With Brazil poised to become one of the world’s top petroleum producers, a sugar-production slump and rising biofuel prices have left its ethanol industry is in an uphill battle against corn-based imports and an ever-growing gas sector.
The February 14 fire that claimed more than 350 lives in a Honduran prison revealed the grave overcrowding in the region's jails and raised questions about modernizing Central America's justice system.
"Democratic principles may sometimes be difficult or unpopular to defend, but in Latin America, as elsewhere, they are precious and well worth the fight," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in an op-ed for The Miami Herald.
This Energy Action Group working paper explores Chile’s efforts to achieve the energy security it needs to promote continued economic growth. Recommendations are based in part on a high-level meeting with Chile's energy minister.
A new law years in the making will provide compensation and land to victims of Colombia’s protracted armed conflict. The Santos administration, which lobbied for the bill’s passage, rallied support for the law after it went into effect in 2012.
Henrique Capriles Radonski won the nomination of Venezuela’s opposition coalition in the Sunday primary. With the backing of a unified opposition, can he pose a challenge to President Hugo Chávez in the October election?
On February 12, Venezuela will hold its first universal opposition primary as contenders vie to run against President Hugo Chávez in the October election. While the opposition prepares its campaign, Chávez plans for heavy spending in the year ahead.
"Recent Iranian saber rattling about closing the Strait of Hormuz is yet another reason for the U.S. to look north to Canada for oil imports," writes AS/COA's Jason Marczak for World Politics Review.
After winning her party’s primary, Josefina Vázquez Mota will represent Mexico’s National Action Party in July’s election. She faces an uphill battle against frontrunner Enrique Peña Nieto, but some observers point out the presidential vote is a long way off and the race could tighten.
During her three-day tour to the Caribbean, the Brazilian president sought new investments and skirted human rights discussions in Cuba while affirming Brazil’s new visa policy in Haiti.
This white paper presents findings on ways to ease youth access to labor markets in Mexico and El Salvador, with lessons for the region as a whole. It draws attention to private-sector initiatives that promote youth employment through skills training, entrepreneurship, and support of at-risk youth.
Does the increased presence of Indigenous and Afro-descendant representatives in Latin American legislatures make a difference in policy outcomes and laws for those populations? This white paper presents findings across four countries in select national congresses and assemblies from 1986 to 2012.
Hispanic voters gave Mitt Romney a boost in Florida's GOP primary, choosing the ex-governor by over a three-to-one margin compared to his top rival New Gingrich. How did the distinct characteristics of the state's Latino voting bloc play out in the primary race?
"China’s growing economic, diplomatic, and military presence and even assertiveness in the developing world is recasting the global stage," writes AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini in an article for FOX News Latino.
Cuba held its first party conference on January 28 and 29 to “update” the country’s ruling Communist Party, but some question if the reforms will go far enough.
"Chinese engagement in the Americas is growing, and it has brought important if unequal benefits to the region," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in an Op-Ed for CNN's Global Public Square.
The January 21 signing of a narcotics-monitoring pact shows that, while Bolivia’s tense relationship with the United States slowly improves, the Andean country also seeks closer ties with Brazil on drug-enforcement cooperation.
The film's producer spoke to AS/COA Online about former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's reaction to the movie, and shared her thoughts on the challenges of distributing Brazilian films abroad.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Brazil this week to advance his country’s ties with Latin America after years of what he called “neglect.”
With the Obama administration knocking back the application for the Keystone pipeline from Canada to the United States, Canadian leaders are looking to Asian markets to expand energy exports.
