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Latin America in Focus

AS/COA Online, Council of the Americas, Americas Society, Carin Zissis

Latin America in Focus is the leading English-language podcast on Latin American politics, economics, and policy.

What does AI's tectonic change mean for Latin America? Are youth losing faith in democracy? Can the region power up its lithium and critical minerals prospects? Will security or foreign policy influence elections? Latin America in Focus (or LatAmFocus) takes on topics like these, giving context to the big issues affecting the Americas today. Twice a month, Americas Society / Council of the Americas Online team brings you in-depth interviews with top experts, journalists, artists, and entrepreneurs on the ground in and from countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile, and more.

Go in depth on the latest trends in Latin American politics, regional trade and economics, foreign policy, and culture in this podcast series by Americas Society/Council of the Americas.

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#243
Tuesday · 24 min
The Shield of the Americas Cracks Open a Debate in Chile
In September, the government of President José Antonio Kast of Chile set off a firestorm back home when it opted to join the Shield of the Americas. But why would signing on to a security initiative, launched by the Trump administration, cause a domestic divide? After all, voters concerned about crime helped propel Kast into office earlier this year, much as mano dura security pledges have given rise to a wave of right-wing wins across the hemisphere. “Chile has a long tradition where foreign
#242
September 30 · 32 min
As Brazil Faces a Familiar Rivalry, What's Changed for Voters?
“In general, Brazilians are not very happy with this competition,” says pollster Felipe Nunes ahead of the October 4 presidential first round. With voters again facing a choice between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on the left and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro on the right, the Quaest CEO talks to AS/COA’s Luisa Leme about how an increasingly informed electorate worries over recurrent pocketbook issues and a sweeping corruption crisis that has ensnared figures across the political spectrum. The conversa
#241
September 17 · 38 min
How Is a Changing World Reshaping Perspectives in the Americas?
New polls reveal changing attitudes about the midterms, U.S.–Mexico ties, and global powers. Experts from Pew, the U.S.–Mexico Foundation, and AMLAT Radar unpack the data.
#240
July 30 · 33 min
Reissue: What's ahead for China's Latin America Ties in the Great Power Game?
This episode is a re-run of Ep.228, of January 29, 2026. Latin America in Focus is going on a Summer break and it will be back in September with more episodes. Stay tuned! The Trump’s administration national security strategy was the talk of the foreign policy world late last year, not least of all because it renewed Washington’s focus on the Americas. But a few days later, China released its own policy paper focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean. But then the U.S. capture of Nicolás Madu
#239
July 13 · 36 min
Financing Venezuela’s Future in the Aftermath of Disaster
The double earthquakes of June 24 accentuated a year of profound change in Venezuela. What was already a significant undertaking by the interim government in collaboration with the U.S. administration to address years of economic mismanagement and infrastructural deterioration, has become even more urgent in the face of a tragedy that has claimed thousands of lives and livelihoods while causing economic damages of up to $37 billion, per early estimates. But, as the world rallies in support of
#238
June 25 · 33 min
What Will Keiko Fujimori Face as President of Peru?
On her fourth attempt, Keiko Fujimori is set to finally become Peru’s president. The right-wing former congresswoman will enter the presidential palace having bested her opponent, leftist lawmaker Roberto Sánchez, with just 50.1 percent of valid votes in the June 7 second round. “Our country is very divided,” says guest Alfredo Thorne, a former Peruvian finance minister, of the country’s third consecutive razor-thin runoff. But he also has optimism for the future his country’s liberal democrac
#237
June 11 · 33 min
Sandra Borda on the Figures and Forces behind Colombia’s Presidential Race
The Colombian electorate sent a clear message with the two candidates they sent to the June 21 presidential runoff: they are no longer interested in politics as usual. With far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist Senator Iván Cepeda concentrating 85 percent of the first-round vote, the country’s traditional center and center-right parties have receded to the background. “[Colombia’s] political and ideological spectrum is now wider than it was before,” says Dr. Sandra Borda, a Bogo
#236
May 28 · 33 min
Jorge Castañeda on the Frictions Straining U.S.-Mexico Ties
From Mexico’s Cuba ties to Washington's persistent tariff pledges, points of friction keep coming up between Mexico and the United States, reaching a crescendo last month when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 10 Mexican officials, including a sitting governor from President Claudia Sheinbaum’s own party. "U.S.-Mexican relations are probably in their worst moment that I can remember since the 1970s,” the former foreign minister of Mexico Jorge Castañeda tells AS/COA's Carin Zissis. “Never
#235
May 14 · 31 min
What Trump and Lula Want from U.S.-Brazil Ties
After months of tensions, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump emerged from a May meeting at the White House smiling for the cameras. The leaders, both facing critical elections, sought to project international strength during delicate domestic moments, as they tackled a bilateral trade and security agenda. “We need to be very careful in interpreting the meeting,” Fernanda Magnotta of the Brazilian Center for International Relations told AS/COA Online’s
#234
April 30 · 32 min
Mercosur, EU, and the New Frontiers of Free Trade
On May 1, a transatlantic trade deal covering 31 countries and a quarter of global GDP comes into effect. Some thought it would never materialize, but after 25 years of off-and-on negotiations, Mercosur and the European Union committed to one of the largest free-trade deals in the world. So why did the two trade blocs to sign on the dotted line? “ The reality is that today, given the approach that the United States is taking on trade policy, it really is nudging countries [...] to go ahead and
#233
April 8 · 34 min
The Math Behind Cartel Recruitment in Mexico
After a February military operation led to the death of Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera, Mexican authorities searched the cartel leader’s cabin and uncovered logs showing that low-level members of El Mencho’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel earned as little as $140 per week. Many people were surprised by how little the cartel lookouts and hitmen earn, given that their jobs can be, quite literally, deadly. Despite that, the number of people working for these crime groups could fill Estadio Aztec
#232
March 25 · 24 min
What's on the Trade Menu? Beef
When the United States and Argentina signed a bilateral trade deal in February, one part of the agreement turned heads: Washington would be quadrupling the amount of tariff-free beef it would allow to be imported from the South American country. Historically, the United States, like countries across the world, limits the amount of beef it imports to help promote its domestic ranching industry. But now, the United States and Europe are opening their markets, just as China, who became the lar
#231
March 11 · 33 min
What Will It Take to Secure Haiti’s 2026 Elections?
Haiti has been without an elected leader since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, and a spiraling security crisis threatens to derail plans to hold elections this August. In this episode, Romain Le Cour-Grandmaison, director of the Haiti and Caribbean Observatory at the Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime, covers bumpy governance transitions and “the triangular relationship between the political sector, economic sector, and violent actors” in Haiti, as wel
#230
February 26 · 27 min
After IEEPA, What Tariff Tools Will Trump Turn to Next?
Close followers of trade news were waiting for this moment: On February 20, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 against President Donald Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to slap tariffs on trade partners around the world. Trump first used IEEPA, a measure typically used to apply sanctions, a year ago, when he imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China with the argument that these three countries hadn’t done enough to stop fentanyl flows into the U
#229
February 12 · 35 min
Why the Right Hasn’t Risen in Mexico — Yet
Journalist Alex González Ormerod and historian Gema Kloppe-Santamária explain why Mexico hasn’t joined Latin America’s rightward tilt, and what could change that.
#228
January 29 · 32 min
What's ahead for China's Latin America Ties in the Great Power Game?
The Trump’s administration national security strategy was the talk of the foreign policy world late last year, not least of all because it renewed Washington’s focus on the Americas. But a few days later, China released its own policy paper focusing on Latin America and the Caribbean. But then the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro of January 3 upended the hemispheric chessboard. Parsifal D’Sola Alvarado of the Andrés Bello Foundation for China and Latin America Research joined AS/COA Online’s Car
#227
January 14 · 39 min
What’s on the Table for Brazil’s Security Issues ahead of 2026 Elections?
Organized crime continues to drive murder rates in Latin America and the Caribbean to levels well above global averages. Now in a context in which the United States has shown itself willing to flex its military muscle in the region in its battle against narcoterrorism, Latin American governments are under increasing pressure to appear tough on crime. This episode zooms in on Brazil, from where security policy expert Robert Muggah, co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, speaks with AS/COA Online’
#226
Dec 18, 2025 · 32 min
Latin America in the Spotlight in 2026
From the Donroe Doctrine to tariff turmoil a rightward electoral tilt, 2025 was a year of shifts for Latin America. Now, with Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Haiti, and Peru gearing up for presidential votes in 2026, more change is on the way. To make sense of what's to come, this episode of Latin America in focus brings back four of our prior guests from across the region: Venezuelan journalist and political scientist Tony Frangie Mawad, Mexican international affairs expert Brenda Estefan, Brazil
#225
Dec 10, 2025 · 41 min
Andrés Velasco on How Latin America Can Reboot Its Economic Rules
Thirty-five years after the Washington Consensus, a group of the world’s leading economists have assembled a new book formulating an alternative road map for developing economies, The London Consensus: Economic Principles for the 21st Century. One of the books co-editors, prominent Chilean economist Andrés Velasco, recently stopped by the New York headquarters of Americas Society/Council of the Americas to present core principles to guide refreshed and adaptable economic policies in Latin Americ
#224
Nov 13, 2025 · 26 min
Can Rodrigo Paz Unearth Bolivia’s Lithium Potential?
For decades, Bolivia’s abundant reserves of lithium, thought to be the largest in the world, have been touted as the country’s ticket to economic prosperity. But time and again, the sector has run into political hurdles, social resistance, technical issues, and a lack of investment. As newly inaugurated President Rodrigo Paz enters office under a promise of “Capitalism for all,” what will it take to get Bolivia’s lithium sector off—and out from under—the ground? In this episode, political scie

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