• Enrique Krauze, Mexico and the United States

  Monday, 10 April 2017

  Enrique Krauze, one of Mexico’s leading intellectuals, reflects on the impact of the US-Mexican war of 1846: “The United States invasion of Mexico in 1846 inflicted a painful wound that, in the 170 years that followed, turned into a scar. Donald Trump has torn it open again…But the best and most just reparation would be American immigration reform that could open the road to citizenship for the descendants of those Mexicans who suffered the unjust loss of half their territory.”
  
  

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• Colombia's Social Impact Bonds

  Monday, 10 April 2017

  A remarkable project is underway in Colombia. The signing of the contracts for the Colombia Workforce Social Impact Bond (SIB) will target skills training and employment support to vulnerable, unemployed individuals in Bogotá, Cali, and Pereira.
  
  

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• Corn and NAFTA

  Monday, 03 April 2017

  Corn producers in the US are concerned that the Trump administration’s policy will affect corn exports to Mexico. “Now corn has taken on a new role — as a powerful lever for Mexican officials in the run-up to talks over Nafta, the North American Free Trade Agreement. The reason: Much of the corn that Mexico consumes comes from the United States, making it America’s top agricultural export to its southern neighbor. And even though President Trump appears to be pulling back from his vows to completely overhaul Nafta, Mexico has taken his threats to heart and has begun flexing its own muscle. The Mexican government is exploring buying its corn elsewhere — including Argentina or Brazil — as well as increasing domestic production. In a fit of political pique, a Mexican senator even submitted a bill to eliminate corn purchases from the United States within three years.”
  
  

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• Latin American Policy

  Monday, 03 April 2017

  A distinguished scholar comments:
  “To this day, a minority of Latin Americans remain staunchly anti-American. Their attitude toward the United States is ideological; there is nothing the country could do to change their dislike of it. But the rest of Latin America is not ideological but transactional. In dealing with the United States, these majorities respond to reciprocity. When they perceive the United States as treating them fairly and equally — as an interested partner more than as a detached or distrustful boss — they respond in kind. The new United States foreign policy, with its xenophobic protectionism aptly symbolized by Mr. Trump’s promised wall on the Mexican border, will turn these supporters into antagonists. Where applied, this policy will provoke a nationalist backlash and polarization. That much is clear. Mr. Trump may not see it, but the writing is on the wall — his wall.”
  
  
  

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• Immigration from Latin America Slowing

  Monday, 03 April 2017

  Weak labor-supply growth in Mexico and other Latin American countries means immigration to the U.S. of young, low-skilled workers will continue to slow until it reaches zero in 2050—even without the implementation of Trump’s border policies…In light of the changing demographics of migrant-sending nations, the current emphasis of the U.S. government on further intensifying immigration enforcement is puzzling. Why build a wall to stop an immigration surge that has largely already occurred?
  
  

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• Peron and Trump

  Wednesday, 22 March 2017

  Article explores the similarity between Argentina’s Juan Peron and Donald Trump: both are called authoritarian populists. Moreover, “Even if Trumpism remains an authoritarian response within democracy — one that doesn’t dissolve the institution altogether, as it has been the historical case in Latin America — an intolerant xenophobe holding the greatest megaphone on earth threatens the integrity of other representative democracies and may yet usher in more Trumps.”
  
  

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• Argentina Warns Trump About Protectionism

  Wednesday, 22 March 2017

  Argentina, which is poised to take over the leadership of the G20 group of developed and developing nations later this year, has warned Donald Trump that protectionist trade strategies do not work. Nicolás Dujovne, the country’s finance minister, said that Argentina’s own recent anti-free trade policies showed that closing borders did more harm than good. “We’ve been there,” Dujovne told the Guardian. “Protectionism and nationalism will not make your economy richer and will not accelerate growth. It will increase stagnation and poverty.”
  
  

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• Lima Cuisine Capital

  Wednesday, 22 March 2017

  Lima now has the best cuisine in the world, according to new ranking. Of the world’s 50 best restaurants 3 are in Lima, outpacing New York, London, and Mexico City.
  
  

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• Colombian Colonial Town

  Wednesday, 22 March 2017

  Colombia is famous for the charm of its Spanish colonial cities and towns. Salento is a jewel in the coffee growing region.
  
  

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• Argentina Lithium

  Wednesday, 22 March 2017

  Argentina is poised to become a world class producer of lithium. “If all of the projects go ahead, Argentina's annual output of the metal used in electric-vehicle batteries would surge to 165,000 metric tons, or about 45 per cent of global supply, according to government projections. Prices will increase as much as 15 per cent this year.”
  
  
  

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