☀ Domingo Brief — Milei’s inauguration, Mexico’s remittances, & Bolivia in Mercosur

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

Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re observing all the great (and not-so-great) news coming out of the Mercosur summit, the arrival of Argentina’s new president, and more.

Trivia of the Week

This is a first: the correct answer in last week’s trivia concerning the final country to leave the Federal Republic of Central America, El Salvador, came in dead last in terms of audience guesses. It received just 21%, though no answer reached 30% of votes, indicating clearly this was a tough one.

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

🇦🇷 President Javier Milei was officially inaugurated last week following the handover of power from his predecessor. The libertarian outsider inherits an economy with over 140% inflation and 40% of the population in poverty, and has vowed that through widespread privatizations and austerity he will lift Argentina out of financial disaster.

Latinometrics: One thing that’ll be challenging? Milei’s relatively weak political position. With his party only controlling a small number of seats in congress, he has been forced to ally himself with the party of ex-President Mauricio Macri.

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🇧🇴 Bolivia is officially joining Mercosur! The landlocked Andean country has finally acceded to the regional bloc following eight years of limbo. This is the first new member country in the organization since Venezuela, which was suspended in late 2016 over democratic concerns. Notably, Bolivia’s official accession makes it now a bridge between Mercosur and the neighboring Andean Community (as the only full member of both groups).

Latinometrics: Bolivia joins at a tough time. Mercosur leaders such as Lula da Silva hoped that the Rio de Janeiro summit at which the country’s accession would be confirmed would also see the conclusion of negotiations with the European Union. However, last-minute disagreements from the Argentinean and French sides leave the future of the deal uncertain, and the prospects of success unlikely.