Research Library

Since the first quarter of 2014, Brazil has been living in crisis mode as the result of a severe economic crisis in conjunction with an investigation into widespread corruption that has penetrated the highest offices in the government. Although the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in 2016 did offer some hope for recovery, recent events demonstrate that Brazil's troubles are still ongoing. Contributing expert Sergio Fausto analyzes the main factors leading to this crisis and surveys the current economic and political situation.

This issue brief examines the various foreign policy strategies advanced by Worker’s Party-led administrations in Brazil since 2003. The brief also analyzes the current political and economic crises that have increased strain on the party’s leaders.

The Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris have turned public opinion against allowing Syrian refugees to resettle in other countries. But rejecting refugees based on their religion or assumptions that they may assist ISIS in launching acts of terrorism betray universal values of freedom and equality.

Pedro da Motta Veiga, nonresident fellow for the Latin America Initiative, and Sandra Polónia Rios, director of the Centro de Estudos de Integração e Desenvolvimento, discuss the shift away from protectionism in Brazil's trade negotiations.

With the recent approval of Mexico's energy reform and the current enthusiasm of South American governments to attract foreign investment in oil, one might be tempted to conclude that the tide of resource nationalism is receding in the region. Nevertheless, the cycles of investment and expropriation that have characterized the oil sector in Latin America are unlikely to go away.

On May 23, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a series of bills to implement constitutional changes to the country’s political and electoral processes. The reforms bring some of the most dynamic shifts to Mexican politics since the 1990s, including replacing the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE) with the National Electoral Institute (INE). The new INE and the measures behind it now strive to replicate the IFE’s success in the country's states and municipalities.

This issue brief examines the signals conveyed by Mexico's 2014 energy reforms, and analyzes the limitations in law, institutional design and policy that may delay, if not derail, the reforms' success.

Under proposed legislation to implement Mexico’s energy reforms, Pemex will remain a privileged state operator supporting exploration and production in most of the country's proven onshore and shallow water fields. It is not known if energy reform will effectively turn Pemex into a firm able to compete without policy bias against private investors.

Most recent reports on sexual harassment in Egypt draw a dim picture of women’s status not only in that country, but also in most parts of the region. A recent United Nations study revealed that 99.3 percent of Egyptian women have experienced some form of sexual harassment in the past year, primarily in the form of physical harassment. A recent public opinion survey showed that 85 percent of Egyptian women surveyed agree sexual harassment is the most urgent problem facing women and girls in transitional Egypt, despite the prevailing political and social instability in the country. Looking closely at these statistics, it is evident that sexual harassment is becoming not only a repugnant social phenomenon or political tool used by the regime to suppress women’s participation in the political and public spheres; it is also progressively becoming a barrier for women to play an active role in society and enjoy equal citizenship rights in their own country. Most importantly, harassment has become an impediment for both economic and social development in the country—a critical issue that requires immediate attention from policymakers, legislators, and society as a whole.