video: a conversation with augusto de la torre of the world bank.

Dialogue President Peter Hakim also comments.

Piñera Wins first round of chilean presidential election

Conservative billionaire Sebastian Piñera won a first-round victory in Chile's presidential election on December 13, setting the stage for a runoff against ruling coalition candidate and former president Eduardo Frei.  The Latin America Advisor previewed the elections in a Q+A on December 7.  Michael Shifter spoke to Time in the lead-up to the election, and Dialogue Senior Fellow Genaro Arriagada analyzed the results of the first round for CIPER-Chile. 

Fernando Henrique Cardoso #11 on Foreign Policy’s list of 100 Top Global Thinkers

Former president of Brazil, and Dialogue Board member Fernando Henrique Cardoso ranked eleventh in Foreign Policy’s list of 100 Top Global Thinkers. Dialogue member Mario Vargas Llosa and Board member Francis Fukuyama also made the list, ranking 63rd and 65th, respectively. The Dialogue hosted a conversation with Cardoso on December 10. 

Conservative Candidate Lobo CLaims Victory in Honduras
National Party candidate Porfirio "Pepe" Lobo claimed victory in Honduras' Nov. 29 presidential election, winning roughly 56 percent of the vote. Despite relatiovely high turnout, the legitimacy of the contest in the eyes of leaders abroad remains in question following the June 28 coup that ousted President Manuel Zelaya. On Dec. 2, the Honduran Congress voted not to reinstate Zelaya, who remains holed up at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa. Peter Hakim and Michael Shifter also commented in various media outlets including the Associated Press, Bloomberg News and Reuters.

Jose Mujica of the ruling Broad Front party won the November 29 runoff election to become Uruguay's next president. Mujica, a former leftist guerrilla known by supporters as 'Pepe', defeated former president Luis Alberto Lacalle with 53 percent of the vote compared to 44 percent for Lacalle. The Latin America Advisor published a Q+A on the race on September 30, and Dialogue President Peter Hakim was quoted by CNN. Michael Shifter appeared on "Voice of America Español" following the first round to discuss the results.

 TENSIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA
Tensions between Colombia and Venezuela were elevated following Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez’s declaration that his country should "prepare for war." Although Chávez later clarified that his statement was a call for defense, not aggression, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe promised to lodge formal complaints with the United Nations and the Organization of American States. Michael Shifter contributed an article to Foreign Policy on the conflict, and discussed relations between Chávez and Uribe in the Christian Science Monitor. Dialogue member and Colombian presidential candidate Rafael Pardo recently discussed the tensions at a Dialogue event.

Video: Congress to Re-examine Drug policy at home and abroad