The Americas Quarterly Podcast

Cuba is facing its worst crisis in decades, with blackouts and a mass exodus that has seen 20% of the population flee in five years. In this episode, we shed light on everyday life amid ongoing economic hardship, explore the durability of the Cuban regime and assess whether its grip on power is at risk. The conversation expands to Cuba’s evolving relationships with key international allies, including Russia, China, and Venezuela. Finally, we turn to U.S. foreign policy, focusing on the implications of Trump's return to the White House. Our guest is Patrick Oppmann, CNN's Havana bureau chief.  

With Brazil about a year and a half away from the 2026 elections, political dynamics are shifting once again. The economy is growing at 3%, and employment remains high, yet President Lula’s approval rating has dropped to 41%—the lowest of any of his three terms. Meanwhile, the right may be gaining momentum, fueled by the Supreme Court’s decision to put former President Jair Bolsonaro on trial for his alleged 2022 coup attempt. Bolsonaro has appealed to conservative global figures, comparing his legal battles to those of Donald Trump and Marine Le Pen. In this episode, Guilherme Casarões analyzes Brazil’s evolving political and economic landscape. Casarões is a professor at Fundação Getúlio Vargas’s São Paulo School of Business Administration and a contributor to AQ.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is enjoying remarkable popularity, garnering over 80% approval, while Mexico navigates shifting demands from U.S. President Donald Trump, economic uncertainty and security concerns. In this episode we delve into how she differs from her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, her evolving approach to the Trump administration, how she is handling Mexico's security challenges and whether her popularity can endure. Our guest is Viri Ríos, a writer, political scientist and an analyst of Mexican politics and public policy. Ríos is a close observer of Morena, President Sheinbaum's party, and its overall political project.

Organized crime is a persistent and evolving challenge in Latin America. At the moment crime syndicates are seeing unprecedented financial gains, fueled not only by a surge in cocaine production—more than doubling in the past decade, according to the UN—but also by profits from illegal gold mining and human trafficking. As security concerns rise, these issues are set to play a crucial role in elections in Ecuador, Honduras, Chile, and Colombia. Meanwhile, the U.S. government, under President Donald Trump, has been pressuring Mexico to curb drug and migrant trafficking, going so far as to impose tariffs on its neighbor. In this episode, we look at how organized crime is shifting in Latin America in 2025. Our guest, Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of InSight Crime.  

A month into Donald Trump’s second presidency, Latin America has become a key focus of his administration. From high-stakes negotiations with Mexico to his stated goal of reclaiming the Panama Canal, Trump’s policies have already had concrete consequences for the region. While leaders like Argentina’s Javier Milei and El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele welcome his return, others question the reliability of the U.S. as an ally compared to China and Europe. To unpack these developments, this episode features journalist and writer Michael Reid, a former Latin America correspondent for The Economist and the author of Forgotten Continent: A History of the New Latin America.

As Donald Trump returns to the White House, much focus was expected on Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba, but Panama has surprisingly taken center stage, even becoming the site of Marco Rubio’s first trip abroad as Secretary of State. President Trump has said the U.S. should take the Panama Canal back. Are his true goals reducing China’s influence in key infrastructure projects and securing greater Panamanian cooperation on migration and trade, or is he serious about the threats? While China’s role has grown, they don’t control the canal. Meanwhile, Panama’s deep historical and economic ties to the U.S. remain strong, fueling confusion in Panama about Trump’s intentions. In this episode we talk to Panamanian political analyst Rodrigo Noriega about Panama’s past, present and future, assessing how the country's political class, public opinion the canal authorities are processing this delicate moment.

Nearly a year ago, Ecuador faced a surge of violence when drug gangs took over a TV station and kidnapped police, marking the country's worst security crisis. Since then, President Daniel Noboa has made modest progress, with homicides down 16%, but 2024 still ranked as Ecuador's second most violent year. Noboa also faced a severe energy crisis, with droughts leading to planned blackouts that hurt his previously strong public support. Despite economic challenges, including a potential recession, Noboa remains a leading candidate in the upcoming February 9 elections, narrowly ahead of correísta candidate Luisa González. As Ecuador prepares to vote, we analyze the fight against organized crime, the economic situation and how either Noboa or González might handle a potential Trump presidency in the U.S. Our guest is Sebastián Hurtado, the co-founder and CEO of Prófitas, a political risk consultancy based in Quito.

Peru quickly became one of the first countries in the cross hairs of the incoming Trump administration because of the recently-inaugurated Chancay port, which is run by the Chinese company Cosco Shipping. In this episode, we ask Alfredo Thorne, a former finance minister of Peru, what is special about the Chancay port, what this project tells us about China's plans in Latin America and how Peru is likely to navigate the tension between the U.S. in China for which the country has become a lightning rod.  

In this episode we look at what to expect from Latin America’s economies in 2025. Ernesto Revilla, chief economist for Latin America at Citigroup, evaluates the impact of Donald Trump’s return on the region’s economic outlook, his predictions regarding trade tensions, and how ideological affinities between presidents could affect economic policy. He also analyses the health of Latin America’s economies independently of Trump’s decisions, focusing on Mexico, Argentina and Brazil, but also commenting on Andean nations, as well as Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Since Donald Trump’s election there have been fireworks between him and Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum. President-elect Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 25 percent as two leaders embark on what are likely to be contentious negotiations over migration, border control and trade. In this episode we discuss the potential consequences for Mexico and what is Sheinbaum’s strategy. We also assess the current health of the Mexican economy as the president marks two months in office. Our guest is Valeria Moy, director of director of the Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad, a think tank based in Mexico City.