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June 28, 2021
admin
June 27, 2021
Historic drought adds to Brazil’s COVID-19 woes
In Brazil—still in the throes of the pandemic, as evidenced by the country’s ignominious passage through the threshold of 500,000 dead from COVID-19—public dissatisfaction with the government of President Jair Bolsonaro collided this week with a looming socio-environmental catastrophe: a historic drought that has parched large swathes of Brazil’s Centro-Oeste (i.e., the states of Goiás and Mato Grosso do Sul) and populous southeast (in particular, São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Paraná, three of the most populous states in the country) in advance of the annual Amazon wildfire season.
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June 25, 2021
Significant but insufficient progress in financial support for developing countries
Recent events—in particular, last April’s meeting of the Bretton Woods institutions (that is, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF))—have generated significant advances in international financial cooperation, particularly in support of developing countries. Such support remains crucial, as a large number of low- and middle-income countries continue to be severely affected by the COVID-19 crisis while economic recovery efforts are very uneven, as underscored by the IMF in its World Economic Outlook.
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June 23, 2021
The G7 agreement on a global minimum tax will further squeeze the Caribbean
As the G7 meetings concluded in Cornwall, England, one outcome was an agreement on a global minimum tax. This initiative will further squeeze the Caribbean just as it is struggling to recover from the harm the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked on tourism, the region’s main economic sector.
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June 22, 2021
Ortega escalates repression of political opposition in Nicaragua
This week in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega continued to crack down on critics and opposition leaders in advance of the November elections that will see him vying for a fourth consecutive presidential term (and fifth term overall). Over the past two weeks, Ortega’s government has arrested and detained 13 prominent opposition figures, including four prospective presidential challengers.
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June 18, 2021
A U.S. vaccine diplomacy strategy for Latin America and the Caribbean
Once again, history seems to be repeating itself. The United States, along with the world’s other rich and mostly Western countries, continue to be accused of hoarding medical supplies, having purchased one billion surplus vaccine doses (more than is required to vaccinate their citizens). In their absence, China—and, to a lesser extent, Russia—have rushed to take advantage of the vaccine gap in the Global South, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
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June 15, 2021
admin
June 11, 2021
Ortega cracks down on political opposition in Nicaragua
In what amounts to perhaps the most aggressive crackdown on Nicaragua’s opposition since the deadly suppression of popular antigovernment protests in 2018 left hundreds dead, the government of President Daniel Ortega has arrested six opposition leaders—including four potential challengers to Ortega in November’s upcoming presidential election (Cristiana Chamorro, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Jr., and Félix Maradiaga)—in the past two weeks alone.
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June 11, 2021
Mexico’s inept opposition
Few voters flocked to Mexico’s opposition in last Sunday’s midterms, even with AMLO receiving poor grades in polls.
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June 11, 2021