Articles by Luis Vieira

The announcement from the presidents of the United States and Cuba that the two countries were normalizing diplomatic relations after 5 decades got people talking. As the talks evolved, the U.S. excluded the island from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, and everything currently points to an end to the trade embargo. But is it just a big symbolic act or a real opportunity for American businesses? The truth is, there will be opportunities for foreign investors in Cuba, but for a very limi...

The incumbent president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff (Workers Party), was re-elected on October 26 with a margin of less than 4 percentage points (3 million votes) over opposition leader Aécio Neves (Brazilian Social Democratic Party). The key factor in the election was a threat made through letters and SMS messages by the ruling party's campaign that an income distribution program called Bolsa-Família would eventually end if Neves wins. Bolsa-Família is a strong program, especially in the northea...

It's been a while since Mexico has caught the attention of U.S. manufacturers attempting to shrink their costs. However, this is quickly changing. The main reason is that wages have almost quadrupled in China in the last 5 years, while Mexico did not see a significant hike. Also, since Americans are the main consumers of these companies, it is cheaper to transport products from Mexico. So why did these companies not leave China and return to the U.S.? Some manufacturers, such as General Electr...

For the first time in 15 years, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce met with Cuban dictator Raúl Castro last month to analyze investment possibilities and the reforms implemented by the regime. Thomas Donohue says he went to Cuba to "support" the opening of the island. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is one of the open lobbyists that push for the end of all trade restrictions between the United States and the Caribbean island. Cargill, the largest grain trader in the world, also supports...

It's been a while since Chicago was regarded as the murder capital of the United States. The recent sharp decline in the murder rate in Windy City has raised a few questions. According to the Chicago Police Department, the first quarter of 2014 registered the lowest number of homicides since 1958. In the first 3 months of the year, Chicago had 6 less murders than this time in 2013, and 55 fewer than this time in 2012. Overall crime plummeted 25 percent from 2013.So what explains this stunning n...

One of the benefits sold by former U.S. President Bill Clinton to approve the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993 was that the agreement would reduce illegal immigration substantially. Twenty years after it was enacted, experts mostly do not agree on the particular effect NAFTA has on immigration. Using the numbers to analyze it, the results are confusing. For years after the bill, the number of undocumented Mexicans in the United States skyrocketed from 2.5 million in 1995 to 1...

As of July 2013, American journalist Glenn Greenwald has published several accusations against U.S. authorities, such as the National Security Agency, who have allegedly spied on not only American citizens, but Brazilian officials and citizens as well. Greenwald decided to live in Rio de Janeiro and his accusations have generated reaction from all sectors of the society. The journalist presented the documents obtained through Edward Snowden in a national Sunday show in Brazil called Fantástico,...

“If I win, it's because of Latinos”, president Barack Obama told the Des Moines Register newspaper in an interview last week. Not many people deny the importance of the Latino vote this year. However, this ethnic group cannot be seen as just one voting bloc, especially not when dealing with Cuban independent voters. A very relevant issue for most Latinos is immigration reform – an issue that Obama continues to express to voters. Cuban American voters, on other hand, are not necessarily preoccup...