Trump 2.0 and Latin America

Arturo Lopez-Levy

Georgia College & State University

Arturo Lopez-Levy, originally from Santa Clara, Cuba, holds a Ph.D degree in International Studies from the Josef Korbel School of International Studies of the University of Denver. and master's degrees in International Affairs and Economics from Columbia University (NYC) and Carleton University (Ottawa). In 1993, he graduated from Cuba's diplomatic academy (ISRI "Raul Roa") and worked until 1995 as a political analyst for the Cuban government, when he resigned.  He is currently a lecturer at Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville. He has been a visiting professor at the Autonomous University of Madrid (Fulbright Professor), a Visiting Scholar at the Oslo Academy of Global Governance, and Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. In 2005, he was awarded the Leonard Marks first prize on American Foreign Policy creative thinking of the American Academy of Diplomacy. His research combines the study of the political economy of development, liberalization, and democratization in Cuba and Latin America with themes of asymmetry, strategic triangles, economic sanctions, and agency of small states in international relations (USA-Cuba, USA-Panama, Russia-Finland) and U.S.-Latin American relations. His current research for a book explores strategic triangles of USA-Cuba relations with other major regional and global actors: Latin America, BRICS, the European Union, and Canada. He is a co-author of the book "Raul Castro and the new Cuba: A close-up view of change" (2012). 

Francisco Rodriguez

Josef Korbel School of International Studies

Rodríguez is a Venezuelan economist with decades of experience in public service, academia and the private sector. Prior to joining Korbel, he taught economics and public policy at the University of Maryland, Wesleyan University, and the University of Notre Dame. Rodríguez has held prominent positions in the public and private sector, including head of the Economic and Financial Advisory of the Venezuelan National Assembly (2000-2004), head of the Research Team of the United Nations’ Human Development Report Office (2008-2011) and chief Andean economist of Bank of America (2011-2016). He has been a visiting researcher at the International Monetary Fund and a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.