The Big Stories to watch this week in LATAM
Bolivia goes to elections, US gets confusing about Venezuela, and Brazil is getting wild
LATAM Daily Wires brings you the stories to watch this week in Latin America and the big headline developments over the weekend. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you should.
Bolivian Elections
MAS faces an existential threat in upcoming Bolivian elections
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Leftist party MAS has ruled Bolivia uninterrupted for almost two decades, but amidst economic crisis, scandals, and political infighting, they now face an existential crisis as voters head to the polls Sunday.
Dragged down by the abysmal approval rating of current President Luis Arce and scandals surrounding former president Evo Morales, who has left the coalition, MAS is polling at around 3%. If they can’t achieve a few more points, their party will lose certification in future elections.
Meanwhile, the right is poised to take control of the South American country. We broke it all down on our podcast a few weeks ago at Pirate Wire Radio.
The US gives Maduro a bounty on his head, lots of oil money, and some nonsense about criminal groups
Last week, the US State Department increased the bounty for the capture of Nicolas Maduro to $50 million. The news came on the heels of new contracts with oil company Chevron in the country that will generate that amount of money for the Maduro government every few days.
The news was accompanied by claims by Trump that Maduro controls the Tren de Aragua, as well as cartels in Mexico, which he is using to “invade” the United States. Those claims are nonsense. Sheinbaum in Mexico stated publicly that there is no evidence to support the accusation that cartels in the country work with the Venezuelan government.
A new investigative piece produced in conjunction by Caracas Chronicles and the Cazadores de Fake News breaks down exactly how misinformation and false claims about the Tren followed Venezuelan migrants across South America, and eventually made their way to the White House. It’s worth a read.
We also covered this issue late last year at PWS.
Urban Legends and a media-ecosphere: How the "Tren de Aragua's" infamy grew across the Americas
The Tren de Aragua— the so-called “super gang” that evolved in prisons in the Venezuelan state by the same name — has become a boogeyman of the western hemisphere in recent years.
Brazil is getting wild
Tensions are mounting in Brazil as courts near a verdict in the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro. Supporters and critics alike expect the court to find him guilty of participation in an attempted coup following presidential elections.
Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest last week for violating court orders that prevent him from discussing the case publicly or on social media. The US responded with 50% blanket tariffs on the country as Bolsonaro supporters took to the streets in rallies around the country. Many called for further US intervention in what they claim is a politically motivated extralegal process.
The US has also revoked the visas of Brazilian judges. Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who is presiding over the case, has become a particular target of ire for US President Donald Trump. The same judge who forced Elon Musk to back down over X policies in the country, Moraes has been targeted with sanctions by the US State Department.
Tensions between the two countries are likely to continue rising in the coming days and weeks, particularly if the court does hand down a widely expected guilty verdict.
Analysts in Brazil have called the evidence against Bolsonaro, which includes testimony from Generals in the country’s army, “overwhelming.”
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