Recent reports suggest that Hispanic-Americans, in contrast to Non-Hispanics, list education as a major policy concern when ranking the issues. Right behind jobs and the economy, most Hispanic-Americans indicate that they are concerned about the state and quality of their children’s education. This should not be surprising, as various studies illustrate that a rather large … Continue reading
Category Archives: America
America / Culture / Foreign Policy / Politics
Not for the Faint of Heart: Wading into the Politics of Cuban Exile Florida
The ongoing drama in South Florida surrounding the issuing of a visa to Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban dictator Raul Castro, may not be on the radar of most Americans, but to overlook its political ramifications in this must-win, critical swing state in an election year would be naive at best. The other day, a … Continue reading
Latin American Elections or South Eastern Conference Football?
The Dominican Republic just had the opportunity to show its citizens and its neighbors in the region the beauty of democracy during its 2012 presidential election. In an election-heavy year across the globe, I have been monitoring those occurring in the Americas. Many Latin American elections end in allegations of voter fraud, corruption or foreign … Continue reading
How much will the US-Mexico Relationship Change After July 1?
The Washington Post ran an article on May 14 by Nick Miroff and William Booth about Enrique Peña Nieto, the front-runner in Mexico’s upcoming presidential election. The article centers on the fact that few Mexican voters and political analysts on both sides of the US-Mexico border have much of a sense about the man known … Continue reading
Hugo Chavez’s Health Could Have a Number of Consequences for the Western Hemisphere
All eyes are on poll numbers, gay marriage, the economy, and most definitely not focused on Venezuela. Well, in my opinion, the United States might want to keep an eye on the current electoral situation in Venezuela and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s health is a major part of the electoral picture in that country. There … Continue reading
Colombia as a Regional Leader?
Since taking office in 2010, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has sought to fill the regional leadership role left vacant by Brazil’s former President Lula da Silva when the latter left his post in the same year. Many analysts believe that the days of US hemispheric hegemony are over. I would go a step further … Continue reading
Why I Believe Neither Obama nor Romney Deserves the “Hispanic Vote”
As my esteemed colleague, Marlena Papavartis, and I have stated various times in our blogs: there is no single monolithic “Hispanic vote.” Political pundits and politicians, however, often fail to understand this basic concept. This past weekend was no different, with President Barack Obama telling Univision that he would attempt to “tackle immigration policy in … Continue reading
Another Reason the United States Should Recognize the Power of Its Growing Latino Population
When it comes to Latin America, the United States and its citizens do not need a full history lesson. It might be easier to skip over the history of US military interventionism and economic imperialism, and focus on more recent events. Rather, I believe, the United States needs to take a good long look at … Continue reading
Another Example of Why the United States Will Never “Win” Its War on Drugs
The United States is most assuredly not winning the war on drugs. Anyone who tells you otherwise is woefully uninformed or playing politics. The most recent example of how badly the United States is losing this war can be evidenced by its decision to adopt counter-measures to the Mexican drug cartels’ newspaper advertisement campaign. I … Continue reading
Formal Criminal Alliances Pose a Major Security Threat to the Americas
A recent report from Guatemalan authorities focuses on a formal alliance between two major criminal entities: the Mexican Zetas cartel and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS) street gang that operates throughout Central and North America. Informal and temporary alliances are often formed between criminal groups, but this is the first report of a formal alliance. Such … Continue reading
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