Anybody relying on the media coverage of last July’s national elections in Mexico can be forgiven for getting the impression that the proceedings were, as was historically the case, irredeemably corrupt. These images do not come close to matching the facts.

A Latin American Cities Conferences event, Uruguay in the Global Economy on August 9 brought together members of government and the private sector, including President Tabaré Vázquez, to discuss the central government's agenda, institutional and economic reforms, business climate and investment opportunities, and MERCOSUR, as well as other trade agreements.

On October 15, Ecuadorians voted in the first round of a presidential election featuring over 15 candidates. To understand some of the complex issues facing the country, AS/COA spoke with one of the leading candidates in the polls, Cynthia Viteri of the Social Christian Party, on July 18.

In an interview with the Americas Society and the Council of the Americas released on May 16, the former President of Brazil, F.H. Cardoso, focused on the region-wide reform agenda and analyzed the state of democracy in the region. “Populism is a threat that we ignore at our own peril.” The interview coincided with his recent book signing event at our New York office.

With Iraq and other priorities competing for the attention of U.S. policymakers, the question of Bolivia is overlooked. But, situated in the heart of South America, with the second-largest natural gas reserves in the Western Hemisphere, Bolivia's unsettled course bears close watch.

In the end, elections in the hemisphere will produce governments with which the US will share more in common than not. The trick will be to remain engaged with those governments as they tackle the difficult problems of addressing structural poverty, exclusion, and inequality with respect for democratic institutions and rights.

Speaking at the 35th Washington Conference on the Americas, Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses the connection between security and economic growth. Rumsfeld explains the steps that have been taken throughout the Americas to combat criminal activities that weaken security and accordingly weaken the economy.