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Latin America and the Caribbean

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How Have Latin America’s Political Leaders Responded to Israel’s Siege on Gaza?

On July 10th, just two days after Israel launched Operation Protective Edge (the largest attack on Gaza in several years) President Obama released a statement in which he “reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself.” With a death toll now over 550, it is important to look beyond U.S. government sources for information and perspective. Foreign policy among the countries in Latin America conforms to the long-standing, overwhelming international consensus that opposes Israeli aggression and occupation, but it also reflects the region’s “second independence.” Over the last 15 years, most countries in Latin America have increased their ability to pursue a foreign policy agenda separate from the goals of the U.S. State Department. In the vast majority of cases, reactions to the latest hostilities are fundamentally at odds with the U.S. position, but they are also varied: many governments directly criticize Israel, using words like “crimes against humanity” and “genocide” to describe recent events; other official statements limit themselves to calling for a ceasefire and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

Some of the strongest statements were issued by left-leaning governments in South America, including those of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela. The government of Argentina issued a statement “strongly condemn[ing] that Israel -- defying calls by the Security Council, by the Secretary General and by the many voices of the international community – has decided to escalate the crisis by launching a ground offensive.” President Evo Morales of Bolivia announced that he had petitioned the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNCHR) to consider a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for “crimes against humanity” and “genocide.” (Bolivia broke diplomatic relations with Israel in 2009 over Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on Gaza.) The statement from Brazil reads in part:[1]

The Brazilian Government vehemently condemns the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, with disproportionate use of force, which resulted in more than 230 Palestinians dead, many of them unarmed civilians and children. It equally condemns the firing of rockets and mortars from Gaza into Israel.

CEPR and Stephan Lefebvre / July 21, 2014

Article Artículo

Dodd-Frank and Subprime Auto Loan Market

Four years out from the passage of Dodd-Frank it is pretty clear that the bill did not lead to an fundamental restructuring of our financial system, as many had hoped. The too-big-too-fail Wall Street banks are bigger than ever and operating pretty much as they always did. Many of the highest earners in the country are still traders, hedge fund, and private equity types who are quite adept at shuffling paper, even if it provides no service to the productive economy.

CEPR / July 21, 2014

Article Artículo

Economic Growth

Inequality

Workers

'Are We There Yet?' Moving Beyond the Recovery Question

Jason Furman, who chairs the Council of Economic Advisers, spoke at Brookings on Thursday about the significant progress of the labor market since the Great Recession and the challenges ahead. While Chairman Furman spoke mostly about aggregate trends, he also highlighted specific groups that are struggling disproportionately in the recovery, such as young black males. In discussing the labor market, particularly unemployment rates, Furman repeatedly used the “Average in the Last Recovery” (which he defines as the average rates from December 2001 to December 2007) as a benchmark to judge the progress of the current recovery.

CEPR and Ben Wolcott / July 21, 2014