Latin America In Focus

Viewed as the outsider candidate in Brazil’s election last year, President Jair Bolsonaro took office January 1 with promises to address some of the country’s biggest problems: economic growth, corruption, and security. But running as an outsider and governing are proving to be two very different things. AS/COA Brazil experts Brian Winter and Roberto Simon take stock of Bolsonaro’s performance negotiating pension reform with Congress, warming up to the United States, and fighting crime and corruption. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

As Andrés Manuel López Obrador rounds out his first 100 days in office as president of Mexico, CIDE’s Carlos Bravo Regidor talks with AS/COA's Carin Zissis about his popularity, use of corruption as a political weapon, “omnipresence” through message control, and nostalgia. “He has this fantasy that he’s going to be able to choose his place in posterity,” says Bravo Regidor. Follow Carlos Bravo Regidor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlosbravoreg Learn more about AMLO’s first 100 days: www.as-coa.org/amlo100 Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

In an effort to deliver law and order for voters doubting democracy, President Jair Bolsonaro promised to renew politics in Brasília. The problem with that plan? Brazil’s multiparty system—also known as Congress. Fundação Getulio Vargas’ Carlos Pereira talks with AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme about the new president’s legislative strategy—and the headaches he faces. For more on the start of the Bolsonaro government, visit: http://www.as-coa.org/bolsonaro100 Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Just as Cuba’s Revolution marks its 60-year anniversary, the country is preparing to vote on the biggest constitutional overhaul since 1976. Cuba analyst Michael Bustamente and Cuba Working Group (CWG) head Alana Tummino sat down with AS/COA Online’s Elizabeth Gonzalez to discuss the changes and the online debate taking place ahead of the February 24 constitutional referendum. Learn more about the AS/COA CWG at as-coa.org/cuba Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

If a crisis was already simmering in Venezuela, in the past month it’s boiled over. Guillermo Zubillaga, head of the AS/COA Venezuela Working Group, talks with Holly K. Sonneland about everything from China’s calculus in the current political standoff, the generosity of Colombia and Canada, and how we might yet be surprised as to how this all ends. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

“Latin Americans are not thrilled with democracy, but there’s very little evidence that…voters prefer any alternative,” says Steven Levitsky, co-author of How Democracies Die. In this interview with AS/COA Online’s Holly K. Sonneland, the Harvard professor talks about Brazil’s election, strategies for the Venezuelan opposition, and the lack of female authoritarians. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Since Andrés Manuel López Obrador won the election by a landslide in July, observers have been looking for clues about whether the incoming president, who takes office December 1, will end up being a populist or a pragmatist. Former Ambassador Arturo Sarukhan tells AS/COA’s Carin Zissis why Donald Trump and AMLO have gotten along so far—and what might burst the bubbles. Plus, Speyside Mexico’s Amy Glover explains why AMLO is giving the private sector the jitters, but why we should give the new administration a chance. Follow Sarukhan for commentary: https://twitter.com/Arturo_Sarukhan Read Glover’s column: https://bit.ly/2P50h2l Find out more about Mexico’s 2018 election and transition: www.as-coa.org/mxelex Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Was Brazil’s presidential election the epicenter of fake news crisis? Aos Fatos’ Tai Nalon spoke with AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme about how misinformation on social media and closed messaging applications such as WhatsApp can interfere with democracy, and what that means on a global scale. Learn more: www.as-coa.org/brazil2018 Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Brazil elected far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro as president and the markets are rallying. “It is a change in route in the Brazilian economy that is much appreciated, considering that we have been in a recession for a very long time,” says J.P. Morgan’s Emy Shayo of the economic platform proposed by Bolsonaro’s pick for economic minister, Paulo Guedes. Learn about the country’s economic prospects under Brazil’s next administration. Get more information about Brazil’s election at: www.as-coa.org/brazil2018 Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Thousands in a migrant caravan are making their way on foot, through tear gas, and over rivers to get from Central America to the United States. "They know what they're facing when they hit Mexico, they know what they're facing with the Trump administration…and they keep moving forward," Stephanie Leutert, Mexico Security Initiative director at UT Austin’s Strauss Center, tells AS/COA Online’s Carin Zissis in an episode that takes stock of Mexico’s migration policy as it prepares for a new president. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

What worries Peru’s leaders? They don’t want to go to jail, says past and future presidential candidate Julio Guzmán of the Purple Party in this interview with AS/COA Online’s Holly K. Sonneland. Guzmán also talks about the opportunity he finds in everything from the Pacific Alliance, to Peru’s youth, to the reversal of Alberto Fujimori’s pardon. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

The Trump administration disputed the Hurricane Maria death toll. We went to the source. AS/COA Online’s Brian Harper interviewed epidemiologist Dr. Ann Goldman, part of the team on the George Washington University report on excess mortality in Puerto Rico after the storm. “Using excess mortality as an indicator in a disaster situation is a good, fast way to start to get a handle on it,” said Dr. Goldman, who herself is from the island. Access the GW report: https://bit.ly/2wwqEqF Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

“This is a country that has been through massive traumas over the last couple of years. And you might say ‘okay, so they’re going to bottom out, things couldn’t get worse.’ Things could get worse.” In this podcast episode, AS/COA Online interviews two in-house Brazilian experts, Americas Quarterly Editor-in-Chief and AS/COA Vice President Brian Winter and new AS/COA Senior Director of Policy Roberto Simon, on what’s at stake ahead of the October 7 first-round vote, candidates’ advantages and disadvantages, and the overlooked congressional elections. Learn more about the Brazilian elections at as-coa.org/brazil2018 Get the poll numbers at as-coa.org/brazilpolls Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

For decades, Venezuela welcomed immigrants. Now, it’s Latin America’s time to welcome the 2.3 million migrants who’ve fled the country in the last five years, says Human Rights Watch Senior Researcher Tamara Taraciuk Broner, lead author of the report, The Venezuelan Exodus. She tells AS/COA Online’s Holly K. Sonneland about the report's findings and regional recommendations. Access the HRW report: https://bit.ly/2x17ZnV Learn more about AS/COA’s Venezuela Working Group at: as-coa.org/vwg Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

On September 1, Mexico witnessed the historic opening session of a new federal Congress. Why historic? Because it represented an upending of the prior party system. With sweeping wins in the July elections, MORENA, the party of incoming President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, holds a solid majority in both houses. Odracir Barquera, who served as a chief of staff in the last Senate, talks with AS/COA’s Carin Zissis about changes in the legislature, who can be a counterweight, and gender parity in Congress. For more on Mexico’s elections, visit: www.as-coa.org/mxelex Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Cuba’s private sector has made a significant leap since its opening, counting nearly 600,000 micro-businesses owners, or cuentapropistas, today. Among its best-known entrepreneurs are the founders of Clandestina, Cuba’s first independent fashion label. AS/COA Online’s Elizabeth Gonzalez spoke to Idania del Rio and Leire Fernandez about their experience launching their business, the implications of the latest private-sector reforms, and the future of same-sex marriage on the island. This conversation took place at an AS/COA Young Professionals of the Americas event. Find out more at: www.as-coa.org/ypa Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Since protests broke out in April, the number of Nicaraguans killed in clashes between the government and protesters—now over 300—is greater than the number of protestors killed in Venezuela in all of 2017. How did this small Central American country, lauded for having the second-fastest growing economy in the hemisphere, get to this point? Political analyst Javier Arguello tells AS/COA Online’s Elizabeth Gonzalez how President Daniel Ortega systematically consolidated power over the last 40 years and how Washington might in fact be Managua’s best hope these days. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

Net undocumented migration from Mexico to the United States ended a decade ago, says Princeton sociologist Douglas Massey in this interview with AS/COA Online’s Holly K. Sonneland. And even though Central American migration of families is expected to continue, there’s just not the demographic potential for it to become what Mexican migration was, due to smaller populations and lower birth rates. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

At 64, Mexico’s presidential frontrunner Andrés Manuel López Obrador is the oldest candidate, but that’s not stopping 51 percent of millennials from backing him. Their support matters: They have the potential to account for nearly half of the electorate, explains Nación321’s Pancho Parra. From the Wikipolítica movement to how viral humor has defined the race, we cover how the country’s youth are looking at politics and their futures. For more on the Mexican election go to: www.as-coa.org/mxelex Check out Nación321’s 2018 millennial poll: https://bit.ly/2KdlgT6 Listen to our first podcast with Pancho Parra on millennials and the future of Mexican elections: https://bit.ly/2N2MucI Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 

The closer we get to Mexico's July 1 vote, the more Andrés Manuel López Obrador's poll lead grows, and some 3,400 seats are up for grabs-about 60 percent more than in the 2012 vote-which helps MORENA, AMLO's political party. "MORENA will have a lot of jobs to offer," pollster Jorge Buendía told AS/COA's Carin Zissis in Mexico City. "And the question here is, then what are going to be the checks and balances on López Obrador?" Check out Oraculus' "poll of polls." https://oraculus.mx/ Access our Mexico Election Guide. http://www.as-coa.org/mxelex Check the poll tracker. https://bit.ly/2s1fvMl Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.