Even if Juan Guaido or another opposition figure finally takes the reins and starts fixing the oil sector in Venezuela, it will take years before oil exports can provide the economic boost needed to pull the nation out of the morass. Venezuela’s oil industry has been severely damaged, and there are questions about the long-term economic viability of its oil fields. Venezuelans will likely be disappointed with the pace of the economic turnaround under any new government—a risk that poses a real threat to political stability. Expectations ought to be tempered.
Brazil should build on its impressive efforts in renewable energy, clean transport, and deforestation reduction. But as President Jair Bolsonaro assumes power, one of the world’s largest economies is on the verge of relinquishing its role as an environmental leader and retreating from the fight against climate change.
Electric mobility would bring a host of benefits to Latin America. Countries like Chile are taking the lead in adopting electric buses and promoting private use of electric vehicles. Yet hefty price tags and a lack of charging infrastructure are among the barriers that must be surmounted for widespread uptake in the region.
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
Jair Bolsonaro’s victory in the Brazilian presidential election was widely seen as promising for the country’s oil sector, which has been revitalized by reforms that opened the upstream market under the Temer administration, but many questions remain unanswered as the January 1 inauguration approaches. Lisa Viscidi spoke with Meghan Gordon and Brian Scheid of the Capitol Crude podcast about the future of Petrobas and its subsidiaries, fuel subsidies, and deepwater exploration under Bolsonaro.
In an interview with Benjamin Gedan, director of the Wilson Center’s Argentina Project, Lisa Viscidi discusses the current conditions and outlook for three key components of the Argentine energy sector.
Lisa Viscidi, Benjamin Gedan
Interviews ˙
˙ Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Lisa Viscidi, directora del programa de Energía, Cambio Climático e Industrias Extractoras del Diálogo Interamericano comenta con Gustau Algret para Poder Latino de NTN24 sobre la desaparición del periodista saudí Jamal Khashoggi y las consecuencias del poder petrolero de Arabia Saudita.
Until this year, resource nationalism—when a government asserts its control over a country’s natural resources—seemed to be on the wane in Latin America. But its potential return could set back Latin America’s two largest economies.
Although electric mobility is at an early stage in Latin America, several cities have made significant advances. This new report addresses a number of critical questions about electric transportation in Latin America, drawing on case studies of six urban electric car and bus markets that have seen among the fastest growth in the region.
Could Venezuela’s oil production decline even more steeply? Three evolving developments will largely determine the answer: whether creditors can seize assets in compensation for default, whether large numbers of oil workers continue to abandon their jobs, and whether the United States and other countries impose additional sanctions.
El 7 de agosto Iván Duque asumió la presidencia de Colombia. Se enfrentará a muchos desafíos, entre ellos el narcotráfico, las tensiones con Venezuela, el proceso de paz con las FARC y un conflicto en marcha contra el ELN. ¿Cómo colaborarán Colombia y los EEUU frente a estos temas durante la presidencia de Duque?
President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador can capitalize on Mexico’s enormous renewable energy potential and make Mexico a leader in the fight against climate change. Although his platform offers some promising proposals, he will have to maneuver through several major obstacles.
In a conversation with CSIS, Lisa Viscidi explains the potential implications of this year’s elections in Latin America’s top oil producing countries. Political changes in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Venezuela will affect oil output, with effects felt both domestically and in the United States.
Lisa Viscidi, Richard Miles
Interviews ˙
˙ Center for Strategic & International Studies
Improving grid management, expanding fiscal incentives for renewable technologies, and improving the land consultation process will open the door to the large Mexican renewable energy market.
Lisa Viscidi
Reports ˙
˙ Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
The next few years will see a major shift in the hemispheric natural gas trade, as increased US LNG exports increasingly displace volumes from other exporters.
