From Peru to Uruguay, to Ecuador and Guyana, the US is seeking to rebuild its strategic influence in Latin America, one gun at a time. Last week, the head of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), Army Gen. Laura Richardson, visited Peru, a country that is in the grip of arguably its worst political crisis of this still-fledgling century.…More
A Valuable Lesson from Mexico: AMLO Government Cancels Extortionate Public-Private Partnerships for 9 Public Hospitals
This will probably not have gone down well with the World Economic Forum, which describes itself as “the international organization for public private cooperation.”More
Ukrainian Ambassador to Mexico Loses Plot After Russian Military Takes Part in Mexico’s Independence Day Parade
Other countries that took part include China, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba and Brazil. Conspicuously absent was any country from NATO, including Mexico’s USMCA trade partners, the US and Canada.More
Good News in War FOR Cash: Use of Cash in UK Grows for First Time in 10 years
The long-term decline in cash use in the UK appears to have reached its limit, at least for now.More
G20 and World Bank Reaffirm Their Commitment to Harnessing Power of “Digital Public Infrastructure” (DPI)
“Everybody should have a digital ID; everybody should have a bank account; everybody should have a smartphone. Then, anything can be done. Everything else is built on that.”More
IBM Reneges On Its Post-George Floyd Pledge to Abandon Facial Recognition Business
The US tech firm could not have found a better partner with whom to get back into the facial recognition market than the current UK government.More
Could Mexico Hold the Key to Hedging the Global Economy’s Dependence on the Panama Canal?
At the time of its construction, the Panama Canal was (and to a great extent still is) a marvel of modern engineering. But it is also a single point of failure in a global mesh of tightly coupled supply chains.More
Spain’s Defence Minister Comes to Defence of EU Chief “Diplomat” Josep Borrell in War of Words With Russia That Borrell Initiated
“When Russia insults the high representative of the European Union, it is insulting all Europeans.”More
Brazil Mulls Phasing Out Physical Cash, As Central Bank Prepares to Launch CBDC
How did Brazil, a country that until recently was heavily dependent on cash, reach a point where its politicians are now considering eliminating it altogether? The most likely answer is a three letter word: Pix.More
Could New BRICS Member Argentina Become First Country to Receive a Full-Scale BRICS Bailout?
The country is once again in deep crisis mode, with decades high inflation, a crumbling currency and no foreign currency reserves. It is shackled to the IMF but now faces the possibility of being able to tap alternative sources of finance.More
Nick Corbishley 