Chinese investment in Latin America

Chinese car manufacturers are setting up shop in Brazil and replacing closed down factories from Western car manufacturers like Mercedes and Ford. The ascendant firms have a particular focus on electric vehicles: “(the) goal is to reinvent the way Brazil drives, and ultimately, the rest of Latin America, much as Chinese automakers have already done across much of Asia and want to do in Europe,” reports The New York Times.

Chinese companies are taking advantage of the withdrawal of some US and European firms in Brazil, as well as the tensions heightened by the Trump administration in the US between tariff and sanction threats (see LADB 7/16/25 and 7/14/25). Courting this investment, Brazil is set to establish a tax advisory office in Beijing, “(underscoring) Brazil's growing focus on its relationship with China,” notes Reuters.

By contrast, closer to the United States and with a smaller, less independent economy—as well as facing pressure over the Canal—Panama is succumbing to US coercion more easily. “A month ago, the U.S. Embassy in Panama made a rare announcement: The U.S. government, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security, would replace Huawei telecommunications equipment at 13 sites across the country with U.S. technology,” explains Americas Quarterly, highlighting Panama’s move earlier this year to leave China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and examining Huawei’s penetration in the hemisphere.

Venezuela and El Salvador

• Venezuela’s Maduro government has announced that it is opening an investigation into El Salvador’s Bukele government for alleged mistreatment and human rights abuses against the group of over 250 Venezuelan migrants that were returned to their home country in a recent prisoner exchange. Some of the migrants “said they were beaten, sexually abused and fed rotten food” while detained in the notorious CECOT prison following deportation from the US. (Al Jazeera, AP; see yesterday’s LADB)

• “What began as an anti-gang crackdown has metastasized into a systematic campaign targeting anyone who questions Bukele’s increasingly authoritarian rule. Unfortunately, Bukele is following a pattern seen before in Latin America: A leader dismantles democracy while popular in order to hold onto it once that support is gone. Alberto Fujimori in Peru in the 1990s and Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in the 2000s are examples of democratically elected leaders with authoritarian tendencies who used their early popularity to undermine democratic values, often with the support of a majority of the population. Then, as they became less popular, the abuses increased,” explains James Bosworth at WPR.

Argentina

• “Argentina’s economy contracted in May for the third time this year as previous wage declines and rising unemployment likely put pressure on consumer spending,” reports Buenos Aires Times.

• A new survey shows that Argentine president Javier Milei’s popular support is trending negative: disapproval has risen to 57%. (Página 12)

Regional

• “In Latin America, Afro-descendants have become crucial environmental stewards, as the territories they inhabit not only boast greater biodiversity and carbon sequestration, but also have deforestation rates that are up to 55% lower, according to a study just published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment,” reports El País.

• The leaders of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, and Spain met at a “Democracy Forever” summit hosted in Santiago de Chile yesterday. A joint statement “emphasized the need for renewed multilateralism, reform of international governance, and active democratic diplomacy to counter democratic regression, reaffirming their commitment to peace,” reports MercoPress.

Brazil

• “Brazil's Supreme Court on Monday threatened to order former president Jair Bolsonaro's arrest unless his lawyers explain within 24 hours why he breached a social media ban. Bolsonaro, who stands accused of attempting a "coup" against his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, made a speech Monday that went viral on social media platforms,” reports AFP. Bolsonaro must currently wear an electronic ankle monitor and is not permitted to leave his house at night, per AP.

Mexico

• A report from Universidad Iberoamericana examines militarization in Mexico in the nearly two decades since the Calderón presidency’s war on drugs began in 2006. “The poor results of a militarized approach underscore the need to rethink the concept of public security, and to take lessons from successful alternatives that prioritize civilian leadership and citizen participation, and strengthen key institutions to fight impunity,” explains InSight Crime in its coverage of the report.

Colombia

• “Rebels in northeastern Colombia used a drone to attack a military patrol in a rural area, killing three soldiers and injuring eight,” reports AP.

• The Guardian highlights efforts to find the bodies of those disappeared during Colombia’s armed conflict, including underwater dives in the San Antonio estuary, near Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca.

Nicaragua

• “Ortega orders increased ‘revolutionary surveillance’ to ‘capture and prosecute traitors’ in Nicaragua: The leader praised China and Russia on the 46th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution, in a ceremony that lacked any high-profile international guests” (El País)