Dear Friend of the Institute of the Americas:

On Oct. 3, I had the great honor of becoming president of the Institute of the Americas. Jeff Davidow has been an extraordinary president for the past eight years. With your help, I hope to build on what he and the superb staff of the Institute have accomplished.

The schedule is jammed:

• On October 17, Institute VP Lynne Walker and I depart for Beijing where we join the Institute of Latin American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in hosting an Oct. 21 conference on the evolving energy relationship between China and the Americas.
• On October 26-27, we host Visions of Peru with world-renowned Peruvian artist Claudio Jiménez, who creates fascinating retablos.
• On November 15, Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S. Mauro Vieira will speak at the Institute.

The energy program, led by Jeremy Martin, will run a series of Central America-focused events. Workshops with policy-makers on Central American electric integration will be held in Washington D.C. (October 26-28) and Guatemala City (November 22-23). An assessment of Costa Rica’s energy future will take place in San José (December 6). Here in La Jolla, on November 7, we host a discussion of energy in the California-Baja California border region.

We are delighted that on October 12 the U.S. Congress approved the trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea. Congratulations to all who worked so hard for their passage. We are also following with great interest the presidential run-off in Guatemala, the electoral landscape in Argentina and Mexico and the discussion over the Keystone XL Pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf Coast.

I welcome your suggestions on how we can make the Institute more responsive to your interests and work.

All the best,

Charles S. Shapiro