Shocks & Aftershocks: Gentrification, Quakes & Tariff Tiffs, El Cafecito del 10/07
Latin America’s unbreakable spirit — sin filtro.
Welcome to El Cafecito — your weekly brew of Latin America, served strong and sin filtro.
This week we’ve got protesters flooding CDMX streets against gentrification (think banners and blocked avenues demanding housing justice), while Guatemala is still digging out from deadly quakes that rocked adobe homes and left families sleeping under the stars. On the geopolitics front, Trump’s surprise tariffs on Brazilian exports, BRICS’ grand climate-fund unveiling (cash still missing), and a landmark court decision declaring a stable climate a human right have everyone from coffee traders to policymakers on edge. Stick around for our rapid-fire country round-up—heads up, there’s a lot brewing across the hemisphere. ¡Salud!
☕️ Grab your cafecito, we’re diving in.
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🏙️ Mexico City’s Gentrification Uproar
Last week, thousands marched in CDMX from Roma to Polanco, banners aloft, decrying “turismo depredador” and “barrios para todos, no para turistas”. Students, shopkeepers and even exasperated expats joined forces, chanting against luxury condos that shove out locals. From El País’s vivid dispatch to The New York Times’s on-the-ground dispatches—in both English and Español—reporters noted the unusual U.S. angle: protesters demanding the administration curb digital-nomad visas feeding the boom. Even AP News snapped photos of crowds blocking Avenida Reforma, drumming up the politics of place over profit.
🏘️ What’s Driving Prices in Roma & Condesa?
Beyond the Instagram cafés and pet-walking expats, BBC correspondent Daniel Pardo explains that Roma and Condesa’s transformation—once middle-class enclaves, now tourist magnets—has a domino effect on neighbouring barrios. With a chronic housing deficit (some 800,000 units short nationwide), every upscale bar and short-term rental pushes values up, even if inflows of digital nomads merely accelerate an existing trend. As sociologist Máximo Jaramillo notes, gentrification “epidemiologically” resets price benchmarks citywide.
⚖️ Laws in Limbo: Airbnb vs. the Courts
As demonstrators took to the streets, lawmakers quietly debated a city ordinance to cap short-term rentals. The bill—hailed by activists as the “anti-Airbnb law”—has been stuck in the courts longer than a tourist overstays their visa. Meanwhile, President Claudia Sheinbaum publicly admitted she’d underestimated the crunch on affordable housing, vowing tweaks that still leave landlords sharpening their pencils. The legal logjam leaves locals wondering if policy ever catches up with practice.
🤯 Beyond Xenophobia: Violence, Virtue & Vacation Rentals
Local expat
👉 https://bowtiedpassport.io/p/mexico-city-antigentrification-protest
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/world/americas/mexico-city-protests-rent-prices-tourists.html
But in our most recent piece we’ve argued his uproar isn’t anti-foreigner bias—it’s rage against a system that prioritises profit over people. As one El País opinion piece cracks, “No es la gentrificación ni la xenofobia; es la violencia de un mercado sin frenos”
📚 What Really Fuels Latin America’s Gentrification
If you’re craving a deeper take on the forces driving urban gentrification and displacement in the region—and what research tells us about the real-world effectiveness of Airbnb bans—check out my piece from yesterday. It unpacks the economic, political and social engines behind the trend, offering a foundation for understanding why so many Latin American cities are at this boiling point.
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🌎 Echoes Across the Continent —and beyond
This isn’t just a CDMX drama. From California’s coastal towns to Valparaíso’s cerros, from Málaga to Barcelona, progressive cities wrestle with the same question: how do you invite investment without kicking out the invited?
Chilean activists see Mexico’s spat as a cautionary tale, a reminder that “permisos y vecinos” must balance—or face another wave of placard-wielding marchers.
🌍 Guatemala Quakes: Tragedy, Response & Resilience
Tuesday afternoon, Guatemala got a rude wake-up call as more than 150 tremors rattled Sacatepéquez, Escuintla and the Guatemala City region, with magnitudes peaking at 5.7 Mw near San Vicente Pacaya. The seismic cocktail—including aftershocks down to 3.0—unleashed landslides that sent boulders hurtling off slopes: two men (ages 53 and 20) were fatally crushed when a rock smashed onto their vehicle in Escuintla.
By Wednesday, the death toll had climbed to four—including a woman (and her dog) pulled from rubble south of Guatemala City, and a 13-year-old boy in Sacatepéquez—as crumbled walls and blocked highways forced emergency evacuations and makeshift camps under the stars. Rescue teams raced to clear landslides and tend to the wounded, all while worried locals scanned every ridge for the next jolt.
Homes built of brittle adobe creaked under the quakes, sending many families to sleep outdoors with mattresses in tow. The government slapped an orange alert on Guatemala—suspending classes on Wednesday in public schools and ordering offices to shift to telework where possible. Even President Bernardo Arévalo swapped his suit for rubber boots, touring Santa María de Jesús to extend condolences, tweet safety tips (“report any damage to 119!”), and gauge the damage firsthand.
🧭 Politics and Geopolitics
🤝 Politics & Power Plays: Trump’s Tariff Tempest
Yesterday, Trump dropped a 50% tariff bomb on all Brazilian goods—ostensibly to punish Lula over Bolsonaro’s trial, but really another “America First” flex. Expect sticker shock on your café latte: Brazil ships a third of U.S. coffee.
👉 https://www.ft.com/content/67de783b-a721-406f-91a0-2d13d869980c
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/world/americas/trump-tariffs-global-trade-economy.html
EU capitals, Tokyo and Canberra shot off a joint plea to D.C., begging for “rules-based” trade and warning that sudden levies threaten the post–WWII system. Protectionism, anyone?
👉 https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-eu-trading-partners-letter-958bafd5f28d600eb0dd55fa8e942f64
Lula vowed to hit back but must tiptoe—an all-out trade war could kneecap Brazil’s fragile rebound. Still, the firebrand tone is a marked departure from restraint. And markets quivered: arabica futures spiked 3.5%, the real slid, São Paulo stocks dipped. Who knew your morning brew came with a side of geopolitics?
🤝 BRICS Summit: Expansion Over Execution
Brazil pitched BRICS as a US$15 billion green bank—yet with Xi and Putin no-shows, the “how” on climate cash remains missing in action. Swollen membership (hello, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Iran & co.) risks turning the bloc into a photo-op club without real teeth.
🔍 “Multilateralismo Sin Coherencia”
Critics slammed the BRICS summit as grandstanding—big talk on reform, zero follow-through—leaving BRICS far from a genuine G7 challenger.
👉 https://elpais.com/opinion/2025-07-09/brics-multilateralismo-sin-coherencia.html
👉 https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/07/04/brics-leaders-summit-brazil-rio-economics-climate-lula/
🤝 Diversifying the Playing Field
Mexico and Brazil are quietly crafting a new trade axis to hedge against being perpetual “America First” or “China First” sidekicks. In Rio, Lula and Sheinbaum mused over beef, batteries and bio-similars—aiming to stitch closer supply chains and swap tech for soy—while downplaying any threat to USMCA. It’s a middle-power pivot that could redefine South‐South commerce…if they ever nail down the fine print.
🔄 Diplomatic Déjà Vu in Caracas
In a twist worthy of a telenovela, two rival Trump emissaries—Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Richard Grenell—each pitched conflicting prisoner-swap deals to Nicolás Maduro’s government, leaving Venezuelan officials scratching their heads and four U.S. detainees still behind bars. Cue the diplomatic facepalm.
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/08/world/americas/trump-venezuelan-migrants-us-prisoner-swap.html The Daily Beast
🏦 No One’s Piñata: Mexico’s Banking Showdown
The U.S. Fentanyl Eradication and Narcotics Deterrence (FEND) Act just blacklisted CIBanco, Intercam and Vector over alleged fentanyl money-laundering. Sheinbaum balked—“Respect Mexico!”—as regulators scrambled to keep the financial ship afloat. Even top-tier banks aren’t safe in today’s enforcement blitz.
👉 https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/u-s-treasury-sanctions-signal-heightened-scrutiny-over-mexican-financial-sector/ Americas Quarterly
🌐 Regional Echoes: Five LatAm Giants Accused of “Profiting from Genocide”
In a bombshell report to the UN Human Rights Council, special rapporteur Francesca Albanese names five major firms operating out of Latin America and Spain—Mexico’s Orbia, Brazil’s Petrobras, Spain’s CAF, plus coal exporters Drummond and Glencore—for “benefiting from genocide” in Gaza by supplying water infrastructure, fuel, transport links and coal to Israel’s military campaign. Despite President Petro’s 2024 decree to halt coal exports—apparently skirted via special authorisations—and Lula’s fiery denunciations of Gaza’s “genocide,” these corporate heavyweights either deny wrongdoing or have gone radio-silence on requests for comment. The dossier warns that sleek trams and drip-irrigation tech can be as complicit in occupation as tanks and bulldozers—proving that, in today’s conflict economy, boardrooms can be front-line battlefields.
🗳️ “Right Turns & Red Flags”: Latin America’s Electoral Season
Forget the leftist wave—it’s the conservatives’ comeback tour. Rising crime, inflation and a dash of nostalgia for “strongman” solutions have pushed voters from Santiago to San José to flirt with right-wing candidates promising law-and-order and balanced budgets. As Ernesto Samper Pizano, President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998 warns in The Guardian, Latin America may be swapping Chávez-style populism for Bolsonaro-style blowback—each ballot box a battleground over security vs. solidarity.
🤝 “Follow the Money”: China’s Quiet Campaign
While campaign rallies blast mariachi and Merengue, Beijing’s deep pockets are the unseen star of the show. From mega-infra projects in Argentina to digital-yuan pilots in Ecuador, Chinese investments have become election-season trump cards—each bridge, port or fibre-optic cable a talking point on national sovereignty and debt diplomacy. As Razon Pública argues, every yuan spent abroad feeds into domestic campaign narratives about who can deliver growth without “selling out” to Western interests.
🌱 Development & Environment
⚖️ Climate as a Human Right
In a landmark ruling, the Inter-American Court declared that states must protect citizens’ right to a stable climate—binding governments to slash emissions and shield communities from environmental harm. Human rights and green policy just got officially married.
📚 Favela Libraries & Urban Literacy
Rio’s community libraries are sparking a reading revolution in favelas—turning shipping containers into book hubs, training local “bibliotecarios” and hosting storytelling marathons. Education activists hope pages will outlast bulletins.
⛽ Oil Barons of Bogotá
Colombia’s richest conglomerates still cash in on crude, gas and power, raking in profits even as climate skeptics howl from the Andes. Fossil fuel dividends remain the carrot—and stick—that shape policy in Bogotá boardrooms.
🌳 Amazon Justice, Expanded
A new atlas maps social and climate injustices across Brazil’s Amazon—highlighting land grabs, indigenous resistance and forest guardians. It’s part data viz, part call to arms for equitable conservation.
👩🔧 Women as Climate Catalysts
Latin America’s women are frontline innovators—from mangrove reforestation to solar co-ops. A policy brief urges governments to back female-led climate solutions as a linchpin for resilience.
🦠 Health Meets Human Rights
UN-AIDS flags a chilling trend: criminalisation of LGBTQ+ HIV groups undercuts both health and human rights, jeopardising USAID funding for prevention programs. Stigma is now policy’s Achilles’ heel.
🌿 Urban Cocaine’s Green Facade
Coca leaf culture is seeping into city streets—from boutique cafes to artisanal snacks—distorting ancestral practices into a trendy commodity. Urban demand may signal a cultural comeback…or another twist in the coca supply chain’s tale.
🛂 Migration, Misery & Manoeuvres
U.S. lawmakers are still haggling over Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” which melds border militarisation with aid slashes—yet crossings keep climbing. The NYT reports a steady uptick in apprehensions at crossings, even as Washington touts tougher penalties and “safe third country” deals.
👉 https://americasquarterly.org/article/what-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-means-for-the-americas/
👉https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/02/us/politics/border-crossings-trump.html
In a race against time, thousands of U.S.-born Haitian kids face loss of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) —so frantic parents are scrambling for passports to prove citizenship. The Guardian lays bare this bureaucratic sprint: interviews, long lines, and the ever-ticking clock.
Meanwhile, the U.S. administration quietly slapped entry bans on Hondurans and Nicaraguans under a new “public-health” rationale, sparking outrage in Tegucigalpa and Managua as families get turned away at asylum gates.
The U.S. Supreme Court has green-lit deportations to South Sudan—even for migrants with no local ties—marking the first time the U.S. removes people to a country they’ve never set foot in. Critics decry it as a due-process travesty.
Crossing through Sinaloa has become the “cursed normal”: migrants recount kidnappings, bribes and street ambushes as routine on the journey north. El País’s dispatch finds that what once shocked is now just another hazard on the route to the U.S.
— From legislative deadlock to deadly transit corridors, migration in the Americas remains a high-stakes drama with no easy exit.
🔒 Authoritarianism
🔒 Migrant Gulag: Trump’s Outsourced Detention
Under a little‐noticed policy pivot, U.S. officials have flown hundreds of asylum seekers to El Salvador’s Izalco prison—long notorious for overcrowding and violence—leaving vulnerable migrants stuck in cells with scant legal aid and rampant disease outbreaks. Human rights groups warn this “remote detention” gambit violates due process on both sides of the border.
🚫 Shrinking Civic Space
From Mexico to Nicaragua, governments are tightening the noose on NGOs: onerous registration rules, punitive audits and draconian “foreign agent” laws that muzzle dissent. The Americas are now home to some of the world’s fastest‐closing civic spaces—activists face fines, frozen bank accounts and even criminal charges for running soup kitchens or teaching rights workshops.
🏕️ Alligator Alcatraz: Camp Conditions Exposed
At the U.S. Border Patrol’s “Alligator Alcatraz” holding site, asylum seekers report no running water for washing, only meagre sandwiches for meals, and rows of metal cages under fluorescent lights. Photos and testimonials reveal children sleeping on cold concrete floors—proof that “processing” can quickly become punishment.
🔬 Knowledge Under Siege
A new report warns Latin America’s innovation engines are grinding to a halt as academic freedom and cross‐border collaboration come under fire. From visa bans on foreign researchers to surveillance of university networks, the region risks losing its next generation of tech leaders—and with them, the solutions to its own crises.
🧨 Organised Crime: Cartels 2.0
🤝 Alliances & Supply Routes
Super-Cartel Alliance: Sinaloa + Jalisco cartel power-share pact rewrites the playbook on smuggling corridors.
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/es/2025/06/30/espanol/america-latina/cartel-sinaloa-jalisco-alianza-chapo-mayo.htmlNew Catatumbo Corridors: Fresh cross-border highways in Colombia’s Catatumbo let narcos dodge checkpoints in guerrilla-style arms and coca runs.
👉 https://www.connectas.org/con-nuevas-rutas-transfronterizas-los-narcos-se-fortalecen-en-el-catatumbo/
⚙️ Tech & Finance Hacks
Fuel Heist Frenzy: Pipeline taps become ATMs—millions of litres of Pemex gasoline siphoned, sold on street corners.
👉 https://apnews.com/article/mexico-fuel-theft-pemex-cartels-ff2d6b13985219c790f9c8cd3a0c2c34Tech-Savvy Cocaine Labs: “Narco-science” R&D in Cauca & Catatumbo uses drones, precision fertiliser and agronomists to crank out six coca harvests a year.
👉 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cq547xn91nnoDigital Recruitment: Encrypted-app influencers now hawk cartel life to teens—and launder cash—turning your smartphone into accomplice.
👉 https://www.thetimes.com/article/4e594a7b-40af-490d-81f7-cb1f4b4f7d51
👶 Recruitment & Human Toll
Child Soldiers in Ecuador: Código Vidrio finds gangs recruiting 10-year-olds for patrols, drug runs and terror messages.
👉 https://www.codigovidrio.com/code/ninos-se-vinculan-a-las-bandas-desde-los-10-anos-en-ecuador/FARC Admits Forcing Children: In JEP testimony, the FARC Secretariado acknowledges recruiting minors—opening paths for reparations.
👉 https://www.elespectador.com/colombia-20/jep-y-desaparecidos/secretariado-de-farc-reconoce-formalmente-ante-jep-reclutamiento-forzado-de-menores-en-el-conflicto-armado-noticias-hoy/Mothers on the Hunt: Colombian moms form citizen militias—roadblocks, tip-lines and DIY justice—to recover kids kidnapped by paramilitaries and cartels.
👉 https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2025-07-06/las-madres-que-formaron-una-guardia-para-buscar-a-sus-hijos-raptados-para-la-guerra-nuestro-vientre-es-el-albergue-de-los-desaparecidos.html
🔪 Violence & Impunity
“Normal” Violence in Sinaloa: Kidnappings at every checkpoint, “tortilla taxes” on vendors, murders so routine they barely register.
👉 https://elpais.com/mexico/2025-07-07/la-maldita-normalidad-en-sinaloa.htmlELN’s July 4 Offensive: Colombian guerrillas ramp up pipeline bombings, security-patrol ambushes and bank heists—urban terror by another name.
👉 https://www.pares.com.co/post/la-raz%C3%B3n-por-la-que-el-eln-est%C3%A1-desplegando-una-oleada-de-terror-este-4-de-julioArms & a Fallen Reporter: Smuggled rifles flood the Paraguay-Brazil frontier, culminating in the June assassination of a local journalist.
👉 https://elpais.com/america/2025-07-10/armas-contrabandistas-y-el-asesinato-de-un-periodista-en-la-frontera-entre-paraguay-y-brasil.html
💊 Drugs & Politics
Fentanyl’s Political Fallout: U.S. opioid demand drives cartels to smuggle precursors through Mexican labs—Washington’s hard line only buries deals deeper.
👉 https://latinoamerica21.com/es/trump-y-la-crisis-del-fentanilo/
🎭 Culture & Identity
🗣️ Spanish, Siempre Viva: María Ramírez reminds us that, just like English, Spanish never stops evolving—new slang, grammar twists and fresh voices keep la lengua alive. Unlike some English purists, Spanish speakers roll out the welcome mat for change.
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/03/spanish-english-speak-language-global-world🏛️ Masones al Desnudo: Colombia’s freemasons have yanked back their velvet curtain, installing a museum in Bogotá to showcase secret regalia, ritual parchments and the real story behind the “strange men’s club”—because heritage is best served open to all.
👉 https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2025-07-07/los-masones-colombianos-revelan-sus-tesoros-en-un-museo-es-nuestra-vitrina-para-que-nos-dejen-de-ver-como-sujetos-extranos.html🏛️ Ancient Trade Hub Unearthed
Peruvian archaeologists have revealed Peñico, a 3,500-year-old city in Barranca that once linked Pacific coastal communities with Andean highlands and Amazonian settlements. Eight years of digs uncovered 18 stone-and-adobe structures—temples, residences and administrative halls adorned with ‘pututu’ carvings—offering new clues to Caral’s successor culture. Peñico opens to visitors July 12, promising a fresh chapter in America’s oldest civilisations.🎤 Residente’s Stand: Ethics Over Encore
Puerto Rican firebrand Residente scrubbed two festival gigs in Spain after spotting their ties to KKR’s private-equity deep pockets—arguing that cash from asset managers “sells out the soul” of urban music. His beef isn’t just about profit: he wrote KKR pumps money into Israeli firms building military tech, surveillance and espionage systems, and bankrolls real-estate projects in illegal West Bank settlements. In a recent Instagram reel, he lambasted Israel’s Gaza campaign, vowed he “cannot belong to a scene that buries its head in the sand” and concluded “¡Que viva Palestina libre!”
👉 https://umusic.digital/resident-cancels-two-festivals-for-their-relationship-with-the-kkr-fund/17154/
👉 https://english.elpais.com/culture/2024-02-06/residente-the-urban-genre-fights-over-nonsense-nobody-says-anything-about-palestine-i-dont-want-to-belong-to-that-scene.html
🗺️ Amazon’s Cultural Atlas: A groundbreaking new atlas weaves social justice, indigenous land rights and cultural resilience into the Amazon’s story—proof that maps can be as much about people and memory as rivers and trees.
👉 https://elpais.com/america-futura/2025-07-07/un-nuevo-atlas-expande-el-debate-de-la-justicia-climatica-y-social-en-la-amazonia-brasilena.html📺 Digital Diasporas: From TikTok cumbias to YouTube telenovela mash-ups, Latin America’s online creators are forging hybrid identities—proof that culture now crosses borders in bytes and hashtags.
👉 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/c07dmx38kyeo.amp🌟 Breakout Duo: Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s Meteoric Rise
Argentine duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso exploded after their Tiny Desk in 2024—38 million views later, they’ve headlined Glastonbury, Coachella and Fallon, won seven Gardel awards, and earned praise from Kendrick Lamar and Ed O’Brien. Their blend of Latin jazz, ’80s R&B and hip-hop, plus inflatable-muscle visuals and sharp satire (“El Tiny Desk me jodió…pero para bien”), proves authenticity still rules.
👉 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cy9xnqg39pdo🎥 “Apocalypse in the Tropics”: A new film spotlights Brazil’s slide into right-wing fundamentalism, tracing how political polarisation turned the Amazon into a cinematic symbol of a country in crisis.
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jul/09/apocalypse-in-the-tropics-review-how-brazilian-politics-succumbed-to-rightwing-fundamentalismThe FT praises Petra Costa’s documentary for vividly tracing how Jair Bolsonaro rode evangelical fervour and social fracture to power—and then how those very divisions ultimately led to his undoing. It argues that “Apocalypse in the Tropics” lays bare the emotional and ideological tremors that shake a nation long before the political earthquakes hit the streets
👉 https://www.ft.com/content/52162b75-6ff8-48e7-a9ed-4d239b1cc9be
This concludes our round up the week’s stories shaping the hemisphere. Now onto our 📍Country Round up.
📍Country Round up
Argentina 🇦🇷
Reunion at Last: Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo have located “Nieto 140,” a man kidnapped as an infant during the dictatorship, reuniting him with his birth family after nearly five decades of searching. A chapter of justice finally closes—but the legacy remains.
👉 https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/abuelas-de-plaza-de-mayo-en-argentina-encontraron-al-nieto-140-asi-va-la-busqueda-3469895
👉 https://elpais.com/argentina/2025-07-07/abuelas-de-plaza-de-mayo-recupera-al-nieto-140-apropiado-por-la-dictadura-argentina.html
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/07/man-kidnapped-by-argentinas-military-regime-as-baby-is-reunited-with-relatives
👉 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cly8kyepgq2oPassport Paradox: President Milei’s globe-trotting photo-ops mask a harsher reality: while trips abroad spike, many Argentinians still can’t make ends meet at home, squeezed by inflation and stagnant wages.
👉 https://english.elpais.com/international/2025-07-06/the-two-faces-of-mileis-argentina-trips-abroad-are-increasing-but-many-cant-make-ends-meet.htmlSilencing the Fourth Estate: Journalists across Argentina face verbal and physical attacks from hard-right supporters, prompting NYT to warn that press freedom is under siege in a country where dissent has always been hard-won.
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/es/2025/07/02/espanol/america-latina/milei-ataques-periodistas-argentina.htmlRosario’s Crime Paradox: Homicides in Rosario have dipped this year, yet peripheral barrios remain battlegrounds—gang violence, knock-off checkpoints and under-the-radar killings keep communities on edge.
👉 https://insightcrime.org/news/homicides-drop-in-rosario-argentina-but-violence-persists-on-the-peripheries/
— From historic reckonings to modern-day upheavals, Argentina’s story is one of resilience amid turbulence.
Bolivia 🇧🇴
Congressional Cage Match: Lawmakers threw punches over proposed lithium deals with China and Russia, turning Bolivia’s prized “white gold” into a literal battleground—underscoring fractures in the country’s resource geopolitics.
👉 https://www.reuters.com/world/china/bolivian-congress-brawls-over-china-russia-lithium-deals-2025-07-04/State Capacity vs. Democracy: A new analysis warns that Bolivia’s weak institutions struggle to balance booming resource revenues with accountable governance—risking a “resource curse” where democracy takes a backseat to mineral wealth.
👉 https://latinoamerica21.com/en/bolivia-state-capacity-and-democracy/EU Eyes the Ballot Box: The European Union has dispatched an observer mission ahead of Bolivia’s upcoming elections, signalling both international interest and concern over whether polls can be free, fair—and violence-free.
👉 https://efe.com/euro-efe/2025-07-09/union-europea-mision-observacion-elecciones-bolivia/
Brazil 🇧🇷
📈 Growth Under Strain: Americas Quarterly analyses Brazil’s resilient GDP against inflationary headwinds, debt concerns and a fracturing coalition—Lula’s allies in Congress are already bristling at spending cuts.
👉 https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/a-resilient-brazilian-economy-is-under-diverging-pressures/
👉 https://valorinternational.globo.com/politics/news/2025/07/04/cracks-emerge-in-lulas-coalition-as-allied-lawmakers-push-back.ghtml🍃 Environmental U-Turn: The Economist notes Lula’s team is quietly un-doing Bolsonaro’s eco-hardline—soft-pedalling on the “patron saint” image of forest preservation even as deforestation edges up.
👉 https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/07/09/brazil-is-bashing-its-patron-saint-of-the-environment🔫 Arms Brake Engaged: El País reports Lula slammed the brakes on Bolsonaro-era arms purchases—downscaling defence contracts even as regional tensions simmer.
👉 https://elpais.com/america/2025-07-08/la-compra-de-armas-en-brasil-echa-el-freno-con-lula-tras-el-festin-de-bolsonaro.html
⛏️ Asbestos to Rare Earths: From asbestos still haunting miners to the scramble for rare-earth minerals, Guardian Global Development flags Brazil’s looming dilemma: powering a green transition with toxic legacies.
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/01/minerals-brazil-asbestos-miners-rare-earths-transition-mining🌧️ Thirst for Servers: As drought crimps hydropower, Brazil is rolling out the red carpet for AI data centres—betting that big tech’s thirst for clean energy can plug the gap left by parched dams.
👉 https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/2025/7/7/the-take-why-is-drought-hit-brazil-saying-yes-to-ai-data-centers🤝 Raoni’s Reprieve: Indigenous elder Raoni Metuktire paid a high-profile visit to Lula, a stark counterpoint to his frosty exclusion under Bolsonaro—and a reminder that Amazonian leadership still matters on the world stage.
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/07/indigenous-leader-raoni-metuktire-bolsonaro-lula-brazil
— From server farms to sacred forests, Brazil’s balancing act between growth, green goals and coalition politics is nothing short of a tightrope walk.
Chile 🇨🇱
🗳️ Left-Wing Primary Shock: Progressive underdog Francisco Figueroa stunned the field by clinching the coalition’s presidential nomination—proof that Chile’s left is anything but monolithic.
👉 https://americasquarterly.org/article/chiles-left-wing-primary-surprise/🚨 Military Corruption Breaking Point: El País reports a string of drug-trafficking scandals involving army and air force officers, marking a potential turning point in Chile’s security crisis and shaking public trust in the uniform.
👉 https://elpais.com/chile/2025-07-09/los-casos-de-trafico-de-drogas-de-funcionarios-de-ejercito-y-la-fuerza-area-marcan-en-punto-de-quiebre-en-la-crisis-de-seguridad-de-chile.html🏚️ From Cult Compound to Memory Hub: In a historic move, Chile is expropriating the notorious Colonia Dignidad to transform it into a memorial centre—turning a site of atrocities into a beacon for collective reckoning.
👉 https://elpais.com/chile/2025-07-08/chile-expropia-colonia-dignidad-para-convertirlo-en-un-centro-de-memoria.html
Colombia 🇨🇴
🇺🇸 Diplomatic Ping-Pong: A US–Colombia spat erupted after President Petro criticised former President Trump’s coup claims—Washington briefly recalled its ambassador “with persistent concerns,” only for Bogotá to send him back with apologies to Senator Marco Rubio.
👉 https://apnews.com/article/colombia-us-diplomatic-crisis-petro-coup-trump-8c65cb7309bec8d4a6355d0a53c55fc6
👉 https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2025-07-09/estados-unidos-envia-de-regreso-a-su-embajador-en-colombia-con-una-advertencia-vuelvo-con-preocupaciones-persistentes.html
👉 https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2025-07-09/gustavo-petro-envia-de-nuevo-a-su-embajador-en-washington-con-unas-disculpas-a-marco-rubio.html📉 Fragile Upswing: Razon Pública warns that Colombia’s recent economic rebound masks deep vulnerabilities—commodity dependence, fiscal gaps and uneven growth could leave the “apparent relief” all too fleeting.
👉 https://razonpublica.com/la-economia-colombiana-alivio-aparente-la-fragilidad-subyacente/⚰️ Common Grave of Faith Leaders: Authorities found eight social and religious leaders buried in a mass grave in Guaviare. The victims—members of two evangelical churches—had been summoned by the Armando Ríos front of FARC dissidents, allegedly to question them about forming an ELN cell, then killed on orders tied to alias Iván Mordisco. President Petro condemned the atrocity as an assault on life and religious freedom, while the Defense Ministry offered a US$1.1 million reward for information leading to Mordisco’s capture.
👉 https://www.bbc.com/mundo/articles/cjg6lldnlqko🕊️ Peace Lab Under Fire: In the Valle del Cimitarra, a pioneering “peace laboratory” that empowers communities to devise post-conflict solutions now faces threats from resurgent armed groups—testing Colombia’s experiment in bottom-up reconciliation.
👉 https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2025-07-09/un-laboratorio-de-paz-pionero-en-colombia-bajo-amenaza-el-valle-del-cimitarra-no-se-ha-quedado-en-ser-victima-del-conflicto-armado-sino-que-ha-planteado-soluciones.html🔫 Attack on Miguel Uribe: Senator Miguel Uribe survived an assassination attempt—police arrested the alleged mastermind known as “El Costeño,” revealing a double life as a local boss and triggering a wider probe into political violence.
👉 https://apnews.com/article/colombia-miguel-uribe-senator-shooting-arrest-president-3d205f26e1041f5bd65825a1dcc8e66b
👉 https://www.eltiempo.com/unidad-investigativa/la-doble-vida-de-el-costeno-articulador-del-atentado-contra-miguel-uribe-era-el-cacique-de-el-muelle-3469803
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/05/alleged-organiser-of-shooting-of-colombian-senator-caught-by-police
— From diplomatic drama to grassroots peacekeeping—and a stark reminder that political violence and economic shocks remain ever-present challenges.
Costa Rica 🇨🇷
🔕 No stories this week
Cuba 🇨🇺
📊 Cooking the Books: Cuba’s government is massaging economic data—downplaying inflation and energy shortfalls—to present a rosier macro picture, even as empty supermarket shelves and price caps belie official growth claims.
👉 https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/07/03/cubas-leaders-fiddle-the-figures📱 The Digital Straw: A steep hike in mobile data prices has sparked rare dissent within Cuba’s ruling apparatus—users say it’s the “digital straw that broke the revolution’s back,” fracturing consensus and fuelling calls for reform.
👉 https://www.latinamericareports.com/the-digital-straw-that-broke-the-revolutions-back-hike-in-cuban-data-prices-causes-rare-institutional-division/11746/
⚡ Simultaneous Blackouts: A brewing energy crisis was expected to plunge 43% of the island into blackouts last Tuesday, as aging infrastructure and fuel shortages collide—another reminder that, in Cuba, even the lights aren’t guaranteed.
👉 https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2025/07/08/la-crisis-provocara-apagones-simultaneos-en-el-43-de-cuba-este-martes/
Ecuador 🇪🇨
🚨 “Alias Fito” Extradition Bid: Washington has formally asked Quito to extradite César “Fito” Rodríguez—one of the country’s most notorious narcos—recaptured in June after years on the run. A high-stakes replay of Ecuador’s tango with cartel bosses.
👉 https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/estados-unidos-solicita-a-ecuador-la-extradicion-de-alias-fito-poderoso-narcotraficante-recapturado-en-junio-3470210🚌 Transit Official Killings: Insight Crime unpacks a spate of assassinations targeting bus and metro regulators—an alarming tactic by gangs to intimidate the state and control urban transport routes. Commuters are collateral in this turf-war fare hike.
👉 https://insightcrime.org/news/what-is-behind-murders-transit-officials-ecuador/⚔️ Gangland Declaration: President Noboa kicked off his term by “declaring war” on 22 gangs, vowing zero tolerance—but analysts warn Ecuador’s patchwork of 60+ criminal groups means this blitz may be more PR than panacea.
👉 https://acleddata.com/2025/06/03/ecuadors-noboa-declared-war-on-22-gangs-in-his-new-term-he-faces-many-more/
El Salvador 🇸🇻
✍️ Exiled Press Resists: From Mexico City to Madrid, Salvadoran journalists in exile refuse to go silent—El Faro reports on their fight to stay relevant, even as Bukele labels them “irrelevant.” Truth, they argue, travels even when you can’t.
👉 https://beta.elfaro.net/titulares/el-exilio-nos-alcanza
👉 https://elpais.com/mexico/2025-07-08/el-periodismo-de-el-salvador-desde-el-exilio-no-tenemos-que-darle-el-gusto-a-bukele-de-volvernos-irrelevantes.html🏝️ An Overlooked Gem: Tired of the usual tropes? The Times spotlights El Salvador as Central America’s unfairly ignored destination—volcano hikes, pupusa joints and surf breaks that outshine its neighbours.
👉 https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/central-america-travel/the-central-american-country-youve-wrongfully-overlooked-mtvddz8mr💸 Bitcoin Beach 2.0: BBC Travel revisits El Zonte, the pioneering beach town that became a Bitcoin testbed—locals now juggle digital wallets and fishing nets, proving crypto can swim with traditional livelihoods.
👉 https://www.bbc.co.uk/travel/article/20250625-the-beach-town-that-became-a-bitcoin-testbed
Guatemala 🇬🇹
🍫 Cacao’s Revival: In the highlands, Maya farmers are transforming centuries-old cocoa varietals into single-origin chocolate—an indigenous resistance-turned-export success story that blends tradition, fair trade and a taste of ancestral resilience.
👉 https://elpais.com/america-futura/2025-07-06/la-buena-hora-del-cacao-guatemalteco-resistencia-indigena-hecha-chocolate.html📸 Aftershock in Images: A striking AP News photo gallery lays bare the recent earthquake’s fury—landslides, collapsed homes and determined rescue squads racing against time. It’s a visual testament to both devastation and the human spirit.
👉 https://apnews.com/photo-gallery/guatemala-earthquakes-landslide-aftershocks-c06d237852f9d6e6fcbb64cd2715c9c8
Haiti 🇭🇹
🔥 Gangs Torch Iconic Oloffson Hotel: Armed gangs stormed and set fire to Port-au-Prince’s famed Hotel Oloffson, forcing guests and staff to flee as blaze gutted the storied façade. Once a refuge for diplomats and artists, its destruction underscores how Haiti’s capital has become a no-go zone, even for its most celebrated landmarks.
👉 https://apnews.com/article/haiti-grand-hotel-oloffson-burned-down-gangs-bb08a45c646bf5bada9759721de1b342
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/08/haiti-hotel-oloffson-burned-down-by-gangs
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/world/americas/haiti-oloffson-hotel-fire-port-au-prince.html
Honduras 🇭🇳
📚 Justice by the Book: A new Insight Crime report highlights grassroots “peace libraries” sprung up in Tegucigalpa’s barrios—stacks of crime novels and legal tomes where youth swap bullets for bookmarks, proving that the pen (and paperback) can be mightier than the machete.
👉 https://insightcrime.org/news/justice-peace-books-honduras
Mexico 🇲🇽
📈 Trade & Tariffs: Washington’s tariff spotlight has pivoted. After threatening 50% levies on Brazilian exports, U.S. trade officials quietly opened an inquiry into Mexican imports from China—testing whether Mexico’s tariff walls are a backdoor for goods made elsewhere. The move adds another twist to North American supply chains.
👉 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/06/world/americas/mexico-trump-tariffs-us-china.html🏛️ Institutional Overhaul
In a blistering nine-day sprint, Congress pushed through amendments to 16 laws—centralising power in the presidency and curbing legislative checks. At the same time, CSIS warns that planned judicial reforms risk weakening rule of law and spooking foreign investors under USMCA. Mexico’s “Kafkaesque” experiment in electing judges by popular vote only deepens the uncertainty.
👉 https://www.ft.com/content/a4567b7b-cb14-4d0d-8bf4-8a8af43bb294💸 Crime & Extortion
President Sheinbaum unveiled a sweeping “anti-extortion” law—raising penalties, streamlining prosecutions, and pledging dedicated task forces—after Mexico City residents reported paying US$20 billion a year in protection ransoms. Meanwhile, FT analysis reveals cartels are falsifying millions of barrels of fuel as industrial lubricant, siphoning billions from Pemex and funding organised crime.
👉 https://elpais.com/mexico/2025-07-08/sheinbaum-anuncia-una-ley-general-contra-la-extorsion-y-reconoce-que-su-gobierno-no-ha-logrado-contener-ese-delito.html👥 Social Tensions
An El País survey finds three-quarters of Mexicans earn no more than their parents did at the same age—fuelling frustration over stagnant wages despite family members clocking longer hours. In CDMX’s Condesa neighbourhood, a viral video captured a woman’s racial slur against a Black police officer, reigniting debate over systemic racism in urban enclaves.
👉 https://elpais.com/mexico/2025-07-10/mexico-perpetua-la-desigualdad-tengo-que-trabajar-mucho-para-vivir-mejor-que-como-vivio-mi-madre.html
👉 https://elpais.com/mexico/2025-07-06/odio-a-los-negros-como-tu-la-agresion-de-una-mujer-a-un-policia-en-la-condesa-exhibe-el-racismo-en-ciudad-de-mexico.html
— From boardroom-style trade probes to street-level extortion, Mexico’s ride is anything but smooth—yet it’s the nation’s resilience that keeps us watching.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮
🔕 No stories this week
Panama 🇵🇦
🔕 No stories this week
Paraguay 🇵🇾
🎯 Deputy in the Crosshairs: A sitting congressman was shot dead—and a single “burner” phone seized at the scene has exposed decades-old ties between political elites and hitmen. El País peels back layers of impunity, showing how assassination plots trace straight to corridors of power.
👉 https://elpais.com/america/2025-07-10/un-diputado-baleado-un-telefono-clave-y-decadas-de-impunidad-el-caso-que-sacude-a-paraguay.html⚖️ Prosecutorate Penetrated: Organised crime has wormed its way into Paraguay’s Public Ministry, the second El País exposé reveals—detailing how cartels placed informants inside anti-narcotics units, silenced an investigating journalist with murder, and turned the justice system into a revenue stream.
👉 https://elpais.com/america/2025-07-10/como-el-crimen-organizado-infiltro-la-fiscalia-en-paraguay-un-periodista-asesinado-y-corrupcion-en-el-sistema-judicial.html
Peru 🇵🇪
Boluarte Breaks Her Silence: After 200 days off-camera, President Dina Boluarte fielded questions on rumours of plastic surgery and a salary bump—brushing off critics as “misinformed” while promising more transparency amid growing unrest.
👉 https://www.eltiempo.com/mundo/latinoamerica/peru-dina-boluarte-rompe-su-silencio-ante-la-prensa-tras-200-dias-y-responde-a-acusaciones-de-cirugia-plastica-y-aumento-de-salario-3469432🌳 Uncontacted Tribes Under Siege: Illegal loggers are edging closer to isolated Amazonian groups—BBC and The Guardian report on “We Don’t Want Contact” signs carved in trees and SOS-style messages in the jungle, as uncontacted people fend off chainsaws and disease threats.
👉 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vrd4yjj0no.amp
👉 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/jul/05/we-dont-want-contact-because-you-are-bad-loggers-close-in-on-uncontacted-people-in-peruvian-amazon⚕️ Afro-Peruvian Health Gap: New data reveal Afro-Peruvian women face steeper barriers to care—longer waits, higher costs and bias in clinics—fueling calls for targeted policies to close the healthcare divide.
👉 https://www.infobae.com/peru/2025/07/09/preocupantes-cifras-de-mujeres-afroperuanas-que-enfrentan-barreras-en-la-atencion-medica-y-desigualdad-en-acceso-a-servicios-de-salud/⚖️ Amnesty for Counter-terror Forces: Congress approved a bill granting amnesty to police and military personnel prosecuted for human-rights abuses during the 1980s–90s counter-terror campaigns—sparking outrage among victims’ groups who warn it erases accountability for forced disappearances and massacres.
👉 https://www.infobae.com/peru/2025/07/09/aprueban-proyecto-de-ley-que-otorga-amnistia-a-policias-y-militares-procesados-en-casos-de-lucha-contra-el-terrorismo/
— From presidential PR manoeuvres to jungle frontiers, Peru’s political and human-rights landscape remains as dynamic—and contested—as its terrain.
Venezuela 🇻🇪
⛏️ Pollution, Dispossession & Violence: A new PARES report lays bare the environmental and human toll of Venezuela’s extractive boom—oil spills, toxic tailings and forced evictions have turned forests and rivers into battlefields, with Indigenous and rural communities paying the highest price.
👉 https://www.pares.com.co/post/contaminaci%C3%B3n-despojo-y-violencia-el-precio-ambiental-y-humano-del-extractivismo-en-venezuela🏚️ Collapse of Public Services: The Miami Herald chronicles how chronic power outages, water shortages and crumbling hospitals drive more Venezuelans to cross the border—revealing that state failure, more than political persecution, is the lynchpin of the ongoing exodus.
👉 https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article310209240.html🌍 Diaspora’s Next Chapter: Americas Quarterly explores how Venezuelans abroad are reshaping both host societies and home politics—building transnational networks, sending remittances that buoy families back home, and laying groundwork for eventual return or reinvestment in a post-crisis Venezuela.
👉 https://www.americasquarterly.org/article/the-future-of-venezuelas-diaspora/
— From toxic lands to transnational communities, Venezuela’s crisis ripples far beyond its borders, defining both today’s hardship and tomorrow’s hope.
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