Raúl Castro surprised observers Monday when he said at a National Assembly meeting that Havana may reform Cuban migration laws. But the country’s Parliament did not address the country's many pressing economic issues.
The new president, sworn in July 28, announced a series of social programs, saying: "Economic growth and social inclusion will march together."
COA's Eric Farnsworth writes in a letter to the Financial Times that drug-related violence in Central America "is not just a security threat, it is also a growing threat to democracy itself."
With the race for the Casa Rosada heating up, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner holds a strong lead in the polls. But results in recent local elections indicate the opposition could be building steam.
An Ecuadoran court convicted a daily newspaper's directors of defamation July 20, sparking an international uproar from press freedom advocates and shining a light on Latin American libel laws.
AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini writes in The Huffington Post that a new provision in the U.S. House appropriations bill limiting Cuban-Americans' ability to visit family on the island runs counter to U.S. interests and to those of the Cuban people.
"There remains much to do, but the progress is substantial," writes former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Antonio O. Garza in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News, citing specific steps Mexico has taken to strengthen the rule of law.
"The contrast between policy toward the United States’ former communist enemies...and its uncreative, timid, policy toward Cuba is as illogical as it is unfortunate," writes AS/COA's Senior Director of Policy Christopher Sabatini in an op-ed for The Miami Herald.
In the countdown to his July 28 inauguration, Ollanta Humala announced key cabinet appointees that demonstrate moderate choices, reassuring investors. But, with his approval ratings sliding, can he win the Peruvian public's support?
Facing student protests, striking copper miners, and controversy over energy projects, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera shuffled his cabinet for the second time this year. Will the changes appease detractors?
With no replacement named, Arturo Valenzuela leaves his post as assistant secretary of state for the Western Hemisphere to return to Georgetown University.
"Every day we delay, U.S. market share in [Colombia, Panama, and South Korea] is being eroded by others who are able to trade under more favorable terms," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Both the administration and congressional Republicans must end the partisan wrangling over the Trade Adjustment Assistance program to pass pending U.S. trade pacts, write members of COA's Trade Advisory Group in The Washington Post.
Brazil expects $34 billion in private investment for hosting the World Cup and the Olympics. But, with construction projects running behind schedule, will it update its infrastructure in time?
The victory of Eruviel Ávila in the race for governor of the State of Mexico is the latest in a string of PRI victories.
"We are losing Central America. It's time to fight to win it back," writes COA's Eric Farnsworth in The Miami Herald.
The Obama administration announced it would require arms dealers in Southwest border states to report on multiple sales of certain assault rifles. The move, designed to help slow arms trafficking to Mexico, will likely face legal challenges.
After approving NAFTA in 1994, the United States continued to restrict Mexican truckers’ ability to cross the border. A bilateral agreement signed July 6 seeks to put the dispute to rest.
Facing hundreds of thousands of student protesters, Piñera takes a stab at reforming the education system. Will he find common ground with demonstrators?
President Hugo Chávez’s announcement he was being treated for cancer has raised questions about Venezuela’s capacity to transition after 12 years under a strongly vertical political power structure.
