Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re following Brazilian deforestation rates, Mexican industrial real estate, and more.

Trivia of the Week 🎯

Over 40% of you correctly guessed Puerto Rico as the site of the world's (former) largest radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory. This iconic observatory was in operation for over 50 years before its collapse in 2020, and was used for studying distant planets and detecting signals from outer space.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇷 Deforestation alerts in the Amazon rainforest were 10.6% lower last month than last August’s numbers, signaling a positive shift in Brazil's efforts to protect this critical ecosystem. The decline reflects the growing commitment of both government initiatives and grassroots efforts to preserve the rainforest's rich biodiversity in the face of severe challenges and threats. The figures from this last month represent a drop of over 69% from 2022, and the lowest number of acres under deforestation alert since 2018.

🇨🇱 Huachipato, Chile’s largest steelmaker, will turn off its blast furnace for the final time tomorrow. The 74-year old firm, formally known as Compania Siderurgica Huachipato, produced 1M tons of steel in 1997 but today has lost so much ground to Chinese competition it can no longer compete. Over 2.7K jobs will be lost.

🇩🇴 Eaton will open its fifth manufacturing site in the Dominican Republic this year, following the announcement of an assembly plant in Santiago de los Caballeros. The new facility, which will have the capacity to produce 65K Bussmann series fuses for use in everything from electric vehicles to data centers, is expected to create roughly 300 manufacturing jobs.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re taking a look at Chilean economic growth, Puerto Rican municipal aid, and more.

Trivia of the Week 🎯

Just over two-thirds (67%) of you correctly guessed Venezuela as the birthplace of South American political revolutionary Simón Bolívar. Born to an upper-class Spanish family in Caracas, he lived and was educated in Spain before returning to his continent of birth in the early 19th century. He eventually led the successful wars for independence for what are today the countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela, earning him the nickname El Liberator.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇷 Brazil hosted the first-ever South American National Football League (NFL) game on Friday. The Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, along with 80K pounds of equipment, made the journey down to São Paulo, where their game saw over 42K fans and a halftime show headlined by none other than local star Anitta. Local soccer politics even played out based on team colors, as Brazil’s largest city has a century-old rivalry between the Corinthians and Palmeiras teams.

🇨🇱 Chile's economy grew by 1% in July 2024, marking its fastest monthly expansion in six months and surpassing expectations of 0.9%. Year-on-year economic activity rose by 4.2%, driven by gains in industry (4.4%) and services (1.6%), though mining declined by 2.5%. This growth comes as Chile’s central bank is expected to lower interest rates further, continuing its efforts to stimulate the economy after a challenging second quarter that saw a 0.6% contraction.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Argentinian economic policy, the continuing Venezuelan election crisis, and more.

Trivia of the Week

An impressive 64% of you correctly guessed Guatemala as the country (well technically, captaincy) that Mexico annexed in the early 1820s. Soon after the establishment of the First Mexican Empire in 1822, the lands of Guatemala and much of Central America were annexed. This new land made Mexico the largest independent nation in terms of land area. However, in 1823 the Central American provinces seceded from Mexico to form a short-lived federal union.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentinian President Javier Milei vowed to veto a pension reform bill which would increase government spending by 1.2% of the country’s GDP. With efforts to support the 55% of Argentinians that live in poverty, the opposition-controlled senate passed a bill that would increase retirement benefits by over 8%. Milei quickly announced his decision as this bill would significantly threaten to capsize his newly established fiscal surplus.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s tight labor markets have made controlling inflation challenging as the reduction of price pressures back to targets have taken longer than expected. While the benchmark interest rate has remained at 10.5% after a year-long easing cycle, inflation has begun to stagnate, among its main causes being the rigid labor markets according to Central Bank Director Roberto Campos. Central Bank analysts have projected consumer price indexes to remain above the target of 3% until at least 2027.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Brazilian economic diplomacy, the Mexican energy market, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Just 14% of you correctly guessed Mexico as the first Latin American country to formally withdraw from the 1947 Rio Treaty. The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, more commonly known as the Rio Treaty, was the first of many hemispheric defense doctrines under a mutual security principle. The treaty was signed by all then-independent countries in the Americas on September 2nd, 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, hence the colloquial name, and came into force a year later. In 2002, over disputes with the US over the Iraq War and the subsequent possibility of Latin American involvement, Mexico was the first country to formally withdraw from the treaty.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentinian Minister of Economy Luis Caputo assured that the country’s 2025 interest & capital disbursements will be paid using fiscal surplus, in contrast with President Javier Milei’s earlier statements of using sale-and-repurchase agreements (repos). The expiry of these hard currency sovereign bonds amounts to a payment of $7.6B; however, Caputo guaranteed that the government already has the pesos needed to buy the dollars to pay the interests, downplaying concerns about Argentina’s risk premium and re-emphasizing efforts for economic recovery.

🇧🇷 Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is looking establish a long-term strategic partnership with his country’s biggest trade partner, China, following the upcoming G20 summit in November. While details of the negotiation remain unknown, Lula noted that Beijing aims to discuss its **Belt & Road Initiative** (BRI), hinting at his willingness to consider adhering to the project’s development.

Latinometrics: Brazil and China have had a strategic partnership since the early 1990s—in fact, it was China’s first such partnership with any country worldwide. But given this week marked a half-century of diplomatic relations, both Lula and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are playing up the importance of this year for deepening bilateral ties. This could well be the year Brazil joins the BRI, following neighboring Argentina’s lead in 2022.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Honduran economic growth, Venezuelan repression, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Exactly 47% of you correctly guessed São Paulo as the Latin American city which has the largest number of nikkei, or members of the Japanese diaspora. Since 1908, São Paulo has been a global hotspot for Japanese immigration; in fact, as of 2007, the Japanese population in São Paulo was larger than the Japanese diaspora in the rest of South America. The recurring influx of Japanese immigrants eventually fostered the development of Liberdade, home to the world’s largest Japanese population outside of Japan.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇷 Brazilian deforestation increased for the first time in July, breaking a 15-month positive streak of reducing Amazon destruction. Approximately 666 square kilometers of jungle were cleared in July, a 33% increase from the same month last year according to the country’s Environmental Ministry. Nonetheless, aggregate Amazon deforestation for the first seven months of the year has decreased 27% compared to last year as President Luiz Inácio Lula’s anti-deforestation goals continue.

🇭🇳 Honduran economic activity grew by 4.7% in the first half of 2024 according to the central bank’s monthly index for economic activity. This boom was primarily driven by an increase in manufacturing and transportation investment as well as the dynamism of private consumption despite unstable socio-economic and political circumstances. While agriculture and livestock activity decreased by 2.1%, the sectors which stimulated the most significant growth were insurance & pension funds, private construction, electricity & water, and commerce.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with the Venezuelan election process, Peruvian FX markets, and more.

Trivia of the Week

A little over a third (37%) of you correctly guessed Colombia as the Andean country which does not have a signed free-trade agreement (FTA) with China. Both Chile and Peru signed FTAs with China, their largest trade partner, in the 2000s. Ecuador just implemented its own FTA with China last year.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentinian Central Bank reserves have decreased by $1.9B as President Javier Milei’s battle to prop up the peso continues. While the government justified the decrease as payment for international debts, bonds, and fuel imports, investor sentiment has worsened as the central bank drains the market of local currency by buying sovereign bonds in dollars and selling them in pesos. Current cash settlement exchanges after the initial intervention in July have decreased to 1,207 pesos per dollar from 1,405 pesos per dollar, indicating a slow, but positive result.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s benchmark interest rate remains unchanged following the second consecutive central bank policy meeting. Copom, the central bank’s rate-setting committee, held the benchmark interest rate at 10.5% but emphasized the need for more focused market vigilance due to increasing inflation expectations. Year-over-year inflation projections for 2024 increased to 4.1% from the policy target of 3%, so there is an approaching likelihood that rates might soon be increased due to slow rising prices.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Bolivian natural gas reserves, Chilean foreign investment, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Exactly three-quarters (75%) of you correctly guessed the French Football Federation as the soccer federation which filed a complaint with FIFA for offensive chants following Argentina's Copa America victory. The complaint follows a live video broadcasted by Argentinian midfielder Enzo Fernández wherein players from the Argentinian team chanted remarks deemed racist and discriminatory directed towards French players of African descent. Fernández has since publicly apologized.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇴 Bolivian authorities discovered the third-largest natural gas reserve in the country with a capacity of 1.7T cubic feet, expecting to generate $6.8B in revenue. This discovery in the Mayaya Centro-X1 well comes two years after Bolivia became a net importer of energy for the first time in decades following drastic hydrocarbon deficits. While extraction and distribution development is expected to take 3 to 5 years, the state-owned energy firm YPFB has pledged $400M in direct investment to begin operations as soon as possible.

🇨🇱 Chilean foreign direct investment (FDI) was valued at $34.5B in the first half of 2024 spread across 405 initiatives in different stages of development. This represents a 24% increase from the equivalent time period in 2023. While most initiatives are still being materialized, 4.6K jobs have been created so far, with this number estimated to quadruple once all projects are executed. Investments have been primarily concentrated in the energy, mining, global services, and infrastructure industries, with a majority originating from the United States, China, and Canada.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with soccer results, Brazilian electric vehicle imports, and more.

Trivia of the Week

A whopping 73% of you correctly guessed Evo Morales as the Bolivian president who oversaw the constitutional change which removed Catholicism as the country’s state religion? Morales, in office between 2006 and 2019, famously had a complicated relationship with the Catholic Church, which had been granted de facto state religion status in 1967. While nominally a Catholic, the leftist Morales had a perpetually strained relationship with the conservative Catholic institution in his country, particularly troubling given that it’s the religion of roughly 80% of Bolivians.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina has officially won a record 16th Copa América trophy following their Sunday 1-0 defeat of Colombia in the Miami finals. This was the team’s second straight victory in the tournament. Led by star player and captain Lionel Messi, La Albiceleste is now the single most-decorated team in Copa América history, leaving behind third-place finisher Uruguay with its 15 trophies.

Latinometrics: Where do all of the South American teams stand today? Every country on the continent except for Ecuador and Venezuela have won at least one trophy in the tournament. After Argentina and Uruguay, Brazil is third most-decorated with 9 wins, followed by Paraguay, Chile, and Peru with 2 trophies apiece. Finally, both Bolivia and Colombia have won the tournament only once (and both as hosts), the former in 1963 and the latter in 2001.

🇧🇷 Brazil has become the top export destination worldwide for Chinese electric and hybrid vehicles. Latin America’s giant surpassed Belgium in April after importing 40.9K electric vehicles (EVs) from China, a 13x increase over April of last year. With Brazilian import tax increases of up to 35% expected by July 2026, Chinese automakers like BYD are rushing to offload as many of their electric cars as soon as possible to maximize profits.

Latinometrics: It’s a telling symbol that Brazil is replacing Belgium of all countries at the top of this list, as Brazil’s ascent comes during a time where many traditional markets are turning away from Chinese electric vehicles. The European Union of which Belgium serves as a member country, for example, recently announced tariffs of up to 48% on Chinese EV automakers in response to what the bloc alleges are unfair subsidies by Beijing. This move followed the US announcing that tariffs on EVs will rise from 25% to 100% as the country apparently holds both protectionist and national security concerns.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Argentinian inflation, Mexican rail lines, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Exactly 40% of you were correct in selecting the Brazilian real as the Latin American currency which turned 30 years old this year! The currency was introduced with the 1994 Plano Real in an effort to end a decade-long inflationary cycle (almost 2500% annual rate in 1993!) and the multiple circulating currencies seen for over half a century. Drawing its name from the pre-1942 currency, the real’s implementation was a necessary condition to end the Brazilian economy's propensity to boom-and-bust cycles marked by persistent inflationary trends, balance of payment crises, and abrupt currency depreciations.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina’s monthly inflation rate, which had been dramatically slowing from 25.5% in December to 4.2% in May, saw its first uptick to 4.6% in June, ending a five-month streak of slowing prices. While general expectations of inflation continue to be optimistic, supported by drastic deflation over the past half year, this increase presents a challenge to President Javier Milei’s goal of reaching monthly inflation of just 3.8% by September.

Latinometrics: The small increase in inflation coincides with the Central Bank of Argentina’s decision to lower its benchmark interest rate from 50% to 40% in May. However, this increase could subsequently cause them to increase the benchmark interest again in July in an effort to help bring down inflation.

🇨🇱 Chile’s CEME 1 has been officially inaugurated in the middle of the Atacama Desert. The solar power plant, Chile’s largest, has 882K solar panels that in total cover an area of over 435 hectares and will produce enough power to supply 500K Chilean homes. Its innovative technology maximizes energy capture, has an automated panel cleaning process, and reduces water consumption by up to 90% while avoiding the emission of 280K tons of CO2 per year with traditional energy sources.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re following Venezuelan election pressures, Ecuadorian inflation, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Just under a third (31%) of you correctly chose Rutherford B. Hayes as the U.S. President for whom Paraguay named a department (as well as a city)! Such an honor came to be after the Paraguayan War of 1864-1870 where President Rutherford B. Hayes arbitrated a boundary dispute between Argentina and Paraguay, ultimately awarding the territory to Paraguay in 1878. In gratitude, the country named the department “Presidente Hayes” and the capital city of the department “Villa Hayes.” There’s even a local soccer club carrying his namesake as well!

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina is taking a leap with four new lithium infrastructure projects ready to begin full-scale operations. Though already a major lithium exporter behind Australia and China, and having experienced decades of direct investment into its giant lithium deposits, the country has seen just one new mine develop in almost a decade.

Latinometrics: Currently, only three operations export lithium in Argentina, but in coming years the industry is expected to ramp up annual capacity by 79% to the equivalent of an increase of 202K metric tons. The projects are a prospective boon for President Javier Milei, who needs export dollars to help overcome currency constraints currently stifling Argentina’s crisis-prone economy.

🇨🇷 Costa Rica has concluded negotiations with Iceland, New Zealand, and Switzerland to launch the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade, and Sustainability (ACCTS). After 15 rounds of negotiations over the past 5 years, the signatory countries agreed on an innovative trade agreement centered around climate change by means of changing their current commercial and sustainability agendas. The principal mechanisms to be implemented under the agreement include tariff reductions on environmental goods and renewable energy infrastructure, creation of environmental subsection agencies, elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, and guided eco-labelling. The ACCTS looks to mobilize action on climate change in the light of biodiversity loss, pollution, and other serious environmental challenges.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re following Colombian interest rates, China-Peru trade negotiations, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Just over a third of you (35%) correctly guessed that Colón has the largest special economic zone (SEZ) in Latin America. Indeed, the Colón Free Trade Zone is the largest free port in the Americas, and the second-largest worldwide. It is dedicated to the reexport of goods and merchandise from around the world to throughout the greater Latin America and the Caribbean region.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

Just a reminder that applications close today for the Reto de Innovación en Proyectos Verdes (Green Investment Innovation Contest). This competition seeks startups which lead innovation in sustainable infrastructure, offer unique tourist experiences, and generate positive impacts for the Latin American economy.

Don’t forget to send off your application today!

🇧🇴 Bolivia thwarted an attempted military coup this week led by Juan José Zúñiga, head of the Bolivian Army, with President Luis Arce, the entire political spectrum, and the international community all condemning Zúñiga’s attempt to rupture the democratic order. The whole affair lasted just over three hours, and involved dissident army officers occupying the central plaza of the capital city of La Paz, Plaza Murillo, where they faced off against law enforcement and protestors mobilized by the government and the massive Bolivian Workers' Center trade union federation. Zúñiga and his chief allies even had a face-to-face confrontation with President Arce, who told them to stand down before eventually appointing their replacements to restore order.

Latinometrics: So what happened here? Well, this attempted putsch comes as Bolivia deals with an impending financial crisis and a dearth of foreign reserves, as well as a political deadlock between Arce and his former mentor, hugely popular ex-president Evo Morales (2006-2019). General Zúñiga claimed Monday night that the army would arrest Morales if he attempted to run for reelection next year, but was promptly dismissed from his position for these comments the next day. Subsequently, Wednesday morning the coup attempt was launched, but notably faced immediate opposition from even President Arce, who is the chief Morales rival today.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re following Brazilian worker earnings, a new ICC site in the Dominican Republic, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Over half of you (59%) correctly answered that Bolivia was not part of the South American alliance which defeated Paraguay in the Paraguayan War of the 1860s, Latin America’s bloodiest and deadliest inter-state war. While Bolivia and Paraguay would eventually fight in the Chaco War in the 1930s, it was rather Paraguay’s modern-day Mercosur associates of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay which wrought such damage on the country.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its growth forecast for Argentina for this year to a 3.5% contraction. This revised figure is 0.75 percentage points lower than its initial forecast, demonstrating the international organization’s declining confidence in the country’s economic performance for 2023.

🇧🇷 Brazilian workers’ earnings increased over 11.7% last year, reflecting the largest jump since the Real Plan of the mid-1990s. Paired with the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.9%, this reflects a mixture of improved macroeconomic fundamentals and a boost in public spending which began in late 2022 and persisted throughout 2023.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with stock market rumblings in Rio, Audi in Puebla, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Just a fifth of you (20%) correctly guessed that Holambra, Brazil is the biggest flower producer in Latin America. The small town, located in the state of São Paulo, was founded by Dutch immigrants in the 1940s—its name is even a portmanteau of Holland, America, and Brazil. It also hosts the Expoflora, Latin America’s largest spring event.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina’s soybean harvest has reached 96% of the country’s suitable area. The national average yield is over 3K kilos per hectare, while the production estimate stood at 50.5M tons. Soy is a key export for Argentina, but its production has been hurt by drought in recent years.

🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro might be getting its stock exchange back? That’s the word on the street after Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Brazil’s second-largest city, sent a tax code amendment bill to the city council with the intention of facilitating the recreation of the Rio de Janeiro Stock Exchange. The exchange, which was founded in 1820 and served as South America’s most important exchange until being surpassed by São Paulo’s Bovespa in the 1970s, previously shut down in the late 1990s.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with the TIME100 list, Brazil’s Vice President in China, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Last week’s Trivia question was instead a poll on presidential voting intention, so obviously there were no wrong answers. Interestingly, though, our audience — polled across our newsletter, X, LinkedIn, and Instagram — overwhelmingly ‘delivered’ major victories for Xóchitl Gálvez, while in reality Claudia Sheinbaum won in a landslide.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina’s poverty rate has reached an alarming 55% in 2024, per a new report from a respected local research organization. This would mean that roughly 25M people in the country are poor, of which 8M live in extreme poverty. The country’s ongoing recession, when partnered with triple-digit inflation and steep cuts to social programs, benefits, and jobs, has led to a majority of the country struggling to make ends meet or avoid food insecurity.

🇧🇷 Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin was in China this week for a high-level state visit involving a meeting with President Xi Jinping. The visit was scheduled to commemorate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two BRICS partners, given ties were only established in 1974. Alckmin brought with him a number of guests and invitees, such as business leaders, investment promotion agency representatives, and former ambassadors.

Latinometrics: As Brazil’s largest trade partner since 2009, China has only grown in importance for Latin America’s giant in recent years. The country is a top investor, provides international financing, and — particularly under President Lula da Silva — serves as a clear diplomatic partner on the world stage.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re looking to airline intrigues in Brazil, the launch of a new transatlantic investment initiative, and more.

Trivia of the Week

A meager 37% of you were correct in guessing that Brazil was the country commemorating 200 years of diplomatic relations with the United States last Sunday. The two largest countries of the Western Hemisphere first established ties on May 26th, 1824, when Brazil was a monarchy, the US had fewer than half its present number of states, and both countries had a whole lot of slaves.

This week, an opinion question rather than trivia; all answers are anonymous, even to us.

🇧🇷 Azul could be acquiring Gol? That’s just one possibility on the line following reports of conversations between Azul, which is one of Brazil’s big 3 airlines, and Gol parent company Abra Group (which also owns the Colombian giant Avianca). With talks between the airline heavyweights, it’s possible that Brazilian airspace, already heavily concentrated into just 3 companies, could well see further consolidation through either a joint venture, merger, or acquisition.

🇲🇽 Mexico is holding the largest elections in its history today. In addition to the high-profile race for president between Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez (and to a lesser degree Jorge Máynez), there are all 128 seats in the Senate and all 500 seats of the Chamber of Deputies up for grabs.

Latinometrics: Coming at the end of a transformational era in Mexican politics, this election is all but guaranteed to present the country with its first female president. Claudia Sheinbaum, the MORENA nominee backed by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is widely expected to win the race for president; however, she might well have a weaker position in the congress than her mentor.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with the results of the DR’s election, Brazilian unemployment figures, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Slightly over half (53%) of you were correct in saying that the late Sebastián Piñera, who died earlier this year in a helicopter accident, was a billionaire before taking office. Piñera built his $2.7B net worth through stakes in television channels and airlines, among other companies. He was President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. A figure known for dialogue and consensus, at the time of his death in February, political figures from across Latin America (and the ideological spectrum) paid their respects.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇷 Brazilian unemployment has reached 7.9%, well below the 8.8% rate reported a year ago and around half the 14.9% rate seen throughout 2020 and 2021. The formal job market added over 719K jobs between January and March, as the summer season and high tourism contributed to more people looking for work.

🇩🇴 President Luis Abinader has won reelection with over 57% of the vote in the first round of the Dominican Republic’s presidential election. With over 2.5M votes, Abinader has secured a comfortable second-term mandate, bolstered also by his sweeping supermajorities in both chambers of congress.

🇨🇴 Colombia’s congress has approved a new bilateral agreement with Venezuela designed to promote two-way direct investments. This comes following the reestablishment of diplomatic relations in 2022 and the reopening of several border closures in order to promote trade.

Latinometrics: Colombia invested $55.6M in Venezuela between 2003 and 2014, while Venezuelans invested $589.5M in Colombia over the same time period.

🇲🇽 Mexico recorded an 11.4% growth in export earnings in the month of April. The country’s expansion has been powered by substantial growth in the auto sector exports, as foreign car firms open local operations to grow their output to the US.

🌎 Latin American companies have grown their use of AI by 67% over the last two years, per the newest edition of the IBM Global AI Adoption Index. Per this report on 2023 figures, 38% of organizations aim to invest in workforce training and development in the coming year.

Latinometrics: Just over a third (37%) of companies in Latin America are actively implementing generative AI. Meanwhile, AI continues to grow in relevance for regional firms, with 39% of surveyed firms using AI for digital workforce and 35% using it for marketing and sales.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re following new faces at Petrobras, elections in the DR, the making of taco history in CDMX, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Looks like just about half of you (48%) got it right: Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela were the three Latin American countries locked in a diplomatic crisis in 2008. The neighboring Andean states came close to military mobilization following an incursion by Colombian soldiers into Ecuadorian territory in order to kill members of a Colombian armed rebel group. Left-leaning President of Ecuador, backed by his ideological ally Hugo Chavez, accused conservative Colombian president Alvaro Uribe of violating territorial integrity. Tensions were eventually defused, though Uribe never truly patched things up with his neighbors before leaving office in 2010.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇷 Petrobras is seeing a top-level reshuffle as Jean Paul Prates has stepped down as chief executive officer (CEO) just 15 months after his initial January 2023 appointment. Prates has had a challenging relationship with Brazilian officials pushing for greater government control over the state-owned oil giant. He will be replaced by civil engineer and former oil & gas regulator Magda Chambriard.

Latinometrics: Petrobras is Latin America’s largest oil company and has been at the center of some of the region’s greatest scandals (see: Operation Car Wash). With Chambriard’s arrival, the company will have had 6 CEOs in 6 years, having long lost the stability which characterized it in the late 2010s. Petrobras shares slid 6% following the news of Prates’ resignation.

🇩🇴 Dominicans are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect their president, vice president, and national legislature. Incumbent president Luis Abinader is widely expected to win reelection, perhaps even in the first round, given his massive popularity across the country.

Latinometrics: Regardless of whether Abinader wins a second term or loses to a competitor, the Dominican Republic’s next president will face a number of key challenges to address. Chief among these is the ever-chaotic situation across the border in neighboring Haiti, which poses a grave security and humanitarian concern for the DR.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with disaster flooding in southern Brazil, Panama’s election results, Argentina’s whale revival, and more.

Trivia of the Week

Just 35% of you were correct last week: Petrópolis, not Florianópolis, was the summer residence of the Brazilian imperial family during the era of the country’s monarchy. The mountaintop city, found in the state of Rio de Janeiro in the country’s southeast, was the de facto capital of the country during half of the year. The royal family, nobility and elites, and even foreign diplomats all stayed in this city to get away from the sweltering heat (and yellow fever) in Rio.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina is beginning to see sei whales reappear off its Patagonian coast, nearly a century after they disappeared as a result of heavy whaling. The overall success of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, an in particular a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling, in restoring whale numbers globally is likely to be the biggest cause for the return of these marine giants to Argentina’s coastlines.

🇧🇷 Rio Grande do Sul has experienced the worst flooding in its history. The southernmost Brazilian state of 11M people has seen over 100 deaths, over 130 people missing, and over 400 people injured. Over 425 cities and municipalities have been impacted by the flooding, including the state capital of Porto Alegre. More than 160K people have been displaced thus far. In case you’d like to donate to disaster relief, you can visit this link.

Latinometrics: Brazil (and Latin America) is increasingly being confronted with the disasters of climate change. From the Amazon to the coastline, the country has had to adapt to the new realities of environmental damage. For example, Brazil will import packaged rice from its Mercosur partners in an effort to stabilize the price of rice, of which Rio Grande do Sul produces 70% of the national market.

🇧🇷🇨🇴🇲🇽 Nubank has surpassed 100M clients across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, in the process becoming the first non-Asian digital banking platform to do so. Eleven years after it launched, Nubank remains one of Latin America’s most successful fintech success stories in modern history.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with diplomatic issues, Oxxo’s Brazilian splash, a court case with regional implications, and more.

Trivia of the Week

A meager 12% of you got it right last week: Brazil and Paraguay are the two countries which received Japanese Prime Minister Kishida this week (yes, we find it interesting too). Kishida reaffirmed his commitment to progressing on a prospective Japan-Mercosur deal while in Paraguay, and he met this weekend with Brazilian President Lula da Silva.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷🇧🇴🇵🇪 The foreign ministers of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru each recently visited China in order to shore up their relations with the world’s second-largest economy. All three countries form part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative and seek greater investments from the East Asian giant. For Argentinean Foreign Minister Diana Mondino, the challenge is twofold, as she must attempt to both overcome doubts about Argentina’s economic situation and smooth over ruffled feathers following her president’s vocal anti-China stance.

🇧🇷🇲🇽 Oxxo has officially opened 500 store locations in São Paulo, just over 3 years after it made its entry into Brazil. The legendary Mexican convenience store chain opened 200 stores just last year, meaning on average one every two days. Hooray for internationalization of a true Latin American brand!

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Trivia of the Week

Just under three-quarters of you (74%) correctly called Haiti the only Francophone country in Latin America. Haiti was first colonized by the Spanish, but eventually brought into the French Empire as the lucrative sugar colony of Saint-Domingue. It obtained its independence at the turn of the 19th century.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇦🇷 Argentina has reported a primary financial surplus as it deals with an unstable domestic economy and a sliding currency. The country has seen three consecutive months of surplus, one of the first times this has happened since 2008. Naturally, President Javier Milei was quick to sing the praises of his administration’s “chainsaw” approach to public expenditures.

Latinometrics: As the latest protests have shown, Milei continues to face widespread opposition from much of his country—however, his favorability has held steady for now, indicating Argentines are still willing to endure economic pains if they believe there’s a chance it can lead to a fixing of the country’s structural issues.

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