Latin America Commentary & Analysis

Update NAFTA, But First Understand Why It’s Important

By Carla A. Hills

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was heavily criticized during our recent presidential campaign. The day after US President Donald J. Trump’s swearing in, it was posted on the White House website that “the President is committed to renegotiating NAFTA [to give] American workers a fair deal.” Before moving forward to “renegotiate,” it is […]

‘Mexico Has Options’

Energy sector reform will continue with or without the United States, said former Mexican official Though recent political tensions threaten the stability of US-Mexico relations, Mexico’s ongoing energy sector reform will continue without US partnership, if necessary, according to Mexico’s former deputy secretary of energy. “Mexico’s energy reform does not depend on the United States,” […]

Trump’s ‘Rhetoric of Hate’ May Sway Mexico’s Elections

Mexican presidential candidate sees risk of an anti-American Mexican leader The “rhetoric of hate” that has dominated US President Donald J. Trump’s approach to Mexico could impact the outcome of Mexico’s presidential elections in 2018 and determine the future of the US-Mexican partnership, Margarita Zavala, a candidate for the Mexican presidency, said at the Atlantic […]

Women’s Ascension in Latin America

By Capricia Penavic Marshall

When former US secretary of state and then-presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Atlantic Council in November 2015, she spoke of Latin America’s strides to achieve gender equity at the highest levels. “It may be predictable for me to say this, but there’s a lot we can learn from Latin America’s success at electing […]

Trade, security, and prosperity: Perspectives from Mexico’s Margarita Zavala and US Secretary Michael Chertoff

By Carmin Chappel

The new administration has brought with it a plethora of tensions for the United States’ relationship with Mexico. From a proposed border wall, to talks of withdrawing from NAFTA, to a scrapped meeting between the two presidents, what was historically a diplomatic partnership has been turned on its head. On Tuesday, March 7, the Adrienne […]

Here’s Why Mexico Matters

If the current tension in the US-Mexico relationship gets out of hand it could disrupt crucial cooperation between the two countries on checking the flow of unauthorized migrants into the United States, said an Atlantic Council analyst. “The great danger here is that, in all of this tension, something is going to boil over,” said […]

NAFTA in Need of an Update

Former US, Canadian, and Mexican officials make pitch to keep strategic trade deal US President Donald Trump has called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) “the worst trade deal,” but former US, Canadian, and Mexican officials, speaking at the Atlantic Council on February 22, warned against abandoning the strategic deal that binds their three […]

US-Mexico and Canada Trade Ties: What is the Way Forward? The Economic and Strategic Imperative of Getting It Right

By Mario Zampaglione

With US-Mexico relations at a historic low, Mexico is asking itself whether the bet it made twenty-three years ago on a future of cooperative economic prosperity integrated markets and security building between the three North American countries was a good one. In order to assess the economic and strategic importance of the relationship between the […]

Is Latin America the New Global Leader in Renewable Energy?

By Mae Louise Flato

Latin America is poised to take on a lead role on climate change and renewable energy in the global arena in 2017. The enormous potential and rapid spread of renewable energy in the region has fueled hope of a global transition to a low-carbon economy. The added bonus: an economic opportunity that extends well beyond […]

Trump’s Wall Drives a Wedge Between the United States and Mexico

By Ashish Kumar Sen

US President Donald Trump’s demand that Mexico pay for a border wall has plunged the US-Mexico relationship into an unseemly crisis, according to two Latin America analysts at the Atlantic Council. “It is a troubling development for a relationship that has few parallels throughout the world,” said Peter Schechter, director of the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne […]