Americas 360

With 60 percent of the Amazon within its borders, Brazil is a key guardian of this threatened ecosystem. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts examine Brazil's vital stewardship of the Amazon following August's Amazon Dialogues and its national and international efforts to protect the Amazon.

In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts analyze key issues from the third EU - Latin America Summit that took place in Brussels in July, focusing on interests on both sides of the Atlantic. They also explore the contemporary significance of historical and cultural linkages between the Americas and Europe, discussing Spain's Latin American agenda as it takes up the presidency of the EU Council and the efforts of the EU and post-Brexit Britain to strengthen relations with Canada.

In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss LGBTQ+ rights across the Western Hemisphere and whether expanding legal protections for LGBTQ+ individuals are assuring greater safety and equality.

In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our experts analyze Latin America's new wave of leftist governments, how they differ from the previous ‘pink tide,' and the U.S. response to the region's current crop of leftist governments.

In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss China's growing presence in the Americas and the implications of Beijing's economic and diplomatic engagement for U.S. influence and relationships in Latin America.

Following the eighth Our Oceans Conference earlier this month in Panama City, our Wilson Center experts discuss the outcomes of the summit, the role of nations in the Americas in marine protection, and the challenges to protecting marine biodiversity.

Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, Haiti has faced a range of challenges, including gang violence, repeatedly delayed elections, and a resurgence of cholera. In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss how Haiti is responding to these obstacles and how the international community could address Haiti's humanitarian, political, and security crises.

In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our regional experts analyze the outcome of the 10th annual North American Leaders summit in Mexico City, where the presidents of Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered to discuss deeper economic integration, climate change, and migration, They also discuss the recent attack on Brazil's three branches of government by supporters of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro and its impact on Brazilian democracy.

In this special episode of Americas 360, guest host Bruna Santos speaks with Wilson Center experts Daniela Campello, Luiza Duarte, Raoni Rajão and Cesar Zucco about the historic return of Luiz Inácio ‘Lula' da Silva to Brazil's presidency, the challenges he will face to enact his ambitious economic, social and environmental agenda, as well as the role Brazil will play under his leadership in regional and international politics in the years to come. 

In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss the nearshoring potential of U.S. neighbors in the Americas, the progress made in this area since the IX Summit of the Americas, and the challenges faced by companies looking to relocate operations closer to home.

Migration from countries of the Americas to the United States has increased exponentially since 2020, with migrants from the region making up over 75% of the nationwide encounters with U.S. Border Patrol in 2020, 2021, and 2022. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts examine recent changes in migration trends, not only to the United States but within the region itself.

The Americas are an energy powerhouse. From the hemisphere's vast solar and wind energy potential to its significant oil and gas reserves, the region holds a wealth of renewable and non-renewable energy resources. In this episode of Americas 360, originally released in February 2022, our Wilson Center experts discuss how Canada and Latin American nations are addressing their energy needs and economic goals while pursuing environmental objectives and seizing opportunities from the global energy transition.

With the region struggling to tame rising fuel costs, high inflation, and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, citizens across the Americas are also heading to the polls. In this episode of the Wilson Center's Americas 360 podcast, our experts discuss how current economic conditions are affecting voter preferences across the Americas and what this changing political landscape means for the United Sates.

June marks pride month in the U.S.; a time to recognize and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ people in the Americas have long faced structural discrimination and societal oppression. Yet, in the past decade, landmark legislation, granting LGBTQ+ people their rights, recognition, and protection, has been adopted at the national, state, and municipal levels. In this episode, we discuss the strides made and the regional lessons and trends to further strengthen LGBTQ+ rights.

The U.S. will host the Ninth Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles from June 6-10, 2022. A number of Latin American and Caribbean presidents have said they won't attend, protesting the exclusion of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. Others have criticized the Biden administration's lack of ambition and concrete proposals to achieve the Summit's broad goals. In this episode, Latin American Program fellow Dr. Richard Feinberg joins us to discuss what we should expect at this Summit of the Americas.

The shocking images of Russia's unprovoked attacks on Ukraine have galvanized Western countries to create a united front against Russia. In the Americas, the response to Russia's aggression has been mixed and even tepid in light of the extent of the destruction. Canada is a notable exception. Our experts discuss the response of governments from the Western Hemisphere to the conflict and its implications for global diplomacy and economic well-being.

Across the Americas, women have broken new ground in politics and in business. Elections held under new gender parity laws have yielded successful increases in female participation in congresses and parliaments. During the pandemic, women have found and taken advantage of new digital avenues to successfully pursue entrepreneurial ventures. In this episode, our Wilson Center experts discuss the opportunities and challenges women face in the Western Hemisphere.

The Americas are an energy powerhouse. From the hemisphere's vast solar and wind energy potential to its significant oil and gas reserves, the region holds a wealth of renewable and non-renewable energy resources. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts discuss how Canada and Latin American nations are addressing their energy needs and economic goals while pursuing environmental objectives and seizing opportunities from the global energy transition.

As the end of the year draws near, our Wilson Center experts take a look back at the most significant developments in the Americas in 2021 and discuss what is on the horizon in 2022, with a focus on economic recovery, vaccination efforts, and electoral politics.

On December 9-10, the Biden administration hosted a virtual Summit for Democracy, an effort to mobilize an international agenda for democratic renewal and to tackle democratic threats through collective action. In the Western hemisphere, multiple leaders have taken steps that undermine democracy, for example, by arresting opponents, eroding judicial independence, and attacking critics in the media and civil society. In this episode, our Wilson Center experts discuss the state of democracy in the region.

Femicide has long plagued the Americas. In 2018, the Latin American region included five of the twelve countries with the highest rates of femicide in the world. Across the region, social and economic insecurities created by the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened the crisis, creating what some are calling a shadow pandemic of violence. In this episode of Americas 360, our experts discuss femicide in the Americas and the region's attempts to address this persistent and deadly problem. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated many of the conditions that cause food insecurity worldwide. The United Nations estimates that 59.7 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean faced hunger in 2020, an increase of 13.8 million people from the year prior. In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts consider what can be done to improve food security across the Western Hemisphere. 

Disturbing images of Haitian migrants being mistreated by U.S. Border Patrol agents as they attempted to cross the Rio Grande has put the Haitian issue at the center of debate over the U.S. immigration system. The arrival of thousands of Haitians at the U.S. border calls attention to Haiti's chronic political turmoil, economic insecurity, and the impact of natural disasters. In this episode, Latin American Program Fellow Niambi Carter joins us to discuss the root causes of Haitian migration.

In this special presentation of Americas 360, Colombian President Iván Duque, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, and the Wilson Center's Ambassador Mark Green and Cynthia Arnson discuss the current humanitarian and development challenges facing Colombia as well as what the international community can learn from Colombia's generous treatment of migrants and refugees.

Crisis-driven migration is nothing new in the Americas, but recent crises, from the COVID-19 pandemic to hurricanes and other natural disasters have added to the number of people leaving their homes and countries. In this episode of Americas 360, our experts are joined by Wilson Center Global Fellow James Hollifield, an expert on migration and immigration policy, to discuss what is driving these migration flows, where people are moving, and how these population shifts are changing the region.

In July 2021, the Americas have been hit by a variety of extreme weather events, including major heat waves in Canada and the United States and intense tropical storms in Central America. Recent droughts and fires in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest have killed nearly 2.5 billion trees, greatly hampering its function as a carbon sink. These events, as well as historic droughts in Mexico, Central America, and South America, have re-invigorated discussions about climate change and its impact on the region.

The recent discovery of 751 unmarked graves at a former residential school in Saskatchewan, Canada, sent shockwaves throughout the country and brought attention to the country's past and present mistreatment of its indigenous population. While shocking to some, for indigenous peoples across the hemisphere, this discovery is another example of discrimination and unfair treatment stretching back 500 years. In this episode, we discuss the history of indigenous cultural assimilation and erasure in the Americas.

The first year of implementation of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the USMCA, was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic shockwaves it sent throughout the region and the world. Difficulties aside, the pandemic also served to reinforce the importance of North America as an economic bloc. Wilson Center Public Policy Fellow Earl Anthony Wayne, former Ambassador of the U.S. to Mexico and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Canada, joins us to discuss the first year of the USMCA.

On Sunday, June 6, voters participated in the largest election in Mexico's history, choosing officials for over 21,000 offices. That same day, Peruvians also went to the polls for the run-off presidential election between Pedro Castillo and Keiko Fujimori. In this episode of Americas 360, Alejandro Moreno, Director of Public Opinion Polling at Mexico's El Financiero, and Cynthia Sanborn, a Professor of Political Science at the Universidad del Pacífico in Peru, join our Wilson Center experts discuss the results of these elections.

 Over the last month, Colombia has erupted in protest, with citizens taking to the streets in frustration over pandemic lockdowns and rising poverty and unemployment, among other issues.  Demonstrations have been mostly peaceful, but some have been marked by extreme violence, extensive property damage, and deadly clashes with the police. Is Colombia a harbinger of things to come elsewhere in Latin America, where countries struggle with a third wave of COVID-19 and the continued battering of their economies?

President Biden took office with the promise that the U.S would return as the global leader on climate, and make climate change a pillar of American foreign policy. Biden’s Leaders Climate Change Summit brought together leaders from across the world to discuss the world’s most pressing issues relating to climate, and government’s commitments to this agenda. Our Wilson Center experts discuss the climate summit and the actions that governments in the Americas are taking to address climate concerns.

In this episode of Americas 360, our Wilson Center experts review the political repercussions faced by President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil stemming from his mishandling of the pandemic, the outcome of recently held elections in Ecuador and Peru, and forthcoming elections in Mexico and tentatively in Canada and why these are so crucial to the hemisphere and beyond.

The economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been severe across the globe, but across the Americas and in other regions, women have suffered disproportionately. The pandemic's effects range from a decline in women's labor force participation, reversing the gains of previous decades, to a surge in gender-based violence during lockdowns. In this episode of Americas 360, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Alicia Bárcena joins us to discuss the unique challenges and inequalities faced by women in the region.

It has been a year since the COVID-19 virus began its deadly spread through the Western Hemisphere. Vaccination efforts are only slowly getting underway, and in some countries have barely begun. Across the Americas, governments have struggled to procure vaccines from multiple public and private sources. Thus far, only Chile can be seen as a vaccination success story. In this episode of “Americas 360,” our experts discuss the region’s slow rollout of the vaccine and why it has been so challenging.

As Canada looks to restrengthen relations with the United States under the Biden administration and reconsider its role in a Western Hemisphere devastated by COVID-19 and economic disruptions, Pierre Pettigrew, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, joins our experts to discuss the state of U.S.-Canada relations, the upcoming Summit of the Americas, and the role of Canada in Latin America.

The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is being felt around the world, and Latin America is no exception. IMF lending to bolster COVID-ravaged economies has gone to 21 countries in the region, where the pandemic’s impact has been magnified by natural disasters. As countries work to bounce back amid increased viral spread, Alejandro Werner, Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, joins our experts to discuss the road to economic recovery in the Americas and the role the IMF can play.

The Inter-American Development Bank mounted a momentous effort in 2020 to help Latin America respond to the public health and economic impacts of the pandemic. As the region battles a second wave of the virus that is clouding its recovery prospects for 2021, Mauricio Claver-Carone, the IDB’s new president, joins our experts to discuss the IDB strategy for addressing these historic challenges.

On January 6, the day the U.S. Congress met to certify President-Elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, a pro-Trump protest turned violent, overwhelming security, breaching and attacking the U.S. Capitol.  Guests José Díaz-Briseño of Mexico’s Reforma, Paola De Orte of Brazil’s O Globo, Rafael Mathus Ruiz of Argentina’s La Nación, and Alejandro Santos of Colombia’s Semana Magazine join our experts to examine regional perceptions of these events and implications for the U.S. image across the Americas.

As the inauguration of President-elect Joseph Biden draws near, special guest Dan Restrepo, former Senior Director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council under President Obama, joins our experts for a second episode to discuss Biden’s potential plans and policies for the Americas, with a focus on Canada, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela, Brazil, and Argentina.

As Latin America prepares for a new U.S. administration, special guest Dan Restrepo, former Senior Director for Western Hemisphere affairs at the National Security Council under President Obama, joins us to explore the potential hemispheric priorities for President-elect Joseph Biden, including migration, climate, and COVID-19 support. Additionally, Cynthia Arnson, Director of the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program, analyzes Venezuela’s recent National Assembly elections.

With Hurricanes Eta and Iota smashing into Central America only two weeks apart, countries in the region are dealing with widespread devastation. Special guests Gina Kawas Arita of Honduras, a Wilson Center-Vidanta Foundation Fellow, and Carlos Fernando Chamorro of Nicaragua's El Confidencial join our experts to discuss the scale of the destruction, its implications for migration and the spread of COVID-19, and the need for transparency and accountability in the delivery of economic aid.

Most leaders in the Americas, with the notable exceptions of the Mexican and Brazilian presidents, quickly recognized Joe Biden as the U.S. president-elect and began planning for major changes to U.S. policy in the region. In this episode of “Americas 360,” our experts, and special guests Ernesto Londoño of The New York Times and Ana Paula Ordorica of Televisa, examine perceptions of the election across the Americas, with a special look at Brazil and Mexico.

In this episode, our experts review the consequential outcome of Bolivia’s presidential election, discuss Chile’s plebiscite on writing a new constitution, and check in on Justin Trudeau’s shaky hold on the premiership and the new bedfellows keeping him in charge.