North America Archive

The rise of populism, President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” mercantilism, the worsening U.S.-China trade war and fears of a global recession all point to a new protectionist era. Yet new trade deals are still being signed, perhaps most prominently in Latin America, where at least some politicians remain enthusiastic about free trade. The region reflects the current push and pull over the terms of globalization, and how the ideas that initially drove it are being upended. There are currently over 300 free trade agreements in force around the world. They come in different shapes and sizes, but the […]

In one of his first official acts as president of Mexico late last year, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador sold the presidential jet, fulfilling a campaign promise. The populist leader said he would fly commercial instead. But more than nine months later, Lopez Obrador—or AMLO, as he is widely known in Mexico—still has yet to make a state trip out of the country. Of course, selling the presidential jet is not the ultimate reason why. Jesus Cantu, the president’s spokesperson and one of his top deputies, told World Politics Review that AMLO’s domestic policies have taken priority—a combination of austerity and […]