The following interview between Global Americans’ Executive Director Guy Mentel and Francisco J. Monaldi took place this week as the Biden-Harris administration moves to combat climate change and as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt global oil markets.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the increasingly urgent threat of climate change have clearly demonstrated both the direct relevance of the global (Environmental, Social, and Governance) ESG risk factors as well as the world’s interdependence in facing these ESG risks.
Recent events—in particular, last April’s meeting of the Bretton Woods institutions (that is, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF))—have generated significant advances in international financial cooperation, particularly in support of developing countries. Such support remains crucial, as a large number of low- and middle-income countries continue to be severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis while economic recovery efforts are very uneven, as underscored by the IMF in its World Economic Outlook.
Other countries in Latin America should follow Uruguay’s tactful path to make the most of the opportunities provided by China.
As the G7 meetings concluded in Cornwall, England, one outcome was an agreement on a global minimum tax. This initiative will further squeeze the Caribbean just as it is struggling to recover from the harm the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked on tourism, the region’s main economic sector.
Global Americans convened a panel of regional experts and analysts to weigh in on the implications of Blinken’s visit to Central America, seeking to answer the following questions: What can Costa Rica teach its Central American neighbors with respect to economic stability and transparent governance? How should the U.S. balance its hemispheric national security priorities with the thorny quandary of calling out democratic vulnerabilities and shortcomings? And, generally, which way forward for U.S.-Central American relations once Secretary Blinken has departed San José?
The projections of all international organizations and private analysts indicate that Latin America’s economy will only partially recover in 2021. As economic growth during the quinquennium prior to the current crisis was close to zero, the region is immersed in a new lost decade.
At a decisive time, the U.S. chose to complain about China rather than offer leadership to solve Latin America’s COVID-19 crisis.
The Colombian government has hinted at its interest in attracting the private sector to collaborate on its plans for energy transition, green growth, and environmental protection, but has not yet spent the time and political capital that will be necessary to get industrial interests on board. Will President Duque seize the moment? And will the private sector take the lead or take a backseat, waiting until Colombia’s political environment changes?
The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that the future is digital. As a result, it has highlighted the transformative power of technology for Latin America and the Caribbean, and accelerated its digital transformation, not only in leading start-up markets like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, but throughout the entire region.
