SoftBank’s Fund, the DR’s Tourism, and a Free Press

Welcome to Latinometrics. We bring you Latin American insights and trends through concise, thought-provoking data visualizations.

Thank you to the 156 new subscribers who have joined us since last week!

Today's charts:

1. The state of press freedom

2. SoftBank’s $7.8B LatAm bet — its state and what it left behind

3. The Dominican Republic’s tourism numbers are extraordinary

Make sure you check out the comment of the week at the bottom!

The Press 📰

Press Freedom Diminished in Most LatAm Nations Last Year

We at Latinometrics hold Mexico near and dear to our hearts. After all, it’s more than just the second-largest country in the region—it’s also where our co-founders were born and raised. Unfortunately, where Mexico may excel in music, entrepreneurship, and…cheese..., the country falls flat in other metrics to a troubling degree.

Take press safety, for example. Last year, Mexico was the world’s most dangerous country for the industry, seeing more journalists killed per capita than even war-torn states such as Ukraine and Syria. A fifth of all journalists killed worldwide were in Mexico.

This grim statistic, which adds to a years-long trend, forms part of a larger problem within Latin America: members of the press are increasingly attacked, intimidated, threatened, or pressured. This interference can come from governments, as seen with the autocratic regimes governing Cuba and Nicaragua. Venezuela’s historic El Nacional, for example, saw its offices closed under government pressure in 2018.

However, press freedom can also diminish in troubled democracies such as Argentina and Ecuador, as political polarization, organized crime, and populist leaders pressure those whose mission is to disseminate or publish news. This backlash can often have deadly consequences.

As shown in our chart above, most Latin American countries saw their press freedom score fall over the last year. This came amidst election season in Paraguay and political crisis in Peru. Even regional leaders such as Costa Rica were not immune, demonstrating the difficulty of protecting and upholding an independent and free press in times of economic turmoil and rising political unrest across the hemisphere.

Notably, despite our grim look at journalist homicides in Mexico, we should note that press freedom was perceived to have increased slightly over the last year in the country. This was also the case in Latin America’s other giant, Brazil, as a change in government meant the end for now of the difficult relationship between the press and the Bolsonaro administration.

Whether through holding truth to power in dictatorships or reporting unknown stories of migrants in the Darien Gap, the press plays an essential role in the region. We hope to see a greater focus on protections for news publishers and safety for journalists—because otherwise Latin America risks further derailment of its democracies.

Startup Funding 🚀

In 2019, serious venture capital (VC) started flowing into Latin America. The money awakened an entrepreneurship frenzy that is still in full steam despite what anyone tells you. For example, many cite that in 2022, less than half of the capital was invested than in the previous year as evidence that Latin America is going through a rough period. But let us give you two facts that might change your mind: