☀ Domingo Brief — Carnival Comes to Brazil

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 celebrating Brazil’s massive national party, looking at a recent tragedy in Chile, and more.

PSA: Did you know Latinometrics is now on TikTok? Catch Senior Editor Gabriel Cohen breaking down some of our biggest charts, 3 times a week!

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Trivia of the Week

A little over half of you (59%) correctly answered that Rio de Janeiro was Brazil’s capital for over 2 centuries. Rio served as the capital of Brazil both as a colony and as a sovereign state until the 1960s. For a few years, it also served as the capital of the Portuguese Empire following the royal family’s fleeing of Lisbon in the face of an oncoming invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte.

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

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🇦🇷 President Javier Milei is on the offensive against Argentina’s legislature following the rejection of his omnibus bill in the country’s lower house of congress. The president accused his opponents of treason and has threatened a sweeping referendum to demonstrate popular support for his agenda.

Latinometrics: The main sticking points appear to be the portions of taxes collected by state or federal authorities, as well as specific privatizations. As longtime analyst James Bosworth put it in this week’s Latin America Risk Report, Milei may still find success in passing his chosen reforms, but “it's going to take negotiating with the political caste that he hates so much, not a permanent election campaign against them while the country's economy remains so bleak.”

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🇧🇴 Bolivia has signed a new agreement with Chinese consortium CBC, adding to previous deals announced a little over a year ago. This new agreement allots roughly $90M more towards extracting lithium directly from the country’s Uyuni salt flat.