The Summit of the Americas

Of the most controversial topics in Latin America today, few are as divisive as the politics of dam building.

A multitude of reasons exist why Americans are monolingual. That’s not the point: What is exasperating is the idea that everyone south of the border is brown and sólo habla español.

In recent months, there has been much talk of the United States’ “strategic pivot” toward East Asia and the Pacific.

2012, by all accounts, will be a year for the history books.

You have to admit: The current crop of Latin American socialist leaders is the gift that just keeps on giving.

Anyone remember the FTAA? Probably not. The Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) was supposed to be revolutionary. But today, the FTAA is dead in the water.

The February 2008 election of Raúl Castro has brought some market-oriented reforms to the country, most notably a new law that will allow Cubans to buy and sell property for the first time since 1959.

Here’s the thing about dictators: as sticky as they are when they’re in power, it’s even harder to deal with them once they’re gone.

This past Tuesday, United States law enforcement announced that they had foiled a plot by the Iranian government to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the US in Washington, DC.

The future of Latin America has never been brighter, but it still faces tremendous challenges.

“I don’t want the country of my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to be largely Muslim, or for Turkish or Arabic to be spoken in large areas, that women will wear headscarves and the daily rhythm is set by the call of the muezzin. If I want to experience that, I can just take a vacation in the Orient.”