☀ Domingo Brief — Massa vs. Milei, J&J in Costa Rica, & Petrobras booming

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 following the electoral results in Argentina, the boom in Petrobras output, Cuba’s national ballet turning 75, and more!

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Trivia of the Week

Happy to say that over half of you (55%) correctly said that Mexico was the only former Spanish colony to form an empire upon independence. The other two countries to do so upon independence in the Americas were Haiti and Brazil, which had been colonized by France and Brazil, respectively.

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

What job does the incoming First Lady of Ecuador have?

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🇦🇷 Sergio Massa and Javier Milei have advanced to the run-off of Argentina’s presidential election following a first round which saw the country’s incumbent Economy Minister net a surprising first-place finish with 36% of the vote, while the libertarian firebrand scored 30%. The two will face off in the second and final round on November 19th.

Latinometrics: To say the results were surprising is an understatement. Milei, who dominated the primaries in August, failed to grow his share of the vote basically at all, while Massa — who, mind you, is Economy Minister of a country with over 100% inflation — scored a solid first-place lead. Clearly the Peronist political machine is alive and well in Argentina, 80 years after its namesake founder originated it.

The Pato factor: All eyes turn now to Patricia Bullrich, who arrived in a disappointing third place, as well as the other smaller candidates who are now eliminated. Bullrich, who headed the traditional right-wing opposition coalition, has backed Milei, though some of her more centrist voters may go to Massa. The lesser-known left-wing candidates will likely see their own voters go towards Massa as well.

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🇧🇷 Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras saw its third-quarter output grow by 9.6% over the same period last year. The 2.32M barrels per day (BPD) pumped by the country has led to Brazil becoming Latin America’s largest oil (and gas) producer, ahead even of major regional players such as Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, and Venezuela.