Americas

How the Ukraine War Gave Venezuelan Oil an Opening

For years, the Venezuelan economy has been largely disconnected from Western markets. The war in Ukraine, however, initiated a sort of restructuring of the...

Fallout From Western Canada’s Wildfires

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(click to enlarge) Wildfires spread across many regions of Western Canada this week. The provinces of Alberta and British Colombia were most affected, but smoke...

South America’s Lithium Triangle

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(click to enlarge) South America has some of the largest lithium deposits in the world. Chile, Argentina and Bolivia collectively account for 53 percent of...

The US, Immigration and Hemispheric Security

Immigration is a politically divisive issue in the United States. It’s easy enough to explain, even if it’s difficult to legislate: The U.S. has...

Colombia’s Interest in Ending the Venezuelan Crisis

Venezuelans will have an opportunity to resolve their country’s political crisis during the 2024 presidential election. However, several things would need to go right....

Latin America in the US-China Space Race

Next week, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his science and technology minister will be in China to negotiate the construction of...

Argentina’s Farmers Can’t Afford a Drought

Argentina is infamous for its economic malaise, but once a year, from March through May, it gets a reprieve. This is when agricultural exports...

The Ukraine War, One Year In

It’s been a year since Russia invaded Ukraine, and what many believed would be a short-lived conflict rages on. That’s not to say it’s...

Bolivia Looks to China to Develop Its Lithium

The green energy transition is driving a global race for lithium. Countries sitting on large deposits of “white gold” suddenly find themselves with an...

Mexico Will Benefit From Washington’s Chip Focus

The United States is prioritizing the creation of a regional semiconductor production chain to give itself alternatives to Asian firms, especially those with ties...

Forecast for 2023

Our 2023 Annual Forecast, like those before it, is an attempt to provide a sense of the direction of the world. We do this...

In Latin America, Japan Serves the US, and Itself

The rivalry between the United States and China is complicated, to say the least. Washington and Beijing are two of the world’s largest economic...

A Propaganda War in Latin America

As recession looms, the Ukraine war continues without resolution, and China tries to open up after months of lockdowns, Latin America has uncharacteristically made...

In Cuba, Russia Explores a Counter

Yesterday, Russia announced that President Vladimir Putin would have an important phone call later in the day, without revealing whom he would talk to....

An Opportunity for the US and Venezuela

The COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the current energy crisis and the looming economic recession are disrupting the geopolitical world order, even in...

A Small Window for the US and Cuba

The war in Ukraine is a truly global conflict. Citizens of faraway regions may not themselves be in physical danger, but any country that...

Latest Posts

Colonial governance, production systems and transportations routes heavily shaped the economic and political development of the region well in to its post-colonial era of independence.

The Western Hemisphere has been dominated by the United States since the start of the 20th Century.

South America has struggled to produce a regional leader partly because no single country embodies the necessary qualities to become one. Brazil has the most potential, thanks to the size of its of territory, population, natural resource deposits and economy. Argentina is a counterweight to Brazilian influence in.

The modern governments are actually young and relatively inexperienced democracies. They are still refining their social contracts with their citizens.

Read Regional Assessment

Required Reads: The Americas

From our Forecast...

The U.S. will rely on public-private efforts to secure its influence in the region. It will also welcome economic engagements from allied nations like Japan or South Korea.

Americas in our Memos

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More from the Americas

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Latest Posts

A Convocation of Spies

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Over the past weekend, major global media outlets revealed that the heads of intelligence of about two dozen countries held a (formerly) secret meeting...

Daily Memo: Polish Protests, Turkish Deployment

Uproar in Poland. Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of Warsaw and other cities on Sunday, the 34th anniversary of...

Germany Sneezes, Europe Catches a Cold

In the first three months of the year, Germany’s economy fell short of low expectations of zero growth. Instead, gross domestic product shrank for...

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