Issue Brief posted August 7, 2012 by James M. Roberts
Ecuador Should Forfeit U.S. Trade Preferences
Recently, Ecuador opened a new chapter in its long-running legal campaign against U.S.-based Chevron Corporation. Government-backed lawyers purporting to represent residents of Ecuador’s Amazon rain forest filed a lawsuit to seize Chevron’s assets in Brazil in an attempt to collect a multi-billion-dollar award won last year in an Ecuadorian court.[1] Regrettably, the…
WebMemo posted January 6, 2012 by Ray Walser, Ph.D., James Phillips
Iran Moves West: Ahmadinejad's 2012 Latin American Visit
On January 8, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lands in Venezuela to start a brief but highly symbolic Latin American visit. The Iranian leader aims to bolster ties with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and some of the region’s most strident anti-American leaders. For the Obama Administration, the Iranian visit reflects a continuing erosion of U.S. influence in the region and…
Lecture posted June 29, 2010 by James M. Roberts
Economic Freedom in the “Bolivarian Andes” Is Melting Away
Abstract: In the past, “Bolivarian” referred to those Andean countries that had been liberated by Simón Bolívar. Today, for the three countries in the Andes that are following Hugo Chávez’s “Bolivarian Alternative” path— Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela—it has come to signify declining economic freedom. A closer look at those countries’ scores on the 10 indicators in The…
Backgrounder posted May 13, 2008 by James M. Roberts, Israel Ortega
How Reforms in Mexico Could Make the U.S. More Secure
Felipe Calderón, who began his single sexenio (six-year term) as President of Mexico in December 2006, has made significant progress in the fight against narcotrafficking, but Mexicans are still waiting to see whether his government will successfully challenge the private- and public-sector monopolies and duopolies that dominate huge portions of mexico economy. These…