marina silva Courtesy: wikimedia commons
10 September 2014

The rise of Marina Silva

Brazilian president Dilma Rouseff's bid for re-election has been ambushed in just two weeks by activist Marina Silva who is now predicted to win the October elections. If elected, Marina is likely to continue with the pro-poor policies of the current government, and she has already shown a keen interest in foreign policy. PM Modi will find Marina more proactive and forthcoming than Rouseff

images Courtesy: fcpamericas.com
4 September 2014

Poverty and politics

The credit for significant poverty reduction achieved in the last decade in Latin America goes to the pro-poor policies of the leftist governments. The Left is expected to be voted back to power in the October elections to be held in Brazil, Uruguay and Bolivia. The increase in affordability power is good news for the Indian companies who are exporting goods to the region

US2 Courtesy: Owlpacino
14 August 2014

Indian union and American federalism

Although the histories, levels of economic development, and critical issues of India and the U.S. are different, the confrontational party politics in their political systems pose similar challenges. Both countries can learn from the experience of federalism of the other to take their national agendas forward

porto alegre Courtesy: wikimedia\commons
14 August 2014

Federalism, swaraj and Brazil

Brazil follows a more decentralised form of federalism and gives special importance to the municipalities. Porto Alegre’s successful 'participatory budgeting' is a role model for the world. India can learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the Brazilian system

VenProtests-2014 Courtesy: durdaneta/Wikimedia
8 August 2014

Latin America slowdown

Latin America’s economic growth has slowed down in 2014. But the region’s fundamentals are relatively strong, and have the resilience to absorb external shocks and increase growth in the coming years. However, Argentina and Venezuela face continuing uncertainty and deterioration.

Hagel2 Courtesy: Joshua Martin
7 August 2014

Hagel in India: building greater synergy

U.S. defence secretary Chuck Hagel’s visit is the third in a flurry of visits by top American officials before the scheduled Modi-Obama meet in September. Hagel’s visit will aim to enhance an already well-established defence-trade partnership and allay fears of the Pentagon’s bias towards Pakistan