LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR A DAILY PUBLICATION OF THE DIALOGUE www.thedialogue.org Thursday, January 21, 2021 BOARD OF ADVISORS FEATURED Q&A TODAY’S NEWS Diego Arria Director, Columbus Group ECONOMIC Devry Boughner Vorwerk Will Biden’s Latin Biden Takes CEO, DevryBV Sustainable Strategies Office in U.S., Joyce Chang Global Head of Research, America Team Set Orders Reversal of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trump Policies Paula Cifuentes Director of Economic & Fiscal Affairs, the Right Priorities? Joe Biden took office as president Latin America & Canada, of the United States and signed Philip Morris International orders to reverse policies of his Marlene Fernández predecessor, Donald Trump, in Corporate Vice President for areas including immigration. Government Relations, Arcos Dorados (McDonald’s) Page 2 Peter Hakim President Emeritus, POLITICAL Inter-American Dialogue Donna Hrinak Mexico’s Homicide Senior VP, Corporate Affairs, Royal Caribbean Group Rate Fell Just Jon E. Huenemann 0.4% Last Year Former Corporate and Government Senior Executive Mexico’s homicide rate declined Joe Biden, who was sworn in Wednesday as president of the United States, has nominated James R. Jones 0.4 percent last year, despite the several officials who will be responsible for U.S. policy toward Latin America. // Photo: U.S. Chairman, Congress. Covid-19 pandemic, which some Monarch Global Strategies had expected to lower the murder Craig A. Kelly U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated, pending congres- rate due to lockdowns. Senior Director, Americas Page 2 Int’l Gov’t Relations, Exxon Mobil sional confirmation, Antony Blinken as his secretary of John Maisto state. Meanwhile, Colombia-born Juan González will be the Director, U.S. Education ECONOMIC Finance Group Q next senior director for the Western Hemisphere in the Biden Nicolás Mariscal administration’s National Security Council, and Samantha Power was Trump’s Sanctions Chairman, Grupo Marhnos nominated to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development. Who Cost Cuba $20 Bn: Thomas F. McLarty III are the primary players in terms of Latin America policy to watch in the Foreign Ministry Chairman, McLarty Associates Biden administration, and what do choices so far signal about areas that Sanctions that the United States Beatrice Rangel might take center-stage in Western Hemisphere relations? What are the imposed on Cuba during the Director, strengths and weaknesses of Biden’s Latin America team? How much administration of former U.S. AMLA Consulting LLC President Donald Trump cost the Jaana Remes priority will Latin America-related issues take in the new U.S. adminis- island nation $20 billion, said Partner, tration, particularly in terms of funding? Foreign Ministry official Johana McKinsey Global Institute Tablada. Ernesto Revilla Page 3 Head of Latin American Arturo Sarukhan, member of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Economics, Citi Gustavo Roosen Board of Directors and former Mexican ambassador to Chairman of the Board, the United States: “Joe Biden’s deep and extensive role in Envases Venezolanos Andrés Rozental Latin America and the Caribbean, both during his time in President, Rozental & A the Senate and as President Obama’s wingman for the region, certainly Asociados bodes well for the Americas. However, that does not necessarily mean Shelly Shetty Managing Director, Sovereigns that his administration will be able to dedicate an unvarying bandwidth Fitch Ratings to inter-American affairs or that the region is the same as when he left office in January 2017. As the world economy gets a shot of optimism from a Biden win and vaccine news, most Latin American economies enter 2021 challenged either by the need to implement unpopular fiscal consolidation and face social tensions or by the risk of populism and the fraying of democratic governance and institutions—or both. Heightened Tablada // File Photo: Cuban Government. Continued on page 3 COPYRIGHT © 2021, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 1 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Thursday, January 21, 2021 POLITICAL NEWS enrollments in the Migrant Protocols Policy, NEWS BRIEFS also known as the “remain in Mexico” program, Biden Takes Office in NPR reported. The policy had required asylum Witness Implicates seekers trying to enter the United States from Mexican Soldiers in U.S., Orders Reversal Mexico to stay in Mexico to await their U.S. court hearings. Biden also ordered officials Students’ Disappearance of Trump Policies to work to preserve the Deferred Action for New testimony from a witness in the case Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which of 43 college students who went missing in Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was sworn in has shielded from deportation hundreds of Mexico in 2014 has directly implicated army Wednesday as president of the United States thousands of people who are undocumented soldiers in the incident, the Associated Press and pledged to help unify a deeply divided and were brought to the United States as chil- reported, citing Mexican newspaper Reforma. country. “This is our historic moment of crisis dren, The New York Times reported. Biden also The witness, presumed to be a gang member, and challenge,” Biden said in his inaugural ended the emergency declaration that Trump alleges soldiers interrogated some of the address at the U.S. Capitol, which just two used to begin construction of a wall along the students before turning them over to a drug weeks before was overrun with rioters attempt- U.S.-Mexico border, a signature initiative of gang. Mexico’s Interior Department declined to ing to overturn the electoral loss of Biden’s Trump’s administration. Several world leaders comment on the newspaper’s report. predecessor, Donald Trump. “Unity is the path congratulated Biden. Colombian President forward. And we must meet this moment as Iván Duque said his government “is ready to the United States of America. If we do that, continue strengthening a historic relationship,” I guarantee you we will not fail.” Trump, who according to Colombia Reports. Venezuelan Protesters in Haiti pursued several claims dismissed as baseless President Nicolás Maduro, the target of numer- Demand Moïse’s in failed efforts to overturn the election result, ous sanctions by the Trump administration, Resignation broke with tradition by not attending Biden’s said he hopes for better relations with Biden. Hundreds of people took to the streets in Hai- swearing-in. In his inaugural address, Biden, “We must tell the United States: we want to im- ti’s capital on Wednesday in the latest protest at 78 the oldest person to assume the U.S. prove our relations, to make it one of respect, demanding that President Jovenel Moïse step presidency, urged Americans to end what he of mutual acknowledgment, a relationship with down, the Associated Press reported. Protest- called its “uncivil war” and unify in the face of a future,” Agence France-Presse reported. Mad- ers clashed with police, and one woman was crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic. The uro urged Biden to “turn the page ... after four shot in the arm and was in stable condition. United States has recorded more than 24 mil- years of Trumpist brutality.” Mexican President The demonstrations, which opposition leaders lion cases of the highly contagious disease and Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on Biden are organizing, are calling for the resignation of more than 406,000 deaths, far more than any to fulfill campaign promises to reform U.S. im- Moïse, who has been governing by decree for other country in the world, according to Johns migration policies. “I hope that today or in the a year following the dissolution of parliament. Hopkins University. Just before Biden took the coming days he presents the migration plan,” Moïse claims that his term ends in February oath of office, Kamala Devi Harris was sworn in said López Obrador, Reuters reported. “What 2022. as the nation’s vice president, making her the it is going to consist of, how they are going to first woman, the first Black American and the respect [migrants’] right to be recognized, that first person with Asian heritage to occupy the they get dual nationality.” office. She was sworn in by Sonia Sotomayor, Chile Raises $4.25 Billion the United States’ first Supreme Court justice in Euro, Dollar Markets with Latin American heritage. Soon after taking Mexico’s Homicide office Wednesday, Biden signed 17 executive Rate Fell Just 0.4% Chile raised approximately $4.25 billion in euro orders, reversing several Trump-era policies. and U.S. dollar markets on Tuesday, including They included a requirement that people Last Year: Gov’t the largest sustainability bond issued by a Lat- wear masks on federal property to fight the in American sovereign in foreign debt markets, Bloomberg News reported. The Andean nation spread of Covid-19 as well as orders to rejoin Mexico’s homicide rate declined just 0.4 per- borrowed $2.25 billion in a two-part dollar-de- the World Health Organization and the Paris cent last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic, nominated sale, including $1.5 billion in sus- climate accords. Under orders Biden signed the government announced Wednesday, the As- tainability bonds. The country also raised 1.65 Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland sociated Press reported. The country recorded billion euros ($2 billion) in European markets Security announced that, starting today, it 34,515 homicides in 2020, just 133 fewer than to finance green and social projects. Chile’s would pause deportations for some noncit- the country tallied in 2019. The decline equaled finance ministry said on Tuesday that both the izens for 100 days and would also halt new just more than the one-day homicide death dollar and euro offerings were oversubscribed. COPYRIGHT © 2021, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 2 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Thursday, January 21, 2021 toll. Some had expected that partial lockdowns FEATURED Q&A / Continued from page 1 instituted during the pandemic would mean a significant decline in the number of killings in domestic political risk, the socioeconomic Clinton political appointee Arturo Valenzu- Mexico, but 2020 turned out to be the second effects of the pandemic and global trade ela.