Last week, the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) held its 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government in East Timor. The meeting produced several resolutions regarding scientific and cultural topics, as well as a number of political statements linked to Guinea Bissau’s elections and mutual political support in international institutions. But perhaps the most important decision made at the summit was the acceptance of Equatorial Guinea, currently the third-largest oil exporter in sub-Saharan Africa, as a full member of the CPLP. The four-year process that led to last week’s outcome was far from smooth, as Portugal vetoed Equatorial [...]
After a run of good years, Peru’s government faces mounting economic challenges. Bolstered by booming commodities demand in China and other emerging markets, the Andean nation’s gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of almost $15 billion over the past decade. Inflows of foreign direct investment nearly doubled between 2009 and 2012. But the economy has cooled since, with annual growth sliding from 8.5 percent in 2010 to 5.8 percent last year. While Peru continues to lead its South American peers in terms of economic expansion, the country’s Central Bank significantly cut its growth forecast from 5.5 percent in [...]
Although Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to South America earlier this month was overshadowed by events in Ukraine and the Middle East, it did garner considerable attention in the South American and Russian media. Even in Washington, commentators saw Putin as seeking to circumvent the Western opposition to his policies in Ukraine as well as retaliate for U.S. involvement in Moscow’s neighboring states with a tit-for-tat display of influence in Washington’s strategic backyard. Putin began his visit in Cuba on July 11, where he finalized plans to eliminate 90 percent of Cuba’s Cold War-era debt to Russia—more than $30 billion [...]
