The Americas Quarterly Podcast

Javier Milei came into office in Argentina promising radical changes. Once there, Milei moved quickly and aggressively – through decrees and an “omnibus” bill sent to Congress he pushed changes to more than 300 laws. While the decrees are still valid, the omnibus bill failed to get approved. On today’s podcast we’ll try to take stock of where Argentina stands now. What is the future of Milei's proposed reforms? What is the status of his political support after a little more than 2 months in office? How is the opposition organizing? And where have these past couple of months left the Argentine economy? Our guest is political risk analyst Juan Cruz Díaz.

Donald Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, and polls show him with a chance of winning the election in November. With that in mind, in this episode we try to gauge what Trump 2.0 would entail for U.S. policy toward Latin America. Our guest is the former U.S. ambassador to the OAS (Organization of American States) under Trump, Carlos Trujillo. Trujillo continues to speak to the former president and is seen in Washington as an insightful voice on what might happen in Latin America should Trump be elected to another term.

Ecuador has become a critical front in the battle against criminal groups in Latin America. The country's 36-year-old president, Daniel Noboa, has tried to exert authority by arresting thousands of people, pushing for a 'war tax' and calling for a referendum on security matters. Can he succeed? And how is the political landscape likely to evolve in the coming months? Our guest today is Maria Teresa Escobar, a journalist based in Quito. Currently a freelancer, she is one of the founders of the Ecuadorean news website Primicias.

Eight years ago, a consortium led by ExxonMobil discovered offshore oil in Guyana now believed to total at least 11 billion barrels. As a result, Guyana now has more oil reserves per capita than any other country in the world — almost three times as much as Saudi Arabia. This colossal find has led to difficult questions about whether the country can avoid the so-called resource curse – and the effects on climate change. On today’s podcast, an overview of Guyana's economy and how it is handling the challenges of abundance. Our guest is Jay Mandle, professor emeritus of economics at Colgate University and a member of the University of Guyana Green Institute Advisory Board.

The images coming out of Ecuador in the past week were just the latest reminder of the extraordinary power of drug cartels in Latin America. Despite efforts by many governments, the production of cocaine in the region continues to soar, and criminal groups have diversified their practices. In this episode, a look at how leaders around Latin America are responding to this crisis. We’ll discuss whether legalization of some drugs might be politically viable and how drug violence is likely to impact politics in years to come. Our guest is Lucía Dammert, a researcher in the fields of security, criminal organizations and criminal justice reform. Dammert was a presidential adviser to Chile's Gabriel Boric and has also advised governments in Argentina, México and Perú. She's currently a Professor at the Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

In 2023 Latin America’s economies performed better than analysts expected. 2024 also promises growth, although the picture will vary a lot by country. On today’s podcast, we’ll look at which may perform better, which will do worse, what factors could determine success or failure and what may be the impact of elections, which are set to take place in six Latin American nations this year. Our guest is Ariane Ortiz-Bollin, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer for Latin America Credit Strategy and Research, at Moody’s Investors Service.

When Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in January 2023, the challenges ahead of him loomed large. A year on, the economy has grown more than expected, at 3%, and his administration has passed a historic tax reform. Nevertheless, the executive's relationship with Brazil's conservative, transactional congress remains a reason for concern. In this episode, one of Brazil's best-sourced political journalists discusses the ups and downs of Lula's first year, the strength of Brazil's conservative movement and  former President Jair Bolsonaro, and the main challenges expected for 2024.

Post-electoral tensions in Guatemala and the territorial spat between Guyana and Venezuela have the Western Hemisphere on alert. We speak to someone uniquely positioned to provide insight into these crises and reflect on how the international community is reacting. Frank Mora is the U.S. ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), the Washington-based institution that brings together countries in the Americas. Before assuming his current position, Mora was a Pentagon official in the Barack Obama administration.

One year on from the political crisis that engulfed Peru in December 2022, with protests almost daily on the streets of Lima, the country is still facing a staggering number of risks in both politics and the economy. 12 months after then-President Pedro Castillo tried to illegally dissolve Congress and was removed from office, his replacement, Dina Boluarte, is now facing potential charges related to her government’s heavy-handed repression of protests. On the economic front, most  analysts say Peru is in recession. In this episode, we try to understand what is happening and explore if things will improve soon. Our guest is Luis Miguel Castilla, a political consultant, a former finance minister between 2011 and 2014, and a former ambassador to the United States.

Since being elected on November 19, Javier Milei has changed the tone of some of the more radical policy proposals he campaigned on. He has backtracked on his aggressive rhetoric toward some of Argentina’s largest trading partners, such as Brazil. He has suggested that dollarization may occur not soon. And he had a cordial conversation with Pope Francis, whom he had described as the devil's man on earth. What does this about-face mean? Is a more pragmatic Milei emerging? And if that is the case, what are the circumstances he will face once in office -- what are his key tests ahead? In this episode, a conversation with Eduardo Levy Yeyati, a professor at the School of Government at Torcuato di Tella University in Buenos Aires, on near-term political scenarios as well as a big-picture view of Argentina's structural challenges.