At the Miami launch of the latest issue of Americas Quarterly, a panel moderated by Miami Herald columnist Andrés Oppenheimer examined Latin American social mobility and hemispheric trade policy, as well as Cuba’s economic outlook following Raúl Castro’s accession.

The Council of the Americas held the 38th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas on May 6 and 7, drawing together a selection of the region's most influential officials—including the presidents of the United States and Panama—to address the most pressing policy issues affecting the Western Hemisphere.

AS/COA’s second microfinance roundtable discussion provided an opportunity to discuss challenges and opportunities for expanding its outreach in Latin America. The sector has favored a commercial approach as Latin American microfinance moves beyond the distribution of loans.

Some of the region's most progressive laws have been passed in Argentina and Mexico, but the struggle for gay rights in Latin America is an uphill climb.

Brazil leads the hemisphere in IPOs, but the region as a whole lags far behind other emerging markets.

Targeted monetary transfer programs such as Brazil's Bolsa Família represent bold new alternatives in the field of poverty alleviation. Do they work as well as their advocates claim? Read the entire article in the Spring 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly.

Universal welfare programs are returning to the social policy mix in the hemisphere. By their very nature, limited social assistance policies have limited impact, writes José Antonio Ocampo. Read the full text of the article in the Spring 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly, released April 24.