Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and his wife, Gabriela Rodriguez, greet supporters after El Salvador’s presidential and legislative elections in the capital, San Salvador, on Feb. 4.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele and his wife, Gabriela Rodriguez, greet supporters after El Salvador’s presidential and legislative elections in the capital, San Salvador, on Feb. 4.

What Bukele’s Rise Means for the Region

The newly reelected strongman Salvadoran president has inspired imitators elsewhere in Latin America.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado speaks to supporters during a demonstration in Caracas.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado speaks to supporters during a demonstration in Caracas.

Venezuela Faces Rocky Road to Elections

Concerned neighbors are trying new tactics to support a free and fair vote. Will it be enough?

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin participate in a ceremony to launch a new industrial development policy at the Planalto Palace in Brasília on Jan. 22.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin participate in a ceremony to launch a new industrial development policy at the Planalto Palace in Brasília on Jan. 22.

Lula Tries His Hand at Industrial Policy

Brazil has a history of state economic intervention that underdelivers. Will this time be different?

New Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo waves after his inauguration ceremony at the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center in Guatemala City on Jan. 15.
New Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo waves after his inauguration ceremony at the Miguel Ángel Asturias Cultural Center in Guatemala City on Jan. 15.

Guatemala’s Arévalo Beats the Odds

But efforts to obstruct the anti-corruption activist-turned-president will continue.

Members of Ecuador’s armed forces patrol a street in Quito, Ecuador, on Jan. 10.
Members of Ecuador’s armed forces patrol a street in Quito, Ecuador, on Jan. 10.

Ecuador Launches the Region’s Latest Drug War

New President Daniel Noboa has broad public support as he confronts a daunting challenge.

Indigenous supporters of the now-demobilized Zapatista Army of National Liberation guerrilla group take part in the preparations to mark the 30th anniversary of their first armed uprising against the Mexican government on Jan. 1, 1994, in the autonomous community of Caracol Dolores in Ocosingo, Mexico, on Dec. 31, 2023.
Indigenous supporters of the now-demobilized Zapatista Army of National Liberation guerrilla group take part in the preparations to mark the 30th anniversary of their first armed uprising against the Mexican government on Jan. 1, 1994, in the autonomous community of Caracol Dolores in Ocosingo, Mexico, on Dec. 31, 2023.

North Americanism Turns 30

NAFTA and USMCA have dramatically reshaped Mexico.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hold hands at the G-20 summit in New Delhi on Sep. 9.
U.S. President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva hold hands at the G-20 summit in New Delhi on Sep. 9.

Brazil Takes the G-20 Helm

In 2024, Lula hopes to coax the grouping toward global financial reform.

From left, former Barbadian Foreign Minister Jerome Walcott, Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution Director Dag Nylander, and Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry diplomat Efrain Guadarrama look on as the Venezuelan government and opposition sign an agreement at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center in Two Mile Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados, on Oct. 17.
From left, former Barbadian Foreign Minister Jerome Walcott, Norwegian Center for Conflict Resolution Director Dag Nylander, and Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry diplomat Efrain Guadarrama look on as the Venezuelan government and opposition sign an agreement at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Center in Two Mile Hill, Saint Michael, Barbados, on Oct. 17.

Western Hemisphere Relations Move From Idealism to Realpolitik

This year, countries from the United States to Brazil abandoned maximalist aims of regime change in Venezuela.

Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo speaks to supporters in Guatemala City on Oct. 20.
Guatemalan President-elect Bernardo Arévalo speaks to supporters in Guatemala City on Oct. 20.

Can Peer Pressure Protect Guatemala’s Democracy?

The country’s president-elect says he’s the victim of an attempted legal “coup.”

Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou pose for an official photo during the second day of the Mercosur summit in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 7.
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou pose for an official photo during the second day of the Mercosur summit in Rio de Janeiro on Dec. 7.

The Mercosur-EU Trade Deal Fails to Launch

Last-minute opposition from Argentina and France doomed negotiations over 20 years in the making.

A worker hoists a United Nations flag with other national flags of participating countries at the venue of the COP28 U.N. climate summit in Dubai on Nov. 30, 2023.
A worker hoists a United Nations flag with other national flags of participating countries at the venue of the COP28 U.N. climate summit in Dubai on Nov. 30, 2023.

Will COP28 Jump-Start Latin America’s Green Energy Ambitions?

Without new funding, countries risk wasting their potential.

Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador speaks with other leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ week in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 16.
Mexican President Andres Manuel López Obrador speaks with other leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ week in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 16.

Mexico Could Spoil New U.S.-China Fentanyl Plan

As the drug has spread, AMLO has blocked efforts to track and control it.

Leaders gather for a family photo at the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit at the White House at in Washington on Nov. 3.
Leaders gather for a family photo at the inaugural Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit at the White House at in Washington on Nov. 3.

Biden’s Economic Statecraft Takes Shape

Skeptical of trade deals, Washington is working through development banks instead.

Demonstrators protest against a contract between Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals and the Panamanian government in Panama City, Panama, on Oct. 24.
Demonstrators protest against a contract between Canadian mining company First Quantum Minerals and the Panamanian government in Panama City, Panama, on Oct. 24.

How a Copper Mine Prompted Mass Protests in Panama

Extracting the critical minerals needed for the energy transition is proving socially explosive.

Argentine Economy Minister and presidential candidate Sergio Massa speaks to his supporters outside his party headquarters after the first round of Argentina's presidential election in Buenos Aires on Oct. 22.
Argentine Economy Minister and presidential candidate Sergio Massa speaks to his supporters outside his party headquarters after the first round of Argentina's presidential election in Buenos Aires on Oct. 22.

Why Massa Outperformed Milei in Argentina

The “minister of inflation” saw his popularity rise in part thanks to the pope.

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