Economy, trade & employment

President Trump has unleashed a barrage of actions against Brazil in an attempt to prevent Lula from retaining support. He has stated his open support for previous president Jair Bolsonaro, now under indictment for inciting a coup against Brazil's democratic institutions. He has named and inveighed against Brazil's judges, notably Alexandre de Moraes. Military threats, disguised as anti-drug aid, may soon follow. Brazil now faces 50 per cent tariffs if they do not bend the knee.

I am the mole that destroys the state from within.’ The phrase, uttered by Argentinian President Javier Milei describes his ultra-libertarian populist mission. Reality, particularly the economy may not agree, argues Pablo Stafanoni.

Javier Milei's ultra neocon policies threaten to tear apart what remains of Argentina's textile industry. Bert Schouwenburg examines the efforts of UK orgqanisations to source clothing ethically and the impact on one Argentine textile co-operative.

Javier Milei's won a landslide victory in Argentina's presidential elections. He has promised to 'take a chainsaw' to the country's economy -- in dire trouble with inflation this year already at 143%. But can he convert a massive protest vote into real policies?

Glencore, owner of the vast Cerrejón coal mine in Colombia, is using the grotesque Investor State Dispute Settlement process to prevent the Colombian government from protecting its own citizens and environment. Jen Moore was part of an international delegation to study this problem.

'Free trade and investment agreements are tools for the “deviation of power” away from communities and into corporate boardrooms. This is what the experience of people in Mexico teaches us.' This is the conclusion of a new report by GRAIN, a small international non-profit organisation that works to support small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled and biodiversity-based food systems.

Bolivia is a major importer of mercury on a world-scale. Pollution caused by the gold business has reached the most important urban areas of the country, while the authorities look the other way.

'Gold, Oil and Avocados, A Recent History of Latin America in Sixteen Commodities' by Andy Robinson is a detailed account of export extractivism in Latin America, offering rich context.

The Biden Administration has disappointed all who seek more positive relations between Cuba and the US - by renewing accusations that Cuba is failing to co-operate with US anti-terrorism efforts

Mexico has a vast army of informal workers who receive little in the way of formal state benefits. Covid lockdowns have hit them hard and only neighbourhood cooperation is helping them survive.