Uruguay exemplifies how to deal with China
Other countries in Latin America should follow Uruguay’s tactful path to make the most of the opportunities provided by China.
Evan Ellis
June 22, 2021
Chinese engagement in the Dominican Republic: An update
Chinese advances in the Dominican Republic that once inspired concern in Washington have gone largely unrealized. For the U.S., the Dominican Republic represents both a fleeting opportunity and challenge in its struggle against China’s expanding presence in the greater Caribbean region.
Evan Ellis
May 7, 2021
Populism, China, and Covid-19: Latin America’s New Perfect Storm
The strategic environment of Latin America is in the early phases of a profound, negative transformation reflecting the combined effects of three of the most powerful global forces of our era: (1) the spread of a new, populist model for capturing democratic states with vulnerable institutions and transforming them into authoritarian regimes with expanded levels of elite-sanctioned criminality; (2) the Covid-19 pandemic’s profound, multi-dimensional, long-term blow to the region; and (3) China’s advances in pursuit of its economic ambitions, which have profound economic and political consequences for its partners.
Evan Ellis
April 23, 2021
China’s advance in Panama: An update
This piece examines the evolution of China’s position in Panama under the Cortizo government. It finds that China’s advance has suffered significant, if not necessarily enduring, setbacks under Cortizo, reflecting a combination of enhanced legal scrutiny, problems inherent to the Chinese projects themselves, and the adverse effects of the pandemic and corruption on the commercial and administrative environment in the country.
Evan Ellis
April 14, 2021
China and El Salvador: An Update
El Salvador’s recognition of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in August 2018 was the third such change in Latin America following the end of the informal truce that had restrained the PRC’s diplomatic competition with Taiwan between 2008 and 2016.
Evan Ellis
March 26, 2021
Chinese advances in Chile
Both the positive aspects and the limits of Chile’s relationship with China merit further attention by other nations in the Western Hemisphere, both in terms of how to achieve benefits from engaging with China through strong, transparent institutions and what to guard against.
Evan Ellis
March 2, 2021
New directions in the deepening Chinese-Argentine engagement
The December 2019 inauguration of President Alberto Fernández and Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Argentina returned to power a Peronist government that has not only moved the nation in an increasingly left-populist direction, but has also opened the door for a substantial deepening of the country’s already significant relationship with the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Evan Ellis
February 11, 2021
The challenges facing Latin America after COVID
Dr. Evan Ellis is interviewed by the John Nagl of the Foreign Policy Research Institute about the expected impact of COVID-19 on the dynamics of the region.
Evan Ellis
February 5, 2021
Why China’s Advance in Latin America Matters
Latin American governments beset by fiscal, economic and social crises will be tempted to accept bailouts and loan-based projects disproportionately benefitting Chinese companies that they would not have previously considered. The resurgence of the Latin American political left, already seen in Argentina and Bolivia, and the entrenchment of the Maduro regime in Venezuela, possibly bolstered by leftist victories in elections in Ecuador in February and Peru in April 2021, will further broaden China’s opportunities.
Evan Ellis
February 1, 2021
U.S. Policy in Latin America
[Video] The Foreign Policy Research Institute hosts Dr. Evan Ellis for a discussion of U.S. policy towards Latin America. As the Biden administration prepares to take charge, they will inherit a challenging situation in the region.
Evan Ellis
January 25, 2021