U.S. candidates' limited focus on Latin America, Texas executes Mexican national, and Putin suggests renewed ties with Cuba. Read these stories and more in the Weekly Roundup.

WTO trade talks froze in Geneva, where booming Brazil played a central role, further strengthening its position as global player and setting the stage for a battle over U.S. ethanol tariffs. As Doha flounders, countries such as Chile and Peru step up bilateral agreements to boost international trade ties. 

Join AS/COA August 8 for our annual Latin American Cities Conference in Montevideo, Uruguay. Speakers at the 2008 event include Uruguay's Minister of Economy and Finance Danilo Astori; Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines Daniel Martínez; and U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks.

In an AS/COA interview, Bolivia expert Eduardo Gamarra of Florida International University discusses the complex series of referenda taking place in Bolivia, explaining what is behind the political divisions affecting the country. Speaking about Sunday’s recall vote, Gamarra comments that, “The president is basically running a riskless election.”

En un artículo de opinión para El Diario, Christopher Sabatini explica por qué América Latina se mantiene en un nivel secundario en los radares de política exterior de los Estados Unidos en este año electoral. También analiza los puntos de vista de los presuntos candidatos presidenciales en torno al comercio regional, Cuba, y la reforma migratoria.

In the U.S., immigration has become a political fault line. But we often overlook that immigration and migration are a shared experience throughout our hemisphere, affecting our trade agreements, workers’ rights, security, and how we define ourselves as nations. The Summer 2008 issue of Americas Quarterly scrutinize immigration in our hemisphere, including a feature by Tamar Jacoby about the potential for U.S. Visa reform.

A new AS/COA white paper demonstrates a collective commitment by private-sector leaders to promoting the integration of immigrant communities and offers best practices for encouraging Hispanic workforce development and community integration.

In a new article for Poder magazine, COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth examines proposals by U.S. presidential candidates to create a body of democratic nations, saying, "If carefully constructed, this may be an idea whose time has come." He recommends that past examples be taken into account to avoid the mistakes and build on the successes of predecessors.