Latin America in Focus

After his first six months in government, Jair Bolsonaro has been more disruptive when it comes to social issues than tackling Brazil stagnant economy. Can he fix the country’s problems? Economist Monica de Bolle of SAIS and the Peterson Institute for International Economics tells AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme about Brazil’s economic growth problems and explains what’s standing in the way as the new government tries to get the country back on track. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexican goods is over—for now. The next question is how a U.S.-Mexican deal seeking to stem migration will take shape. Mexico Security Initiative’s Stephanie Leutert tells host Carin Zissis why Mexico might succeed at slowing Central American migration—if only in the short term. Listen to our previous episode with Leutert covering the migrant caravan crisis: https://bit.ly/2yv74wz Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

It’s become known as the week that changed everything, or at least everything in Guatemala’s presidential race. In mid-May, two of the country’s three leading presidential candidates were disqualified from running. That leaves one woman, Sandra Torres, standing as the frontrunner. But she doesn’t necessarily have it in the bag. Political scientist Marielos Chang tells AS/COA’s Carin Zissis who’s in and who’s out ahead of the June 16 vote. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

On May 15, Brazil's new government saw its first national protests since Jair Bolsonaro took office as thousands across the country protested new budget cuts. But the 40-million-students system has challenges that go beyond ideological or budgetary battles. In this episode, Nova Escola’s Leandro Beguoci talks with AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme and gives a perspective from the ground on how education is becoming part of Brazil’s civil society debate, where performance gaps exist, and lessons from countries that invested in education during periods of economic hardship. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

He’s 37, a social media maven, and he won El Salvador’s presidential election without the backing of the country’s two main parties. Nayib Bukele, an ex-mayor of San Salvador, isn’t exactly a political newcomer. But his June inauguration will end 10 years of the leftist FMLN in power. Bukele spoke with CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera our COA’s 49th Washington Conference about U.S. ties, Venezuela, China, and an ambitious promise on immigration. The #2019WCA conference lineup included U.S. VP Mike Pence, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, and Colombian VP Marta Lucía Ramírez. See what they had to say: www.as-coa.org/wcarecap Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

From Pinar del Rio to Havana, Paris to New York, Cimafunk is taking his Afro-Cuban sound on the road. AS/COA Online’s Elizabeth Gonzalez sat down with the emerging musician and AS/COA Music Director Sebastián Zubieta to discuss the evolution of Cimafunk’s sound at home and abroad. Hear more Cimafunk at www.cimafunk.com. Learn more about upcoming Americas Society concerts at www.musicoftheamericas.org. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega running down his political and economic capital, says former U.S. Ambassador John Feeley in this conversation with AS/COA Online’s Holly K. Sonneland on the one-year anniversary of when civil unrest first broke out in the Central American country. The ex-diplomat also talks about his firsthand experience of the diplomatic tug-of-war between Taiwan and China in the Central America. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

Viewed as the outsider candidate in Brazil’s election last year, President Jair Bolsonaro took office January 1 with promises to address some of the country’s biggest problems: economic growth, corruption, and security. But running as an outsider and governing are proving to be two very different things. AS/COA Brazil experts Brian Winter and Roberto Simon take stock of Bolsonaro’s performance negotiating pension reform with Congress, warming up to the United States, and fighting crime and corruption. Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

As Andrés Manuel López Obrador rounds out his first 100 days in office as president of Mexico, CIDE’s Carlos Bravo Regidor talks with AS/COA's Carin Zissis about his popularity, use of corruption as a political weapon, “omnipresence” through message control, and nostalgia. “He has this fantasy that he’s going to be able to choose his place in posterity,” says Bravo Regidor. Follow Carlos Bravo Regidor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlosbravoreg Learn more about AMLO’s first 100 days: www.as-coa.org/amlo100 Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa 

In an effort to deliver law and order for voters doubting democracy, President Jair Bolsonaro promised to renew politics in Brasília. The problem with that plan? Brazil’s multiparty system—also known as Congress. Fundação Getulio Vargas’ Carlos Pereira talks with AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme about the new president’s legislative strategy—and the headaches he faces. For more on the start of the Bolsonaro government, visit: http://www.as-coa.org/bolsonaro100 Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members. 📧Sign up for our newsletters: as-coa.org/newslettersFollow us on social media:Twitter/X: @ASCOAInstagram: @ascoaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ascoaonline/Bluesky: @ascoa.bsky.social Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ASCOA/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@ascoa