News & Commentary
In Memory of His Holiness Pope Francis
Monday April 21, 2025
The Pan American Association of Philadelphia joins the world in mourning the passing of His Holiness...
Elections for President in Ecuador
Thursday February 13, 2025
Daniel Noboa, the 37 year old current president of Ecuador, failed to get a plurality of the votes i...
Save the Date: Judge Nelson A. Díaz Professorship Series at Temple Law – Featuring Anthony Romero
Tuesday February 4, 2025
On March 19, 2025, at 4:00 PM, Temple University Beasley School of Law will host the Annual Judge Ne...
Join Now
Membership has its priviledges:
• Member Discounts
• Quarterly Newsletter
• Social and Political Dialogue
• Networking
• Annual Schedule of Events
Sign Up for Updates
Sign for the Pan American Association e-mail list to receive updates and event invites.
The Pan American Association
P.O. Box 22655
Philadelphia, PA 19110-2655
Designed and Developed by 
The Pan American Association provides News & Notes for the Philadelphia community and for all those interested in developing a better understanding of the vibrant and deep relationship between the United States and the people of the Americas. For over 80 years the Pan American Association has been the preeminent forum for dialogue in the Delaware Valley on a relationship which is intensifying daily. We hope that News & Updates will serve as a solid bridge of communication among all the countries of the Americas. Never in history has the need for such a dialogue been greater than it is today.
Cocaine Up
Bad news. Cocaine production is up in Colombia and so is consumption in the US. “This surge in consumption can be traced directly to Colombia’s bumper harvest. The country’s illegal coca crop doubled between 2013 and 2015, reaching nearly 400,000 acres. That’s almost twice as much as the combined output of Peru and Bolivia, the world’s second- and third-largest producers.”
Read More »
Scrapping NAFTA
The U.S. and Mexican auto sectors have become so intertwined since the inception of the North American Free Trade Agreement that the industry itself is baffled as to how it would wean itself off the brisk cross-border trade in car parts. President Donald Trump has vowed to renegotiate the 23-year-old trade pact, a move he says would shift plants — and jobs — back to the United States, but it’s not clear that even tearing up NAFTA and existing supply chains would do that. The automotive industry is at the heart of U.S.-Mexico trade — and not just in finished vehicles. Steering wheels, dashboards, circuits, and other car parts zigzag across the borders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States many times before ending up in a vehicle in Detroit or Monterrey, Mexico. Disentangling those complex international supply chains could imperil the industry, more than a dozen industry participants and experts told Foreign Policy.
Read More »
Press Conference - US-Mexico
Colegas:
Fascinating press conference among US and Mexican officials, dealing with delicate issues about the wall, undocumented immigrants, Central America, responsibilities, and security cooperation. The comments by Mexican officials are quite frank, overshadowing the careful diplomatic talk of Secretaries Tillerson and Kelly.
Read More »
Vital Partner
Former American Ambassador to Mexico comments that the United States should treat Mexico as a vital partner, not a punching bag. He reviews the strength and benefits of the deep bilateral ties.
Read More »
China in Latin America and US Withdrawal
Will China fill the void as the US sends signals of potential withdrawal from Latin America? This article examines Chinese investments and argues that Latin American countries now have another option: “Unfortunately, unless there is a course correction in U.S. policy, it looks like—for a little while at least—it will be up to Latin American governments themselves to carve out a more constructive relationship with a Chinese government that appears more-than-willing to fill the vacuum potentially left by the United States.”
Read More »
US-Mexico
Mexico has indicated it will not accept the Trump administration’s new immigration proposals, saying it will go to the United Nations to defend the rights of immigrants in the US. Luis Videgaray, Mexico’s foreign minister, was responding to Donald Trump’s plans to enforce immigration rules more vigorously against undocumented migrants, which could lead to mass deportations to Mexico, not just of Mexicans but also citizens of other Latin American countries.
Read More »
Spanish Makes People Happy
Research indicates that Spanish is the happiest:
“Paris may be considered the romance capital of the world, but it turns out that Spain is the most amorous nation. And this may be linked to the fact the language was recently found to be the happiest and most positive by mathematicians.”
Read More »
Mexican Relationship
Former Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, reviews the state of relations between the United States and Mexico. Argues that the relationship is dangerously close to the edge. “Dangerously and sadly — particularly for someone such as myself who has spent a lifetime seeking to deepen and widen U.S.-Mexico ties — the relationship is today on a knife’s edge. Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, “alternative facts” regarding trade with Mexico or the dynamics along our common border along with a toxic anti-Mexican narrative — potentially changing the accepted rules of engagement in U.S. political discourse and public policy toward its southern partner — have seriously damaged perceptions on both sides of the Rio Grande, inflaming passions and propelling jingoism and unhelpful rhetoric.”
Read More »
Latin American Policy
At the change of administrations the community of scholars, businessmen, and foreign policy experts ask the question: What will be the impact of the new administration on Latin American policy? Attached are 3 articles that shed some light. It may be too early to tell, but there are already some fissures developing in our relationship with the countries, mostly because of potential protectionism and the approach towards Mexico. A number of Latin American countries have come out in support of Mexico in the scrap with Washington.
Latin America has always been a reservoir of good feelings and support for the United States internationally. Even Mexico, which for many years feared a close relationship with the United States, has been a good partner since the 1980s. American isolationism and protectionism will encourage Latin American countries to diversify their relations. You can hear the tinkling of champagne glasses in Beijing as the US pulled out of the Pacific Trade pact. China will now be the center of gravity for Pacific free trade. It will write the rules and reap the benefits rather than us. We would then contribute to the rise of Chinese power in the Pacific. Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Chile will be benificiaries of foreign investment because they have extensive trade agreements around the globe, which is attractive to foreign manufacturers who can thereby export to more countries. Below are 3 articles which provide insights:
Read More »
Latin American Reaction
Latin American countries are reacting to Trump initiatives by supporting Mexico. This is to be expected. It is evidence that the historical and cultural ties among the countries are still strong and matter in international relations.
Read More »
Page 6 of 37