Good morning. Happy Nochebuena Eve.

Here are the three newsletters we published this week.

• Monday - Mexico - Violence in tourist areas 

• Tuesday - Chile - Boric elected

• Wednesday - Politics and Polls (Nicaragua and Peru)

There has been a big spike (>30% increase) in readership in December in terms of newsletter opens, but almost no change in the numbers of subscribers. Thanks to everyone who has been forwarding the newsletter and sharing it on social media. As you do so, please encourage the people to subscribe, at least to the free list, by entering their name on the newsletter’s web site.

I’m always interested in feedback. Feel free to hit the reply button on this or any newsletter and let me know what you think about the content and format.

Reading List

Bloomberg - Latin America's Heavy Debt Load Could Spark More Unrest in 2022

Agence France Presse - 'Fed up' Latin American voters demand change

ScotiaBank - Latam Macro Update (December 2021): What’s Ahead in 2022

Americas Quarterly - With Schools Reopening, Latin America Surveys the Damage

InSight Crime - GameChangers 2021: COVID Chaos, Corruption, Deforestation and Synthetic Drugs

International Crisis Group  - Can the U.S. Address Migration’s “Root Causes” in Central America? (Podcast)

Reuters - "I'm back" says Lula, vowing a broad alliance ahead of Brazil election

Financial Times - Brazil: Bolsonaro embraces the politics he once vowed to abolish

Financial Times - Anti-graft judge who took on Brazilian elite builds presidential bid

Washington Post - How did Bolsonaro win Time magazine’s Person of the Year reader poll? Thank Telegram.

Los Angeles Times - From soured friendships to Bannon advising the president, Brazil looks a lot like the Trump-era U.S.

Guardian - Bolsonaro threatens to identify officials who approved Covid jabs for children

Globo - Desmatamento em áreas que deveriam ser protegidas aumentou 79% em 3 anos de gestão Bolsonaro, diz levantamento

Vice - How Dangerous Is Tulum for Tourists Right Now?

Al Jazeera - Mexico’s lithium and the global race to lock in ‘white gold’

Washington Post - Mexico’s wheat fields help feed the world. They’re also releasing a dangerous greenhouse gas.

New York Times - A Plan Forms in Mexico: Help Americans Get Abortions

Los Angeles Times - Mexico sees seizures of meth and fentanyl soar since 2019

National Public Radio (NPR) - Mexican cartels are turning to meth and fentanyl production

InSight Crime - Failed Kingpin Strategy at Heart of New US-Mexico Security Plans

Animal Político - Guardia Nacional reserva información sobre muerte de migrante cubano por disparos de agentes

Washington Post - Opinion: How Biden can jump-start his stagnant Venezuela policy

CNN - UK Supreme Court backs Venezuela's Guaidó, bringing him closer to $1bn in gold reserves

InSight Crime - A Seat at the Table: What New Governors in Venezuela Mean for Organized Crime

CSIS - Venezuela: A Time for Opposition Reflection and Renovation

CSIS - A Closer Look at Colombia’s Illegal, Artisanal, and Small-Scale Mining

Foreign Policy - Meet the Indigenous Leaders Reshaping Ecuador’s Politics

World Politics Review - Peru’s Amazon Rainforest Needs Protecting, Too

Economist - Chile’s new president promises to bury neoliberalism

Americas Quarterly - What I Know About Gabriel Boric 

Agence France Presse - Venezuela or Europe: What kind of leftist is Chile's new president?

Americas Quarterly - In Argentina, Some See a Détente Among Leaders

Guardian - Follow the green leader: why everyone from Prince William to Jeff Bezos is looking to Costa Rica

CNN - Jailed for the killing of Haiti's president, five suspected assassins say they're innocent

Wall Street Journal - Haitians Hoping to Reach U.S. Stranded in Chile, Across Americas

Miami Herald - U.S. is recruiting France, Canada in plan to shore up security in Haiti

Miami Herald - It’s time for U.N. peacekeepers to return to Haiti — and to get it right this time | Editorial

New York Times - As U.S. Navigates Crisis in Haiti, a Bloody History Looms Large

CNN - As Cuba reopens to the world, many of its own look to leave

The Atlantic - Why Authoritarian Regimes Bother With Elections

TechCrunch - Putin and Xi’s evolving disinformation playbooks pose new threats

New York Times - Buying Influence: How China Manipulates Facebook and Twitter

Los Angeles Times - The young are at the forefront of a perilous global migration surge

Thanks for reading

Happy Holidays!