Good morning and happy Friday!
This week’s World Politics Review column provided an update on the Venezuela-Guyana dispute. Venezuela sanctions and the dispute over Essequibo are issues I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing and discussing with clients in recent months. Feel free to reach out to discuss.
This week’s newsletter considered reasons Bukele cheated on an election he was guaranteed to win. Also, I’ll have comments about El Salvador’s economy in a video panel with the Hudson Institute next week.
Here is this week’s reading list and upcoming events.
Reading List
Atlantic - How to Defeat a Mafia State (Guatemala)
CSIS - Exporting Autocracy (China-LatAm)
Americas Quarterly - Why Drug Cartels Are Expanding to Asia
Financial Times - Latin America’s private sector is failing the region, economist Mazzucato warns
Bloomberg - Biden's Top Latin America Adviser Juan Gonzalez to Step Down
AP - Mexico will likely elect a woman as its next president, but money to govern is already being spent
Reuters - Mexico's energy transition hits reverse in 2023
NYT - U.S. Gas Producers Are Racing to Sell to Asia. And Mexico Is Key.
Bloomberg - Elon Musk Woos Chinese Suppliers to Set Up Right Next Door to US
Modern Mexico Podcast - Security Problems In Tijuana Aren't Scaring Away Foreign Investors
NYT - Brazil Has a Dengue Emergency, Portending a Health Crisis for the Americas
Economist - Why Lula keeps meddling with Latin America’s top oil company
Academic paper - Prebunking and Credible Source Corrections Increase Election Credibility: Evidence from the U.S. and Brazil
NYT - In Extraordinary Move, Venezuela Expels U.N. Human Rights Agency
NYT - In Venezuela, You're a Critic One Day, and Arrested the Next
WSJ - How Wall Street Won a Battle Over Venezuelan Sanctions
Washington Post - Venezuela's Maduro broke a promise on elections. The US must respond.
AP - US says it's taken possession of a Boeing 747 that Iran sold to a Venezuelan firm
El Pais - Ecominerales, el ‘Frankenstein’ minero que impulsa Petro
WSJ - Ecuador Follows El Salvador in Arresting Gangs and Retaking Prisons
Diplomatic Courier - Polarization and democratic decay in the Americas
Reuters - Paraguay senate expels one of few opposition members, sparking protests
Economist - Chile’s crisis is not over yet
Bloomberg - Milei Heading to Pro-Trump Event as Blinken Mulls Argentina Trip
Americas Quarterly - El Salvador's Economy Will Test Bukele 2.0
AP - The president jailed 1% of El Salvador's population. Their children are paying the consequences
WSJ - How Russia Recruits Soldiers From Cuba to Fight in Ukraine
AP - Red flags, missed clues: How accused US diplomat-turned-Cuban spy avoided scrutiny for decades
Bloomberg - Guyana’s Fast-Growing Oil Economy Risks Inflation, Venezuela Conflict
Bloomberg - French Farmer Protests: Global Spread of Unrest Threatens Elections
Upcoming Events
19 February, Wilson Center - A Brazilian Perspective on the G20: Debriefing the First Ministerial Meeting
20 February, Hudson Institute - What Does Bukelismo Mean for Latin America?
20 February, Wilson Center - Venezuela at a Crossroads: Is the Barbados Agreement on Life Support? (I’ll probably be in the audience if anyone wants to chat before or after)
21 February, Inter-American Dialogue - Bernardo Arévalo's First Month in Office and the Path Ahead for Guatemala
21 February, Atlantic Council - China in the Global South: Development and influence in a shifting global order
26 February, Atlantic Council - Venezuela at a turning point: María Corina Machado on 2024 elections
29 February, Inter-American Dialogue - Caribbean Energy Synergies
Thanks for reading
Have a great weekend.