Latin America Commentary & Analysis

President Obama Announces New Cuba Policy

Quick Takes from Atlantic Council Experts President Barack Obama today announced a historic policy change that opens up diplomatic relations, facilitates trade, and expands travel to Cuba.     Immediately after the White House announcement, Atlantic Council experts provided the following analysis.

Obama’s Temporary Immigration Fix Still Demands a Permanent Solution

By Jason Marczak

Future of US Economy Depends on Getting Immigration Right After months – and even years – of anticipation, President Barack Obama has provided an imperfect solution for nearly half the country’s unauthorized immigrants. The bold decision to wield his executive authority will extend legal status to up to 5 million unauthorized immigrants; make it easier […]

Mexico’s Energy Reform: Tracking Progress

By Atlantic Council

Following the passage of secondary legislation in August 2014, Mexico’s energy industry is set for profound transformation. As leaders across the public and private sectors face a new era in the country’s energy matrix, policymakers across the region are looking to the Mexican experience as an example for both energy reform and an opportunity for […]

Brazil’s Presidential Elections: What Will Dilma’s Next Four Years Look Like?

On October 28th, 2014, the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center in partnership with the Inter-American Dialogue brought together a dynamic panel to explore Brazil’s road ahead, including John Prideaux, The Economist’s Washington correspondent and former Brazil bureau chief from 2007-2010; Andrew Gunther, managing director of infrastructure for Darby Overseas Investments; Ricardo Sennes, nonresident senior Brazil […]

Spotlight Cuba

By Rachel DeLevie-Orey

How would both the United States and Cuba attending the Summit of the Americas impact their relationship? Download (PDF) For the past two decades, the Summit of the Americas has convened the western hemisphere’s heads of state without the participation of Cuba. That is likely about to change. In April 2015, Panama will host the […]

Can Dilma Rousseff Rebuild Broader Political Alliances for Her Second Term?

By New Atlanticist

That Is the Path She Should Take, for Herself and for Brazil, Atlantic Council’s Sennes Says Having barely won re-election in Brazil’s tightest presidential election in a quarter-century, Dilma Rousseff faces several key tasks if she is to govern effectively in her new four-year term, writes the Atlantic Council’s nonresident senior fellow in Brazil, Ricardo […]

Brazil’s Presidential Runoff

By Ricardo Sennes

What Does Dilma Rousseff’s Victory Mean for Brazil’s Future? Brazil’s 2014 presidential election was the tightest race since the 1989 contest between Fernando Collor de Mello and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. President Dilma Rousseff of the Workers’ Party (PT) and Governor Aécio Neves of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) had polled neck-and-neck throughout the […]

Brazilians Vote Sunday on a President—and an Economic Path

By New Atlanticist

As Brazilians vote Sunday in a presidential runoff election, the Atlantic Council’s Peter Schecter and Jason Marczak discuss the significance and ramifications of this vote.  Schechter is the director, and Marczak the deputy director, of the Council’s Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center.

Spotlight Brazil Elections

By Ricardo Sennes

How will the Brazilian presidential election unfold? Brazilians go to the polls on October 5 in the first round of voting for presidential, congressional, and state elections. If no presidential candidate secures 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held on October 26. The upcoming elections are likely to bring major changes […]