Latin America Commentary & Analysis

After the March: What’s Next for Venezuela?

By Mae Louise Flato

On September 1, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Caracas, voicing their frustration with worsening food and medical shortages, frequent blackouts, and triple-digit inflation. Organized by the political opposition, the march called for a recall referendum to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power.

What Does Dilma Rousseff’s Impeachment Mean for Brazil?

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Brazil’s Senate on August 31 impeached President Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president, on the grounds that she had manipulated the budget to conceal growing economic problems. Jason Marczak, director of the Latin America Economic Growth Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center, discussed the implications of the impeachment for Brazil’s […]

Lessons from Colombia’s Peace Process

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Colombia’s government and the leftist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on August 25 finalized a deal that ends fifty-two years of conflict. A bilateral ceasefire went into effect on August 29. More than 220,000 people have been killed and six million displaced by the armed conflict. The deal will be put […]

Colombia: On the Brink of Peace

By Andrea Saldarriaga Jiménez

Colombia is at the brink of a historical moment. With the conclusion of peace negotiations in Havana on August 24, the country is on the verge of signing an accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Important steps must be taken before Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño, known […]

Winning the Peace in Colombia

By Ashish Kumar Sen

Colombia’s president must focus on shoring up support for peace and reintegration, says Atlantic Council’s Peter Schechter On the brink of ending Latin America’s longest-running armed conflict, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos must now make a concerted effort to convince Colombians that the peace deal he struck with the leftist guerrillas is worthy of their […]

US Energy Partnerships with Caribbean Countries Will Herald Long-Term Benefits

By Nathaniel Sizemore

Since tumbling oil prices began to cripple the Venezuelan economy and hurt the efficacy of PetroCaribe— its oil exchange program—the US has launched strategic initiatives in the Caribbean aimed at providing policy and financial assistance to islands seeking to bolster their energy security. The United States’ broad financing initiatives are an important step in the […]

From Scandal to Silver Lining: Petrobras’ Offering Opportunity for Brazil’s Energy Sector

By Meghan Rowley

The Lavo Jato corruption investigations, also known as Operation Car Wash, into Petrobras, Brazil’s oil giant, shocked the energy sector and helped fuel one of the country’s worst recessions. Nonetheless, some analysts are optimistic that the industry can open itself up to foreign investors and domestic competition to once again generate prosperity. “The energy industry […]

Oil and Gas in Brazil: A New Silver Lining?

By Nicolas Jimenez

As Brazil experiences a period of transition, with president Dilma Roussef facing impeachment and Michel Timer leading an interim government, its energy sector’s faces a turning point. For the past 50 years, state-owned oil giant Petrobras has dominated Brazil’s energy industry. In the recent past, however, scandals involving top officials in Petrobras and in the […]

Human Rights is No Game

Panelists call for protections in nations hosting sporting events International sporting organizations need to step up to the plate and pressure countries hosting major sporting events to increase institutional transparency, reduce corruption, and prevent human rights abuses. “This is a moment of great concern and crisis for world sport defined by human rights [negligence], corruption, […]

Post-Ceasefire, Entrepreneurship Enables Social Inclusion in Colombia

By Meghan Rowley

With the signing of a ceasefire agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on June 23, many have asked how the deal will help the country recover from decades of violence. However, the solution may depend on not just the agreement, but also the stable economic development of civil […]