Analysis

Video

The Oil from Ipanema

Brazil has vast oil reserves, but can the Bolsonaro government get the energy to market? Lisa Viscidi tells Richard Miles of CSIS that reforms are already in place that will enable oil production “to take off.” The real obstacles are the financial stability of Petrobras, the shaky state oil conglomerate, and the monopoly that the state has on most aspects of energy production, delivery, and even retail sales.

Lisa Viscidi, Richard Miles

Interviews ˙ ˙ Center for Strategic & International Studies

Mexico’s Problematic Energy Policy

Just as Pemex bonds suffered a downgrading to junk status by Fitch, Lisa Viscidi, director of the Energy Program, sat down with Nathaniel Parish Flannery of Forbes to discuss the state of Mexico’s energy sector, including oil and gas, regulators, and renewables, seven months into the AMLO administration.

Lisa Viscidi, Nathaniel Parish Flannery

Interviews ˙ ˙ Forbes

Regulators and Companies Still Central to Mexico’s Energy Sector

Regulators and private companies will continue to play important roles in the development of Mexico’s energy resources despite President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s focus on strengthening state-owned companies and enhancing “energy sovereignty” by reducing dependence on energy imports from the United States. This was the key message from speakers at “La nueva política energética de México,” an Inter-American Dialogue event in Mexico City.

Nate Graham

Event Summaries ˙

Video

The Outlook for Renewable Energy under the AMLO Administration

AMLO’s skepticism of private investment, the cancellation of generation and transmission auctions, and the return to state-led electricity development through bolstering of the CFE threaten to squander Mexico’s renewable potential and drag its clean development efforts backwards.

Lisa Viscidi

Presentations ˙ ˙ Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

The United States and Mexico: Partnership Tested

Few neighbors have such deep and wide-ranging ties as the United States and Mexico. Both countries are bound not only by geography, but also through economic, security and social connections. Despite these strong connections—or perhaps because of them—the bilateral relationship is subject to strong pressures coming from domestic politics in both countries.

Michael Shifter, Bruno Binetti

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ Great Decisions

The Trump Effect in Latin America

Over a year ago, as Donald Trump was on one of his tirades full of insults and falsehoods – to which most Americans have, sadly, now become accustomed – I asked an Argentine friend if he had ever heard such aggressive rhetoric from a president before. “Sure I have,” he responded, “but never in English.”

Michael Shifter

Articles & Op-Eds ˙ ˙ Ideele

CSIS Video

What Will AMLO and Bolsonaro Do To Energy Markets?

New leaders in Mexico and Brazil may mean big changes to their respective energy sectors. Lisa Viscidi tells Richard Miles of CSIS that a Mexican delay on offshore bidding could have a major impact, but that Brazil is likely to maintain the status quo. Venezuela could take years to recover production once it emerges from its current crisis, given the massive investment required to reverse declining oil output.

Lisa Viscidi, Richard Miles

Interviews ˙ ˙ Center for Strategic & International Studies

Video

Alternativas para evitar el éxodo centroamericano

En el contexto de la caravana de migrantes hondureños parados en Tijuana, el nuevo gobierno de México, encabezado por Andrés Manuel López Obrador, ha propuesto una estrategia regional con Estados Unidos y los países centroamericanos para generar empleos y fortalecer procesos productivos

Manuel Orozco

Interviews ˙ ˙ CNN

The Unfinished Business of Mexico’s Energy Reform

Mexico’s 2013 energy reform has led to pledges of almost $200 billion of private investment and renewable power auctions garnering bids to provide electricity at record-low prices. The Mexican government should continue to build on the successes of the reform, César Hernández, former Mexican undersecretary for electricity, and Jorge Castilla, managing director for Mexico at Accenture, said at an event hosted by the Inter-American Dialogue, the Embassy of Mexico, and the Energy Policy Research Foundation.

Nate Graham

Event Summaries ˙

Video

Market Tailwinds and Political Headwinds for Latin American Energy

2018 has been a year marked by great political uncertainty for Latin American energy markets. Oil prices are up, creating strong incentives for investment, rising US natural gas exports are creating a new source of flexible, cheaper energy for Latin American consumers, and the cost of wind and solar energy is declining dramatically. However, Latin America continues to face uncertainty in energy policy as new governments take office in many countries and geopolitical tensions between the US and China are on the rise. With many questions on the table, government officials, corporate representatives, and analysts gathered on October 25 at the Inter-American Dialogue to assess the future of energy policy in the Western Hemisphere.

Nate Graham, Amy Iverson, Chris Kambhu

Event Summaries ˙

Video

Uncertain Relations: AMLO & Donald Trump

Michael Shifter discusses what Andres Manuel López Obrador’s landslide win in the 2018 Mexican elections could mean for Mexico and the Western hemisphere. López Obrador faces the challenge of transforming his populist campaign into a practical and effective government while also addressing record homicides rates, rampant corruption, and the nation’s gaping inequality and entrenched poverty.

Michael Shifter

Interviews ˙ ˙ AlJazeera

Michael Shifter

Incertidumbre política en México

En una breve discusión con Caracol Radio, Michael Shifter, presidente del Diálogo Interamericano, discutió acerca de la incertidumbre a partir de la elección de López Obrador como presidente de México, y los pasos que este tomará en relación a las dificultades específicas que atraviesa ese país actualmente.

Michael Shifter

Interviews ˙ ˙ Caracol Radio