35 West

Nicaragua joins – again – the list of imploding socialist states in Latin America. Daniel Ortega is using increasingly brutal tactics, including paramilitary death squads, to put down protests led in part by the Catholic Church. Mark Schneider, former Peace Corps director and a long-time expert on Central America, refreshes our memory on how Nicaragua ended up where it started forty years ago.

How low can Venezuela go?  We’ve been predicting its collapse for a year, but it’s still around.  Moises Rendon, our resident Venezuela expert, updates us on the misery resulting from the Maduro government’s policies, and explains how blockchain technology could help Venezuela rebuild once it hits bottom. More than a source of digital currency, the technology enables international aid, electoral s...

Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s big victory in Mexico may mean changes for the U.S. Shannon O’Neil of the Council on Foreign relations returns to assess AMLO’s top priorities, his initial post-election signals, and the prospect of good relations with President Trump.    

The former Commissioner of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Alan Bersin, explains exactly how the Trump Administration policy of detaining migrants works. He and Richard discuss the steep decline over the last two decade in apprehensions on the southwest border, the spike in Central American migration, and a potential remedy for the broken asylum process.

President Trump got very mad at Prime Minister Trudeau at the recent G7 Summit in Canada. Christopher Sands of the School of Advanced International Studies explains how the blow up may affect Canadian politics and trade with the U.S. He also reveals what Canadians really think of Americans. Sarah Baumunk returns with Big Little News about which non-Americans to cheer on in the World Cup.    

The top oil producing countries in Latin America are all having elections this year. How will political changes in Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela affect their oil output, and does this matter for the United States? Most importantly, will a new government in Mexico reverse course or slow roll broader energy reforms?  Expert Lisa Viscidi of the Inter-American Dialogue explains the details. 

Are Mexico and the United States growing apart, or are they growing together? Mexico expert Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute, discusses his new book, Vanishing Frontiers: The Forces Driving Mexico and the United States Together. He talks about counterintuitive trends such as Mexican investment in the U.S., a new attitude towards history among younger Mexicans, and border c...

After one of the lowest participations in Venezuela’s Electoral history, and widely seen as fraudulent, the U.S. and other like-minded countries are not recognizing the results of May 20th Venezuela’s presidential elections. Unfortunately for the people of Venezuela, the on-the-ground humanitarian and economic crisis will only likely to exacerbate, triggering further humanitarian and security thre...

for many U.S. states and Canadian provinces. The U.S. currently gets 45% of its crude oil from Canada, about 1 ½ times more than from all of the OPEC countries combined. In a joint podcast, economic driver with Canada is now worth $95 billion annually and is a significant energy tradeOur 35 West and Energy 360 dive into the details of our cross-border energy trade, how it may or may not be affecte...

The Car Wash scandal triggered investigations that uncovered dirt on dozens of politicians and companies in Brazil and abroad. Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, compares Car Wash to other corruption scandals and updates us on a growing anti-corruption movement in Latin America. Sarah Baumunk lightens the mood by explaining how inflation affects every day life in Argentina.

As Venezuela endures an upcoming presidential election on May 20th, widely seen as illegitimate, the U.S. and other like-minded countries are considering further sanctions on the Maduro regime. In a joint production of the Financial Integrity Network and CSIS, Juan Zarate sits down with Moises Rendon, Jose Luis Stein, and David Murray to discuss the effectiveness of sanctions on Venezuela and the...

The security situation in Mexico remains grim, and is a major theme of Mexico’s presidential campaign. David Shedd, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, long time CIA professional, and Latin American expert, assesses the state of the drug war, the scope of US-Mexico security cooperation, and the future direction of Mexico’s war against the cartels. On Big Little News, Sarah explains...

How do entire economies become more innovative?  Jackson Streeter, an expert on technology transfer, maps the ecosystem of innovation. Strong intellectual property rights, investments in research and development, a risk-taking mentality, and seed funding are all necessary parts. Can they be nurtured and developed in Latin America? Sarah’s Big Little News is the rise of marriage fraud in Costa Rica...