On Episode 10 of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Jo-Marie Burt, professor of political science and Latin American studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University about Guatemala's presidential elections.  Guatemalans will vote on 20 August in the second round of the presidential elections in which establishment candidate Sandra Torres is pitted against outsider Bernardo Arevalo. We discuss the complex tangle of Guatemala's political landscape, the symbolic significance of Arevalo's surprise success in the first round and how the corporate authoritarian elites might swing the elections to their favoured candidate.    Show Notes: • Pact of the Corrupt • Corporate Authoritarian System • Backgrounds of Bernardo Arevalo & Sandra Torres • Guatamalan illicit trade   Jo-Marie Burt is associate professor of political science and Latin American studies at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. At Mason, she has served as director of Latin American studies, co-director of the Center for Global Studies, and associate chair for undergraduate studies. She is an affiliate faculty in global affairs, Latin American studies, conflict analysis and resolution, and women and gender studies. Burt is also a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a leading human rights research and advocacy organization. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On The LatinNews Podcast this week, we ask Renata Segura, Deputy Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Crisis Group and Diego Da Rín, Haiti expert at International Crisis Group, what is going on in Haiti? The prolongation of a series of corrupt governments has created an untenable situation consisting of three crises, economic, security and humanitarian.  How can the cycle be broken to provide for the people of Haiti?   Show Notes: • The current situation in Haiti? • The Haitian humanitarian crisis • Assassination of President Jovenel Moïse • Criminal militant groups   Renata Segura started her career as a reporter on Colombian TV and a nationally-distributed magazine, before working at the Jesuit-led NGO CINEP in Bogotá. She got her Ph.D. in political science from the New School for Social Research in New York in 2007. Between 2002 and 2019, Renata worked at the Conflict Prevention and Peace Forum, a program of the Social Science Research Council. Diego Da Rin is a social science researcher, journalist and consultant on Latin America and Caribbean for the International Crisis Group. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On Episode 8 of The LatinNews Podcast we ask Ana Milagros Parra, political scientist and consultant based in Caracas, for her insights from on the ground in Venezuela where doubts abound about whether there will be primary elections in the short term in 2023 and how President Nicolás Maduro’s government is manipulating the political landscape to ensure total victory in 2024.  Tune in for this and reflections on the mass migration from the country and the deep permeation of illegal armed groups from Colombia into illegal mining in Venezuela.   Show Notes: • Upcoming elections • Former interim president Juan Guaidó • Illegal mining in Venezuela • The ELN and illegal military groups   Ana Milagros Parra is a Venezuelan political scientist. She has worked both as a researcher and interviewer in human rights organizations, later specializing in political risk analysis. Ana Milagros obtained her degree in political science at Rafael Urdaneta University and has been head of political analysis in the strategic risk analysis department at IURISCORP, a corporate legal consulting firm. She has been quoted in media such as El Mundo, elDiario.es, El Pitazo, Runrunes, Caraota Digital, Newsy, and Diario de Cuba, among others. On November 5, 2019 she headed the conference "International Sanctions: Assertive Recommendations to the Entrepreneur's Environment", held at Impact Hub Caracas, together with Rafael Álvarez Loscher. On January 24, 2020 she led the conference "2020: The year of evolution of business models in hostile scenarios" at the offices of IURISCORP, again with Loscher. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On Episode 7 of The LatinNews Podcast, we ask Diego Von Vacano, Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University: "How can Bolivia industrialize its Lithium reserves?" Can Bolivia position itself as the world leader for lithium extraction with a coherent and transparent policy and where do China, Russia and the USA fit into this puzzle? President Luis Arce would like to boost development in Bolivia - reaching out to the IDB, World Bank and others - but a political paranoia brought on by strong criticism from the outspoken former president Evo Morales is unsettling the political landscape. Tune in for this and more.   Show Notes:  • How is the law limiting development? • Will Evo Morales run for election in 2025? • US/Bolivia Relations • Foreign investment in Bolivia   Dr. Diego von Vacano is the author of The Color of Citizenship: Race, Modernity and Latin American/Hispanic Political Thought (Oxford University Press, 2012) and The Art of Power: Machiavelli, Nietzsche and the Making of Aesthetic Political Theory (Lexington Books, 2006). He is Associate Professor of Political Science at Texas A&M University. He has been a Visiting Professor and Presidential Fellow at Yale University. He received his doctorate in Politics from Princeton University in 2003, where he played for Princeton United FC. He received his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. He also studied in the College of Social Studies at Wesleyan University. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On Episode 6 of The LatinNews Podcast, Pamela K Starr, Professor of International Relations at USC, Los Angeles, joins us to discuss President Lopez Obrador's legacy in Mexico. We look at the defining features of his tenure, the increase in the role of the military, resource nationalism, political polarization, threats to journalists and an assault on autonomous institutions such as the electoral authority. Additionally, we discuss Lopez Obrador's chosen successor for the 2024 elections: Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo.    Show Notes: • The Morena Party • Lopez Obrador’s most likely successor • Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) • The Fourth Transformation   Pamela Starr is a professor of the practice of international relations and public diplomacy, a senior advisor at Monarch Global Strategies, and a global fellow at the Mexico Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Prior to USC, Starr was the senior analyst responsible for Mexico at the Eurasia Group, one of the world's leading global political risk advisory and consulting firms, and a professor at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City. Starr has briefed American and Mexican officials on the bilateral relationship, including former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade, as well as ambassadors, diplomats, intelligence officials, legislators, and staffers from both countries. She has testified before the U.S. Congress and is an active speaker and author. Starr has been quoted in over 50 newspapers, news magazines, and wire services in the United States, Mexico, Canada, Europe, and Asia including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and the Financial Times. She has opinion articles in over a dozen outlets. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Described as "hapless and stolid but hardworking" by Dr Emily Morris, President Diaz-Canel was re-elected to his post in April 2023 as life for ordinary Cubans remains increasingly difficult. On this episode of The LatinNews Podcast, Dr Morris discusses the political and economic effects of the nation's dual currency system and its end, if there are any possibilities of meaningful political reform there on the horizon and finally, the overwhelming sense of despair being felt by the Cuban population.   Show Notes: • What is the dual-currency system? • Impact of the dual-currency on the economy • 2021 Cuban Protests • Cuban foreign policy   Dr Emily Morris is a Research Fellow at University College London’s Institute of the Americas (UCLIA). For 13 years she worked for the Economist Intelligence Unit, where she was a Senior Editor/Economist covering the economies of Latin America, and in 2011 she completed her doctoral thesis on Cuban economic policy and outcomes since 1990. As well as lecturing Masters level students, she is now doing consultancy work on Cuban and Latin American economics. Dr Morris's current research includes studies of Cuban macroeconomic management and performance, climate change mitigation and transport strategies, and emerging currents in Latin American Political Economy. She is lead researcher for a collaboration project between UCL and the Cuban ministry of transport, helping to formulate an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable transport strategy for the city of Havana. Dr Morris lectures in the Political Economy of Development in Latin America, Latin American Economics, and Economic and Social Transformation in Cuba. Ten years ago she wrote an article for LatinNews, covering Cuba's dual-currency system. On the latest episode of The LatinNews Podcast she joins Richard McColl to discuss current developments in Cuba. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Andrew Nickson, Honourary Reader in Public Management and Latin American Studies at the University of Birmingham and expert in Paraguay's politics joins The LatinNews Podcast  on Episode 4 to provide an overview of the recent elections and some of the serious dilemmas facing the Colorado Party's president-elect Santiago Peña.  On the home-front, can Peña combat the rampant corruption, drug-related violence, poor education levels and increase trust in government institutions - including accusations of fraud in the recent elections? And internationally, how will his government negotiate the terms of energy sales from the Itaipu dam with Brazil, continue to recognise Taiwan, snubbing China, and move the Paraguayan embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem without angering key trade partners in the Arab world?  The outlook for one of the most unequal countries in the Americas, in terms of income and wealth, isn't positive.   Show Notes: • Overview of the elections in Paraguay • The origins of President-elect Santiago Pena • Horacio Cartes' influence in Paraguay • The re-negotiation of the Itaipu dam   Andrew Nickson has four decades' experience of teaching, research and consultancy on public administration reform, local governance, decentralization and urban water supply. He has a particular interest in Sierra Leone, Nepal and Paraguay, countries where he has had long-term work assignments. He is currently lead trainer on ‘Decentralised Governance and Peacebuilding’ and ‘Acting Locally: Citizen Participation for Resilient Institutions’ for the Turin-based United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC), delivered both through distance learning and face-to-face courses. He writes regularly for the Economist Intelligence Unit, Oxford Analytica and HIS Markit. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On Episode 3 of the LatinNews Podcast we take a look at Lula 3.0 in Brazil and discuss the challenges facing the president. Richard Lapper, author of "Beef, Bible and Bullets, Brazil in the Age of Bolsonaro," joins us to discuss four main talking points, Brazil's relationship with China and Russia, the economy, the political difficulties within Brazil and finally, the environment and protection of the Amazon.    Show Notes: • Brazil, China and Russia • Brazil's stance on the Ukraine invasion • Where will the economy growth come from? • Protection of the Amazon   Richard Lapper is a writer and consultant, specializing in Latin America. He has extensive experience as a journalist in the region and is a research affiliate at King’s College, London. Richard is author of ‘Beef, Bullets and Bible: Brazil in The Age of Bolsonaro’ published in June 2021 by Manchester University Press. He worked for the Financial Times for 25 years, occupying the post of Latin America editor between 1998 and 2008. He was a principal at FT Confidential between 2010 and 2015, an FT information service for investors. He has written and broadcast widely on Latin America and Southern Africa and spoken at a range of international conferences. Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

On Episode 2 of The LatinNews Podcast, we discuss the challenges facing President Gabriel Boric as he seeks to regain the political initiative which has swung considerably in favour of the rightwing opposition. Freelance journalist and expert analyst on Chile, Andrew Thompson joins The LatinNews Podcast to share his thoughts on the issues most affecting Boric from protests by militant Mapuche groups, Chile's worsening security situation, economic inequality and his need to score a quick and effective win, soon. Can Boric succeed in getting his government's second attempt at a constitutional reform passed through a referendum in December 2023?   Show Notes: • Chilean democracy - post Pinochet era • The emergence of Gabriel Boric  • Why did the constitution reform fail?  • Can President Boric claw back support? Andrew Thompson is a journalist and political risk analyst who covers Latin America.  He was previously a foreign correspondent in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, and head of the BBC’s Latin American Service.  He is currently focusing on journalism, economic analysis and political risk on a number of projects with different organizations, including Oxford Business Group, EIU, LatinNews, and Canning House.   Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.