In the early 1980s, when the Inter-American Dialogue was born, the U.S. was actively supporting right-wing governments from El Salvador to Nicaragua. There were “tremendous misunderstandings between Latin America and the United States,” says Michael Shifter, longtime president of the D.C.-based think tank. These days, it seems those tremendous misunderstandings have returned with a vengeance, making the Dialogue’s work even more relevant.
Since late President Hugo Chávez took power in Venezuela in 1999, the Andean nation and Cuba have had close ties. Those ties have included Venezuela sending oil to Cuba on preferential terms and Cuba sending doctors and other professionals to Venezuela. Venezuela, however, is now beset by political and economic crisis, including skyrocketing inflation, shortages of food and basic goods, and recent deadly protests. In which ways does Cuba still rely on Venezuela, and how important is that support to the island nation?
On Friday, March 3rd, the Dialogue welcomed Director and Deputy Director of Cuba Posible, Roberto Veiga and Lenier Gonzalez, and a small group of Latin America policy experts for a discussion on social and political trends in Cuba. The discussion focused on upcoming leadership dynamics in Cuba and the role of young people in the future of the island.
In 2016, the flow of remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean surpassed US $70 billion. In the 20 countries for which there is data available, the flow reached US$69 billion. This increase demonstrates continued growth since the post-recession period. In this article, we find a range of factors shaping this growth,
The White House on Jan. 12 ended the so-called “Wet Foot, Dry Foot” policy, which for two decades had automatically allowed Cubans who reach dry land in the United States to stay. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration announced the end of the policy, which Cuba’s government had long opposed, just eight days before Obama left office. How will the change affect Cuban migration patterns throughout the region?
The pendulum of Latin American politics is swinging rightward once again. Yet as the “pink tide” recedes, the forces of change have more to do with socioeconomics than ideology. Dramatic economic and political crises have coincided in countries like Brazil and Venezuela. Still, the final result for Latin America may be the emergence of centrist, pragmatic modes of governance, and with them, opportunities for the U.S. to improve relations. The new administration must look beyond the neoliberal model of the 1990s, and develop an approach to relations fit for the 21st century.
Fidel Castro, who led the revolution that overthrew Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959 and transformed Cuba into a one-party communist state, bedeviling 11 U.S. presidents and at one point bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war, died Nov. 25 at age 90 after years of declining health. Will Fidel’s death pave the way for any significant political or economic changes in Cuba?
Ninguém pode negar a Fidel Castro o seu lugar na História. Ele foi a figura política mais proeminente da América Latina talvez desde Cristóvão Colombo, em 1492. A questão é até que ponto sua narrativa será mais sobre sonhos ousados e mudanças progressistas — ou sobre opressão e, no fim, estagnação em Cuba.
Nadie puede negar Fidel Castro su lugar en la historia. Era la figura política más importante en América Latina tal vez desde Cristóbal Colón en 1492. La pregunta es hasta qué punto su legado será el de unos sueños osados y unas transformaciones progresistas o por el contrario, un relato de opresión y de estancamiento para Cuba.
No one can deny Fidel Castro his place in history. He was, by any measure, the most prominent political figure in Latin America in the 20th century, maybe since Christopher Columbus. The question is whether the narrative will be mostly about bold dreams and progressive change—or about oppression and stagnation in Cuba.
