Laura Carlsen

The long-term effects of allowing the economic crisis to erode labor rights and further impoverish an already-stricken nation will only lead to instability throughout the region.

The three amigos met in Guadalajara and failed to usher in a new paradigm of North American cooperation.

The U.S.-Peru free trade agreement has led directly to government crackdowns and the deaths of indigenous protestors, reports columnist Laura Carlsen.

President Obama charted a new direction for U.S. policy toward Latin America. Now it’s time for him — and his allies — to make good on the promise.

David Bacon’s book ‘Illegal People’ illustrates how U.S. employers deal with undocumented workers as part of a strategy for competition and profits in the age of globalization.

The U.S. elections mark the end of white elite politics and the foreign policy that goes with it.

Despite some conventional thinking in his approach to the Americas, Obama’s statements so far give prompt Laura Carlsen to make a leap of faith.

Gigantic dams have returned to Latin America, reports columnist Laura Carlsen, and they’re just as destructive as the old ones.

The Mexican government wants to put its national oil industry into private hands, reports columnist Laura Carlsen, but it’s going to be a tough sell.

In seven days, the Andean region went from the brink of war to a grudging peace. But as columnist Laura Carlsen reports, all is still not well.

Evo Morales and his supporters have a plan to reform Bolivia, explains Laura Carlsen, and they’ll stare down vested interests, international bankers, and even Washington if necessary.

Two men, a plan, an alliance: disaster. Columnist Laura Carlsen reports on the next phase of U.S.-Mexican relations.

What’s wrong with “biofuels”? Here’s the answer.

The United States’ ill-conceived war on drugs has failed at home and failed in Colombia. As columnist Laura Carlsen explains, Mexico is up next.

NAFTA is not just about free trade any more. As columnist Laura Carlsen explains, NAFTA has a new and ominous punch as well.

On February 4th and 5th, leaders of the G-7 nations convened in London to discuss options for ending the grievous cycle of debt that has plagued the world’s most impoverished nations for years.

After five years of extra-constitutional attempts to remove President Hugo Chávez from power, the U.S.-supported Venezuelan opposition finally got what it has asked for: a referendum on Chávez’s rule on Sunday. But having attained their stated goal, it could be the worst thing that has happened to them.

U.S. policy must be sensitive to the real needs faced by its neighbors to the South.