Plaza Central

Host Beatriz García Nice, an associate at the Wilson Center's Latin America Program, interviews Macarena Sáez, executive director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, to explore the state of women's rights in Latin America. They discuss the backlash against feminism, in the context of populism and democratic decline, but also the resilience and creativity of feminist movements, which are increasingly addressing broader social concerns, such as childcare, poverty, and human rights.

This month, Nicaraguan strongman Daniel Ortega released 135 political prisoners, including students and religious leaders. The United States played a key role in facilitating their resettlement in Guatemala. Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Eric Jacobstein, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Enrique Roig, deputy assistant secretary in the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, who both played a role in the prisoner release, to discuss the implications for Nicaragua’s future and US strategy to promote a return to democracy.

Ambassador Mark Green, president and CEO of the Wilson Center, interviews Edmundo González, Venezuela’s opposition presidential candidate, ahead of the July 28, 2024 election. González shares his vision for the country’s future and discusses the challenges of opposing an authoritarian regime and the hopes for democratic change.

El Salvador’s popular and controversial president, Nayib Bukele, has won a second term. Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Noah Bullock, executive director of the human rights organization Cristosal, to discuss the future of El Salvador, including the crackdown on criminal gangs and its implications for the rule of law.

En este episodio de Plaza Central, la exministra ecuatoriana Vianna Maino habla sobre los avances y la hoja de ruta pendiente para construir una Ecuador digital inclusivo, los programas implementados hasta ahora, y las políticas tecnológicas que se requieren para cerrar la brecha digital, expandir la conectividad en áreas rurales y convertir el acceso en un derecho.

With corruption fighter Bernardo Arévalo finally in office, Latin America Program Global Fellow Catherine Osborn speaks with Guatemalan human rights lawyer Alfredo Ortega about the challenges the new president is facing as he attempts to implement his ambitious reform agenda.

Latin America Program Director Benjamin Gedan interviews global fellow James Bosworth about his predictions for 2024. They discuss Mexico’s presidential election, Argentina’s economy, and the outlook for Bernardo Arévalo’s first year in office in Guatemala.

En esta edición especial del podcast Plaza Central del Programa Latinoamericano del Wilson Center, la corresponsal de CNN en Español, Bertha Michelle Mendoza, conversa con los periodistas centroamericanos Wendy Funes, Juan Lorenzo Holmann y Héctor Silva sobre las amenazas a la libertad de expresión en la región y los crecientes obstáculos para su labor de investigación periodística como parte de uno de los eventos de la iniciativa “Voices”, organizado en colaboración con el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. y la Agencia de EE.UU. para el Desarrollo Internacional (USAID).

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Estela Ruíz Díaz, analista política y periodista paraguaya de Radio Monumental y el periódico Última Hora, sobre las recientes elecciones presidenciales en Paraguay.

In this episode of the Latin American Program’s Plaza Central podcast, Juan Sebastián Chamorro, a Nicaraguan economist and opposition leader imprisoned by Daniel Ortega for 611 days, recounts his time in El Chipote prison, his sudden release and arrival in the United States, and the future of Nicaragua’s opposition movement.

In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Patricia I. Vásquez speaks with Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Executive Editor Henry Sanderson about his new book “Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green,” the prominent role of China in the lithium value chain, the unique opportunities that the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act offers for the Lithium Triangle to grow its lithium industry, and the optimal position of Argentina and Chile to attract investments to their lithium industries.

In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with U.S. Ambassador to Guyana Sarah-Ann Lynch about the role of the United States in helping Guyana maximize the economic development opportunities from its rapidly expanding energy sector while strengthening its democratic institutions.

In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Alejo Czerwonko, chief investment officer for emerging markets in the Americas at UBS, and Gabriela Soní, chief investment officer for Mexico at UBS, about the impacts in Latin America of rapidly rising interest rates in the United States and Europe.

In this episode of Plaza Central, guest host Anders Beal is joined by Heraldo Muñoz, former foreign minister of Chile, to discuss the results of Chile’s constitutional plebiscite and what the rejection of the proposed constitution means for the future of Chilean democracy.

El 24 de junio pasado, la Suprema Corte de Estados Unidos revocó el fallo de Roe vs. Wade de 1973 el cual daba a las mujeres en Estados Unidos el derecho constitucional al aborto. Hasta el momento, 11 estados ya han prohibido el acceso al aborto y se espera que otros 11 lo hagan en las próximas semanas. En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Macarena Sáez, directora ejecutiva de la División de Derechos de las Mujeres de Human Rights Watch, sobre el reciente fallo, las implicaciones que éste tiene para los movimientos feministas a lo largo del hemisferio y cómo esto posiciona Estados Unidos como salvaguarda de los derechos fundamentales de los individuos.

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Patricia Vásquez, global fellow del Programa Latinoamericano del Wilson Center, explora con Matías Kulfas, ministro de desarrollo productivo de Argentina, las crecientes inversiones en el codiciado sector del litio y el papel de este mineral en la transición global hacia energías limpias.

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice plática con Clemencia Carabalí, fundadora de la Asociación de Mujeres Afrodescendientes del Norte del Cauca (ASOM), sobre las dificultades que atraviesan las mujeres afrodescendientes en el norte del Cauca, Colombia, a causa de la violencia, el racismo y el deterioro ambiental. También charlan sobre el rol de ASOM en el empoderamiento de las mujeres a nivel económico y político, y el desarrollo sostenible como derecho ciudadano y causal de desarrollo.

In this episode of Plaza Central, host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Charles Seville, senior director and co-head of Americas Sovereign Ratings at Fitch Ratings, about the economic impacts in Latin America of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

In this episode of Plaza Central, Benjamin Gedan speaks with Ian Chen, an associate professor at the Institute of Political Science at Taiwan’s National Sun Yat-sen University, to discuss the rivalry between China and Taiwan, why Taiwan is so invested in preserving diplomatic ties in Latin America, and how China wields “medical diplomacy” to pressure Taiwan’s allies.

In this special presentation of Plaza Central, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama Erika Mouynes, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica Rodolfo Solano, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic Roberto Álvarez, and the Wilson Center's Cynthia Arnson discuss the Alliance for Development in Democracy, an initiative to promote democratic strengthening and economic growth through the tightening of the three countries’ commercial, demographic, and cultural ties.

En este episodio de Plaza Central, Beatriz García Nice platica con el Secretario de Estado para Iberoamérica y el Caribe y el Español en el Mundo del Gobierno de España, el Embajador Juan Fernández Trigo, sobre el posicionamiento de España como un gran aliado en la donación de vacunas a países hispanohablantes, el estado de las relaciones entre España y América Latina, y el llamado “revisionismo histórico” de la conquista española.

In this episode of "Two the Point," Benjamin Gedan speaks with Liliana Ayalde, former U.S. ambassador to Brazil and former civilian deputy to the commander and foreign policy adviser at the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM). They discuss the confirmation of Lieutenant General Laura Richardson as the next commander of the U.S. Southern Command, the first woman to hold that post, and SOUTHCOM's priorities under the Biden administration.

En este episodio de “Two the Point,” Beatriz García Nice del Programa Latinoamericano charla con Gloria Porras, Magistrada Electa de la Corte de Constitucionalidad de Guatemala. En la conversación discutieron su salida de Guatemala cuando se le negó tomar posesión de su tercer periodo como Magistrada Titular, el estado de derecho, la lucha contra la corrupción en Guatemala, y la reunión que sostuvo recientemente con la Vice Presienta de Estados Unidos, Kamala Harris.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Erika Mouynes, Panama’s foreign minister, to discuss challenges including climate change, migration from Colombia and navigating tensions between the United States and China, Panama’s most critical economic partners.

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, is joined by Luis Felipe López-Calva, UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, to discuss the pre-existing structural inequalities exacerbated by COVID-19 and the need to address these underlying issues to secure region-wide recovery.

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Andrés Allamand, the Foreign Minister of Chile, to discuss what the region expect from the Biden administration, the prospects for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela, and the forthcoming election to select the members of the Constitutional Convention that will draft Chile’s new constitution.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Honduras Hugo Llorens joins host Benjamin Gedan to analyze the parallels between the 2009 coupin Honduras and the recent coup d’état in Myanmar, which has presented the first foreign policy challenge for the Biden administration. Ambassador Llorens, who served in Tegucigalpa during the coup and its aftermath, discusses the lessons we might learn from the U.S. response to the Honduras political crisis, which occurred early in the Obama presidency.

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Ricardo Zúñiga, Senior Diplomatic Fellow and the Brazil Institute Interim Director at the Wilson Center, to discuss the complex push and pull factors that drive Central Americans to migrate to the United States, the first migrant caravans of 2021, and the Biden administration’s plans for Central America.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, a Latin America analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, to discuss the legacy of the late former president of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez and how a mild mannered doctor quietly transformed Uruguayan politics. Read “Farewell to an Unassuming Star of Latin America’s Left” by Nicolás Saldías: https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/farewell-to-an-unassuming-star-of-latin-americas-left/

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Daniel Politi, a contributor to The New York Times based in Buenos Aires, to discuss Argentina’s historic vote in December legalizing abortion, how pro-choice campaigners pulled it off just two years after lawmakers rejected similar legislation and whether activists can replicate their success elsewhere in the region.

In this special episode of “Two the Point,” Lucio Castro, a Wilson Center Global Fellow, hosts Andrés Velasco, Dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science and a former Finance Minister in Chile, to discuss education, inequality, and populism in post-pandemic Latin America.

In this special episode of “Two the Point,” Lucio Castro, a Wilson Center global fellow, hosts Nora Lustig, professor of Latin American economics and founding director of Tulane University’s Commitment to Equity Institute, to discuss the role of social policy in Latin America’s post-pandemic economic recovery and in mitigating increasing poverty.

In this special episode of “Two the Point,” Lucio Castro, a Wilson Center global fellow, hosts Piero Ghezzi, an economist and former production minister of Peru, to discuss Latin America’s post-pandemic growth challenges and the chronic struggle in Peru to address labor informality.

In this episode of “Two the Point,” host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Patricia Vásquez, an independent energy expert and author of a new Latin American Program report, “The Lithium Triangle: The Case for Post-Pandemic Optimism,” to discuss the development opportunities and challenges for South America’s strategic lithium sector. 

In this episode of “Two The Point,” the Wilson Center’s Beatriz García Nice remembers the influence of “Quino,” the late Argentine cartoonist, and his beloved character Mafalda, on the Spanish-speaking world, and on her family.

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Juan Sebastián Roldán, Ecuador’s Chief of Staff, to discuss the country’s recent agreement with the IMF, the role of the Galápagos Islands in economic development, and President Lenín Moreno’s democratic reforms.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by María Baron, Global Executive Director at Fundación Directorio Legislativo, to discuss the disappearing act by Latin America’s legislatures during the COVID-19 crisis.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Peter Cerda, regional director for the Americas at the International Air Transport Association, to discuss the catastrophic impacts of COVID-19 on Latin America’s airlines, the responses by governments and the future of air travel in this region.

Host Benjamin Gedan speaks with Anya Prusa, senior associate at the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute, about Brazil’s COVID-19 crisis and its spillovers on neighboring countries.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Daniel Zovatto, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, to discuss how the coronavirus has impacted and could continue to impact elections, democracy and civil liberties across Latin America.

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Hari Seshasayee, one of India’s foremost analysts of Latin America, to discuss India’s increasing exports to the region, India’s interest in Latin America’s Lithium Triangle, and the significance of China in India’s relationship with the region. 

Cynthia Arnson, the Latin American Program Director, hosts Wilson Center’s Global Fellow and IESA Professor Michael Penfold to discuss Venezuela’s authoritarian crisis and the U.S. policy response.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Ernesto Talvi, foreign minister of Uruguay and former presidential candidate, to discuss Uruguay's approach to the Venezuela crisis, its relationship with Argentina and the future of Mercosur.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Ernesto Talvi, foreign minister of Uruguay and former presidential candidate, to discuss Uruguay's success containing COVID-19, and Uruguay's "Todos en Casa" operation to repatriate Uruguayans stranded abroad by the virus's outbreak.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Shihoko Goto, deputy director for geoeconomics and senior associate for Northeast Asia in the Wilson Center's Asia Program, who discusses Taiwan's COVID-19 pandemic response in Latin America.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Margaret Myers, director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, who shares insights on perceptions of China’s coronavirus assistance to Latin America, and the implications for U.S.-China competition.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Alex Schober, DuckerFrontier’s senior analyst for Latin America, to discuss the coronavirus's economic consequences.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, the Argentina Project’s senior researcher in the Wilson Center's Latin American Program, who shares on-the-ground insights on how the coronavirus is affecting life and the economy in Uruguay.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Todd Martinez, Fitch Ratings’ lead Uruguay analyst, to discuss Uruguay’s new government and the economic difficulties it inherited.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Duncan Wood, director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, to discuss AMLO's high approval ratings, despite struggles with crime and economic malaise.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by phone from Hamburg, Germany by Christoph Harig, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of the Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, to discuss the changing role of Latin America armed forces.

Guest host Anna Prusa of the Wilson Center’s Brazil Institute is joined by phone from Brazil by Renato Leite Monteiro, head of the Privacy and Data Protection Practice at Baptista Luz Advogados and director of Data Privacy Brazil, an organization focused on education and applied research on privacy and data protection, to discuss what to expect from Brazil's new general data protection law.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Nicolás Saldías, a senior researcher at the Wilson Center's Latin American Program, to discuss the first round of Uruguay's presidential election, and the possible end to the Frente Amplio's 15-year reign.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Robert Albro, an American University professor who studies Bolivian politics, to discuss Evo Morales’s controversial attempt to win a fourth term and the implications of the close and contested vote.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Michael Penfold, a Wilson Center Global Fellow and professor at the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Administración (IESA) in Caracas, to discuss if the Norway-mediated dialogue between Nicolás Maduro and Juan Guiadó can be salvaged.

Host Benjamin Gedan and Monica de Bolle, a Wilson Center Latin American Program board member and director of the Latin American Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discuss why Uruguay has the most to lose should the Mercosur-EU free trade agreement fall apart. They were speaking at a recent Wilson Center seminar on Uruguay’s presidential election. Watch the full Webcast here, https://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/end-era-uruguays-unexpectedly-close-election

Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Alfredo Romero, a Wilson Center scholar and the executive director of Foro Penal, to discuss UN Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet’s recent report on human rights abuses in Venezuela and Foro Penal’s role in protecting Venezuelan citizens from government repression.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Fernando Cutz, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former acting senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House’s National Security Council, to discuss John Bolton's departure and what it means for U.S. Venezuela policy.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Natalie Unterstell, a climate change expert and co-founder of the environmental think tank Talanoa, to discuss how the fires in the Brazilian Amazon could scorch the historic Mercosur-EU trade agreement.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Stephen Kaplan, a Wilson Center global fellow and professor at George Washington University, to discuss how the potential return of Peronists to power in Argentina could change its approach to China, as the United States attempts to limit Chinese influence in Latin America.

Host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Christopher Wilson, deputy director of the Wilson Center’s Mexico Institute, to discuss the El Paso shooting and the Mexican government’s response.

Host Benjamin Gedan is joined by Fernando Cutz, a global fellow at the Wilson Center and former acting senior director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the White House National Security Council, to talk about President Trump’s apparently fading interest in Venezuela.

What can you do in 2 minutes? Steep a cup of tea. Do 20 jumping jacks. Brush your teeth. Scroll through Twitter. Well, now add listen to expert updates on the top developments in Latin America to the list.

A new podcast from the Wilson Center Latin American Program, Two the Point, where developments in Latin America are explained in 2 minutes.

This episode host Benjamin Gedan sits down with Wilson Center researcher Nicolás Saldías for 2 minutes (and 2 minutes only) to discuss Uruguay’s presidential primaries.