Colombian FTA back up for debate
The Dialogue's Michael Shifter writes about the relationship between President Elect Obama and President Uribe in Oxford Analytica and in his column in El Tiempo and has an interview about the free trade agreement in the same paper.  The Dialogue's Peter Hakim is quoted by Latin Business Chronicle as saying passage in the lame duck session is unlikely. Hakim is also quoted by AP and The Miami Herald saying that passage is likely next year and Shifter tells EFE that Colombia is likely to make additional concessions in order to obtain the deal's approval.  Marifeli Perez-Stable writes in The Miami Herald that passing the agreement would reassert a bipartisan policy towards Colombia.

Latin America and the Caribbean are looking towards the new U.S. administration for signs of shifts in policy. Michael Shifter writes in Chile's La Tercera that an Obama administration is likely to increase its diplomatic efforts in the region, but may be distracted by other challenges around the world. The Dialogue's Peter Hakim is quoted in The Miami Herald and both Shifter and Hakim are interviewd in El Universal (Venezuela). Dan Erikson is quoted by BBC. For more information, visit the U.S. Foreign Policy in the Hemisphere page.

What Latin America can expect from the next U.S. President
The next president will face a very different set of challenges in Latin America from those that began the Bush administration.  In recent speeches and publications, the Dialogue's Michael Shifter, Peter Hakim and Dan Erikson consider the next administration's policies towards Latin America and the Caribbean.  Earlier in the year, taking advantage of Cuban Independence Day, both Barack Obama and John McCain offered major speeches on Latin America to audiences in Miami and John McCain took the time to travel to Colombia and Mexico.  For more information, visit the U.S. Foreign Policy in the Hemisphere page.

Latin America faces difficult economic challenges in 2009
Santiago Levy, vice president of sectors and knowledge at the Inter-American Development Bank, said that falling commodity prices, an overall slowdown of global economic growth, and tighter lending policies on international capital markets pose the greatest challenges to Latin America over the next year. Levy and the Dialogue's Claudio Loser discussed the effects of the current crisis during an event on October 15 at the Inter-American Dialogue.  Their statements were covered by La Prensa (Panama) and EFE.

Indirect Censorship is an ongoing threat to Press Freedom

Roberto Saba, executive director of the Association of Civil Rights in Argentina, pointed to various noxious forms of indirect government censorship designed to influence content. Catalina Botero, the newly-installed special rapporteur for freedom of expression at the Organization of American States, and John Dinges, a professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, also commented at the Inter-American Dialogue event.

U.S. Financial Crisis creates turmoil in Latin America
The current financial crisis in the U.S. is causing problems for Latin American governments and economies in spite of recent reforms made in the region. Tuesday's Latin America Advisor published a Q+A about the current situation as well as an article by Claudio Loser about the lessons of Mexico's crisis that was cited in The Miami Herald.  The Dialogue's Manuel Orozco wrote about the current state of remittances.  The Dialogue's Peter Hakim was interviewed by Diario Financiero (Chile) and quoted in the Chicago Tribune and Michael Shifter was quoted in the Washington Post about the impact on US credibility in the region.