While the markets continue to create waves of pressure on the US and Europe and investors worldwide, America’s downgrade due to political infighting within the United States was met with a confirmed Triple A rating for it’s neighbor, Canada. Canada is not immune to partisan politics, but in the last election a few months back, […]
Controversial Procedures Please read part one first The Commission’s report indicated controversies existed around the last criteria. Rather than the parliament, ex-Prime Minister Gerard Latortue, of the provisional government that replaced ex-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s administration after his forced exile in February 2004, relieved Gousse of his duties as Justice Minister. According to the report, Former […]
Yesterday’s 5.6 percent drop in the Dow reverberated through Latin America’s major stock exchanges. Argentina’s stock market took the worst hit, losing almost 11 percent of its value. Brazil’s Bovespa declined more than 8 percent; Chile and Peru’s markets each lost 7 percent. Mexico’s stock market, the Bolsa, withstood the sell-off better than the other […]
Dangerous political deadlock The ratification process of former Justice Minister Bernard Honorat Gousse, President Michel Martelly’s second nominee for prime minister, came down to the controversial divide between the technical or procedural vote and the political or personal vote. “I would vote against Gousse even if the other 29 senators voted for him,” declared Senator […]
NPR’s “Morning Edition” features an upbeat report by Jason Beaubien on Cuidad Juarez. Yes, Juarez: the border city in full grip of Mexico’s drug war. But the economy is thriving, adding jobs and exporting more goods to the United States than ever before. Car part factories are a big part of the city’s industrial base. […]
“Shut up,” said President Michel Martelly to members of the national press who, in his view, kept tourists and potential investors at bay, depicting Haiti as a desolate, hostile environment. “Why don’t you just shut up,” he reportedly reiterated during a short speech at the initial launch of Magic Haiti, a magazine dedicated to promoting […]
Since his swearing in as the 56th president of Haiti on May 14, 2011, Michel Martelly tried turning over every leaf around the globe, seeking new investment opportunities for his homeland. Consecutive trips to the United States and Spain respectively, after assuming office, attested to his aspirations: bring needed attention to the ravaged country. However, […]
I can’t let go of an article from the July 2 edition of the Economist. “Who’s Overheating” proposes an “emerging-markets overheating index” that crunched six factors: 1) Inflation 2) GDP growth since 2007, compared to the past decade 3) Unemployment 4) Credit growth 5) Real interest rates, and 6) Change in current-account balance. Twenty-seven countries […]
“Every day along the world’s busiest border, an expensive and time-consuming pantomime is acted out.” So begins the Economist’s coverage of the trucking agreement recently announced between Mexico and the United States. From that smart opening line the paper slips into an uncharacteristic fit of naïveté, arguing that Mexico stands to chalk major gains from […]
More and more, Brazil seems to be caught between–and battling against–the greenback and the yuan. One result: the real is now among the “most overvalued” currencies in the world. Part of the problem is the whop-jawed global economy. The world’s largest economy has been slow to recover from the 2008 global financial crisis, causing the […]
Results from the latest Haitian-cholera study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) sparked an avalanche of blame and finger pointing across the country, demanding accountability and the redressing of grievances. “Today it is clear, about 5,000 people have died and there is one group of people responsible: it is MINUSTAH,” said Steven Benoit, outspoken […]
Maquiladora factories symbolize Mexico’s economic integration with the United States. While lower wages in China lured away many clothing, toy and TV outfits, today a manufacturing revival is evident in Mexico. Factories are humming at full tilt; some are expanding operations. This news carries two surprises. First, Mexican manufacturing is rebounding ahead of growth and […]
This month the world was shocked to learn of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’ admission of being ill with cancer and his flight to Cuba to undergo an operation to remove a tumour. The weight of Mr. Chavez being ill has a great effect on Venezuela and all of Latin America because he is the voice […]
I was born in Georgia. Edilberto was not, but he has toiled in Georgia’s onion fields for the past 16 years. By all signs, he has led a contented, albeit hard, life in the state where his three children were born. Now though, he is planning to move to North Carolina. This is because on […]
I’m thrilled to join Mexico Today, a joint public and private sector initiative designed to help promote Mexico as a global business partner and tourist destination. Disclosure: I am being compensated for my work as a Community Manager for México Today, whereby I will generate content and manage other contributors. I also participated in an […]