☀ Domingo Brief — Brazil’s Growth Acceleration Program, H&M in Colombia, & Mexican oil heading east

Each Sunday, take two minutes to catch key stories and opportunities shaping Latin America.

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Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re taking a look at massive Brazilian spending, food & beverage logistics in the Dominican Republic, Mexican oil going to Cuba, and more.

We’d also like to send out well-wishes to the loved ones of 59-year old Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencia, who lost his life this week following a political rally. We hope to see justice brought for his family and country soon.

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Trivia of the Week

Just over half (53%) of you were right in guessing Panama as the country to have seceded from Colombia in 1903 with US assistance. Panama, which had attempted to break away from its southern neighbor over 80 times over the previous few decades, finally seized its opportunity while Colombia’s people were fighting its costly Thousand Days' War throughout their territory. Washington, meanwhile, was oh too happy to recognize Panamanian independence—and defend it with the US navy—in return for rights to build and control a canal.

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

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🇧🇷 Brazilian President of Lula da Silva unveiled a $200B four-year investment plan designed to finance large-scale projects in infrastructure, energy, and transportation. The Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) is designed to boost economic growth and employment across the country.

Latinometrics: Our take? Brazil’s economy is doing quite decently, powered in particular by booming agricultural exports, and Lula is feeling more confident both at home and abroad as a result. The tricky part will now come as the three-time president attempts to convince Congress to back his major spending plan, particularly over the skepticism of many investors.

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🇨🇱 Chile has been named the ‘most promising’ hydrogen export market by the year 2030 in a new Hydrogen Export Markets report. The country seeks to become the world’s leader in green hydrogen through both domestic and international investment, as well as a recently-announced $150M loan from the World Bank, which is expected to raise over $250M in investment.

Latinometrics: Chile’s biggest destinations worldwide are anticipated to be Europe (as seen by recent EU investments in the country) and East Asia’s largest economies. The expected market size for Chilean green ammonia in 2030 is anticipated to hover around $2.5B.