News of latin america

Trump builds vast Latin America military alliance on the cheap

Today 12:29 US president has slashed aid to Latin America despite alignment of governments; Military assistance to eight nations dropped to just US$56 million last year.

ANALYSIS

Argentina chooses its own Brazil

Today 11:27 President Javier Milei's government and Argentina's opposition have selectively interpreted the results of Brazil’s election to suit their own interests.

by Javier Calvo

Brazil election 2026

Brazil market euphoria hinges on fixes Flávio Bolsonaro is yet to lay out

Yesterday 13:55 Experts expect Brazil to have a better chance of tackling its ballooning deficit under Flávio Bolsonaro, even though he has yet to put forth a detailed plan on how to do so.

ANALYSIS

Why polls keep getting it wrong on Brazil's right

Yesterday 12:06 Pollsters across the world have struggled to gauge support for the right from voters who can be cagey about their choices. Brazil's election, last Sunday, was no different.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Economy to grow 2.1% this year, predicts World Bank

Yesterday 11:29 Multilateral lender predicts modest growth for Latin America and the Caribbean, highlights risks of El Niño; Insufficient growth is undermining efforts to tackle poverty.

Brazil election 2026: Reaction

Milei slams ‘communist lefty’ Lula, revels in Brazil election result

05-10-2026 14:09 Argentina’s President hails Flávio Bolsonaro's first-round lead as a victory for the right; Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno questions whether Lula will even contest the run-off.

Brazil election 2026

Flávio Bolsonaro rides right-wing surge into election run-off

05-10-2026 13:26 Right-winger has promised fiscal austerity in the face of rising public debt, a smaller state, lower taxes and a tougher crackdown on crime.

Brazil election 2026

Bolsonaro pushes Lula to brink of defeat ahead of Brazil run-off

05-10-2026 08:30 Flávio Bolsonaro now overwhelming favourite to win October 25 run-off; Scale of right's success leaves Lula aides concluding vote was broader rejection of veteran leftist's Workers' Party.

Brazil election 2026

Bolsonaro clan wins big in multiple Brazil polls

05-10-2026 07:41 Bolsonaro clan secures victory in every race they contested in Brazil election on Sunday; Flávio Bolsonaro surpassed President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a first-round vote.

Brazil election 2026

Fans of Brazil's Lula hope for comeback against Bolsonaro

05-10-2026 07:19 Fans of current president disheartened by election result, but remain optimistic veteran leftist can turn it round in run-off.

Brazil election 2026

Brazil heads to run-off as Bolsonaro takes first place finish over Lula

05-10-2026 02:14 Defying opinion poll projections showing Lula in the lead, right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro takes lead over incumbent into second-round run-off.

POLLING & SURVEYS

Poll: China a more positive influence than US in Latin America

03-10-2026 16:23 Latinobarómetro survey shows that – for the first time since the annual survey began in 1995 – China is seen as a more benign force than the United States on the world.

CERIMEDO SCANDAL

From Mar-a-Lago to prison: The fall of Fernando Cerimedo in Bolivia

30-09-2026 14:49 Nadia Beller accuses her former lover, political consultant Fernando Cerimedo, of organising a hit on her life.

Brazilian economy

Brazil job creation beats all forecasts days before election

29-09-2026 16:04 Latin America’s biggest economy created more jobs than expected in August, handing President Lula a boost just days before voters head to the polls.

Brazil election 2026

Poll: Lula and Bolsonaro deadlocked in final week of election campaign

29-09-2026 09:28 President and right-wing challenger running neck and neck as Brazil’s presidential race enters its closing days, new poll polls.

Brazil election 2026

Scandal-weary Brazilians to vote as Lula faces Bolsonaro son

28-09-2026 17:05 Brazilians vote Sunday in a nail-biter election pitting leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against right-wing senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Brazil election 2026

Lula bans sports betting in Brazil, days ahead of crunch election

27-09-2026 17:47 Brazil President bans sports betting sites, the biggest sponsor of the country's football clubs, just days before a nail-biter election.

CRIME & INSECURITY

US-led coalition targets 24 criminal groups as Trump praises Milei

23-09-2026 08:49 US president calls on members on the Shield of the Americas alliance to sanction groups including Tren de Aragua, while praising Argentina’s “great victory” under Milei.

ANALYSIS

Milei’s chainsaw inspires Bolsonaro to wield scissors in Brazil election

21-09-2026 18:38 Flávio Bolsonaro is holding up Javier Milei's economic overhaul as an example of the fiscal discipline he says Brazil needs as election race heats up.

NEXT UN SECRETARY-GENERAL

Chile ex-president Bachelet quits race to be next UN chief

20-09-2026 07:57 Former Chile president Michelle Bachelet formally withdrew her candidacy for the position of United Nations secretary-general after latest straw poll.

Brazil election 2026

Lula and Bolsonaro in dead heat ahead of Brazil vote, polls show

14-09-2026 15:54 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro appeared statistically tied in a pair of new polls ahead of Brazil’s election.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Nearly 300 detained in Chile at protests marking Pinochet coup anniversary

12-09-2026 22:07 Almost 300 people – including 31 minors – were detained during protests commemorating victims of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship.

FILM & CINEMA

Bechis returns to dictatorship trauma with Venice contender

11-09-2026 11:23 More than 25 years after ‘Garage Olimpo’, filmmaker Marco Bechis returns to the trauma of Argentina’s dictatorship with ‘Ritorno a Buenos Aires’, a drama about survival, guilt and the scars left by state terror.

LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS

Bolivia scandal shines light on Cerimedo’s far-right connections

09-09-2026 17:18 A look at the Fernando Cerimedo attempted murder scandal in Bolivia and its repercussions for the Latin American right.

Brazil election 2026

Supreme Court feud threatens to upend Brazil’s presidential race

06-09-2026 08:47 Dispute between two powerful Supreme Court justices threatens to reshape Brazil's looming presidential election.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Milei vindicates 1973 overthrow of Chile’s Allende in Santiago

03-09-2026 18:08 Argentina’s president calls for left-wing ideas to be “banished” as he addresses right-wing summit in Santiago.

Politics

President: Not re-electing me would be 'social suicide'

03-09-2026 00:27 President closes out right-wing Vientos de Cambio forum in Buenos Aires by ruling out any softening of his austerity drive ahead of next year's vote; While defending his economic programme and sharp attacks on the opposition, he declares: "If we don't win, it's because as a society we're choosing to commit suicide.”

ANALYSIS

Uruguay’s push to de-dollarise boosted by new money market funds

01-09-2026 12:08 Investors in Uruguay are parking more of their wealth in peso-denominated money market funds and government bonds, adding momentum to the nation's push to reduce its dependence on the dollar.

DRUG-TRAFFICKING

Football hooligan gang chief arrested over ecstasy ring from Spain

28-08-2026 23:14 Pablo 'Bebote' Álvarez, leader of Independiente's 'barra brava' hooligan gang, was detained in Buenos Aires on Friday as part of a probe into an international gang accused of smuggling ecstasy into Argentina from Spain.

MASSIVE OIL DEAL

Trump announces deal for huge US stake in Venezuelan oil reserves

28-08-2026 21:57 Venezuela agrees major oil deal with the United States, giving Washington majority control of 65 billion barrels of proven petroleum reserves; Trump and Rodríguez hail "historic" agreement, saying it will benefit both nations.

CERIMEDO CASE

Cerimedo’s corporate ties to inner circle of SIDE spy agency

28-08-2026 07:42 Shared addresses and interlocking companies. Corporate records reveal a web of businesses linking Fernando Cerimedo, President Milei’s former adviser, to figures historically associated with Argentina’s intelligence agency, as well as a host of businessmen.

Cerimedo scandal

Two new probes opened into political adviser detained in Bolivia

27-08-2026 00:48 Bolivian President Paz distances himself from Fernando Cerimedo, his former adviser facing multiple accusations, including attempted femicide, money-laundering and drug-trafficking.

Bilateral spat

Chile angered by Argentine Air Force chief's Magellan remarks

25-08-2026 13:00 Santiago says it will lodge a formal complaint after Brigadier General Gustavo Javier Valverde called the Strait of Magellan and the Drake Passage a matter of “Argentine sovereignty”; Foreign Minister in Buenos Aires forced distanced itself from the remarks, acknowledging 1881 and 1984 treaties that define their southern borders.

Brazil election 2026

Lula’s poll lead over Bolsonaro shrinks as Brazil campaign opens

25-08-2026 09:35 President Lula’s advantage over Flávio Bolsonaro narrows to one point in key poll as official campaigning begins.

economy

Trump fails to loosen China’s economic grip on Latin America

24-08-2026 14:40 For all Washington's political pressure, the economic dimension of Trump’s so-called Donroe Doctrine remains unfulfilled. Economic ties with China, have in general, not been affected.

SOCIAL MEDIA TREND

'Aura' battles leap from social media to Latin America streets

22-08-2026 10:38 "Aura Battles" – a new viral trend among young people in which two individuals face off in public spaces, with charisma and style the deciding factor.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

The ‘uncanny valley’ theory meets Milei and Cerimedo

22-08-2026 06:28 The reality of the Milei administration’s near three years in office is even more bizarre than expected.

by Agustino Fontevecchia

Brazil election 2026

Lula wages his final campaign as Brazil’s presidential frontrunner

20-08-2026 12:31 Incumbent is broadly considered the favourite to beat right-wing challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, whose campaign has been marred by feuds with his stepmother and links to a banker at the centre of a massive financial fraud probe.

Foreign Ministry

Argentina sends two planes with aid to earthquake-hit Colombia

19-08-2026 10:02 Milei goverment sends humanitarian aid to Colombia to help emergency efforts following last week's devastating earthquake.

CHINA & LATIN AMERICA

China's Xi says supports Latin America in 'upholding independence'

18-08-2026 14:35 "China supports Latin American countries in upholding independence and self-reliance," says Chinese leader as he hosts Ecuador's Daniel Noboa.

INTERVIEW WITH EX-BRAZIL PRESIDENT

José Sarney: ‘President Milei is hostile to Brazil’

15-08-2026 13:28 Former Brazil president criticises disparaging remarks delivered by Argentina’s Javier Milei towards Lula and Brazil, describing them as inappropriate and a breach of diplomatic dignity. Calling on both nations to prioritise regional unity and resist external pressures, he declares that the bond between the Brazilian and Argentine people remains strong.

by Jorge Fontevecchia

US PRESSURE ON CUBA

Indicted Raúl Castro reappears after months out of public view

13-08-2026 18:39 Brother of Fidel Castro, facing indictment in United States, last appeared in public at a May 1 event in front of the US Embassy in Havana, where he appeared frail, and was shown on state television at events in June.

EARTHQUAKE TRAGEDY

Colombia enters 'final phase' of quake search as toll clears 265

13-08-2026 12:04 Magnitude 7.4 quake, the strongest to hit Colombia this century, has killed 265 people and injured more than 3,500, with almost 500 still missing, according to local authorities.

TRAGEDY IN COLOMBIA

Pereira, the 'zombie city' devastated by Colombia's earthquake

12-08-2026 14:25 Volunteers and rescuers search for survivors in Pereira, one of the cities hardest hit by the powerful earthquake in Colombia that has left at least 240 dead.

POLITICS – ANALYSIS

Milei’s weeks of fury

08-08-2026 19:16 Milei is following Trump’s lead, trying to erode Lula’s position ahead of the consequential vote scheduled for October 4.

THE RIGHT IN LATIN AMERICA

Colombia’s new president joins a right-wing wave facing tough reality

08-08-2026 04:59 Conservative lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella joins Javier Milei, Chile’s José Antonio Kast and Peru’s Keiko Fujimori in a broad regional shift to the right.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

Argentina ties reduced as long as Milei 'attacks' persist – Brazil FM source

06-08-2026 04:50 Brazil has downgraded its mission to Buenos Aires to the level of charge d'affaires after repeated insults from Milei against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

BRAZILIAN POLITICS

Lula battles Trump, Milei over perceived election meddling

06-08-2026 04:44 President Lula's government accuses Trump’s administration of improperly intervening in Brazil’s affairs.

FOREIGN RELATIONS

Brazil hits new diplomatic lows with United States and Argentina

05-08-2026 18:50 Two months before Brazil's election, diplomatic tensions are flaring between President Lula's administration and Argentina and the United States.