In The News

Latin America’s Left Turn

Jorge G. Castañeda June 7, 2006
Mexican-born political scientist Jorge G. Castañeda describes the resurgence of left-identified political leaders in Latin America as two-pronged. One form, most present in Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, has Marxist and Castroist roots, but has evolved to a practice based in social policy and internationalism within a market framework. The other – which Castañeda defines as “peculiarly Latin...

Peru Still Wary of Garcia’s Past

Robert Plummer June 5, 2006
Alan Garcia has been re-elected as president of Peru, despite leaving his country with a 5 percent approval rating and $900 million less in its reserves at the end of his previous term in 1990. Garcia enters office with new plans on changing Peru’s highly stratified society, with its 52 percent poverty rate, according to journalist Robert Plummer. Hopefully for the people of Peru, Garcia has...

Transcript of “The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences”

May 30, 2006
The following is a transcript of Nayan Chanda's interview with Louis Uchitelle, economics writer for “The New York Times” and also the author of “The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences,” conducted on May 11, 2006. – YaleGlobal

Chinese Influence in Brazil Worries US

Humphrey Hawksley May 24, 2006
The US has claimed the right to influence Latin America since the 1823 Monroe doctrine. Yet China diligently presents itself to the developing world, including Latin America, as a formidable model for ending poverty. Nations in South America like Brazil have taken notice, and the US can only fret about protecting the Americas as its turf. China continues to invest billions for infrastructure,...

If This Is Ahmadinejad’s Bluff, It Is Bluff Worth Calling

Simon Jenkins May 15, 2006
A nuclear Iran is undesirable. But starting a war with Iran is the height of folly, argues author Simon Jenkins. Iran offers more avenues for intelligent diplomacy than Iraq did before the US invasion in 2003, but two factors must be recognized: First, Iran is divided and many Iranians desire no conflict with the US and, second, belligerent rhetoric from western leaders like US President Bush...

Globalization’s Grave Challenges for the West

Robert A. Levine May 12, 2006
Globalization will proceed despite protectionism, and the West would be wise to devise policies that incorporate globalization’s inevitability. Without such policies, the standard of living in both the US and Europe could diminish: In Europe, slow growth will leave the continent trailing the US and Asia, making it ultimately dependent on tourism. The US may abandon its own guiding principles of...

US Privacy Campaigners Fear Mark of the Beast

James Sturcke May 12, 2006
If a diner in the US falls ill in the near future, the government plans to turn to a computer database to learn the source of any last bite of meat. Privacy advocates complain that the ambitious tagging program is expensive and excessive, and could potentially be used on humans. The US Department of Agriculture insists that the proposal is “technology neutral,” but critics anticipate heavy...