World Cup Update
With preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup nearing completion, soccer fans across the region can turn their attention to what really matters: their national team’s chances of winning on the world’s biggest stage. Although European teams have won four of the last six competitions, South American teams have historically fared far better when playing … Read more
Currency: Argentina’s Devaluation
When Argentina devalued its peso by 19 percent against the U.S. dollar in January, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff reaffirmed her country’s independence from the volatile currency of its southern neighbor. “It will not have significant consequences,” Folha de São Paulo reported her saying. Indeed, Brazil has large international reserves, a balanced budget and consistent growth … Read more
Business Innovator: Marco Perlman
Brazilian entrepreneur Marco Perlman profited twice from his country’s recent decade of sustained economic growth: first as a successful venture capital investor, and then as a risk-taker who turned a longtime hobby—photography—into a transformative eco-enterprise. A self-professed “technology freak,” Perlman, 40, founded the Brazilian digital photo products and services company Digipix in 2004. At the … Read more
Civic Innovator: Drew Chafetz, United States
View a video interview with Drew Chafetz below. By the time he was 12, Drew Chafetz had visited six of the world’s seven continents, thanks to his parents’ determination to expand the family’s horizons. That not only spurred him to a lifelong love of travel, but into a career that involved his other passion: playing … Read more
Arts Innovator: Francisca Valenzuela, Chile
Singer. Fashion designer. Entrepreneur. At 27, Francisca Valenzuela has already reached the kind of success usually associated with a professionally managed career. But instead of a top agent or a big record label, the San Francisco-born Chilean artist owes her achievements to a team that includes her mother, biochemist Bernardita Méndez, her boyfriend and artistic … Read more
Too often, especially in emerging economies, the exorbitant investment necessary to prepare for these events goes to projects with little long-term economic value.
The World Cup, the Olympics and other mega sports events give cities and countries the opportunity to be in the world’s spotlight for several weeks. And the competition among cities to host these events can be as fierce as the competition among the athletes themselves. Bids that had traditionally gone to wealthier countries have recently … Read more
The urgency and scale of hosting can provide a needed boost to public investment and transform a country’s image, infrastructure and business conditions beyond the games.
In the next two years, Brazil will host the three largest mega sports events in the world: the 2014 FIFA World Cup this summer, and then the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio in 2016. Other nations in the Americas and across the globe will be watching to see if Brazil’s hosting duties lead to … Read more
Monday Memo: New Bogotá Mayor – Argentine Debt Case – Illegal Mining – Venezuela – García Márquez
This week’s likely top stories: María Mercedes Maldonado becomes Bogotá’s new mayor; the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in the Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital case; the deadline passes to regulate illegal mining in Peru; rallies in Venezuela turn violent; Gabriel García Márquez’ memorial service is held in Mexico City. Santos Names Interim Mayor … Read more
Speaking a Common Language with Latin America: Economics
United States-Latin American relations have often suffered from a disconnect. While we stress security issues, the region’s leaders speak of poverty reduction and trade. They resent being seen as afterthoughts to U.S. policies focused elsewhere. As a result, the region is sporadically open to new suitors, such as Spanish investors 15 years ago, or the … Read more
Contested Lands, Contested Laws
Read more about proposals for regulation here. The right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), or consulta previa, has expanded throughout South America. Nine states have ratified the International Labour Organization’s Convention 169 (ILO169)—the principal treaty regarding consulta previa.* But regulations created by four of those states—Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador—contradict the commitments they … Read more
International Cooperation or Gridlock?
A shift of the global balance of power is under way. Emerging countries are increasingly playing significant roles on global issues, such as the global economy, trade, and investment, as well as in diplomacy and multilateral decision making. In a few years, we will witness a historically rare phenomenon, when a new country will become … Read more
Brazil Sends Troops to Bahia After Police Strike
The Brazilian government sent 2,500 troops to the city of Salvador on Wednesday after a police strike led to looting and attacks on public transportation. Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, is set to host six matches during the World Cup this June. The police strike, over higher pay and better working … Read more
Security or Counterinsurgency in Rio favelas?
In anticipation of the 2014 World Cup, the Brazilian government enacted a policy to have special units of police occupy favelas in Rio de Janeiro. As of last week, one of Rio’s most dangerous shanty towns, Complexo da Maré, was taken over by close to 3,000 Brazilian troops. The shift—from using the elite Unidade de … Read more
The Havana Film Festival in New York Celebrates 15 Years
Since 2000, the Havana Film Festival in New York has been bringing Latin American cinema to New Yorkers—and after 15 years, it is still going strong. Despite its name, the festival doesn’t limit itself to showing Cuban films. Its goal, said creative director Diana Vargas, is to place Cuba within a larger Latin American context … Read more
Argentine Unions Stage Nationwide Strike
Parts of Argentina were paralyzed on Thursday after the country’s biggest unions shut down transportation and blocked entrances to Buenos Aires. The unions are staging a 24-hour strike to protest rising inflation and cuts to government subsidies, and are currently negotiating wage increases. Industrial unions—including metal and oil workers allied with President Cristina Fernández de … Read more
