Friday Reading List - 26 January 2024
Links, events, and another AI logo attempt
Good morning and happy Friday!
This week’s newsletter discussed Venezuela’s lack of rules for the upcoming election.
This week’s World Politics Review column reviewed the corruption allegations surrounding AMLO’s family and political allies. Also be sure to read Carlos Loret’s most recent updates (published after my column) here and here.
Here is this week’s reading list and upcoming events.
Reading List
Inter-American Dialogue - “New Infrastructure”: Emerging Trends in Chinese Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean
Reuters - Rampant extortion reveals 'corrosive' hole in Mexico security strategy
AP - Mexico demands investigation into US military-grade weapons being used by drug cartels
Bloomberg - Investment Bankers Are Starting to See Mexico as a Money Spinner
AP - 16 million people live in neighborhoods Brazil calls 'subnormal.' It's finally changing the name
Foreign Policy - Brazil's Lula Unveils New Industrial Policy
Foreign Policy - The White House’s Big Gamble on Venezuela
AP - GOP pressures Biden to release evidence against Maduro ally pardoned as part of prisoner swap
Economist - Colombia’s first avowedly left-wing president is mired in scandal
Economist - Can Ecuador free itself from the grasp of the drug lords?
NYT - Nationwide Union Strike Tests Milei’s Policies for Argentina
Bloomberg - Argentina’s La Rioja Province Plans Own Quasi-Currency, Defying Milei Austerity
Project Syndicate - America Just Did the Right Thing in Latin America (Guatemala)
Guardian - ‘He had a machete in his cheek’: how Guatemala’s hydropower dream turned deadly
El Faro - Nearly One Million Salvadorans on the Verge of Starvation
El Faro - Gobierno del candidato y presidente Nayib Bukele regala comida donada por China
El Salvador Perspectives - 2024 national elections in El Salvador underway
Reuters - Once tranquil Costa Rica eyes Salvadoran-inspired response to crime surge
Americas Quarterly - Can Guyana Beat the Resource Curse?
Americas Quarterly - Can the Caribbean Farm its Way Out of Reliance on Food Imports?
CSIS - 2023: A Year of Mexican Oil to Cuba
Reuters - Haiti's gang wars death toll doubles to nearly 5,000 in a year -UN
Bloomberg - Red Sea Maps Show Houthi Attacks Hitting Global Economy
Economist - Could AI transform life in developing countries?
Economist - Can scientists save your morning cup of coffee?
Upcoming Events
29 January, CSIS - El Salvador’s 2024 Elections: Voting in a One-Party State?
31 January, InSight Crime - Organized Crime in Venezuela: Challenges and Perspectives for 2024
19 February, Wilson Center - A Brazilian Perspective on the G20: Debriefing the First Ministerial Meeting
AI Logo of the Week
I had Dall-E produce another logo for today’s newsletter. The Venezuela flag at the center is probably due to the column on Venezuela. And The skull at the top? I’m not sure, but I love it. It matches the black pottery skull from Oaxaca, Mexico that I have sitting on the shelf behind me as I type this. Wait…. maybe this AI is a little too good.
Bonus photo
Because now I know someone will ask, here is the black pottery skull next to a peacock alebrije.
Thanks for reading
We went from a snow day last Friday to 70 degrees today. Have a good weekend!