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2. U.S.-Latin American Relations: The Prospect
- Author:
- Mark Falcoff
- Publication Date:
- 08-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- This series began more than a dozen years ago with an essay titled "U.S.-Latin American Relations: Where Are We Now?" Since this is the last issue of Latin American Outlook, it seems worthwhile to pose the question again.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, and Central America
3. Brazil: The End of a Honeymoon
- Author:
- Mark Falcoff
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- When Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva was elected president of Brazil in October 2002, popular expectations nearly across the political spectrum were so enormous that he was bound to disappoint someone. Indeed, what is remarkable about the present situation in Brazil is just how popular Lula remains (60 percent approval rating) in spite of a conservative fiscal policy, a modest uptick in the unemployment figures, a willingness to expend valuable political capital on pension and tax reforms, a financial scandal involving his chief of staff, and an embarrassing threat to expel a New York Times journalist.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- New York, Brazil, South America, and Central America
4. The Last Days of Bolivia?
- Author:
- Mark Falcoff
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- Last October Bolivia experienced a social and political upheaval that forced the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada and shook the capital, La Paz, to its very foundations. The headquarters of all the political parties supporting the government were burned to the ground; toll booths and other symbols of government authority were destroyed or disabled; even the Ministry of Sustainable Development—a magnificent Art Deco building that once housed the business offices of the Patiño tin empire—was gutted. Although a measure of normality has been restored since then, there is no certainty that stability is here to stay. As recently as late April, the lobby and lower floors of the congressional office building were demolished by a suicide bomber, and the successor regime—led by Sánchez de Lozada's former vice president Carlos Mesa—is attempting to buttress its shaky legitimacy through a series of tawdry gimmicks. These include attempts to govern without parties; denying natural gas to Chile, Bolivia's hated neighbor; threatening to overturn long-standing contracts with international energy companies; and brandishing a plebiscite which may well take the country—or at least an important part of it—outside the world economy. Republics do not normally commit suicide, but Bolivia may be an exception. If current trends continue, we may witness the first major alteration of the South American political map in more than a hundred years.
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- South America, Central America, and Bolivia
5. El Salvador Stays the Course
- Author:
- Mark Falcoff
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
- Abstract:
- The March presidential election in El Salvador, in which the conservative ARENA (Alianza Republicana Nacionalista) Party won its fourth consecutive victory in fifteen years, invites serious consideration and analysis. At a time when many governments in Latin America are being voted out of office by anti-establishment (and sometimes, anti-party) candidates, and attacks on "neo-liberalism" and globalization are increasingly the order of the day, El Salvador seems to be swimming strongly against the tide. What lies behind this anomaly?
- Topic:
- International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Central America, and El Salvador