Ms. JULIA SWEIG (Director of the Latin American Studies, Council on Foreign Relations): No.

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On December 10th, its Council approved the merger of its (thriving) postgraduate Institute of Latin American Studies with its (faltering) counterpart for the study of the United States.

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"Almost no other country affects the United States as much on a day to day basis as Mexico, " said Shannon O'Neil, a Latin American studies fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

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"Diosdado Cabello, a key ally whose biography is similar to Chavez's, would be a stronger bet" than Maduro to defeat Capriles, said Daniel Greenberg, a professor of history and founder of the Institute of Latin American Service and Studies at Pace University in New York.

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The Chilean System of Evaluation and Certification of Studies has become a model of educational accreditation among the Latin American countries.

UNESCO: Country Profile: Chile

"It would be an enormous gesture to name a Latin American pope, " Virginia Garrard-Burnett, a professor of history and religious studies at the University of Texas at Austin, said earlier this week.

CNN: First Latin American pope 'very exciting,' faithful say

"It would be an enormous gesture to name a Latin American pope, " said Virginia Garrard-Burnett, a professor of history and religious studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

CNN: Catholic Latin America eyes conclave