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Noticias Winter 2013 Email not displaying correctly? Click here We are pleased to welcome:

Duncan Wood as the new Director of the Mexico Institute

Eric Olson as Associate Director of the Latin American Program

The Peace Process in Colombia Mexico’s 2012 Election in Perspective Colombia has decades of experience negotiating with and demobilizing guerrilla and paramilitary groups. But the FARC, Latin America’s oldest insurgency, has refused to lay down its weapons; it is widely blamed for the collapse of peace talks under President Andrés Pastrana. Why did current President Juan Manuel Santos believe that peace talks might now bear fruit? In light of hardened public opinion in Colombia and internationally against the FARC, what are the political risks that the talks entail? Are there signs of progress in the negotiations currently underway? On July 1st Mexican citizens went to the polls to choose their next president, congress, mayor of Mexico City, and six governors. The victory of Enrique Peña Nieto and the Institutional Revolutionary Party was predicted by pollsters, but his margin of victory was less than expected. The Mexico Institute invited several experts to analyze the results, what went wrong with the polling, and how the narrower margin of victory may affect the incoming PRI government, as well as Mexico’s economy, security, and relations with the United States. In This Issue... Democratic Governance Citizen Security Development & Innovation Trade & Economics Foreign Policy & International Relations Border Security & Migration Environment & Energy In the Media Fellows & Public Policy Scholars Staff Notes Publications Forthcoming Publications Upcoming Events
Feb. 21: Young and Undocumented: The New American Story

Feb. 25: The Political Transition in Venezuela

Feb. 26: U.S. Ambassadors to Mexico: The Relationship Through their Eyes, presentation of a new book by Dolia Estevez

Feb. 27: Is the Border More Efficient? More Secure? — A Report Card on Progress in Managing the U.S.-Mexico Border

Feb. 28: Crime, Violence, and Insecurity Central America (with the Latin American Public Opinion Project, LAPOP)

Mar. 18: MPI-Wilson Center Migration Task Force Report Launch

Mar. 22: The Rise and Fall of Democracies and Dictatorships: New Perspectives on Democratic Governance

Mar. 24-26: 3rd Congressional Study Mission on Innovation (San Diego, California)

Nuclear Boot Camp
Application Deadline
Feb. 25:

Aimed at building a new generation of experts on the international history of nuclear weapons, the third-annual Nuclear Boot Camp is an initiative of the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project (NPIHP).

Apply here.
New Publications Report on Venezuela’s Presidential Elections 2012 Genaro Arriagada and José Woldenberg Qué Hemos Hecho Carlos Basombrío U.S. Ambassadors to Mexico: The Relationship Through Their Eyes Dolia Estévez Tax Incidence and Tax Reforms in Latin America James E. Mahon Solar Energy Potential in Mexico's Northern Border States Sergio Romero-Hernandez The Political Economy of Tax Reform in Latin America: A Critical Review Saulo Santos de Souza Sharing Space with Our Hemispheric Partners: A Latino Perspective on U.S. Policy Toward Latin America Pamela Starr A New Beginning for Mexican Oil: Principles and Recommendations for a reform in Mexico’s National Interest Duncan Wood New Ideas for a New Era: Policy Options for the Next Stage in U.S.-Mexico Relations Christopher E. Wilson, Eric L. Olson, Miguel R. Salazar, Andrew D. Selee, and Duncan Wood Policy Brief: Setting Priorities for U.S. Policy in Latin America Cynthia J. Arnson Policy Brief: Pursuing A Productive Relationship Between the U.S. and Brazil Paulo Sotero Policy Brief: A New Agenda with Mexico Christopher Wilson and Andrew Selee Regional Migration Study Group Working Paper Series

The Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute and Latin America program and the Migration Policy Institute have partnered to facilitate a series of conversations about developing a collaborative, regional approach to migration issues.

Read the series here. Democratic Governance Brazil's Challenging 2013 Outlook

As the administration of President Dilma Rousseff struggles to reverse the trend of declining rates of economic growth in an adverse global scenario, Brazil’s domestic outlook in 2013 will be impacted by the consequences of two major political events. Read more...

Also See: • The Political Challenges of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff Politics, Religion, and Society in Latin America (Book Launch) Access to Information and Accountability: A Global Context Update Venezuela: The October 7, 2012, Presidential Elections Venezuela’s Presidential Elections 2012: Report of a Study Mission ^Table of Contents Citizen Security Judicial Reform in Mexico: Why it is Needed and Where Things Stand

In June 2008, Mexico adopted a series of far-reaching constitutional reforms designed to transform its criminal justice system from one based primarily on written record to a more open adversarial system of justice where trials are oral and public, and a presumption of innocence is clearly established. Read more...

Also See: • Reforming the Ranks: Assessing Police Reform Efforts in Mexico (with the Washington Office on Latin America) Wilson Center Briefing: "Fighting Organized Crime in Mexico by Reforming the Justice System" Successful Citizen Security Initiatives in Bogotá, Medellín, and Cali, Colombia: Are They Sustainable and Replicable? Tackling Crime and Violence in Mexico: The Critical Role of Citizens Improving Citizen Security in Central America: Options for Responding to Youth Violence Reviewing the U.S.-Mexico Security Relationship A Film Screening of "Reportero" The Peace Movement In Mexico: Efforts To Bring Justice To The Victims Of Violence In The Country ^Table of Contents Development and Innovation FAPESP Week: 2012

Following the successful 2011 three-day symposium at the Wilson Center, the São Paulo science foundation returned to North America and held programs at the University of Toronto, MIT, the Wilson Center, and the University of West Virginia to expand the scientific relations amongst the two countries. Read more...

Also See: • Nation Building: The Plan for Public Education in Post- Earthquake Haiti (co-sponsored with PAGE) Recovery, Reconstruction and Renewal: What It Takes to Build Back Better in Haiti
(co-sponsored with the Comparative Urban Studies Project)
^Table of Contents Trade and Economics The Political Economy of Tax Reform in Latin America

Numerous studies have documented the extent to which systems for collecting tax revenue in the region remain regressive and have done little to improve the region’s high levels of inequality. What might progressive tax reform – and an accompanying political strategy – look like? Read more...


Also See: • What to do to Improve Brazil’s Industrial Growth and Export Performance (co-sponsored with PAGE) Competitors or Partners? U.S.-Mexico Trade Policy in an Era of Global Competition Security and Economic Opportunity in Sinaloa Relations with China from the Perspectives of Brazil and U.S. Global Businesses ^Table of Contents Foreign Policy & International Relations Is the World More Dangerous 50 years after the Cuban Missile Crisis?

October 2012 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis, when the world came closest to nuclear war. In this Wilson Center National Conversation, panelists discussed the Cuban Missile Crisis and the lessons that it holds. (co-sponsored with the History and Public Policy Program)Read more...

Also See: • From the Great Wall to the New World: China and Latin America in the 21st Century (co-sponsored with the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States) Will the Ongoing Nuclear Talks with Iran Yield Better Results than Past Efforts?
(co-sponsored with the Middle East Program)
A Round-table on Brazil-U.S. Relations with Todd Chapman ^Table of Contents Border Security and Migration The Decisive Vote?

Barack Obama was reelected with overwhelming support from Latinos, the nation’s fastest growing voting bloc. Latino turnout was up this year and has been rising steadily through the last several elections. But questions abound. Just how big a difference did Latinos make this year, and where exactly? Read more...

^Table of Contents Environment and Energy The World at 7 Billion: Building a Sustainable Future

George Mason University professor Jack Goldstone was joined by Suzanne Ehlers, president and CEO of Population Action International (PAI), and Matthew Erdman, population-health-environment technical advisor at USAID, to discuss the implications of seven billion people and counting for the environment as part of the joint Wilson Center-George Mason University Managing the Planet series.(co-sponsored with the Global Sustainability and Resilience Program) Read more...

Also See: • Un nuevo inicio para el petroleo mexicano (co-sponsored with the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de Mexico) Mexico City Managing Mountains for Ecological Services and Environmental Security (co-sponsored with the Global Sustainability and Resilience Program) Rio+20: Impacts and Ways Forward (co-sponsored with the Global Sustainability and Resilience Program) ^Table of Contents In the Media

See what our staff, scholars, and associates have had to say on:

The United States' Foreign Policy and Elections U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation Colombia's Peace Process Politics and Economy in Brazil Venezuela's Elections and Future Crime, Violence, and Security in Mexico Gun Control and U.S. Policy Drug Legalization Pena Nieto and the New PRI Government Migration and the U.S.-Mexico Border Mexico's Economy and Integration Governance and Transparency Energy and Education
Read here... ^Table of Contents Fellows and Public Policy Scholars Fellows The Latin American Program is pleased to continue hosting four Wilson Center Fellows for the 2012¬2013 academic year: • Steven Dudley, Co-director, InSight Crime, Washington, D.C. “Old Cartels and New Gangs: the Disintegration of the Underworld and its Impact on the Region.” • Laura Gómez-Mera, Assistant Professor of International Studies, University of Miami. “The Politics of International Cooperation in the Fight against Human Trafficking.” • Jeffery Paige, Professor of Sociology, University of Michigan, “The Discourse of Indigenous Revolution in the Andes.” • Gail D. Triner, Professor of History, Rutgers University, “Non-renewable Natural Resources, Institutions and Globalization in a Modern Brazilian Economy.”
We also bid farewell to our fall 2012 Wilson Center Fellow Kenneth Greene , Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Texas at Austin. “Political Finance and Party Systems in Latin America.”
In Memoriam

It is with great sorrow that the Latin American Program notes the recent passing of two former colleagues: Albert O. Hirshman, first chair of the Latin American Program’s Academic Council, and Alfonso Quiroz, a Fellow from 2002 to 2003.

Albert O. Hirshman (1915-2012)
As noted by Latin American Program founding Director Abraham Lowenthal, Albert O. Hirschman was one of the giants of international social science. His contributions to development economics, international political economy and political philosophy were enormous. Equally impressive, in a sense, was the life-changing encouragement he gave to a generation of politically committed social scientists around the world: to avoid ideological extremes, look for unexpected opportunities, be aware of silver linings, map out backward and forward linkages and forge strategies for uneven development, and to approach the future with what he called “a bias for hope.”

At the Wilson Center, Professor Hirschman’s pioneering efforts, as first chairman of the Latin American Program’s Academic Council, helped build a space in Washington for critical inquiry and open debate on the region’s social, political and economic issues and on its relations with the United States and the world economy. Working closely with Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Guillermo O’Donnell, Ricardo French-Davis, Olga Pellicer and other members of the original Council, and with me as the Program’s founding director, Albert Hirschman assured the high standards, openness, pluralism and independence that has marked the program from its inception and through the years.
Alfonso Quiroz (1956–2013)
Alfonso Quiroz was a professor of history at Baruch College and Graduate Center, City University of New York. He was in residence at the Wilson Center from August 2002 to May 2003, where he worked on his book, Corrupt Circles: A History of Unbound Graft in Peru. He studied the long-term impact of public and private corruption, and the efforts of those who have fought against it, in a country struggling toward economic development. This historical approach underscores the central, yet poorly studied, role of corruption in undermining economic efficiency, income distribution, civil society, democracy, and stability in developing countries.

During his professional career, Alfonso Quiroz sought explanations and solutions to the increasingly pressing issue of economic problems in Latin America and their international repercussions. His own personal experience growing up in Peru led him to study financial and socioeconomic obstacles to economic growth and development. Additionally, Dr. Quiroz was a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow and curated centennial exhibitions on the Spanish-American War at the New York Public Library and the New-York Historical Society in 1998. He earned his Bachelor’s degree at Universidad Católica, Lima in 1980, and both a Masters and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1981 and 1986, respectively. ^Table of Contents Staff Notes

Duncan Wood
The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute welcomes Dr. Duncan Wood as its new director. Duncan succeeds Andrew Selee, now Vice President for Programs at the Wilson Center. Before joining the Wilson Center, Duncan was a professor and director of both the International Relations Program and the Canadian Studies Program at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) in Mexico City.

Eric Olson
In January 2013, Eric Olson was named Associate Director of the Latin American Program, after serving most recently as Associate Director and previously as Senior Associate of the Mexico Institute since July 2010. Eric will continue to develop programing on Central America, elections and democratic institutions, security policy and organized crime, and drug policy among others.

Miguel Salazar We would like to congratulate Miguel Salazar on his appointment to the newly created role of Public Affairs Specialist with the Mexico Institute. Miguel will be responsible for the Institute’s outreach and communication efforts and social media. Miguel previously served as Program Assistant to the Mexico Institute.

Adam Stubits After working with the Latin American Program for nearly six years as a Program Associate, Adam Stubits was promoted within the Wilson Center and is now the organization’s Administrative Officer and Special Assistant for Administration and Resource Management. The Latin American Program thanks Adam for his many years of service and congratulates him on his new position.

Interns • Meredith Pierce, Georgetown University • Gabriel Hurst, Georgetown University • Pedro Ramírez, University of Southern California • Ashley García, Georgetown University • Christopher Martin, University of Colorado • Michael Danta, University of Brasília
We also thank our outgoing interns for their help and support:
Aurelia Ortiz, American University
Constance McNally, John Hopkins University
Natalie Russell, American University
^Table of Contents Publications Reports and Bulletins

Genaro Arriagada and José Woldenberg. “Report on Venezuela’s Presidential Elections 2012.”

Carlos Basombrío. Qué Hemos Hecho: Reflexiones sobre respuestas y políticas públicas frente al incremento de la violencia delincuencial en América Latina. Latin American Program, 2012.

Dolia Estévez. U.S. Ambassadors to Mexico: The Relationship Through Their Eyes. 2013.

James E. Mahon. “Tax Incidence and Tax Reforms in Latin America.” 2012.

Sergio Romero-Hernández, “Solar Energy Potential in Mexico's Northern Border States.” 2012.

Saulo Santos de Souza. “The Political Economy of Tax Reform in Latin America: A Critical Review.” 2013.

Pamela Starr. “Sharing Space with Our Hemispheric Partners: A Latino Perspective on U.S. Policy Toward Latin America.” 2012.

Duncan Wood. “A New Beginning for Mexican Oil: Principles and Recommendations for a reform in Mexico’s National Interest.” 2012.

Christopher E. Wilson, Eric L. Olson, Miguel R. Salazar, Andrew D. Selee, Duncan Wood. “New Ideas for a New Era: Policy Options for the Next Stage in U.S.-Mexico Relations.” 2013.

Policy Brief Series

The Wilson Center’s Policy Brief Series draws on the knowledge of our broad range on in-house experts to help inform the new administration and other key decision-makers. Read briefs from other Wilson Center programs here.

Cynthia J. Arnson, “Setting Priorities for U.S. Policy in Latin America,” 2013.

Paulo Sotero, “Pursuing A Productive Relationship Between the U.S. and Brazil,” 2012.

Christopher Wilson and Andrew Selee. “A New Agenda with Mexico,” 2012.

Regional Migration Study Group Working Paper Series

The Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute and Latin America program and the Migration Policy Institute have partnered to facilitate a series of conversations about developing a collaborative, regional approach to these issues. The Regional Migration Study Group, consisting of two dozen former officials, civil-society leaders, policy intellectuals, and specialists in the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, will meet twice yearly over a three-year period.

Peter A. Creticos and Eleanor Sohnen, "Manufacturing in the United States, Mexico, and Central America: Implications for Competitiveness and Migration"

Andrew Selee, Cynthia J. Arnson, and Eric L. Olson, "Crime and Violence in Mexico and Central America: An Evolving but Incomplete U.S. Policy Response"

Luis Rubio, "In the Lurch between Government and Chaos: Unconsolidated Democracy in Mexico"

Eleanor Sohnen, "Paying for Crime: A Review of the Relationships between Insecurity and Development in Mexico and Central America"

Steven Dudley, "Transnational Crime in Mexico and Central America: Its Evolution and Role in International Migration"

Ralph Espach and Daniel Haering, "Border Insecurity in Central America’s Northern Triangle"

Francisco Alba and Manuel Ángel Castillo, "New Approaches to Migration Management in Mexico and Central America"

Gordon H. Hanson, "Understanding Mexico’s Economic Underperformance"

Hugo Beteta, "Central American Development: Two Decades of Progress and Challenges for the Future"

Raymundo Campos-Vazquez and Horacio Sobarzo, "The Development and Fiscal Effects of Emigration on Mexico"

Marc R. Rosenblum, "U.S. Immigration Policy since 9/11: Understanding the Stalemate over Comprehensive Immigration Reform"

Marc R. Rosenblum and Kate Brick, "U.S. Immigration Policy and Mexican/Central American Migration Flows: Then and Now"

Kate Brick, A. E. Challinor, and Marc R. Rosenblum, "Mexican and Central American Immigrants in the United States"

Aaron Terrazas, Demetrios G. Papademetriou, and Marc R. Rosenblum, "Evolving Demographic and Human-Capital Trends in Mexico and Central America and Their Implications for Regional Migration"

^Table of Contents Forthcoming Publications Books

Katherine Hite and Mark Ungar, eds. Sustaining Human Rights in the Twenty-First Century. Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press. Forthcoming 2013.

Carlos de la Torre and Cynthia Arnson, eds. Latin American Populism in the Twenty-First Century. Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press. Forthcoming 2013.

Peter Smith and Andrew Selee, eds. Mexico & the United States: The Politics of Partnership. Wilson Center Press and Lynne Rienner. Forthcoming 2013.

Reports and Bulletins

Cynthia Arnson and Paulo Sotero, eds. “Brazil-South American Relations Conference Report”. Winter 2013.

Raúl Benítez Manaut, María Victoria Llorente, Jeremy McDermott, John Bailey, and Marta Lucía Ramírez. One Goal, Two Struggles: Confronting Crime and Violence in Mexico and Colombia. Wilson Center Press and Johns Hopkins University Press. 2013.

Lucia Dammert. “Seguridad democrática: de las propuestas a la implementación de políticas públicas; Relatoría seminario regional del cono sur.” 2013.

Paulo Sotero, ed. “Report on Second Brazilian Congressional Study Mission on Innovation.” Winter 2013.

Paulo Sotero, ed. “Report on the Brazil-United States Judicial Dialogue.” Winter 2013.

Paulo Sotero, ed. “Could the Brazil-Turkey Mediation on Iran Have Resulted in a Better Outcome?” Winter 2013.

Luis Rubio. “Mexico Matters: Change In Mexico and its Impact upon the U.S.” Spring 2013.

^Table of Contents Follow Us: Latin American Program:

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The Latin American Program

The Latin American Program and its institutes on Mexico and Brazil serve as a bridge between the United States and Latin America, providing a nonpartisan forum for experts from throughout the region and the world to discuss the most critical issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program sponsors research, conferences, and publications aimed at deepening the understanding of Latin American and Caribbean politics, history, economics, culture, and U.S.-Latin American relations. By bringing pressing regional concerns to the attention of opinion leaders and policymakers, the Program contributes to more informed policy choices in Washington, D.C., and throughout the Hemisphere.

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