December 31, 2019 will mark the end of another year and decade. Across the United States, Latin America, and the world, the 2010s were challenging times, with booms and busts, elections and impeachments, and unceasing volatility. It was the decade of left and right populism, mass migration, large-scale corruption (and anti-corruption efforts), persistent inequality, and continuously weak…

Over the past few weeks, the U.S. Congress has been focused on impeachment proceedings. With so much activity and the situation very much in flux I recommend Axios for up to date coverage and Five Thirty Eight for polling on the ongoing constitutional process.  This week, Congress narrowly avoided a government shutdown, as congressional leaders have yet to reach a…

The following opinion editorial was published recently in the San Antonio Express-New and the Austin American-Statesman: In the piece I discuss the limits of economic ‘sticks’  to forge immigration policy and the now critical need for bilateral and regional cooperation, not coercion in our relationship with Mexico. It’s time to address U.S. immigration and asylum systems,…

This past Monday, the Trump administration delayed the full onset of another round of tariffs against consumer goods from China through December. It was welcome news, but not enough to reverse current market trends or to keep China from promising countermeasures. By all indicators, the global economy is steadily cooling down and the United States and other major economies…