Politics, Business & Culture in the Americas
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Brazil’s Economy, Explained in a Pair of Flip-Flops

Havaianas is to Brazil what Apple is to the United States. More than a pair of flip-flops, they are part of the country’s self-image, a product that embodies the idea of Brazil as a carefree country of surf, samba and soccer. So the distressed sale in November of Havaianas’ parent company, Alpargatas S.A., was symbolically … Read more

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Moody’s: Lula Appointment Could Spell End of Fiscal Adjustment in Brazil

Brazil’s political crisis is moving at such intense speed that it’s hard for even dedicated analysts to keep up. AQ’s editor-in-chief spoke on Tuesday with Moody’s ratings agency’s chief analyst for Brazil, Samar Maziad, about how the changes in Brasilia are affecting the economy. At the time, there were rumors that former President Luiz Inácio … Read more

Aerolineas Argentinas

How Mauricio Macri Plans to Fill a $1 Billion Hole at Aerolíneas Argentinas

Last year was a good one for global airlines. Thanks to falling fuel prices and an increased demand for air travel, the industry earned an estimated $33 billion in 2015. Carriers around the globe earned near-record profits. Not so in Argentina, where according to official figures state-run Aerolíneas Argentinas operated at a loss of nearly … Read more

Congressman Pierluisi

Puerto Rico Deserves Better from Washington

The United States consists of 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories — one of which is Puerto Rico. Individuals born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens, but island residents cannot vote for president or senators. The territory has a single delegate in the U.S. House of Representatives who can vote in … Read more

Morning in Rio de Janeiro

What an Economic Recovery in Brazil Might Look Like

Now might seem like an odd time to look for signs of hope in Brazil. Dilma Rousseff has an approval rating of just 10 percent, she faces possible impeachment proceedings, scandal has frozen activity at the country’s biggest companies, inflation runs around 10 percent and the economy is expected to shrink 3 percent this year. … Read more

 

Mexico’s ‘soda tax’ leads families to cut back

Nearly a year after former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s anti-soda efforts fell flat in New York City, makers of sugary beverages still have plenty to worry about. In March, the first so-called soda tax in the U.S. went into effect in Berkeley, California, earning the city $116,000 in the first month alone. Legislation to tax sweetened beverages is reportedly coursing its way through statehouses in … Read more

 

Brazil: Up for Sale

Brazil is up for sale, and bargain-hunters from Sam Zell to Stephen Schwarzman are looking for deals. If the country’s economy could be spread onto a monopoly board, distressed domestic utilities like Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais S.A. (Cemig) would be selling for a bargain, while infrastructure like airports and railroads would be begging for … Read more

 

Brazil’s Lower House Passes Amendment to Austerity Bill in Setback for Government

On Wednesday, Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies passed its second austerity bill in a week, just hours before approving an amendment that changed the bill’s direction and increased federal spending for retirees. If passed by the Senate, the amended bill faces a possible presidential veto and represents a roadblock to the government’s strategy for increasing revenues. … Read more

 

Unpopular Austerity Measures May Be Brazil’s Best Path to Growth

A proposed government austerity package may keep Brazil from a credit rating downgrade, but could cost President Dilma Rousseff some of her biggest supporters: the country’s labor unions. Lawmakers in Brazil’s lower house passed a proposed bill this week that would limit thousands of workers’ access to social security benefits. The MP 665 bill was … Read more

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The Latin American Growth Slowdown

In January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) updated its growth forecasts—and the news was not uplifting for Latin America and the Caribbean. Average regional growth for 2015 was revised downward from 2.2 percent to 1.3 percent. The report forecast that Brazil, the region’s largest economy, would remain stagnant for another year, while the economies of … Read more

Caribbean fiscal issues

The Caribbean’s Fiscal and Economic Challenges

Pack your bags. The vacation is over. This was the panorama of the Caribbean in 2008 and 2009, when the Great Recession emptied the islands’ beaches of tourists and dried up foreign direct investment for hotels, condos and restaurants. Current account and fiscal deficits widened in many of the Caribbean nations, and belt-tightening was the … Read more

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Is Bitcoin Latin America’s Next Big Thing?

The new technology for financial transactions is a boon for people who lack access to traditional banks and financial systems. The historic surge of global Internet access and usage underlines the tremendous potential of the technology known as Bitcoin.* In two decades, the number of Internet users worldwide grew from approximately 25 million in 1994 … Read more

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Fresh Look Reviews

Fresh, unique perspectives on recent books from across the hemisphere originally published in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

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