Cleaner Air, Better Health
In 2003, Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) started work on a standard to dramatically reduce the sulfur levels in fuels. By 2005, the standard was published, requiring ultra-low-sulfur fuels (15 parts per million or less) nationwide by 2009. However, today, only about 25 percent of the diesel sold in Mexico meets the … Read more
Heart-Stopping U.S. Food Festivals
State fairs are traditional summertime family attractions across the United States. With agricultural themes, rodeos, carnival rides, and music, they’re also notorious for their artery-clogging food. The national winner in the latter category is the Texas State Fair, which attracts 2.6 million visitors every September to a competition for the most “original” deep-fried concoctions. Some … Read more
American Sabor
Rhythms of salsa, merengue, boogaloo, and Cuban son will be drifting out of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts this summer as part of the Experience Music Project’s American Sabor, a traveling exhibit that celebrates the influence of Latino musicians on music and culture in the United States. The exhibit, sponsored by … Read more
Mexico is Still Waiting for “Los Bitles”
The Beatles never played a concert in Mexico, yet no other country in the region has been able to match its Beatlemania. Forty-three years after the band dissolved, Mexico boasts more than 50 Beatles tribute bands and holds the record for radio time—12 hours weekly—dedicated to music of “Los Bitles,” as they are known in … Read more
Arts Innovator: The Laundromat Project, The United States
A mother and child load the week’s dirty clothes into a washing machine. Nearby, a young man stuffs his dry clothes into a hamper. An old woman methodically folds children’s socks and T-shirts. It’s a typical scene at laundromats around New York City—except for one difference: while waiting for their clothes to spin dry, a … Read more
Politics Innovator: Ruben Kihuen, The United States
Ruben Kihuen, 33, is used to winning. As a rising Mexican-American politician in Nevada—where Latinos have played a major role in deciding the last two U.S. presidential elections—Kihuen has attracted attention far outside his home state. And with good reason: both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama courted him during their 2008 presidential campaigns, and Kihuen’s … Read more
Panorama
Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and events from around the hemisphere with AQ‘s Panorama. Each issue, AQ packs its bags and offers readers travel tips on a new Americas destination.
Policy Updates
A snapshot of policy trends and successes in the region.
Innovators
Some of our hemisphere’s emerging leaders in politics, business, civil society, and the arts.
Monday Memo: Chilean Presidential Candidates – Pope in Brazil – Ambush in Colombia – U.S. Immigration – Venezuela-U.S. Relations
Likely top stories this week: Evelyn Matthei will be the UDI’s new candidate in Chile’s presidential election; Pope Francis I arrives in Brazil; Colombian government sends troops to Arauca; U.S. lawmakers debate the KIDS Act; Venezuela ends its attempt to normalize relations with the U.S. Chile’s New Presidential Candidate: The Unión Demócrata Independiente (Independent Democratic … Read more
Mexico’s New Undead Rapist Mayor-Elect
Yes, you read that title correctly. The small municipality of San Agustín Amatengo in the Mexican state of Oaxaca has recently attracted national attention due to what is likely the strangest story in electoral politics in the country. On July 7, Lenin Carballido, the candidate from a Partido Acción Nacional (National Action Party—PAN)-Partido de la … Read more
The PRI’s Losses are Peña Nieto’s Gains
MEXICO CITY —Mexico’s July 7 local elections, held in half of the country’s states, were the first since President Enrique Peña Nieto took office. As such, they served as a quasi-referendum on the president’s Partido Revolucionario Institucional (Institutional Revolutionary Party—PRI), and provide the political backdrop against which Peña Nieto will push his agenda to remake … Read more
Canadian Leadership Following Flooding and a Train Derailment
In the past few days, U.S. media networks have been reporting on the tragic events in Lac Mégantic, Québec, where a runaway, unmanned train carrying crude oil from North Dakota (73 wagons) barreled through a quiet tourist village of 6,000 inhabitants, derailed and exploded, leaving devastation in its trail. At the time of this writing, … Read more
Monday Memo: Mexico Elections—Peru Protests—Same-Sex Unions—NSA Activities—UNASUR Meets
Likely top stories this week: results in the race for governor of Baja California; protests over legislation in Peru; Costa Rica approves same-sex civil unions; Brazil responds to surveillance reports; and UNASUR divided over Evo Morales’ flight interruptions. Baja California’s Next Governor On Sunday, nearly half of Mexico’s 31 states held elections for mayors and … Read more
Incentive-Based Contracts in Mexico’s Oil Sector
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto’s plan to reform state-owned Petroléos Mexicanos (PEMEX) has attracted the attention of many analysts. Since President Lázaro Cárdenas nationalized the oil sector in 1938, no president has been able to push for reform to allow for foreign ownership of petroleum assets. Peña Nieto sees allowing foreign investment to be critical … Read more
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