The Americas Quarterly Podcast Americas Quarterly

Brazil's economy performed better than expected last year, expanding almost 3%. But in 2024 the outlook is more complex, as last year's sources of growth are not expected to perform in the same way. There is also a tug of war inside the Lula administration about public spending and government oversight in national oil company Petrobras. In this episode we assess Latin America's largest economy from an investment perspective and look at the politics behind recent government decisions and what is to come. Our guest is Mário Braga, a senior analyst for Brazil at Control Risks consultancy firm.

The Venezuelan dictatorship is preparing to hold an election on July 28th. Despite signs that the race will not be free or fair, the opposition is willing to participate. In this episode, we dive into the motives and tactics on both sides. What is Maduro looking for, and is there a real chance he could lose? What is going on behind the curtains with the opposition – why are they willing to participate, how divided is this, and who are the members likely to support? Our guest is Jose Vicente Carrasquero, a mathematician and political scientist who teaches at Miami Dade College.

Organized crime has in recent years begun to affect formerly calm countries like Chile and Ecuador, while remaining strong in places such as Mexico and Brazil. In this episode, an analysis of recent crime trends in the region. We’ll also assess how governments have been responding – some choose to disengage altogether, while others toughen their approach. Our guest is Jeremy McDermott, one of the founders of InSight Crime, a think tank and publication that produces in-depth reports and analysis on international crime in Latin America.

Less than three months away from Mexico's elections, many analysts see it as a given that Claudia Sheinbaum, the frontrunner, is likely to win. Sheinbaum’s biggest asset is the endorsement of the current president, Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, known as AMLO, who seems to be transferring his popularity to her candidacy. But there are still a lot of questions about this race and about the candidates. Is there any chance that the opposition candidate Xochitl Gálvez could still pull this off? What defines these two candidates? How might Claudia Sheinbaum be different from López Obrador once she’s elected, in style, and in areas such as energy and security? How is Mexico’s next president likely to interact with the United States, especially given Donald Trump’s past and current rhetoric about Mexico? In this episode, political commentator Carlos Bravo Regidor takes the temperature of the political climate in Mexico. 

The goal of building ties between global south countries has driven foreign policy in Latin America and elsewhere in recent years. In this episode we dive into what that has amounted to. What have been the most successful examples of cooperation between Latin America and other global south countries? Which presidents have prioritized this, and what's their motivation? What are the challenges or barriers hindering effective cooperation between Latin America and other global south countries? And what does this agenda mean for countries of the global north? Our guest is Andrea Ordóñez, Senior Research Fellow at Southern Voice.

Political instability persists in Peru. This week, Prime Minister Alberto Otarola resigned and Congress is expected to decide if it will remove the members of the Junta Nacional de Justicia, a body that helps select the composition of the judiciary. This is just the latest in a crisis that has been running for years – Peru famously has had six presidents in seven years. Some Peruvians say their democracy is under threat. What’s the best framework to think about the kind of democratic backsliding we are witnessing there? What are the forces driving this? And what are the real risks of such instability’s for Peru’s economy? This week we take a broad look at these trends with Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.