Research Library

Recent gubernatorial elections in five of seven Argentine provinces with significant energy reserves took place amid the current presidential campaign to replace the term-limited Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Fellow Mark Jones analyzes the likely relationship between the five provincial governors — who, like other Argentine governors, have a profound impact on the energy industry — and a new president.

This year marks a turning point in Argentinian politics now that Cristina Fernández de Kirchner lacks the constitutional possibility of being reelected. And with the party system fragmented as it is, no candidate has a clear victory.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is starting her second term in office facing economic and political problems that feed into each other. These problems can be attributed to a large extent to mistakes her administration made during her first term. Rousseff’s macroeconomic policy proved to be inconsistent, and the choices she made in some key economic sectors, especially energy, were demonstrably disastrous. Rousseff now faces the enormous challenge of reconciling the leftwing populism that led her to victory with the inescapable need to regain the trust of the most dynamic sectors of Brazilian society, including the private sector.

The mysterious death of a special prosecutor who accused Argentina’s president of “an alliance with terrorists” has shaken the nation. If the prosecutor’s allegations prove to be true, the scandal will test whether democracy in Argentina means that all citizens — including the president — are accountable under the law.

South America is likely facing a "second wave" of Chinese investment. How will China's rise to global economic power — and its transition to a new economic growth model — impact South America?

In this paper, author Peter Hartley examines the recent evolution of markets for LNG, focusing especially on the increasing amount of LNG being traded spot or under short-term contracts of less than four-years duration. Hartley argues that explanations for this increase, and other recent changes in LNG trading, imply that the proportion of LNG being traded under long-term contracts is likely to continue to decline and that the flexibility of long-term contracts for trading LNG is likely to continue to increase.

A growing number of Brazilian companies are expanding internationally. These companies are part of the transformation reshaping the global investment environment. They have shifted their international strategy from being based exclusively on exports to becoming foreign investors in countries such as Peru, Chile, Colombia and Mexico.

This fall the Argentine government passed a new hydrocarbons bill with the intent of attracting foreign direct investment in its energy sector, particularly in shale oil and shale gas areas. In this article, scholar David Mares provides context for the reform and examines the current state of Argentina's oil and gas sector.