Inter-American Dialogue
President of the Inter-American Dialogue, a U.S.-based think tank, promoting democratic governance, prosperity, and social equity in Latin America and the Caribbean
PROFILE
Michael Shifter
Guest
FROM Michael Shifter
To the Point
Chronic Food Shortages Prompt Riots in Venezuela Venezuela’s worsening economic crisis has spilled over into chaos in recent weeks. Hungry protestors have been rioting, ransacking and looting stores and restaurants, leaving scores of businesses in shambles and at least five people dead. The government has declared a state of emergency, and basic necessities are being rationed. How did a relatively recently prosperous country which sits on the world’s largest oil reserves come to this -- the world’s worst rate of inflation and nearly 90% of its population unable to afford to eat?
Which Way, L.A.?
President Bush's Fence-Mending Trip to Latin America President Bush is visiting Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico this week, carrying with him a complicated economic and trade agenda. But after keeping Latin American issues on the back burner for six years can he effectively compete with rising radical leaders like Hugo Chávez? September 11 and then the war in Iraq got in the way of Bush’s promise to focus US foreign policy on Latin America. Now, he faces a series of what promises to be some massive and noisy protests in a part of the globe where he’s deeply unpopular. Guest host Marc Cooper speaks with journalists and experts in energy, foreign policy and national security. (This program was originally broadcast earlier today on To the Point .)
To the Point
Too Late for Bush to Mend Fences with Latin America? When George Bush came into office six years ago he vowed the Southern Hemisphere would be his top foreign policy priority--but that was before September 11 and Iraq. Now, midway through his second term, the President has begun a week-long visit to the region , to try to woo back Latin America and boost American influence. One of the few concrete agreements that might come out of the trip is a deal with Brazil about ethanol production. However, Bush is up against some stiff political competition from radical leaders like Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, who argues the US has nothing good to offer its southern neighbors. Can the President overcome his widespread hemispheric unpopularity? Can he offset the growing influence of regional leftists like Chávez? Guest host Marc Cooper speaks with journalists and experts in energy, foreign policy and national security.
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To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.