How can the US support democracy and development in Latin America?

From widespread protests in Cuba to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, recent unrest across Latin America has brought new attention to political and economic issues in the region and created diplomatic challenges for the Biden administration. To discuss how the United States should engage with Latin America, David Dollar is joined by Santiago Levy, a nonresident senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at Brookings and senior advisor to the United Nations Development Program.

Levy describes the negative effects of U.S. policy toward Cuba, his concerns about sovereign debt in the region, and how the U.S. could work with Latin American governments to rethink development strategies in order to achieve socially inclusive growth. Then, the conversation turns to Progresa-Oportunidades, a conditional cash transfer program Levy helped design during his career in public service in Mexico, and what lessons it could provide for similar economic programs proposed by the Biden administration.

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