Economy, trade & employment

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.

The emerging Colombian cannabis market has a predicted value of $54 billion USD by 2025. Its potential to uphold the peace agreement, create jobs for rural farmers and boost the national economy is remarkable, although there are stubborn obstructions to progress.

Just when Argentina’s economy seemed to be at its darkest hour, Chinese president Xi Jinping proposed a multi-billion investment in the domestic pork meat industry. What originally seemed like a great opportunity has morphed into the source of a deep societal division.

Haiti is not unfamiliar with violent uprisings. However, since the US-backed installation of Jovenel Moïse in 2004, unrest has been relentless, with violence and repression reaching a bloody crescendo in recent weeks.