Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
 

Canada’s Balanced Approach and the 2015 Election

To many outside our country, Canada has been characterized as a stable, durable democracy with a consistently enlightened approach to matters of public policy.  The political parties that have governed the country since its inception in 1867 have usually struck a balance between ideological pursuits and the general values Canadian hold dear.  Canada’s Supreme Court, … Read more

 

Monday Memo: Iguala Students—Cuban Internet—Nicaragua Canal—Strike in Haiti—Unasur facilitates U.S.-Venezuela dialogue

Likely top stories this week: Independent forensic team deems Mexico’s 43 missing students case inconclusive; Cuban authorities to expand Internet centers in 2015; archaeological relics uncovered along Nicaragua Canal route; a general strike in Haiti on eve of Carnival; Unasur seeks to facilitate U.S.-Venezuela dialogue. Independent Forensic Team Deems Mexico’s 43 Missing Students Case Inconclusive: … Read more

 

Portillo: from Prisoner to Political Return?

Former Guatemalan president Alfonso Portillo could be set for a stunning return to the political arena in the country’s upcoming elections in September. Portillo will be released from federal prison in the U.S. in February, having served less than 12 months of his six-year sentence for conspiracy to launder $2.5 million—money he received from the … Read more

Americas Quarterly - Winter 2015 - Nicolas Maduro and Hugo Chavez

Venezuela’s Post-Chávez Foreign Policy

President Nicolás Maduro inherited a dramatically changed country—and economic situation—when he came to power following Chávez’ death from cancer in 2013. Within a year of Maduro’s election in March 2013, oil prices had started a steady decline. And as investment in the industry also dropped, production fell to 2.62 million barrels per day (bpd) from … Read more

Americas Quarterly - Winter 2015 - Iguala Protest

Fighting Corruption: Easy to Promise, Hard to Achieve

The disappearance and apparent murder of 43 students in Iguala, Mexico, last September is a stark reminder of how organized crime and corruption are intertwined. The students were arrested by police officers allegedly sent by the mayor of Iguala, José Luis Abarca, to intercept their buses on their way to a demonstration. Reportedly, the students … Read more

Mexico After Ayotzinapa: Ya Me Cansé, Por Eso Propongo

Translated by Paulina Suárez-Hesketh The Ayotzinapa case (in which 43 students were disappeared by local government forces in the city of Iguala, Mexico) has galvanized an unexpected amount of social energy in Mexico. The healthy civic agitation that followed the case, along with the countless expressions of protest and dissatisfaction, reveal the desires of a … Read more

 

Monday Memo: Venezuela Protests – Haiti Elections – Caribbean Energy – AT&T – Brazil Olympics

This week’s likely top stories: Venezuelan opposition leaders halt protests in Caracas; Haiti swears in its nine-member Provisional Electoral Council; the U.S. hosts the first-ever Caribbean Energy Security Summit; AT&T acquires Nextel Mexico; Rio’s environment secretary announces that Guanabara Bay will not be clean in time for the 2016 Olympic Games. Opposition Curbs Protests in … Read more

 

Is This The Return of Barack Obama?

If there is one thing consistent about President Barack Obama, it’s his ability to defy the odds.  His nomination over Hillary Clinton in 2008 and his eventual election as president made history.  His seventh State of the Union speech, delivered on Tuesday, clearly showed his intention to resist any lame-duck status as he enters the … Read more

 

New Study Ranks Democracy in Latin America

Only two countries in Latin America—Costa Rica and Uruguay—can be considered “full democracies,” according to an Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study commissioned by BBC for Democracy Day on January 20. The report says that a majority of Latin American countries hold “free and fair” elections and are better ranked than their counterparts in the Middle … Read more

 

Amid Turmoil, Evans Paul Becomes Haiti’s New Prime Minister

Evans Paul took office yesterday as Haiti’s new prime minister amid continued political uncertainty after Parliament was dissolved on Tuesday. Paul, a former journalist, former mayor of Port-au-Prince and presidential candidate, was nominated by Haitian President Michel Martelly to replace Laurent Lamothe, who stepped down as the country’s prime minister in December. Florence Duperval Guillaume … Read more

 

Harper, Mulcair, Trudeau: 2015 Election Showdown

Shortly after winning his first majority government in 2011 (he won two minority governments in 2006 and 2008), Conservative Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper passed legislation to set the next election date no later than October 19, 2015.  In a pre-holiday interview, Harper reiterated his commitment to holding the next general election on that … Read more

 

U.S.-Mexico Relations: The Gifts of Three Kings?

More than Christmas, Three Kings Day on Tuesday was the holiday to celebrate if you come from Latin America. Starting in Mexico and going south, the holiday—the Dia de los Reyes Magos—commemorates the New Testament story in Matthew that describes the visit of three wise men to Bethlehem to see the newborn baby Jesus. Each … Read more

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Policy Updates

A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.

 

Guatemalan Genocide Trial Suspended Indefinitely

The resumption of the genocide trial against former Guatemalan president Efraín Ríos Montt ended as confusingly as it began, in a theatrical first day of renewed proceedings on Monday.  Following a three-judge panel’s 2-1 vote that determined that court president Irma Jeannette Valdéz was too biased to judge the case, the trial was suspended for … Read more

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