Good morning from Bacalar, Mexico.
Most people got my points about using AI, though a few people on social media missed it. Using AI to research and co-write is an amazing tool, but it takes more work, not less, to do it in a way that leads to something that feels human and is worth reading. So the funny/ironic thing is that, after publishing that essay on using AI, nearly all of my writing this week was done without AI (other than a quick grammar and fact check at the end) because I didn’t have time to use AI correctly. In that nerdy way, it’s been a great vacation.
WPR - Can Latin America’s Right-Wing Wave Build Anything Durable?
Monday - On using AI to write newsletters
Tuesday - Mexico - Tren Maya travelogue - July 2026 - Overbuilt, overstaffed, mega-infrastructure that successfully and comfortably got me from point A to point B on time.
Wednesday - Lula and Sheinbaum still push back effectively - July 2026
Thursday - Where is the new right-wing ALBA?
I publish a free newsletter every Tuesday and a list of links every Friday. Paid subscribers also receive a Wednesday newsletter on US policy in Latin America and a Thursday deep dive on regional politics.
Thanks to everyone who subscribes and supports this newsletter. It’s $9 per month or $90 per year for individuals and $350 per year for institutions.
Mexico Political Economist - New USMCA Demands on Mexico: A Breakdown
Americas Quarterly - USMCA and the Politics of Permanent Leverage
CNN - For Years, the US Went After Mexico’s Drug Lords. Now It’s Looking at the Politicians
Expediente Abierto - The Sheinbaum Administration’s Cautious Engagement With China in Mexico
El Financiero - ‘Estaba a la vista de todos’: ¿Qué sabemos de la refinería clandestina que operaba el crimen organizado?
Reuters - Mexico’s Economy Grows at Fastest Pace Since Late 2020 in Q2
Contra la Corrupción - Gobierno de Michoacán oculta pagos a empresas fantasma
Wall Street Journal - Brazil Sees a Trump-Led Effort to Tilt Election Against Lula
Washington Post - Lula to Trump: ‘No One Will Defeat Us Through Lies’
UPI - Brazil Challenges U.S. Tariffs at WTO While Pursuing Talks
Bloomberg - Brazil Recalls Ambassador After Milei Attacks Lula, Judge
Al Jazeera - Bolsonaro’s Son Begins Brazil Presidential Bid With Netanyahu, Milei Kudos
Bloomberg - Lula Leads Brazil Election Poll After Shaky Start to Bolsonaro Campaign
Brazilian Report - Old Habits Die Hard
Reuters - Lula Unifies Brazil’s Left, but Questions Remain About Its Future Without Him
The Economist - Brazil Has the World’s Strictest Laws Against Racist Speech
Time - How Delcy Rodríguez Went From Maduro Loyalist to Trump Proxy
Caracas Chronicles - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing for Rubio’s Venezuela Transition Plan
Wall Street Journal - American Oil Majors Trying to Get Into Venezuela Have Hit a Wall
WLRN - The Machadyssey: How Long Will Venezuela’s Democracy Hero — and Democracy — Be Forced to Wander?
Americas Quarterly - The Real Negotiation Venezuela Needs
NPR - Why Venezuela’s Democratic Transition Talks Won’t Include María Corina Machado
Efecto Cocuyo - ¿Qué se sabe de las negociaciones que arrancan el 1 de agosto en Venezuela?
CNBC - Trump Says US Has Sold More Than $13 Billion of Venezuela Oil
InSight Crime - Reshuffled or Reformed? Venezuela’s Criminal Order After Maduro
Efecto Cocuyo - Chavistas ‘originarios’ emiten ‘Declaración de Maracay’ para exigir cese al tutelaje
New York Times - From Defending Colombian Drug Traffickers to Waging War on Them
La Silla Vacía - El gabinete de ministros de Abelardo de La Espriella
Euronews - Colombia’s President-Elect to Close Embassies in Three European Countries in Diplomatic Overhaul
Bloomberg - Bolivia, IMF Agree on New $1.9 Billion Financing Program
Bloomberg - Ecuador Arrests Suspected Financier Behind Violent Crime Gang
AP News - Keiko Fujimori Is Inaugurated as Peru’s President Following a Narrow Election Victory
France 24 - Peru’s Newly Inaugurated President Fujimori Vows Military-Led Crackdown on Crime
AS/COA - Peru: Who’s Who in Keiko Fujimori’s Cabinet?
Americas Quarterly - El Niño Will Challenge the New Andean Right
Rest of World - Chile Turned to China for an Undersea Cable. The U.S. Said No
The Chile Brief - El Niño Hits Chile and South America
Reuters - Argentina’s Growth Paradox: Shale Riches Grow as Jobs Disappear Elsewhere
Reuters - Argentina’s Milei Unveils Bill to Shield Central Bank From Political Pressure
Bloomberg - IMF Chief Visits Milei as Argentina’s $57 Billion Bill Comes Due
Buenos Aires Herald - Cristina Kirchner to Take Corruption Conviction to UN Human Rights Committee
MercoPress - US Seeks Uruguay as Destination for Deported Migrants; Montevideo Stops Short of Confirming Deal
The Paraguay Post - Did Paraguay Start the Triple Alliance War? Lula Thinks So.
El Faro - Salvadoran Opposition Leader Clashes With Her Own Party Over Big-Tent Strategy
El País - Gobernar sin fecha de caducidad: la ruta de Bukele para borrar los límites del poder en El Salvador
El Salvador Perspectives - Salvadorans Fighting and Dying in Global Conflict Zones
El Faro - El Faro Wins Gabo Award for Chronicling a Wave of Exile From Bukele’s El Salvador
Los Angeles Times - Nicaragua’s Authoritarian Leader Just Scrapped Elections — and Any Pretense of Democracy
Divergentes - Ortega y Murillo proponen ‘periodos de siete años renovables’ para perpetuarse en el poder
Confidencial - From “There Will Be No Elections” to “Yes There Will”: The Regime’s Effort to Reinterpret Ortega
Newsroom Panama - The Audit of Cobre Panamá Is Questioned by Environmentalists, Who Ask That It Not Define the Future of the Mine
Newsroom Panama - Panama Canal Sees Revenue Beating Forecast After Hormuz Closure
Haitian Times - Haitian TPS Holders and US Employers Face Confusion as Work Permits Expire
Miami Herald - Haiti Electoral Council Sets Calendar for First Elections in a Decade. Is It Realistic?
AP News - Haiti Starts to Register Voters in Violent Capital Under Gang Menace
Miami Herald - Haiti Must Rebuild From the Bottom Up, Starting With Local Elections
New York Times - Cut Off From Fuel, Cuba Is Still Surviving
AP News - Raúl Castro Is Absent as Cuba Celebrates the Anniversary of a Key Revolutionary Attack
Reuters - Protest Erupts in Eastern Cuba Amid Blackouts, Food Shortages
Al Jazeera - ‘To Play God’: Cuba’s Healthcare System Collapses Under US Pressure
The Intercept - Rubio’s Paranoid Cuba Report Designed to ‘Justify a Military Attack on Cuba,’ Says Democratic Rep.
New York Times - Guyana Ferry Tragedy Exposes Political Rifts in Oil-Rich Country
Bloomberg - Oil’s Curse Is Hanging Over the World’s Fastest-Growing Economy
Americas Quarterly - Elbridge Colby on the Opportunities of the “Donroe Doctrine”
CNN - The US Military Hasn’t Blown Up an Alleged Drug Boat in a Month. Has the Campaign Worked?
WOLA - Killing Spree: Extrajudicial Executions in the U.S. Boat Strikes Campaign
InSight Crime - The InSight Take: Juan Orlando Hernández, From Indictment to Pardon
Chaufa - China-LAC Trade Booms in the First Half of 2026
War on the Rocks - Key Areas Where Water Scarcity Intensifies Risks of Conflict
New York Times - In This Costa Rican Forest, Monkeys Come Face-to-Face With A.I.
I’m off to Mexico City, and will definitely miss Bacalar. Have a good weekend!
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