Weekly Roundup: Argentina and Energy, a Remittance Slowdown, and the Brazilian Model
Weekly Roundup: Argentina and Energy, a Remittance Slowdown, and the Brazilian Model
A Chilean copper firm looks to Africa, Venezuelan intelligence arrests "Gordito," trade fears stoked in the U.S. election, and Ottowa proposes Canadian uranium enrichment. Read these stories and more in the Weekly Roundup.
Argentina to Raise Gas Export Taxes
In an effort to stave off an energy shortage, Argentina will raise taxes on its natural gas exports. Argentina has reduced its exports to neighboring Chile over the past few years and, faced with a potential deficiency caused by slowed natural gas exports from Bolivia, signed an agreement with Venezuela involving an energy-agriculture exchange.
In testimony to U.S. Congress, COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth argued that Latin America lacks the investment needed to maximize exploration, production, and distribution of their natural resources and that energy cooperation should be part of the U.S. strategic agenda for the region.
Chilean Copper Firm Looks to Africa
The Financial Times reports that Antofagasta, a Chilean copper producer, is looking to acquire companies in central Asia, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company’s chief executive said that a prior investment in Pakistan has given the firm the confidence to take on risky acquisitions.
As the Los Angeles Times puts it, “Venezuela, Colombia, and the United States finally appear to agree on something:” the importance of trying drug trafficking suspect Hermagoras Gonzalez Polanco—alias “Gordito.” The Colombian, identified as head of the Guajira cartel in northwest Venezuela, has a $5 million U.S. State Department reward posted for his capture. He was arrested by Venezuelan intelligence over the weekend.
A new AS/COA Online analysis examines the end to a standoff between Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador following last week’s stand-off.
Writing in the Miami Herald, the Brookings Institution’s Vicki Huddleston says U.S. officials should engage in a dialogue with Cuba “to press Cuba's leaders to respect the principles that we and the region hold dear: human rights, rule of law and freedom.”
Huddleston, the former chief of the U.S. Interests Section in Cuba, joined a COA roundtable with experts from the Lexington Insitute, Center for a Free Cuba, the University of Notre Dame, and AS/COA to discuss prospects for Cuba’s future following the resignation of longtime leader Fidel Castro. Listen to a podcast and read a summary of the event.
In March 5 testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, AS/COA Senior Policy Director Christopher Sabatini argued that little will change in Cuba with the Castor brothers in power and urged that the United States “work with those elected governments that respond to citizens demands by addressing security and crime within a democratic framework.”
An article in India’s Economic Times looks at the Brazilian market, which has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2008, as a model for decoupling from advanced markets.
In a new AS/COA interview, JPMorgan’s Joyce Chang discusses Latin American emerging markets and says the region “is more insulated from a United States slowdown than at any time in recent history.”
Trade Fears and the U.S. Election
Writing in YaleGlobal, former President of Mexico and Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization Ernesto Zedillo warns of the dangers of protectionist talk from U.S. Democratic presidential candidates attempting to stoke voters’ fears. “[A] fear-of-trade strategy, if materialized into policy, would deliver less prosperity,” says Zedillo.
According to a new report by the Inter-American Development Bank, Latin American and Caribbean migrants sent $66.5 billion back to their home countries in 2006. While this represents a 7 percent increase over the previous year, 2007 was the first year since 2000 when the increase in remittances did not reach double digits. Researchers attribute the slowdown to a decrease in funds sent home to Mexico and Brazil.
Mexican Women Outpace Men as Migrants
A study released in Mexico found that the number of women migrating from Mexico to the United States grew by 6 percent in 2007, accounting for more than half of the roughly 560,000 Mexican migrants.
With the Canadian province of Saskatchewan producing a quarter of the world’s uranium, Ottawa is looking into enriching the substance and would become a chief supplier of uranium fuel for the United States. As the Wall Street Journal’s Environmental Capital blog reports, Canadian attempts join the enrichment club “could cause a big fuss,” particularly as the United States and other countries have condemned Iran for developing an enrichment program.
Disappearance Trial in Guatemala
Guatemala held its first forced disappearance trial on Monday. The case is against a civilian military commissioner involved in the disappearance of six members of the Kaqchiquel Mayan indigenous group during the early 1980s.
The Center for Strategic & International Studies’ Johanna Mendelson Forman examines Laura Bush’s trip to Haiti, where the First Lady will focus on AIDS prevention on an island where the disease’s prevalence could be as high as 5.4 percent.
Mexican Wins Photography “Nobel”
Graciela Iturbide, internationally recognized for her iconic images of Mexico, was named the 2008 winner of the prestigious Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography.
The Mexican photographer’s work is on display at the Americas Society through April 12. Listen to an AS audio podcast of a conversation with Iturbide as she discusses the exhibit, titled Torrijos: The Man and the Myth.