Friday Reading List - 25 April 2025

Also recommending La guerra del fin del mundo and La Ciudad y Los Perros.

Apr 25, 2025

Good morning from Vienna, VA.

This week’s articles and newsletters

WPR - Venezuela’s Local Elections Will Be Another Existential Challenge
Monday - The US vs China trade war hits Latin America
Tuesday - Nine takeaways from the IMF outlook on Latin America
Wednesday - Polls: Milei's approval ratings fall
Thursday - Six Stories - Includes my comments on Pope Francis’s legacy in Latin America and papal succession.

The Tuesday newsletter and Friday list of links remain free and without a paywall. Paying subscribers receive more content, and I feel like I delivered a lot of quality content on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week for paying subscribers. It’s $90 per year for individuals and $350 per year for institutions. Please subscribe to support this newsletter and receive additional content.

Reading List

InSight Crime - 6 Illegal Economies Threatening Latin America's Ecosystems

Americas Quarterly - Latin America's Deadliest Threat Is Made in the U.S.

NYT - Mexico Is Becoming a Beacon - Good article, but also a case study in how Sheinbaum can gloss over Mexico’s problems in the current moment thanks to the US distraction.

The Watch - Spy central: Russian influence in Mexico

WSJ - ‘I’m Not a Criminal’: The Mexican Politician Suspected of Being in Bed With Cartels

NYT - Forced Labor Taints Brazilian Coffee, Say Complaints to U.S. Authorities

Bloomberg - Brazil’s Lula Says He Doesn’t Want to Choose Between China and US in Trade Fight

FT - China and Brics will ‘defend’ global order as Trump withdraws, Brazil says

NYT - Venezuelan Immigrant Deported by Trump Administration Has Disappeared - Nobody detained by US law enforcement should ever “disappear.” It’s a horrifying case.

Fox News - Venezuelan government uses Tren de Aragua as proxies to undermine US public safety, FBI assessment finds - The FBI view is not the consensus view among the intelligence community

Americas Quarterly - Maduro’s Grand Strategy Sows Opposition Disarray – Again

Caracas Chronicles - What If It’s Venezuelan Society That Collapses—Not the Regime?

Bloomberg - Colombian Bonds Lag Peers as Investors Lose Faith in Fiscal Rule - Also see yesterday’s newsletter where I commented on Petro’s labor reform proposal and the drug addiction allegations.

Connectas - Niños perdidos en la guerra interna

Economist - Bolivia’s wild politics are dragging it into the abyss

Bloomberg - In Pope Francis and Mario Vargas Llosa, Latin America Lost Two Global Giants

Washington Post - Why Pope Francis couldn’t reverse Catholicism’s decline across Latin America

Bloomberg - From Meat to Grains, Trade War Is Boon to Brazil, Argentina

Americas Quarterly - The President Who Almost Wasn't

El Faro - La maquinaria anti Trump se enfrenta a Bukele en Estados Unidos

Guardian - Trump has found in El Salvador a model for the repressive state he wants to build – and he’s just getting started

Sulaco Times - Beyond China: The Corporate Struggle for Panama's Ports

Guardian - Haiti nearing ‘point of no return’ amid gang violence, UN representative warns

BBC - Dominican Republic detains pregnant Haitian women in hospital swoop

Bloomberg Linea - América Latina sufre por caída del petróleo ante mayor presión fiscal y menor inversión