In my first post as part of the Foreign Policy Blog Network, I summarized Peruvian President Ollanta Humala’s efforts to appease the markets through pro-business Cabinet appointments. In two well-respected placements, Luis Miguel Castilla became Finance Minister, and Julio Velarde stayed on as Central Bank Head.
An aspiring writer in the 1940s, Carlos Fuentes was cautioned by his diplomat father to get a real job. Instead, Carlos threaded the needle: he satisficed padre by acquiring a law degree. Then he spent two decades as a Mexican diplomat, managing to resign twice for more or …
Last night, 4, 200 boxes of beautiful flowers took flight on a plane from Bogotá, Colombia to Miami, Florida. They arrived early this morning to US shores and represent the first product to enter the US under the Colombia-United States Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The agreement …
In a recent discussion on Argentina’s expropriation of YPF there was much commentary on how the Falklands issue was still one of great importance. Seeing Argentina as independent and able to move ahead, despite having poor relations with the Europeans, created a healthy debate on …
“What really moved me,” admitted Jean-Paul Benoit, president of Haitians and Friends (HF) during our interview, “We realized there was no Haitian presence at the university, so we suggested the club.” After obtaining Student Government’s approval on March 1, 2012, Benoit and six other students officially launched the first Haitian …
Many pundits argue that the Summit of the Americas held in Cartagena, Colombia produced little worth celebrating. But for Afro-Colombians in the town of San Basilio de Palenque, the celebration hasn’t stopped, and rightfully so.
During the summit, Palenque officially received a collective land title to more …
Pedestaled by the Andes at 12,000 ft above sea level, Bolivia is one of the most closed off countries in the world. Since coming to office in 2005, President Evo Morales has increased the isolation by implementing a range of measures to discourage foreign investment; most recently, on May 1 …
I have yet to address Argentina directly in any of my entries, but fear has brought the nation’s business climate to the front of my mind. The deluge of press on President Kirchner’s nationalization of oil producer YPF has resurrected old demons. The act …
“The current governance of the country has nothing to do with democracy,” declared Evans Paul, leader of United Democratic Convention KID (French acronym), intervening live on Invite du Jour. “The country faces an autocracy in which the closest advisors of the head of state dares not provide him …
As many as 15 million Venezuelans watch “Aló, Presidente” every week. That is almost half of the entire country.
In that show, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez talks extemporaneously about whatever he wants. The show runs for as long as he wants it to.
Much of the Frontline episode revolves around “Aló, Presidente.”
It …
Last week the New York Times exposed that Wal-Mart de Mexico bribed local officials $24 million to hurry permitting for new stores. Most of the subsequent reportage has focused on stateside implications for Wal-Mart, which may include violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company’s stock is down over …
April 26, 2012 Contact: Mikael Moore
For Immediate Release …
Investors often fear one outcome to their investments beyond any natural disasters or recessions, one that has characterised possible nightmare results of investing in Emerging Markets, that of a nationally supported expropriation. Latin America as a whole has often fought and suffered as a result of state expropriations of American …
The award-winning Cuban blogger and writer Yoani Sanchez published an op-ed today in The New York Times called “The Dream of Leaving Cuba,” in which she describes the inability of many Cubans to gain the necessary permission to travel abroad. She is one of those …
(cntasul.blogspot.com)
In the September 2011 issue of National Geographic, to which I subscribe through my beloved grandmother, Cynthia Gorney chronicles the steep decline in fertility rate of Brazilian women. It is a thought-provoking coincidence that, in the short-term at least, this decline has coincided with a woman ascending to the presidency.
