SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – More than 100 government officials, policymakers, industry and civil society representatives met in San José on December 6 to consider Costa Rica’s energy future. In an intense day of discussion hosted by the Institute of the Americas in collaboration with the Academia de Centroamérica, panelists and the overflow audience debated the outlook for Costa Rica’s energy sector, key trends and ideas aimed at revamping the national energy model. Costa Rica is clearly in a unique energy position. Over 99% of the country is connected to the electric grid, and roughly 90% of power comes from renewable hydro-based sources.   At the same time, the state electric monopoly, the Costa Rican Electric Institute (I.C.E.) controls the national energy dialogue and process.   Not surprisingly the appropriate role for the state in the electric sector provokes passionate debate.  Jack Liberman, coordinator of the electric committee of Costa Rica’s private sector umbrella organization UCCAEP advocated for a “new model for the electric sector.” The doubling...

SAN DIEGO – Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa envisions the U.S.-Mexico border, with its vital trade and dynamic communities, as playing a critical role in strengthening the relationship between the two countries. “In this new vision for the future we need to look for a much stronger integration between our countries in our daily lives,” Espinosa told business leaders, academics and representatives of NGOs during a Nov. 18 private luncheon in San Diego co-hosted by the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego and the Institute of the Americas. “There are so many clearly identified areas where we could develop so much more,” Espinosa said.  “The big challenge is how to move the political agenda.” Espinosa singled out the work done by the Institute of the Americas in the San Diego-Tijuana region as an example of an initiative that can bring border communities together.  She also praised efforts by business and community representatives attending the luncheon “to develop the awareness of what is being done on both sides of the border.” While...

LA JOLLA – Brazil is emerging as a global economic powerhouse, with a growing middle class and a booming trade relationship with China fueled by the Asian giant’s need for commodities such as soybeans and oil, Brazilian ambassador to the U.S. Mauro Vieira said during a Nov. 15 presentation at the Institute of the Americas. Brazil will surpass Britain this year as the sixth largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $2.44 trillion against Britain’s $2.41 trillion. By 2020, Brazil will be the fifth largest economy in the world, Vieira predicted. “Over the past few years, Brazil has undergone an incredible transformation,” Vieira told an audience of almost 100 at the Institute of the Americas. “Economic stability has completely changed the business environment in the country and opened the way to increased consumption, savings and investment.”

LA JOLLA – Clean energy produced by geothermal plants, wind turbines and solar farms is providing secure and reliable energy for Baja California, said David Muñoz Andrade, director general of the Energy Commission of the state of Baja California, during a regional conference at the Institute of the Americas

BOSTON – Breast cancer has surpassed cervical-uterine cancer as a leading cause of death among women in Mexico and other Latin American countries, Harvard Professor Felicia Knaul told journalists during an Oct. 25-28 workshop organized by the pharmaceutical company Merck and the Institute of the Americas. Dr. Knaul spoke with journalists about the rise of breast cancer in Latin Americas and her own fight against the disease.  Reporters also heard from one of her patients, a 24-year-old woman now undergoing chemotherapy. Dr. Knaul briefed reporters on her in-depth report on the control of cancer and access to cancer care. The report, titled, “Closing the Cancer Divide: A Blueprint to Expand Access in Low and Middle Income,” notes that the incidence of breast cancer and the mortality of patients is increasing in low- and middle-income countries.  The report (http://bit.ly/uCKhcH), released at the Harvard Medical School Symposium on Oct. 28, the final day of the workshop, cites Mexico and Costa Rica in case studies.