How Latin Americans Feel About the U.S., Democracy, Their Economies and More

Arguably no country has been more exposed to Donald Trump's second term than Mexico. The country sends more than 80% of its exports to its neighboring nation and receives more than $60 billion a year in remittances from citizens living in the U.S. President Claudia Sheinbaum has navigated the relationship with notable pragmatism, but tensions are rising again over U.S. demands for greater security cooperation, extradition requests for Morena politicians, and uncertainty over the future of the...

Latin America is having its best economic outlook since the commodities boom of the 2000s. Record commodity prices, a weak U.S. dollar, a privileged position in the global trade war—selling to both the U.S. and China— and a wave of business-friendly governments are creating conditions the region hasn't seen in decades. But Latin America has defied rosy predictions before, and the outlook remains uncertain in its three largest economies: Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. Today on the podcas...

Only a few weeks ago, there was a near consensus in Brazil that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was the favorite to win this October’s election over his main challenger, conservative Senator Flávio Bolsonaro. Today, most polls show the race is tied, and Flávio Bolsonaro seems to have the momentum. With the first round of voting on October 4 and a second round very likely on October 25, it’s been a unique—and to outsiders, somewhat confusing—campaign in Brazil. In recent months, the ...

On August 7th, Abelardo de la Espriella was inaugurated as Colombia's new president after winning an incredibly tight election. Three days later, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the western part of the country, leaving damages close to $10 billion and devastating hundreds of municipalities across 15 departments. It was an extraordinary early test for a president still in his first week in office. De la Espriella came to power promising Milei-style fiscal cuts, a hardline security plan, and ...

Venezuela's regime and parts of the political opposition are holding a new round of talks that analysts and citizens hope could lead to a democratic transition. The dialogue brings together Dinorah Figuera, representing the opposition-aligned 2015 National Assembly, and Jorge Rodríguez, brother of acting president Delcy Rodríguez and current head of the legislature. It comes more than seven months after the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3rd, and at a moment when Washington h...