Adobe Stock / Open Studio / 230167637
This briefing note offers insights as to whether cryptocurrency is an active form of currency transaction for family remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean.Read more +
Rochu_2008 / Adobe Stock / Enhanced license
This briefing offers a descriptive perspective regarding remittance transfer growth in 2024. We point out that, this year, flows will experience less than six percent growth. The memo highlights some insight on migration, historic growth, competition in the marketplace, and what growth can be expected for 2024.Read more +
Julio / Adobe Stock / Extended license
Setting aside the debate surrounding the legitimacy and popularity of President Nayib Bukele, he has a number of challenges ahead of him in the social, political, and economic sphere. In large part, these challenges are his legacy as they result from the decisions implemented in his first presidential term. Paradoxically, when it comes to overcoming the country's main problems, President Bukele is his own worst enemy.Read more +
Jorge Mejía Peralta / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED
Democracy is under threat in Central America and authoritarianism is on the rise. This problem is having long-term institutional and economic implications for these countries and poses serious challenges for US policy towards the region. Uncheckered political ambitions and abuses of authority in the form of corruption or political and economic favoritism are signs of severe democratic backsliding. Nicaragua is an illustration of the consequences of unconstrained power. But the growing corruption and political ambitions of other Central American leaders could further affect democratic institutions in the region. It is important not only to bear witness but to mobilize proactive foreign policy to prevent authoritarianism from rising.Read more +
The following note by Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration, Remittances, and Development program at the Inter-American Dialogue, offers some observations pertaining to a migration and remittance outlook in 2024.Read more +
Florent Mechain / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED
Tropical forests, which cover 6 percent of Earth, are our planet’s largest natural carbon sink and our first line of defense against climate change. Even with massive human effort at reducing emissions, reaching the 1.5-degree target is not possible without forest restoration. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), whose forests…Read more +
Jorge Mejía Peralta / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 DEED
Nicaragua's political changes in 2024 will depend on both the internal and external responses to the dictatorial radicalization, as well as to how the international community redefines its policy toward and relationship with the Ortega-Murillo regime.Read more +
Federico Parra / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED
On December 3, President Nicolás Maduro held a referendum asking citizens whether the Essequibo region should be “reclaimed” as part of Venezuelan territory. Whether prompted by the 2015 discovery of abundant oil reserves, or the need to gain popularity before the 2024 presidential elections, Maduro ordered Petróleos de Venezuela, SA…Read more +
Flickr / CIFOR / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED
There is a new source of controversy around carbon offsets the role of governments. Nation-states are getting more involved in voluntary carbon markets (VCMs), and that is not necessarily a bad thing. Indeed, it was only a matter of time before governments began to participate, and, if done right, such…Read more +
Tamara Taraciuk Broner, Daniel Caballero
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EFE / Lenin Nolly via Infobae
In Latin America, the rise of so-called “outsiders” with anti-system or anti-establishment agendas has had significant consequences for the rule of law.Read more +
Servicio Nacional de Migración de Panamá / Twitter
This piece offers a look at the current migration trends and points to large differences that characterize this situation as a crisis: the scale, composition, nature, and management of migration is outside conventional or historical patterns. Aspects of this unprecedented migration pattern are not within the control of government authorities and policy makers. The recent migration wave to the US border has been referred to as a crisis. Media references point to the drama of people arriving and passing through the Darien, Central America, and Mexico to characterize the problem. Others have pointed out the increasing arrivals into US cities in numbers that are hard to manage by local communities.Read more +
jinxiang / Pixabay
The economic damage wrought by Covid-19 in the Caribbean will have numerous implications for the energy sector. In this Q&A, Jed Bailey, managing director of Energy Narrative, discusses impacts for renewables, resilience, utilities, and more.Read more +
OAS / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Headlines out of next week’s OAS General Assembly will inevitably focus on Venezuela—the first item foreign ministers will take up when they gather in Cancún, Mexico. Read more +
