Trending Now
We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
US President Joe Biden, Mexican President AMLO and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau arrive for a joint news conference at the conclusion of the North American Leaders' Summit in Mexico City.
What We’re Watching: Three Amigos huddle, Peruvian violence, East Asia travel curbs
Three Amigos talk and ... that's all, folks
Well, some progress is better than none at all — at least among “friends.” At their “Three Amigos” summit on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, and Mexico’s President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — known as AMLO — announced a slew of agreements on things like moving some US production of semiconductors to Mexico, cutting methane emissions to fight climate change, and installing EV charging stations on shared borders. But they failed to make significant headway on the thorniest issues: the record numbers of asylum seekers entering the US from Mexico; Mexican-made fentanyl causing a public health catastrophe for los gringos; and USMCA-related trade disputes such as Mexico's energy reforms or Canadian grumbling at the Biden administration's EV subsidies. Indeed, perhaps the best thing to come out of the summit is that Biden and AMLO — who had tense exchange on Day 1 — showed that despite their lack of personal chemistry, maybe they can be compadres after all.
A deadly day in Peru
Peruvian authorities announced a three-day curfew in the southern region of Puno after at least 18 people were killed Monday in clashes between protesters and police. It was the deadliest day since the country descended into chaos after the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo in early December. The mostly rural supporters of Castillo, a leftist newcomer to politics who faced multiple impeachment attempts during his 17 months in office, have been blocking roads across the country and calling for him to be immediately released and reinstated. Crucially, they have still not accepted the pledge by acting president Dina Boluarte, Castillo’s former VP, to bring forward the scheduled 2026 general elections to April of next year. Meanwhile, a confidence vote to approve Boluarte’s new cabinet easily passed on Tuesday night (the alternative would have caused a cabinet reshuffle and even more chaos). Authorities have also blocked Evo Morales – Bolivia’s former leftist president and a Castillo ally who was himself ousted amid mass protests in 2019 – from entering Peru to cheer on the protesters. What's more, Peru's chief prosecutor is opening an investigation against Boluarte and members of her cabinet on charges of “genocide, qualified homicide and serious injuries.”
East Asian COVID visa beef
China is lashing out at COVID travel restrictions after reopening to the world. On Tuesday, Beijing responded to the latest curbs by Japan and South Korea by canceling short-term visas for their citizens. Tokyo and Seoul are ostensibly worried about new COVID variants being spread by arrivals from China, where Xi Jinping has relaxed his zero-COVID policy with the same lack of transparency that allowed COVID to spread beyond China’s borders in the first place in early 2020. For its part, Beijing resents being singled out by its neighbors while many other countries are welcoming Chinese tourists. In the near term, the impact of the visa tit-for-tat will be limited because few people are now traveling between China and the two countries. But if the restrictions stay in place for weeks or months, it might delay a much-anticipated revival of business activity in East Asia.
Immigration a Biden priority at Three Amigos Summit
Ian Bremmer shares his insights on global politics this week on World In :60.
What's on the agenda at the Three Amigos Summit?
Well, immigration is very high only between the US and Mexico. But still, the fact that Biden is willing to use this pandemic era clause to try to keep migrants from coming to the United States was not on my Bingo card six months ago. A lot of progressive Dems are unhappy with him, and a lot of conservatives are saying he's doing too little, too late, but nonetheless does recognize that he doesn't win any votes on balance by having large number of illegal immigrants continue to come to the United States. Also, a whole bunch of new NAFTA stuff, especially trade relations on energy with the Mexicans, Americans, and the Canadians, pretty unhappy with what AMLO has been doing on that front.
Is Russia on a path towards becoming a failed state?
No, I wouldn't say that at all. Their economy has contracted by 4% in 2022 will; contract by more this year over time. It's going to take a bigger and bigger hit because they've lost human capital and because they can't continue to do business with Europe, which is where most of their trade was happening. But still, they are an immensely wealthy and well positioned geographic country with all of these natural resources that the world needs and will need more of over time. So it's hard to imagine them becoming a failed state. They are instead becoming a rogue state.
Will banning public Palestinian flag flying lead to further conflict in Israel?
Absolutely. It's kind of funny. It used to be the case that the Israelis considered that the Palestinian flag was a militant flag, for Hamas or for Hezbollah, and so it wasn't allowed to be flown. That's no longer the case and wasn't true after the Oslo accords were signed. But now the new Netanyahu hard right coalition government has decided they're going to make it illegal to fly it once again. They also cut off a whole bunch of tax revenues that are supposed to go to the Palestinians. They're squeezing them hard, ostensibly in response to some Palestinian moves at the United Nations to embarrass Israel. But more broadly, because this is an Israeli government that is much less interested in engaging in negotiations and trying to create a peace process with the Palestinian. So yeah, it's going to lead to more conflict, to more violence, and the only thing I can say is that it's just not a priority for most of the countries in the region, so it doesn't drive much attention.