Latin America in Focus – Details, episodes & analysis

Our latest edition of Latin America in Focus marks a major milestone: episode 200. Over the past eight years, we’ve covered a range of topics—and asked a lot of questions, including in our episode titles. For this episode, we decided to revisit three of those questions to see how we would answer them now. Half the world is going to the polls in 2024, so we focus on elections.

Americas Quarterly Editor-in-Chief and AS/COA Vice President of Policy Brian Winter tells us why Latin America’s anti-incumbency trend may be coming to a close. Pew Research Center’s Director of Race and Ethnicity Research Mark Hugo Lopez covers how Latino voters view the high-stakes U.S. presidential competition between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And, AS/COA Online Editor-in-Chief Carin Zissis shares what to watch for in Mexico, where Claudia Sheinbaum is preparing to take the presidential reins in Mexico.

Speaking of elections, check out AS/COA’s 2024 guide for more about this year’s votes. www.as-coa.org/2024

Find out more about what the Latino vote means for the U.S. elections in our poll tracker: https://www.as-coa.org/articles/poll-tracker-latino-vote-2024-us-presidential-election

Listen to the original episodes that sparked these three segments:

• “Will the Anti-incumbency Wave Reach Argentina and Guatemala?” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-will-anti-incumbency-wave-reach-argentina-and-guatemala
• “What Do We Really Know about the Latino Vote?” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-what-do-we-really-know-about-latino-vote Mark Hugo Lopez also appeared in an episode titled, “The Myth of the Monolithic Latino Vote” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-myth-monolithic-latino-vote 
• “In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Won Big: Now What?” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-mexico-claudia-sheinbaum-won-big-now-what

The music in this podcast is “Galopada” by Itiberê Zwarg, performed for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at: musicoftheamericas.org

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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Since he came to power 11 years ago, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has been stacking the decks in his political favor. But will he hit a wall in the July 28 election? The regime disqualified popular rival candidate Maria Corina Machado, yet a unified opposition is leading the polls. “[The Maduro government] could try to do a mega fraud, but the political costs, even within the ruling coalition, could be very high,” journalist and political analyst Tony Frangie Mawad tells AS/COA’s Guillermo Zubillaga in an on-the-ground view of the electoral competition.

The fight to govern Venezuela is being played out online as well. Mariví Marin Vázquez, founder and executive director of digital observatory ProBox, explains why the country’s voters have turned to social media to get news. She told AS/COA’s Carin Zissis how the regime exploits social media algorithms as it seeks to soften Maduro’s image, even as online tools offer an opportunity for independent news sources and civil society to share information.

Access other episodes of Latin America in Focus at www.as-coa.org/podcast and send us feedback at: [email protected]

Learn more about Venezuela’s elections at: www.as-coa.org/2024

Read ProBox resources on Venezuelan social media use (t.ly/y7bh3) and the Maduro regime’s use of online tools (t.ly/Kk1NG).

Read an Americas Quarterly article by AS/COA’s Board Chair Andrés Gluski and President/CEO Susan Segal about why this electoral round may be different: t.ly/NDCxh

This is the seventh episode in our 2024 election series. Prior episodes covered what comes next for Mexico after Claudia’s Sheinbaum’s electoral win, how Latin America figures into the Trump-Biden battle, the Dominican Republic’s unique political culture, the economic agenda for Panama’s next president, the youth vote in Mexico, and Nayib Bukele’s global reach. Find this content and more in this year's election guide at: www.as-coa.org/2024

The music in this podcast is “Nos volveremos a encontrar,” performed by Venezuelan singer-songwriter Geraldyn García and cuatro player Daniel Molina for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at: musicoftheamericas.org   

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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When it comes to corruption perceptions, Latin America is stagnating. And what’s one major obstacle to improvement? Judiciary independence, explains Transparency International’s Luciana Torchiaro. In this episode, she dives deep into how the region fared in her organization’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, released in January 2024, and tells AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme why attempts to weaken the judiciaries in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Honduras are hindering the battle against corruption. But the news isn’t all bad. She explains how steps taken in the Dominican Republic serve as a model, and why Chile has an opportunity to restore its standing as a regional transparency leader.

Access the Transparency International 2023 report: http://t.ly/nvrSP

Read Luciana Torchiaro’s analysis on the challenges to independent judiciaries in Latin America: http://t.ly/1Q3ZW

AS/COA also monitors corruption progress in Latin America. See our 2023 Capacity to Combat Corruption Index, published in partnership with Control Risks: https://www.as-coa.org/CCC2023

The music in this episode is “Compay” by Ártemis Duo. Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRxcjm2Sia4 Find out about upcoming concerts at: www.musicoftheamericas.org

Check out other episodes and subscribe to Latin America in Focus on your preferred platform via: www.as-coa.org/podcast

We’d love to hear from you. Share feedback at: [email protected]

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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As Andrés Manuel López Obrador rounds out his first 100 days in office as president of Mexico, CIDE’s Carlos Bravo Regidor talks with AS/COA's Carin Zissis about his popularity, use of corruption as a political weapon, “omnipresence” through message control, and nostalgia. “He has this fantasy that he’s going to be able to choose his place in posterity,” says Bravo Regidor.

Follow Carlos Bravo Regidor on Twitter: twitter.com/carlosbravoreg
Learn more about AMLO’s first 100 days: www.as-coa.org/amlo100

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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He’s 37, a social media maven, and he won El Salvador’s presidential election without the backing of the country’s two main parties. Nayib Bukele, an ex-mayor of San Salvador, isn’t exactly a political newcomer. But his June inauguration will end 10 years of the leftist FMLN in power. Bukele spoke with CNBC’s Michelle Caruso-Cabrera our COA’s 49th Washington Conference about U.S. ties, Venezuela, China, and an ambitious promise on immigration.

The #2019WCA conference lineup included U.S. VP Mike Pence, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, and Colombian VP Marta Lucía Ramírez. See what they had to say: www.as-coa.org/wcarecap

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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After a month of protests, the Chilean government agreed to a major demand of reform-minded protestors: one for a new constitution. Now the challenge is to figure out not only what that constitution will look like, but who will be at the table to write it. In this episode, constitutional lawyer Claudia Sarmiento talks with AS/COA Online’s Luisa Horwitz about the importance of female participation in drafting a new magna carta.

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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One year into his presidency, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, or AMLO, is riding a wave of popularity. But the country’s homicide rate keeps going up while economic growth slows, raising questions about whether AMLO’s approval could take a hit. Pollster Jorge Buendía and IMCO’s Alexandra Zapata explain what could challenge AMLO’s popularity.

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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President Jair Bolsonaro’s warming to China can be explained by the strong economic ties Brazil has with Asia, but there’s still a learning curve for the Sino-Brazilian partnership. Political scientist Maurício Santoro talks about the growth of Chinese investment in Brazil, the impact of the U.S.-China trade war on Latin American economies, and what Asia ties mean for issues like the Amazon and Mercosur.

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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Argentina’s 2019 presidential competition ended on October 27, when Alberto Fernández and running mate ex-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner won in the first round, unseating President Mauricio Macri. Buenos Aires-based Special Advisor to AS/COA Juan Cruz Díaz talks with AS/COA Online’s Luisa Horwitz about Macri’s legacy, the importance of the presidential transition, and the future of Argentine foreign relations.

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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Uruguay’s 2019 race might not yield major political shifts, but the next president will still face unknown territory, says American University’s Arturo Porzecanski. With the first-round vote on October 27, the professor and international economist tells AS/COA Online’s Luisa Leme what is driving voters’ desire for change, how a new right-wing party entered the scene, and steps his country should have and could still take to become a Singapore-style success story.

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.
 

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