On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we take a look at how Jamaica has turned its economy around to start enjoying strong growth, low unemployment, reductions in debt burdens and attracting investors. Marla Dukharan, a renowned economist and advisor on the Caribbean provides us with an impartial analysis of Jamaica's success story. And, while we can…

Murder rates in Brazil have fallen under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, but surveys show that people believe violence to have increased in the country. There is little trust in the police and judicial system, 64,2 million live in households with food insecurity, there have been more than 4 million cases of dengue in the first four months of 2…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we discuss the myriad of challenges facing a new government in Panama. Outgoing president Laurentino Cortizo is immensely unpopular and the victorious candidate in May's presidential elections will have to face up to growing public unrest due to corruption, the stuttering economy, climate change and its effects o…

Speculation about a potential early election call in Belize has been dismissed by Prime Minister John Briceño. Тhе Рrіmе Міnіѕtеr’ѕ соmmеntѕ fоllоw thе Реорlе’ѕ Unіtеd Раrtу’ѕ (РUР) rесеnt vісtоrу іn munісіраl еlесtіоnѕ, in which thеу ѕесurеd а ѕіgnіfісаnt mајоrіtу over the United Democratic Party (UDP). Тhе РUР’ѕ ѕtrоng ѕhоwіng hаd lеd ѕоmе оbѕеrv…

On The LatinNews Podcast we discuss the Environmental and Social History of Deforestation in the Amazon and the Latin American region. In a far-reaching episode, we take a look at the tenurial structure, technologies and political regimes in understanding rapid forest conversions, and the complex dynamics of forest resurgence now found throughout t…

The combination of a weak state and strong criminal forces has led to a near-doubling of homicides each year in Ecuador since 2020 and the nation's murder rate for 2023 was around 40 per 100,000 people, making it the highest in Ecuador's history and therefore one of the most violent in Latin America. In this episode of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we ask Dr Jacqueline Jimenez Polanco, Associate Professor of Sociology at the Bronx Community College of the City University of New York, to what can we attribute the success of the anti-corruption and anti-impunity politics in the Dominican Republic? With elections on the horizon for May 2024, will the victor co…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we speak to Martin Weinstein, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at William Paterson University in New Jersey and author of dozens of books on Uruguay, his opinions on the upcoming presidential elections in Uruguay in October 2024. Uruguay is unlikely to lose its reputation as the "Switzerland of Latin Ameri…

El Salvador’s popular and controversial president, Nayib Bukele, has won a second term. Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Noah Bullock, executive director of the human rights organization Cristosal, to discuss the future of El Salvador, including the crackdown on criminal gangs and its implications for the rule of law.…

On this episode of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Rosemary Joyce, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, how governable is Honduras considering the challenges facing the country and President Xiomara Castro? In reality, Hondurans can point to the 2009 coup against President Zelaya (current President Xiomar…

En este episodio de Plaza Central, la exministra ecuatoriana Vianna Maino habla sobre los avances y la hoja de ruta pendiente para construir una Ecuador digital inclusivo, los programas implementados hasta ahora, y las políticas tecnológicas que se requieren para cerrar la brecha digital, expandir la conectividad en áreas rurales y convertir el acc…

On the first LatinNews podcast episode for 2024, we welcome back Jon Farmer, Editor in Chief of Latin News to provide us with an in-depth look at Argentina's President Javier Milei, his election, his domestic policies, plans for the troubled economy, foreign policies and the relationship with the IMF. Milei was voted in as an indictment of the poli…

With corruption fighter Bernardo Arévalo finally in office, Latin America Program Global Fellow Catherine Osborn speaks with Guatemalan human rights lawyer Alfredo Ortega about the challenges the new president is facing as he attempts to implement his ambitious reform agenda.

Latin America Program Director Benjamin Gedan interviews global fellow James Bosworth about his predictions for 2024. They discuss Mexico’s presidential election, Argentina’s economy, and the outlook for Bernardo Arévalo’s first year in office in Guatemala.

On the final episode of The LatinNews Podcast for 2023, we ask Ronald Alfaro-Redondo, a researcher in Political Science at the University of Costa Rica and at the State of the Nation Program, how Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves can build on popular discontent with the country's long-established political elites? Alfaro-Redondo leads us through…

The illicit drug business continues to be profitable, violent and deeply embedded in the economies and political systems in Latin America and so, on the LatinNews podcast this week, we discuss the eight main headlines as explained in a new report written by Andrew Thompson, a journalist and political risk analyst covering the region. Thompson descr…

The post-war era of growth has been replaced by a much more uncertain, nationalistic and dangerous world and nowhere is this more evident when it comes to the current trend of repositioning in the global supply chain network which therefore directly affects Panama and the Panama Canal. On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we ask Andrew Thomas PhD, P…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we look at the regime of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua and discuss his likely successor and how the country arrived at this aggravated stage of repression. Dr Manuel Orozco, a Nicaraguan political scientist at the Inter American Dialogue, joins us to discuss how the regime has further dismantled democratic…

Weaponizing social media with his own brand of populist authoritarianism, promoting cryptocurrency and imprisoning 70 thousand of his countrymen in order to pacify El Salvador's gang warfare, we ask, who is the real Nayib Bukele? Manuel Melendez-Sanchez, a PhD candidate in political science at Harvard University, joins us on the LatinNews podcast t…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we look at what could go wrong with the administration of Guyana's oil wealth and whether such a tremendous windfall will be used to transform the economic and political landscape in the country. Incredibly, Guyana is set to quadruple its GDP by 2025, the same year as the next elections, so will the estimated 40 …

Debates on spiraling violence and the future of extractive industries dominate Ecuador's elections. On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we ask Carmen Martínez Novo, Professor at the University of Florida's Center for Latin American Studies: where do Ecuador's presidential candidates stand on the issue of extractive industries and national security?…

One thing is winning a presidential election and another is actually governing. President Gustavo Petro's approval ratings continue to fall, his coalition no longer has a majority, there are local elections ahead in Colombia in October and things do not look good. This week on The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Jenny Pearce, Research Professor at the La…

On Episode 10 of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Jo-Marie Burt, professor of political science and Latin American studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University about Guatemala's presidential elections. Guatemalans will vote on 20 August in the second round of the presidential elections in which establishment candidat…

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we ask Renata Segura, Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group and Diego Da Rín, Haiti expert at International Crisis Group, what is going on in Haiti? The prolongation of a series of corrupt governments has created an untenable situation consisting of three crises, ec…

En esta edición especial del podcast Plaza Central del Programa Latinoamericano del Wilson Center, la corresponsal de CNN en Español, Bertha Michelle Mendoza, conversa con los periodistas centroamericanos Wendy Funes, Juan Lorenzo Holmann y Héctor Silva sobre las amenazas a la libertad de expresión en la región y los crecientes obstáculos para su l…

On Episode 8 of The LatinNews Podcast we ask Ana Milagros Parra, political scientist and consultant based in Caracas, for her insights from on the ground in Venezuela where doubts abound about whether there will be primary elections in the short term in 2023 and how President Nicolás Maduro’s government is manipulating the political landscape to en…

On Episode 7 of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Diego Von Vacano, Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University: "How can Bolivia industrialize its Lithium reserves?" Can Bolivia position itself as the world leader for lithium extraction with a coherent and transparent policy and where do China, Russia and the USA fit into this puzzle? Presi…

On Episode 6 of The LatinNews Podcast, Pamela K Starr, Professor of International Relations at USC, Los Angeles, joins us to discuss President Lopez Obrador's legacy in Mexico. We look at the defining features of his tenure, the increase in the role of the military, resource nationalism, political polarization, threats to journalists and an assault…

Described as "hapless and stolid but hardworking" by Dr Emily Morris, President Diaz-Canel was re-elected to his post in April 2023 as life for ordinary Cubans remains increasingly difficult. On this episode of The LatinNews Podcast, Dr Morris discusses the political and economic effects of the nation's dual currency system and its end, if there ar…

Andrew Nickson, Honourary Reader in Public Management and Latin American Studies at the University of Birmingham and expert in Paraguay's politics joins The LatinNews Podcast on Episode 4 to provide an overview of the recent elections and some of the serious dilemmas facing the Colorado Party's president-elect Santiago Peña. On the home-front, can …

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Estela Ruíz Díaz, analista política y periodista paraguaya de Radio Monumental y el periódico Última Hora, sobre las recientes elecciones presidenciales en Paraguay.

On Episode 3 of the LatinNews Podcast we take a look at Lula 3.0 in Brazil and discuss the challenges facing the president. Richard Lapper, author of "Beef, Bible and Bullets, Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro," joins us to discuss four main talking points, Brazil's relationship with China and Russia, the economy, the political difficulties within Bra…

On Episode 2 of The LatinNews Podcast, we discuss the challenges facing President Gabriel Boric as he seeks to regain the political initiative which has swung considerably in favour of the rightwing opposition. Freelance journalist and expert analyst on Chile, Andrew Thompson joins The LatinNews Podcast to share his thoughts on the issues most affe…

On this, the first episode of the all-new LatinNews podcast, Jon Farmer, analyst and journalist, takes us through the reasons for Peru's current political crisis. We discuss several contemporary Peruvian presidents and their roles in today's unrest, beginning with current president Dina Boluarte and finishing with the Fujimori regime, taking in eve…

In this episode of the Latin American Program’s Plaza Central podcast, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, a Nicaraguan economist and opposition leader imprisoned by Daniel Ortega for 611 days, recounts his time in El Chipote prison, his sudden release and arrival in the United States, and the future of Nicaragua’s opposition movement.…

In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Patricia I. Vásquez speaks with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Executive Editor Henry Sanderson about his new book “Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green,” the prominent role of China in the lithium value chain, the unique opportunities that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act offers for…

In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch about the role of the United States in helping Guyana maximize the economic development opportunities from its rapidly expanding energy sector while strengthening its democratic institutions.

In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets in the Americas at UBS, and Gabriela Soní, chief investment officer for Mexico at UBS, about the impacts in Latin America of rapidly rising interest rates in the United States and Europe.…

In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Anders Beal is joined by Heraldo Muñoz, former foreign minister of Chile, to discuss the results of Chile’s constitutional plebiscite and what the rejection of the proposed constitution means for the future of Chilean democracy.

El 24 de junio pasado, la Suprema Corte de Estados Unidos revocó el fallo de Roe vs. Wade de 1973 el cual daba a las mujeres en Estados Unidos el derecho constitucional al aborto. Hasta el momento, 11 estados ya han prohibido el acceso al aborto y se espera que otros 11 lo hagan en las próximas semanas. En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz Ga…

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Patricia Vásquez, global fellow del Programa Latinoamericano del Wilson Center, explora con Matías Kulfas, ministro de desarrollo productivo de Argentina, las crecientes inversiones en el codiciado sector del litio y el papel de este mineral en la transición global hacia energías limpias.…

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Clemencia Carabalí, fundadora de la Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes del Norte del Cauca (ASOM), sobre las dificultades que atraviesan las mujeres afrodescendientes en el norte del Cauca, Colombia, a causa de la violencia, el racismo y el deterioro ambiental. También charlan …

In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Charles Seville, senior director and co-head of Americas Sovereign Ratings at Fitch Ratings, about the economic impacts in Latin America of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In this episode of Plaza Central, Benjamin Gedan speaks with Ian Chen, an associate professor at the Institute of Political Science at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University, to discuss the rivalry between China and Taiwan, why Taiwan is so invested in preserving diplomatic ties in Latin America, and how China wields “medical diplomacy” to pressu…

In this special presentation of Plaza Central, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama Erika Mouynes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica Rodolfo Solano, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic Roberto Álvarez, and the Wilson Center's Cynthia Arnson discuss the Alliance for Development in Democracy, an initiative to pr…

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice platica con el Secretario de Estado para Iberoamérica y el Caribe y el Español en el Mundo del Gobierno de España, el Embajador Juan Fernández Trigo, sobre el posicionamiento de España como un gran aliado en la donación de vacunas a países hispanohablantes, el estado de las relaciones entre Esp…

In this episode of "Two the Point," Benjamin Gedan speaks with Liliana Ayalde, former U.S. ambassador to Brazil and former civilian deputy to the commander and foreign policy adviser at the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). They discuss the confirmation of Lieutenant General Laura Richardson as the next commander of the U.S. Southern Command, the f…

En este episodio de “Two the Point,” Beatriz García Nice del Programa Latinoamericano charla con Gloria Porras, Magistrada Electa de la Corte de Constitucionalidad de Guatemala. En la conversación discutieron su salida de Guatemala cuando se le negó tomar posesión de su tercer periodo como Magistrada Titular, el estado de derecho, la lucha contra l…

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Erika Mouynes, Panama’s foreign minister, to discuss challenges including climate change, migration from Colombia and navigating tensions between the United States and China, Panama’s most critical economic partners.

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, is joined by Luis Felipe López-Calva, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, to discuss the pre-existing structural inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19 and the need to address these underlying issues to secure region-wide recovery.…