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22. Forbidden African Legacies in the Dominican Republic
- Author:
- Patricia Rodríguez
- Publication Date:
- 02-2025
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- The North American Congress on Latin America (NACLA)
- Abstract:
- Despite the ongoing criminalization and racist persecution of African tradition, from the criminalization of Vodou to restrictions against Gagá, Afro-Dominican culture persists.
- Topic:
- Culture, Racism, Tradition, Criminalization, and Vodou
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Latin America, and Dominican Republic
23. Why Latin America and the Caribbean matter for OECD countries
- Author:
- Jason Marczak and Martin Cassinelli
- Publication Date:
- 05-2025
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- As global dynamics evolve, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are becoming increasingly important partners for the member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The region offers valuable assets, policy alignment in key areas, and opportunities for enhanced collaboration on shared challenges. This report outlines how deeper OECD–LAC engagement can contribute to mutual prosperity, resilience, and global stability.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy, Politics, Economy, and OECD
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Caribbean
24. The next decade of strategic competition: How the Pentagon can use special operations forces to better compete
- Author:
- Clementine G. Starling-Daniels and Theresa Luetkefend
- Publication Date:
- 01-2025
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Strategic competition is likely to intensify over the next decade, increasing the demands on the United States to deter and defend against wide-ranging and simultaneous security challenges across multiple domains and regions worldwide. In that time frame, the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Joint Force should more effectively leverage the competencies of US Special Operations Forces (USSOF) to compete with US strategic adversaries. Three realities facing the DOD over the next decade lend themselves toward leveraging USSOF more in strategic competition. First, the growing need to counter globally active and increasingly cooperative aggressors, while the broader Joint Force remains focused on the Indo-Pacific and Europe, underscores the value of leveraging USSOF to manage competition in other regions. Second, the desire to avoid war and manage competition below the threshold of conflict aligns with USSOF’s expertise in the irregular aspects of competition. Third, unless defense spending and recruitment dramatically increase over the next decade, the Joint Force will likely have to manage more security challenges without a commensurate increase in force size and capabilities, which underscores the need for the DOD to maximize every tool at its disposal, including the use of USSOF to help manage strategic competition. The US government must harness all instruments of national power, alongside its network of allies and partners, to uphold international security, deter attacks, and counter efforts to undermine US security interests. Achieving this requires effectively integrating and leveraging the distinct roles of the DOD, interagency partners, the intelligence community (IC), and the Joint Force, including components like USSOF that have not been traditionally prioritized in strategic competition. For the past two decades, USSOF achieved critical operational successes during the Global War on Terror, primarily through counterterrorism and direct-action missions. However, peer and near-peer competition now demands a broader application of USSOF’s twelve core activities, with emphasis on seven: special reconnaissance, foreign internal defense, security force assistance, civil affairs operations, military information support operations, unconventional warfare, and direct action. Over the next decade, the DOD should emphasize USSOF’s return to its roots—the core competencies USSOF conducted and refined during the Cold War. USSOF’s unconventional warfare support of resistance groups in Europe; its support of covert intelligence operations in Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America; its evacuation missions of civilians in Africa; and its guerrilla and counterguerrilla operations helped combat Soviet influence operations worldwide. During that era, special operations became one of the US military’s key enablers to counter coercion below the threshold of armed conflict, and that is how USSOF should be applied in the next decade to help manage strategic competition. This report outlines five ways the Department of Defense should use Special Operations Forces over the next decade to support US efforts in strategic competition. USSOF should be leveraged to: Enhance the US government’s situational awareness of strategic competition dynamics globally. Entangle adversaries in competition to prevent escalation. Strengthen allied and partner resilience to support the US strategy of deterrence by denial. Support integration across domains for greater effect at the tactical edge Contribute to US information and decision advantage by leveraging USSOF’s role as a technological pathfinder. This report seeks to clarify USSOF’s role in strategic competition over the next decade, address gaps in understanding within the DOD and the broader national security community about USSOF’s competencies, and guide future resource and force development decisions. By prioritizing the above five functions, USSOF can bolster the US competitive edge and support the DOD’s management of challenges across diverse theaters and domains.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, National Security, Terrorism, and Strategic Competition
- Political Geography:
- Africa, China, Middle East, Latin America, and United States of America
25. Trade with Colombia is big business for US exporters—amid growing Chinese influence in Latin America
- Author:
- Geoff Ramsey and Enrique Millán-Mejía
- Publication Date:
- 03-2025
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Colombia and the United States have achieved a close, mutually beneficial partnership over several decades on migration, security, counternarcotics, and commerce—with the US trade surplus with Colombia totaling $1.3 billion in 2024. The Colombian market is particularly important for US agricultural producers. Thanks to the US-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA), Colombia is the top destination for US agricultural exports in South America and the third main destination in the Western Hemisphere. The United States is still Colombia’s largest trading partner in South America—with $36.7 billion in two-way trade in 2024—but January data showed Chinese products leading over US imports for the month. The TPA promotes both reciprocal trade and US influence; interpretative improvements to previously agreed-upon matters are possible,
- Topic:
- Economy, Business, Tariffs, Exports, Trade, and International Markets
- Political Geography:
- China, Colombia, South America, Latin America, and United States of America
26. Human Rights Impact Assessment of Bolton Food’s Canned Tuna Supply Chain in Ecuador
- Author:
- Giorgia Ceccarelli
- Publication Date:
- 06-2025
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This paper presents the first of three Human Rights Impact Assessments (HRIAs) conducted by Oxfam on behalf of Bolton Food, focusing on its tuna supply chain in Ecuador between 2021 and 2022. The assessment evaluates both actual and potential human rights impacts at the production stage of the value chain. It seeks to identify the root causes of these risks and impacts and to provide actionable recommendations to Bolton Food and relevant stakeholders on how to address, mitigate, or remediate them. For the purposes of this assessment, the primary group of rights-holders identified includes male and female workers employed in canned tuna processing plants in Manta, as well as male workers aboard tuna fishing vessels operating in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
- Topic:
- Supply Chains, Tuna, Due Diligence, and Living Wage
- Political Geography:
- Latin America, Central America, and Ecuador
27. Women Political Leaders as Agents of Environmental Change
- Author:
- Inés Berniell, Mariana Marchionni, Julian Pedrazzi, and Mariana Viollaz
- Publication Date:
- 05-2025
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- This paper explores how female political leaders impact environmental outcomes and climate change policy actions using data from mixed-gender mayoral races in Brazil. Using a Regression Discontinuity design we find that, compared to male mayors, female mayors significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This effect is driven by a reduction in emissions intensity (CO2e/GDP) in the Land Use sector, without changes in municipal economic activity. Part of the reduction in emissions in the Land Use sector is attributable to a decline in deforestation. We examine potential mechanisms that could explain the positive environmental impact of narrowly electing a female mayor over a male counterpart and find that in Amazon municipalities, female elected mayors allocate more space to the environment in their government proposals and are more likely to invest in environmental initiatives. Differences in the enforcement of environmental regulations do not explain the results.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Politics, Elections, Women, Leadership, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Brazil, Latin America, and Amazon Basin
28. Slowing Down, Heating Up: Economic Deceleration and Social Discontent in Latin America
- Author:
- Iván Albina, Jessica Bracco, Leonardo Gasparini, and Luis Laguinge
- Publication Date:
- 05-2025
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- There have been widespread public expressions of discontent throughout Latin America since the early 2010s. We exploit harmonized microdata from national household surveys covering nearly all Latin American countries to explore potential sources of discontent driven by income changes along the income distribution. We also estimate fixed-effects models that link discontent measures to changes in household incomes. Our results suggest that discontent may stem less from absolute economic performance during the 2010s than from the significant deceleration relative to the previous decade.
- Topic:
- Economics, Inequality, Income, Discontent, and Deceleration
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
29. Minimum Wages and Skill Premiums: Evidence for Latin America
- Author:
- Lucía Ramírez Leira, Octavio Bertín, and Leonardo Gasparini
- Publication Date:
- 03-2025
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- This paper analyzes the effect of the minimum wage on skill premiums in Latin America over the period 1997–2019. The canonical labor market model is extended to include the role of the minimum wage, following the approach proposed by Vogel (2023). Skill premiums are estimated through Two-Way Fixed Effects (TWFE) regressions using harmonized household survey microdata from 14 Latin American countries. Results suggest that increases in the minimum wage are associated with reductions in the skill premium between workers with and without higher education, but do not appear to have a significant effect on the gap between workers with medium and low levels of education. The largest effect of the minimum wage is observed for workers with higher levels of labor market experience. These findings contribute to recent evidence highlighting the role of labor institutions as one of the main drivers of the reduction in inequality in Latin America since the early 2000s.
- Topic:
- Economics, Inequality, Skilled Labor, Minimum Wage, and Wages
- Political Geography:
- Latin America
30. Uncertainty in Caracas: What Awaits Venezuela's Maduro in his Third Term?
- Author:
- FARAS
- Publication Date:
- 01-2025
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Future for Advanced Research and Studies (FARAS)
- Abstract:
- On January 10, 2025, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term. The opposition condemned this event as a "coup," accusing Maduro of election fraud in connection with the presidential elections held on July 28, 2024. In response, the government organized a rally in support of Maduro in the capital. Meanwhile, the opposition staged a protest led by Maria Corina Machado, who made her first public appearance since August 2024.
- Topic:
- Economics, Elections, Protests, Organized Crime, Social Unrest, and Nicolas Maduro
- Political Geography:
- South America, Latin America, and Venezuela