Research Library

With Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pushing for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to replace the Organization of American States (OAS), which the U.S. currently dominates, the future of security relations in the Western Hemisphere is in question. This paper assesses four possible future scenarios and offers policy recommendations for a reimagined OAS.

In 1980, the Mariel Boatlift brought not only tens of thousands of political refugees from Cuba to Florida, but a significant number of criminals, leading to soaring murder and crime rates in the U.S. With Mexico now planning the release of potentially thousands of federal prisoners, is history set to repeat itself?

The authors compare the impacts of energy-related sanctions against Russia and a market-based geoeconomics policy, and suggest options for U.S. involvement in the region.

Despite its massive geological endowment and receiving what could be considered the largest windfall in its economic history, Venezuela entered 2020 in the middle of an unprecedented economic crisis. The Covid-19 pandemic and turbulence in oil markets represent the latest in a string of problems that expose the country’s vulnerability.

As the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 approaches, fellow George W.S. Abbey, former director of the Johnson Space Center, traces America's race to the moon — and describes what it took to be the first ones there.

Why do unaccompanied minors flee their home countries and what happens when they reach Mexico or the United States?  This report provides an overview of the perilous journey and the reality of detention centers, concluding that a child-centric approach in both countries should address the needs of these children.

While the U.S. still maintains the overall lead in Nobel prizes (with the exception of literature), the rate at which American scientists have been awarded the prize has declined since the late 1970s. Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews and postdoctoral fellow Kenneth M. Evans explore the state of scientific collaboration in the U.S. in this Baker Institute blog: https://bit.ly/2yiNhzF

The elections that will be held in Cuba on April 19 undoubtedly represents the most important election since 1979 — for the first time in nearly 60 years, someone from outside the Castro family will lead the country. Although the change at the top of the Cuban regime may not constitute a radical change in the political system, the symbolic significance of a post-Castro era cannot be overstated, write the authors in a new post for the Baker Institute Blog.

Rice faculty scholar Leslie Schwindt-Bayer shares key findings from a recently published book she edited, “Gender and Representation in Latin America," which examines the factors that help increase women’s political presence in Latin American governments.

The author assesses the impact of inequality in Latin America and the methods used to measure it.