The COVID-19 pandemic hit Latin America at an extremely difficult time for its economies. Facing the virus will be an unprecedented economic and political challenge for the region.
COVID-19: What will happen to Latin America’s regional economy?
By Elena Lazarou /
Just the Facts
Eight in ten people in the Western Hemisphere biased against women, UNDP
Findings from the UNDP’s new Gender Social Norms Index suggest the glass ceiling is not made of glass, but of bias and prejudice against women. In the Western Hemisphere, this bias is prevalent in 80 percent of the population.
Foreign Policy & U.S./Latin America Relations
The bear comes to the West: The Russian agenda in Latin America
By Armando Chaguaceda /
Latin America needs to forge alliances in a complex, changing world, but betting on extra-continental autocracies will not bring greater social equity and respect for human rights to the Americas.
Economics, Trade & Development
2019 Latin American political landscape: The good, the bad, and the ugly
By John Price /
The 2018 elections in Mexico and Brazil turned on its head the investment norm driving Latin America’s two largest economies.
Foreign Policy & U.S./Latin America Relations
AMLO’s cautious foreign policy
By Greg Weeks / GregWeeksUNCC /
AMLO’s foreign policy is far from the populist, anti-American rhetoric of his campaign and much of his political life. Nevertheless, his make-no-waves position is fraught with contradictions.
Venezuela
Venezuela: When dialogue is agony
By Nicolás Albertoni and Victoria Gaytán /
In confronting an autocrat intent on remaining in power, empty dialogue only prolongs the agony of the Venezuelan people. Will the Montevideo Mechanism continue this failed policy?
Human Rights & Multilateral Organizations
Regional pressure on Maduro’s regime must continue despite Mexico’s abdication
By Benjamin N. Gedan / MENU
The shameful decision of the AMLO administration to take a stance of non-intervention on Venezuela will hamper the effectiveness of a regional response, but efforts to reign in Maduro remain worthwhile and necessary.
Human Rights & Multilateral Organizations
OAS Permanent Council rejects Nicolas Maduro’s new term
By Victoria Gaytan / VickyGO /
With 19 votes in favor, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) agreed “to not recognize the legitimacy of Nicolas Maduro’s new term as of the 10th of January of 2019.”
Venezuela
Under AMLO, Mexico’s government becomes an enabler
By Victoria Gaytan / VickyGO /
A Grupo de Lima founding member and a champion of restoring democracy in Venezuela under previous administrations, Mexico under AMLO has scaled back its support for human rights defense in the region.
Policymaking
2019: Trends, risks and hard questions in Latin America
By Evan Ellis / REvanEllis /
Unresolved challenges of organized crime, weak governance and extra-hemispheric actors threaten instability and to erode U.S. influence. It’s time for U.S. policymakers to face some tough questions.