There has been a surge of recent interest in China’s impact on developing countries, but far more of this discussion has focused on Africa than on Latin America. This is partly because the consequences of China's growth for Latin America are likely to be both more complex and less direct. Unlike Africa, the Latin American resource sector is dominated by large state-owned companies and how these will interact with new Chinese investment is hard to predict. A more developed infrastructure also means China will have less of a competitive advantage in the race to exploit Latin America’s natural resources. In Latin America, there are likely to be both winners and losers, as a recent report by the    more »

 The Western media depict him as a Chavista and the latest South American leader to join the ‘Bolivarian revolution’, yet he describes himself as a ‘Catholic humanist’. He has been criticized both for populism and for using the overly complex language of an academic. So, who is Rafael Correa and what does he really stand for?

 Representing his newly-formed Alianza PAIS, Correa won the November run-off elections in Ecuador with a surprise landslide victory, gaining 58% of the vote. His campaign promises included a new more democratic constitution (to be written by a Constituent Assembly), cutting ties with the IMF and World Bank, ...   more »

In this talk, hosted by the Institute for the Study of the Americas (ISA), independent consultant and journalist Colin Harding offered an insightful analysis of the 2006 presidential elections in Ecuador, in which Rafael Correa was elected as president. Harding described Correa as a good speaker who had appeared as a new face representing the promise of change. In the first part of his campaign, he said, Correa focused on denouncing the inequalities of the system and arguing the need for a new constitution.  His campaign gained such momentum that he was expected to win outright; the ...   more »

In last week’s blog, I discussed the collapse the Doha round of trade talks and Brazil’s leading role in these negotiations. This week's blog looks at progress on other free trade agreements in Latin America and asks, who really stands to benefit from trade liberalization? FTAA, bilateral FTAs and regional integration Doha is not the only recent example of trade talks collapsing after failed negotiations. In 2005, the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) floundered over similar issues to Doha: the US was seeking to expand trade in services and increase intellectual property rights, while Latin American countries pushed for an end to agricultural subsidies and freer trade in agricultural goods. Again, Brazil’s role in negotiations was crucial and it’s opposition at the Mar de Plata Summit in January 2005 played a large part in blocking a deal. There is some speculation that reaching a last-minute agreement over the Doha round could pave the way for a revival of the FTAA, but the terms of any negotiations would most likely be very different...   more »

With collapse of the Doha round, the cancellation of FTAA and the uneven progress on a number of bilateral and regional agreements, the issue of trade in Latin America is hanging in the balance. The future depends partly on the success or failure of last-ditch attempts to revive the Doha round currently being made by Brazil, the US and the EU and several other large developing countries. However, even in the unlikely event of an agreement being reached before July, the progress and nature of free trade agreements (FTAs) in Latin America remains uncertain. Not only is the multilateral trading system in a fragile state, but opposition to FTAs from social movements across the region remains widespread. One thing that does seem fairly certain is that Brazil – a key player in the Doha negotiations - will continue to have a leading role in future trade negotiations in Latin America...   more »

This workshop brought together a number of perspectives on the political and social transformation taking place in Venezuela, focusing on gains in the areas of democracy and social progress. There was also discussion of how to build the solidarity movement in the UK. Speakers were H.E. Alfredo Toro Hardy (the Venezuelan Ambassador in the UK), Francisco Dominguez, Tony Burke and Louise Richards (War on Want). 

Alfredo Toro Hardy opened the seminar by referring to the misrepresentation of the Venezuelan election in the British media. He said that there were unfounded accusations of fraudulence and an underestimation ...   more »

Cesar Nevarro, Head the MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) party gave an account of the Evo Morales-led government since its election victory in December 2005, laying out the threats and challenges it now faces.

When Morales won the election exactly one year ago with a majority of 54%, this was the first time since 1982 that any candidate had got more that 34% of the vote, he said. MAS was founded in Santa Cruz ten years ago by a combination of trade unions, indigenous groups and civic committees. It has continued to work with these grassroots organizations as its main base....   more »

On Saturday 2nd Dec 2006, a conference entitled ‘Latin America 2006: making another world possible’ was held at Congress House, organised by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Justice for Colombia, Venezuela Information Centre and the T&G Latin American Workers Association. The conference brought together trade unionists, academics, NGOs and progressive movements from Latin America and the UK to explore recent political and social developments across Latin America. In particular, it explored the effects of US policy on the region and the current wave of progressive changes seen most notably in Venezuela and Bolivia.

Speakers at the conference were:

WAYNE ...   more »

On Saturday 2nd Dec 2006, a conference entitled ‘Latin America 2006: making another world possible’ was held at Congress House, organised by the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Justice for Colombia, Venezuela Information Centre and the T&G Latin American Workers Association. The conference brought together trade unionists, academics, NGOs and progressive movements from Latin America and the UK to explore recent political and social developments across Latin America. In particular, it explored the effects of US policy on the region and the current wave of progressive changes seen most notably in Venezuela and Bolivia.

 The discussion centered around the ...   more »

On the 11th Dec, the International Policy Network (IPN) held a lunchtime meeting on ‘Elections in Latin America – the way forward’. IPN (www.policynetwork.net) is a London-based charity and think tank which educates the public about the role of liberal institutions in economic and social development. The meeting featured Paulo Uebel, President of the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais, Brazil.

Participants at the meeting were: Dan Lewis (Economic Research Council), Maria Alemendra Mc Bride Perez, Diana Geddes  (The Economist), Penelope Anthias (ODI), Carl Mortished (The Times), Alec van Gelder, Ellen Bisnathm and Mark Baillie (International Policy Network) Graeme Levin, ...   more »

On the 11th Dec, the International Policy Network held a meeting, ‘Elections in Latin America – the way forward’, featuring Paulo Uebel, President of the Instituto de Estudos Empresariais, Brazil. The meeting gave an insight into the current unease felt by proponents of neoliberalism in Latin America and elsewhere, following a year in which left-wing governments have swept to power in a number of Latin American countries. Such discomfort is perhaps not unfounded given that many of these leaders were elected on the basis of their anti-neoliberal rhetoric and promises to implement radical economic and social reform. How investors and corporate interests should respond to this threat and find ‘the way forward’ was the central theme of the discussion.   more »