s subway grid. According to Calderón, thanks to the new “golden line”, which commemorates 200 years of Mexican independence, Mexico’s transportation system can compete with the … Read more
Mexico’s 62nd Congress had just been inaugurated on September 1 when legislators heard from President Felipe Calderón, who sent a labor bill to the Chamber of Deputies for consideration. Under a new fast-track authority, the executive branch can submit legislation to the lower chamber of the legislative branch, after which the lower and upper … Read more
Most people outside of Mexico may have never heard of Ruy Salgado. But during the most recent electoral contest here, that name not only became known throughout Internet circles in Mexico, but was arguably one of the most influential voices of opposition in the country. Ruy Salgado, a pseudonym, has an online alias known as … Read more
An enduring characteristic of Canadian politics in the last 50 years has been the question of language and how it plays out in the French speaking province of Québec. From the outset in 1867, Canada adopted a federal system of government at Québec’s behest, giving the constituent federated states defined constitutional jurisdictions. The Canadian Constitution … Read more
Representatives from various governments, multilateral organizations, businesses, and academic institutions gather in Cali, Colombia, today for the first of a three-day conference known as the Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF). The ACF seeks to promote economic growth and innovation in the hemisphere. The sixth ACF is being organized by the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and … Read more
In the fight against organized crime, Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras grab the headlines—but politicos and analysts neglect to mention Belize. This Central American country of 330,000 bordering Mexico and Guatemala is fast becoming fertile ground for organized crime, drug trafficking, human trafficking, and piracy. At 39 murders … Read more
Since 1979, World Food Day has been held every October 16, the day that the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was founded in 1945. Around the world, events and conferences this week will seek to draw international attention to ways that agricultural development can ease world hunger and malnutrition. Approximately 1 billion people worldwide … Read more
For a country that abhors political dynasties, the announcement by Justin Trudeau on October 2, 2012, that he would vie for the leadership of the Canadian Liberal Party drew a stream of comments and analysis. Surely, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (1968-1979, 1980-1984) would have been proud of his son’s decision, but he would undoubtedly … Read more
OTTAWA-The election landscape has changed in the predominantly-francophone province of Québec. On September 4, les Québécois elected a minority pro-independence party, le Parti québécois (PQ) with Pauline Marois at its helm. This makes life a lot simpler for Stephen Harper, Canada’s prime minister. A referendum on the separation of Québec from the rest of Canada, … Read more
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