The Americas Quarterly Podcast

Donald Trump’s second presidency will likely bring an even stronger focus on Latin America than his first term did. Trump talked often about Latin America in the campaign, mainly through the lens of immigration and trade. In this episode we explore the possible consequences of his administration for the region. What could happen to Mexico-U.S. relations, as the two countries prepare to review the USMCA trade deal? How is Trump likely to act regarding Venezuela? What does his election mean for the right in the region? And how will the U.S. address China's growing presence in the region? Mauricio Cárdenas is a former finance minister of Colombia and a professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.  

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has an approval rating of about 50%. Unemployment in the country is at its lowest level in a decade and the economy is expected to grow about 3% this year, beating forecasts from just a few months ago. But despite all that, in recent mayoral elections across the country, Lula's Workers’ Party (PT) finished ninth in the number of mayors elected. The big winners were politicians from the centrão, the so-called big center, a coalition of parties that range on the ideological spectrum from the center to the center right and right. These are also the parties that wield control in Brazil’s Congress. In this episode, an analysis of what these results suggest about Brazilian politics today, why the economy is seeing improvement and what is impacting growth potential. Our guest is Christopher Garman, managing director for the Americas, Eurasia Group. 

Latin America is the world's breadbasket. The region is now the source of more than 60% of the world’s soy, almost half its corn and more than a quarter of its beef. At the same time, about 28% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean don’t have enough food for themselves. On today’s podcast, we’ll explore Latin America’s so-called “food paradox.” Why is it that as the region produces and exports more food than ever, it’s also having trouble feeding its own people?  Our guest is Brandee Mchale, Head of Community Investing and Development at Citi and President of the Citi Foundation. She discusses what is causing this paradox and how the private sector is implicated in solving it. 

Although Democrats still lead among Latinos, Republicans have grown their share of support among that community in the last two elections. Looking ahead to the upcoming contest between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, we discuss some of the reasons for that shift, the long and little-known history of the Latino population in the United States and how economic and social issues shapes their political views. Marie Arana, author of LatinoLand: A Portrait of America's Largest and Least Understood Minority, argues that Democrats and politicians of all stripes are just beginning to understand them.

Claudia Sheinbaum will take office as Mexico's new president next week, on October 1, 2024. Often described as a technocrat, she also supports some of current President AMLO's more controversial policies, such as the judicial reform that was just approved. In this episode Vanessa Rubio, a professor at the London School of Economics and a former senator and deputy minister, shares what she expects from Sheinbaum's government. Rubio argues her administration will take shape as a new blend—one that could be deemed “techno-populist.”

Javier Milei has so far succeeded in making drastic changes to Argentina's economic policies. In this episode we evaluate what has worked and what hasn't, and who have been the winners and losers. Milei's deep spending cuts have produced in the first 5 months of 2024 a primary fiscal surplus of 1.1% of GDP and inflation is down to about 4% a month. Poverty however continues to rise and the IMF projects an economic contraction of 3,5% for 2024. What do these results amount to in terms of real improvement to the economy? What challenges remain? And what are the most likely political and economic outcomes of Milei's policies? Our guest is Eduardo Levy Yeyati, a former chief economist of the Central Bank of Argentina, and currently a professor at the School of Government at Torcuato di Tella University in Buenos Aires. He also discusses the need for a revival of centrist politics in Latin America.

The entry of Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential race has completely transformed the election. In this episode we ask what we can expect from her Latin America policy were she to win in November. How do leaders in the region perceive her? What are her views on migration? What can we learn from her record as Vice-President, tasked with the challenging issue of addressing the factors that make people from Central America migrate to the U.S.? What is her stance on trade, and how might she handle the 2026 review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)? Our guest is Roberta S. Jacobson, a former State Department official. 

Since the election on July 28 Nicolás Maduro has unleashed a wave of repression not seen in Venezuela before. The question on everyone's mind is, what now? Will Venezuela move further down the path of a dictatorship, or is there some chance of a negotiated solution that might lead to a democratic transition? In this episode, Roberto Patiño, a civil society leader and a member of one of the opposition parties, discusses the opposition's strategies, evaluates the positions taken by Brazil, Colombia, the U.S. and Mexico and describes what he sees as cracks in the Maduro regime.

Ecuador’s young president Daniel Noboa is engaged in a tough battle with organized crime groups that paralyzed the country earlier this year. It’s been six months since that dramatic series of events. In this episode we take stock of what has happened since. How successfully has the government dealt with the security crisis? How valid are comparisons between Ecuador’s crackdown and that of Nayib Bukele in El Salvador? What has happened to Noboa’s popularity after it spiked following those attacks in January? And is Noboa considered the favorite to be reelected in Ecuador’s next presidential election, scheduled for February 2025? Or guest is Sebastian Hurtado, a political risk consultant based in Quito. 

Gustavo Petro is halfway through his presidential term in Colombia. The first leftist president in the country's modern history faced suspicion from the political and economic establishment from day 1. He’s used sweeping rhetoric to describe his plans for an economic overhaul, as well as his security initatives But in practice, Petro has struggled to translate his speeches into reality. In this episode we do a broad overview of Petro’s government so far, trying to separate rhetoric from reality, understand areas where his government has been successful and identify challenges and risks in his remaining two years in office. Our guest is Laura Lizarazo, Senior Analyst for the Andean region in Control Risks' Global Risk Analysis.