Latin America in Focus

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Sandra Borda on the Figures and Forces behind Colombia’s Presidential Race

June 11, 2026

The Colombian electorate sent a clear message with the two candidates they sent to the June 21 presidential runoff: they are no longer interested in politics as usual. With far-right lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella and leftist Senator Iván Cepeda concentrating 85 percent of the first-round vote, the country’s traditional center and center-right parties have receded to the background. “[Colombia’s] political and ideological spectrum is now wider than it was before,” says Dr. Sandra Borda, a Bo...

Jorge Castañeda on the Frictions Straining U.S.-Mexico Ties

May 28, 2026

From Mexico’s Cuba ties to Washington's persistent tariff pledges, points of friction keep coming up between Mexico and the United States, reaching a crescendo last month when the U.S. Department of Justice indicted 10 Mexican officials, including a sitting governor from President Claudia Sheinbaum’s own party. "U.S.-Mexican relations are probably in their worst moment that I can remember since the 1970s,” the former Foreign Minister of Mexico Jorge Castañeda tells AS/COA's Carin Zissis. “Nev...

What Trump and Lula Want from U.S.-Brazil Ties

May 14, 2026

After months of tensions, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and U.S. President Donald Trump emerged from a May meeting at the White House smiling for the cameras. The leaders, both facing critical elections, sought to project international strength during delicate domestic moments, as they tackled a bilateral trade and security agenda. “We need to be very careful in interpreting the meeting,” Fernanda Magnotta of the Brazilian Center for International Relations told AS/COA Online’...