Editor's letter

Abstract

Our last issue for this year of Latin American Policy (LAP) opens with an article written by Alain Fairlie and Erika Collantes assessing the commercial repercussions of the Pacific Alliance, considering other regional trade agreements like the Andean Community and the Southern Common Market. The authors conclude that the Alliance has not significantly affected trade flows among its members or with other South American regional trade agreements. Pablo Garcés Velástegui then explores four irreducible cultures and their respective development models that currently prevail in South America, to consider the issues inherent to development theories. Charles G. Ripley explores the importance of South–South alliances in aiding the establishment of relations between Colombia and Venezuela (2008–2010), in handling Argentina's financial crisis (2003–2007), and in ending over 50 years of civil war in Colombia (1964–2016). Luis Diego Segura R., Annemarie van Zeijl-Rozema, and Pim Martens offer a complex study of climate-change adaptation policies in Central America, considering if and how much they have been implemented. On a related environmental topic, Jennapher Lunde Seefeldt explores the growing contention between local communities and mining companies over water use for extracting lithium resources in Chile. The author concludes that activism and company and government responses can facilitate improved negotiations between stakeholders and allow for access to lithium while protecting more the environment and the peoples that survive in the desert. Finally, Nicolas Didier assesses the effectiveness of the Chilean training system, focusing on how it can improve wages. LAP has also invited two distinguished Brazilian scholars, Monica Herz and Leticia Pinheiro, to prepare a special issue on Bolosnaro's foreign policy and the departure from previous Brazilian commitments in both multilateral fora and regional associations. The product is an excellent collection of eight research articles—also blind-reviewed by anonymous referees—that contributes to a thorough understanding of major policy changes affecting this key country in the Latin American region. We hope our readers may also benefit from this special issue.