Venezuela
![](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2162226875.jpg)
In Venezuela’s Election, Energy and Climate Policies Are Also at Stake
5 minute readWithout political change, the country’s lack of action on climate and the environment represents a huge opportunity cost, an expert writes.
Nicaragua
![China reopens its embassy in Managua, Nicaragua, in December 2021.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Chinese-Embassy-Managua.jpg)
Nicaragua’s Flip From Taiwan to China Has Yet to Pay Off
4 minute readEngaging with Beijing was supposed to anchor the nation’s economy, but the decision has not lived up to expectations.
Mexico
![President Andrés Manuel López Obrador speaks about judicial reform in June at the National Palace in Mexico City.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-2157010103.jpg)
AMLO’s Judicial Reform Overlooks the Key Weakness of Mexican Justice
4 minute readProsecutors’ willingness and capacity to investigate crimes is the nation’s judicial system’s weakest link, writes an expert.
Podcast
![](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AQPodcastLizarazo_071724-scaled.jpg)
AQ Podcast | Gustavo Petro: The Gap Between Rhetoric and Reality
< 1 minute readAt the halfway point of his presidency, Petro is still trying to deliver on his vision for a more equal and secure Colombia, while also dealing with a difficult economic climate. What can we expect from his next two years in office?
Photo Essay
![Claudia Maribel Vera Pech, left, 38, and Regina Laudalina Valle Chim, 47, of the award-winning Chelemeras group trek through a wetland toward the beginnings of a new forest, planted by hand](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/C26A7302-scaled.jpg)
Meet the Chelemeras: The Maya Women Who Restore Mangroves in Mexico’s Yucatán
3 minute readInternationally hailed, the reforestation project run by 14 women targets these life-sheltering, shoreline-protecting ecosystems.
Long View
![A 1940 front page of El Universal reports shortages of morphine and other drugs due to war in Europe.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AQ0324_LV2-scaled.jpg)
When Mexico Tried a Different Approach to Drugs—and Washington Said No
6 minute readIn 1940, a major reform envisioned treating drug addiction with regulated dispensaries, until the U.S. helped put a stop to it.
Cultura
![Didi Bortoluci had cancer while his son interviewed him for What Is Mine. He died in November 2023.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/639PngI9b.jpg)
“Your Dad Helped Build This Airport”: Brazil’s 20th Century in One Family’s Eyes
4 minute readIn an internationally hailed new book, a sociologist traces Brazil’s tumultuous development through his trucker father’s life story.
Cultura
![](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Tamara_Tenenbaum-scaled.jpg)
Searching for Argentina’s Lost Yiddish Theater
3 minute readIn a young Argentine literary standout’s new novel, the country’s Jewish past and present collide.
Cultura
![Orquestra Mundana Refugi performing their song “Taranta” from their album Todo lugar é aqui](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-05-30830pm-scaled.jpg)
AQ’s Summer Playlist: Unexpected Collisions
3 minute readFrom São Paulo to Havana, surprising musical and cultural combinations mark AQ’s music critic’s warm-weather selection.
2024 U.S. Election
![Timeline: U.S.-Latin America Relations Under Trump and Biden. AQ highlights the major moments in hemispheric relations under the two presidents, from USMCA to Biden’s border action.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AQ0324_TIMEopener-scaled.jpg)
Timeline: U.S.-Latin America Relations Under Trump and Biden
5 minute readAQ highlights the major moments in hemispheric relations under the two presidents, from USMCA to Biden’s border action.
AQ Q&A
![Chile's Torres del Paine National Park in Magallanes](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Torres-del-Paine-Eduardo-Hernandez.jpg)
Q&A: Chile’s Ambitious Environmental Fund
2 minute readRestoring the national botanical garden, which burned down in this year’s wildfires, is just one project for the relatively new national fund.
Visual Art
![Using paints made from local soil, Dell Alvarado depicts the environmental toll of resource extraction in her native part of Oaxaca.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Layu2-scaled.jpg)
The Dark Side of Development in Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec
3 minute readWith handfuls of earth and hard data, a Oaxacan artist testifies to the toll that a wind farm boom and other changes have taken on her native lands.
Cultura
![La laguna del soldado’s experimental structure overlays images of Andean grasslands with the voices of scientists and locals—and a reading of Bolívar’s poetry.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Filmalt.jpg)
In the Footsteps of Bolívar, A Meditation on Nature’s Superhuman Power
3 minute readA new film retraces the Liberator’s difficult campaign across the Colombian Andes, revealing the natural world’s final victory over mankind.
One Year Later
![U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the RSA cybersecurity conference in San Francisco in May.](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AQ0324_LONGVIEW-scaled.jpg)
U.S. Cybersecurity Diplomacy Is Helping Counter China
3 minute readA year after AQ’s special report on cybersecurity in Latin America, U.S. aid and collaboration are making some headway.
Latin America
![](https://www.americasquarterly.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GettyImages-115860512-scaled.jpg)
Latin America’s Renewed Fiscal Challenges
4 minute readMany countries are running excessive budget deficits amid slow revenue growth and higher borrowing costs.