Colombia’s Runoff Is 11 Days Away｜What De la Espriella and Cepeda Pose
In the May 31 first round, the right-wing De la Espriella took 43.7% and the left-wing Cepeda 40.9%. The 2.8-point gap sets up a June 21 runoff.
26,000 Votes Decide Peru’s Next Four Years｜Sánchez Leads at 96% Counted
With 96% counted, Sánchez leads Fujimori by about 26,000 votes in Peru’s runoff. As of Friday morning the result was not yet final, with reversal still mathematically possible. Reading a vote map split north and south.
From Fuel Crisis to Calls for Resignation｜40-Plus Days of Blockades Shake Bolivia
Protests that began in early May in Bolivia have passed six weeks, and wage demands have shifted into calls for the president to step down. Blockades spread to six of nine departments and congress authorized the military.
Keiko a Third Time and a Leftist Challenger｜What Peru’s Runoff Asks
On June 7, Peru held its presidential runoff. Conservative Keiko Fujimori and leftist Roberto Sánchez ran neck and neck as the count continued. Latin America’s rightward turn, the three-generation Fujimori political lineage, and a polarization in which one voter in five signaled abstention.
Colombia's 2026 Election: Right-Winger De la Espriella Leads into a June 21 Runoff
In the May 31 first round, outsider lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella led with 43.7%, ahead of President Petro's chosen successor Iván Cepeda (40.9%). The two head to a June 21 runoff. What the upset means for health and social-protection reform.
Chile Turns to Its Most Right-Wing Government: Kast and the 'Border Shield'
In December 2025 right-winger José Antonio Kast won the runoff with 58% and took office in March 2026. Chile's most right-wing government since the dictatorship runs on a hard line on immigration and security. What the rightward turn means for social policy.
Banxico Reaches the End of Its Easing Cycle｜A Final Cut to 6.50%
On May 7 Mexico’s central bank (Banxico) cut its policy rate by 0.25 point to 6.50%, the lowest since April 2022. A tight 3-to-2 board vote and a signal that the easing cycle begun in March 2024 has effectively ended.
Trump’s “25%”｜The Logic of the Tariff That Hit Brazil
On June 2, the Trump administration moved to impose a new 25% tariff on Brazilian goods. The stated grounds are “unfair trade practices,” but political anger over the prosecution of former president Bolsonaro hangs over it. The logic where economics meets politics — and the ambivalence of Brazil’s “China exit.”
Argentina's Economy in 2026: Milei's Inflation Win and Its Underside
Inflation has fallen to 31%, the lowest since 2018, and the budget is in surplus for the first time in 14 years. But some warn the drop in poverty is largely a statistical effect. How austerity lands on social protection.
Bolivia's Economic Crisis: Dollar Shortage, Fuel and Protests
Bolivia faces what's called its worst economic crisis in 40 years. Reserves have collapsed from $15.1bn in 2014 to about $3.1bn; a dollar shortage and fuel crisis hit daily life. Ministers have resigned amid protests demanding President Paz step down. How resource dependence unravels.
Twenty Dead on a Palm Plantation｜A Peasant Massacre in Colón, Honduras
On May 21, at least 20 African palm plantation workers were shot dead in Colón, northern Honduras. The attackers wore police uniforms, and behind it lies a long-running land dispute.
Brazil’s Largest Gangs Labeled Terrorists｜What the U.S. Move Asks
On June 5, the U.S. State Department designated Brazil’s two largest criminal organizations, the PCC and Comando Vermelho, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. It is the first time Brazilian groups appear on the list. The designation’s immediate effects, the Lula government’s pushback, corporate compliance risk, and whether a terror label actually curbs crime on the ground.
Ecuador's Security Crisis in 2026: a Record Homicide Rate and Noboa's 'War'
Ecuador ended 2025 with a record homicide rate of 51 per 100,000 — the worst in Latin America for a third straight year. President Noboa is responding with states of emergency, curfews and joint operations with the US. A look at the hard-line approach.
Haiti's Fight Against the Gangs: Kenya Withdraws, a New 'Suppression Force' Arrives
More than 11,000 people were killed in gang violence in Haiti between early 2024 and the end of 2025. The Kenya-led security mission withdrew in March 2026, and a new UN-backed Gang Suppression Force takes over. State collapse and the limits of foreign intervention.
Shield of the Americas｜An Anti-Cartel Bloc That Split the Map
On March 7, President Trump gathered leaders from 17 Latin American and Caribbean states to launch the “Shield of the Americas” anti-cartel alliance. Brazil, Mexico and Colombia stayed away.
The Battle for Panama’s Ports｜China Detains 70-Plus Panama-Flagged Ships
Panama’s top court voided Hong Kong-linked CK Hutchison’s port concessions as unconstitutional. China retaliated by detaining Panama-flagged ships, about 70 in March alone. A look at the U.S.-China contest in miniature.
A Single Cable Lays Bare Geopolitics｜China’s Undersea Line Shakes Chile
In March, a single undersea cable took over Chile’s political transition. Over a planned Hong Kong–Valparaíso fiber line by a Chinese state firm, the U.S. revoked Chilean officials’ visas and the outgoing-incoming presidents’ handover talk collapsed in just 22 minutes. A look at how an export-dependent small state is forced to choose “China or the U.S.”
Trump and Latin America in 2026: Tariffs, Venezuela, the Panama Canal
Tariffs, the capture of Venezuela's Maduro, and the threat to 'take back' the Panama Canal — in 2026 the Trump administration's Latin America policy is shaking the region. A look at power-first diplomacy.
Guyana v. Venezuela: ICJ Hearings over Essequibo
Essequibo — roughly two-thirds of oil-rich Guyana's landmass — is at the heart of a territorial dispute with Venezuela now before the International Court of Justice. In May 2026 the court held oral hearings; Guyana argued the 1899 boundary remains valid. Oil, sovereignty and international law collide.
75 Million Dollars for an Unpaved Road Across the Amazon｜The Contradiction in the BR-319 Plan
On May 27 Brazil announced it would invest 75 million dollars to upgrade BR-319, the highway that cuts across the Amazon. It unveiled a conservation plan too, but environmental groups are skeptical. A look at Brazil’s contradiction ahead of COP30.
Ecuador’s Mining-Law Reform｜The Gamble of “Simplifying” Environmental Licensing
On February 26, Ecuador’s National Assembly passed a law to strengthen the mining sector by a narrow 77–70 vote. It replaces environmental licensing with a “simplified authorization,” drawing protest from environmental and Indigenous groups. Against the backdrop of an IMF arrangement, a look at where foreign-investment drive collides with environmental protection.
COP30 and the Amazon's Aftermath: Leaders Spoke, Congress Loosened the Guardrails
In November 2025, the first climate summit held in the Amazon, COP30, closed with no roadmap to end deforestation and no fossil-fuel phaseout in the final text. Days later, Brazil's Congress weakened Amazon protections. The gap between ideals and reality.
The Lithium Triangle in 2026: the Vein of Decarbonization and Its Cost
The lithium triangle of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile is the prize in a global scramble for the mineral of the decarbonization age. In Chile, Codelco and SQM launched a joint venture to 2060, even as fractures appear among Indigenous communities around the salt flats. Resources, environment and rights collide.
Beyond a Collapsed Health System｜Venezuela’s Political Transition and the Question of Health
After a US operation detained Maduro and placed Venezuela under outside rule, The Lancet asks whether a forced political transition can rebuild a collapsed health system.
When Outside Funding Disappears｜The Question USAID’s Retreat Poses to Latin American Public-Health Research
In 2025 USAID terminated more than 5,300 grants and contracts, with some 27 billion dollars in funding lost. Drawing on a Lancet commentary, a look at the structural dependence of Latin American public-health research and the question it now faces.
Eight Million Who Need Care｜PAHO on Latin America’s Care Gap
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) released policy briefs on long-term care in Latin America and the Caribbean. About 14.4% of people over 65 — some 8 million — need daily support, and women provide roughly 70% of it unpaid. A look at a family-dependent care model reaching its structural limits.
How National Care Systems Were Born: The CEPAL–Uruguay–Institutions Lineage
Latin America's national care systems weren't invented by anyone. Feminist economics made unpaid care visible, CEPAL grew it into a regional agenda, Uruguay legislated it first, and the IDB and PAHO drove it — a two-decade lineage.
Two Directions for Disability Pensions in Latin America: Argentina's Rollback vs. Mexico's Rights Guarantee
In 2026, income support for people with disabilities in Latin America is moving in opposite directions: Argentina is tightening its non-contributory disability pension, while Mexico is strengthening rights guarantees. A look from a disability-policy perspective.
Colombia's Health System on the Brink: the EPS Crisis and a June 20 Deadline
Colombia's health system is buckling: 15 of the 28 EPS insurers are effectively insolvent, covering over 30 million people, and a reform bill expires on June 20. What it means for people with disabilities who depend on the system for ongoing rehab and assistive devices.
What Is a "National Care System"? Latin America's Redesign of Care
Across Latin America, the work of caring for children, older people and people with disabilities is being lifted from families — mostly women, unpaid — into state-backed care systems. A look at CEPAL's "caring society" paradigm and what it means.
Making Care the State's Job: From Uruguay, Chile, and Bogotá
Making care a job of the state takes more than one shape: national laws in Uruguay and Chile, and a web of neighborhood care hubs in Bogotá. A look at three Latin American frontrunners.
Dengue in the Americas: What Remains After a Record Outbreak
The Americas recorded a record ~13 million dengue cases in 2024, and 4.4 million-plus cases with 2,207 deaths in 2025. Cases fell sharply in 2026, but all four serotypes circulate and climate change widens the mosquito's range. The wave, and health-system preparedness, seen through a disability-policy lens.
From a Stadium Lost to Gangs｜Haiti Returns to the World Cup After 52 Years
Haiti will play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which opens June 11, for the first time since 1974. The team played every qualifier abroad, its home stadium still controlled by armed gangs.
Brazil’s June Belongs to São João｜3.5 Million in Campina Grande
June in Brazil means the Festas Juninas. Campina Grande’s “world’s largest São João” opens June 5 and runs 33 days. A look at 3.52 million visitors, the sound of forró, and a 2026 June that overlaps with the World Cup.
Mexico for the Third Time｜The 2026 World Cup and the Distance Between Festival and Reality
The 2026 FIFA World Cup opens on June 11 in Mexico City. Mexico becomes the first country ever to host three times (1970, 1986, 2026). The opening-ceremony lineup, what a “third time” means, and the gap between festival mode and everyday city life — read against Latin America today.
The Night Bad Bunny Painted the Super Bowl in Spanish
In February 2026, Puerto Rico's Bad Bunny headlined the Super Bowl halftime show — the first Latino solo headliner, an almost entirely Spanish-language set, 128.2 million viewers. Why those 15 minutes were a cultural event, seen from someone learning Spanish.
Lima's Maido, the World's Best: Where Japan and Peru Meet
Maido, a Nikkei restaurant in Lima, Peru, was named the World's Best Restaurant 2025. Nikkei cuisine — Japanese technique meeting Peruvian ingredients — is a food culture born of migration. The meaning of this dish that connects Japan and Latin America.