The way to become a top CEO in Europe or the US has often come from societies that promoted the top achievers in schools and universities into positions of great influence and great wealth. With hard work and luck a person of normal means could often get into high positions, …
This week COHA.org writer Natalia Cote-Munoz produced a great piece comparing and contrasting Mexico’s current drug war with Colombia’s historical drug conflict in order to differentiate between policies that should be applied to the two countries. Often parallels are depended upon in discussing the two countries and their internal drug …
This week Iranian President Ahmadinejad toured Nicaragua, Cuba, Ecuador and Venezuela in a push to expand Iran’s international relationships as well as to establish Iran in America’s backyard. With recent tensions being ramped up exponentially between the US and Iran, world focus on any …
Mexico’s presidential election, to be held July 1, looks like a foregone conclusion. President Felipe Calderón’s right-wing National Action Party (PAN) has fallen far out of favor due to Mexico’s terrible drug violence. In the past 5 years, the drug wars have killed over 45,000 people. The Northern border city …
Anyone watching the end of the year documentaries on stations like the BBC and other international broadcasters likely feel the sense of slight growth in the United States mixed with slowing growth in places like South America and other regions that have thus far resisted the 2008 economic collapse effectively. …
Caracas last week welcomed all leaders from across Latin America in order to establish CELAC, a new regional organisation that seeks to create an OAS without a United States (or Canada!) and create a forum for one voice for Latin America. CELAC, while attended by all Latin …
Summary 2011
Latin America in 2011 became more important and influential on the world stage as the economies of the United States and Europe could not achieve the growth it required after the 2008 economic crisis, placing emphasis on the BRICS nations, particularly Brazil in Latin America to be the engine …
According to a recent poll by Latinobarómetro, a public opinion survey conducted in 18 countries in the Latin American region, 45% of Brazilians agree that “democracy is preferable to any other type of government.”[1] Alarmingly, the figure is down from 54% last year. …
A term that does not yet exist, but may be a simple and direct explanation of how many institutions, governments and companies currently operate is to call these organisations Idiotocracies. An Idiotocracy can be defined as a structure, group of managers or culture within an institution …
A recent report from COHA about the current relationship between the UK and Latin America was published last week in order to outline the lack of ties between a UK mired in European economic Telenovela and the great need to expand ties beyond traditional economic and cultural …
Mexico’s industrial output rose by 1.7 percent from August to September, the biggest leap in nearly two years. Analysts had expected a negligible 0.21 percent increase, but the hearty rebound of America’s car industry helped Mexican car factories chalk strong gains. In addition to manufacturing, the …
The Latinobarómetro poll is out. The 2011 survey included 20,204 face-to-face interviews in 18 Latin American countries. Conducted annually since 1995, the poll is widely seen as the most comprehensive study of public opinion across the region.
For most of the past decade it has been a delight to read. …
In today’s World Politics Review I argue that Argentina’s recovery from meltdown in 2001 is not a model that Greece can emulate. Primarily, this is because Argentina devalued its currency by 70 percent, then saw its fortunes rise with a global commodity boom. By contrast, most scenarios for a Greek …
Will education quality strengthen as Latin America’s economic growth continues? With Latin America’s GDP projected to grow 4 – 5% in real terms over the next three years, and most major economies holding positive trade balances, Latin America’s growth engine is far from slowing down. Recent …
This week Raul Castro’s government took to expanding on its opening of the Cuban economy. After September’s announcement allowing Cubans to freely sell and purchase automobiles for the first time legally since the Cuban Revolution, today it was announced that Cubans could now sell and purchase …
