☀ Domingo Brief — Rio airport upgrades, Mexico's great September, & Peruvian avocados

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 Mexico’s great month for car sales, the money going to the Amazon Fund, the Dominican Republic’s new small airline, and more!

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Trivia of the Week

While it’s true that Native Americans living in what is today Cuba have long been using mojito-like drinks to ward off disease, the answer we were looking for actually only got 3rd place with 19% of the votes! One commonly-told origin story for the caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail, is that it originated in the interior of São Paulo around 1918 as a treatment for people suffering from the Spanish flu.

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

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🇧🇷 Brazil’s government has earmarked $58M in security and infrastructure upgrade investments for Rio de Janeiro’s famous Santos Dumont airport. This investment, part of the New Growth Acceleration Program (PAC), is designed to improve runways, parking, and the passenger terminal.

Latinometrics: Santos Dumont is just one of Rio’s airports. Its traditional peer to the north, Galeão International Airport, has seen a dramatic reduction in its number of passengers since 2013, and particularly since the pandemic.

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🇩🇴 The Dominican Republic has a new airline! Late last month, a new small airline called Reef Jet operated its first flight in the country, flying between Punta Cana to Santiago. Seating just 9 passengers, the idea behind this new airline, for which tickets can be bought through major travel operators, is to encourage multi-flight trips to the Dominican Republic.