Americas Quarterly Addresses Central America's Burning Question: Which Future?

From security to economic opportunity to rule of law, an exclusive portrait of one the world’s most violent regions also offers glimpses of hope for El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—Central America’s problematic Northern Triangle

New York, April 11, 2016 — What would need to happen for Central America’s Northern Triangle to be a better place in 30 years? Richard Lapper, who began his journalism career covering the region’s wars of the 1980s, authors the feature story in Americas Quarterly’s latest issue, which offers a comprehensive look at the progress Central America has made and the extraordinarily complex challenges it faces today.

Home to some of the world’s deadliest countries, Central America has seen positive developments over the past three decades, some of which have not received the international attention they deserve. “When I first visited the region, at the height of the Cold War, it was characterized by dictatorships or extremely weak democracies,” writes Lapper. “Today, all of the region’s countries are democracies.” Along with the evident advances in the strengthening of democratic institutions, Lapper focuses on the islands of economic excellence that are slowly emerging. However, “security, including effective judiciaries and police forces, is a pre-requisite for further advance,” he warns.

Find Richard Lapper’s article here.
An abridged version of this article is available en español.
The author wil be available for interviews.

Americas Quarterly (AQ) is the leading publication on politics, business, and culture in Latin America. Articles from this special report on Central America available today include:

• A look at how Colombia’s success story shows the road ahead for Central America, by AQ Editor-in-Chief Brian Winter.
• An article by economist and social policy advisor Carolina Ávalos on Central America’s yawning gender gap and its effect on the region’s growth.

The complete Americas Quarterly’s second 2016 edition will be available April 25, 2016 at AmericasQuarterly.org

For press inquiries or to book an interview with Richard Lapper, contact:
Adriana La Rotta | alarotta@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8384
Kariela Almonte | kalmonte@as-coa.org | 1-212-277-8333

Americas Quarterly (AQ) is the premier publication dedicated to politics, business and culture in the Western Hemisphere, with a focus on Latin America. Launched in 2007 and based in New York City, AQ’s award-winning magazine and website appeal to a broad audience interested in the region. Readers include top policymakers in Washington, D.C., Brasilia, Mexico City and beyond; executives at Latin American multinationals and Fortune 500 companies; opinion leaders in universities and the media; and a vast array of general readers who are passionate about Latin America. Editorial board members include former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Ricardo Lagos, Ernesto Zedillo and Alejandro Toledo, as well as leading voices from business, journalism, finance and academia. Americas Quarterly is an independent publication of Americas Society and Council of the Americas, which for more than 50 years have been dedicated to dialogue in our hemisphere.