Reading Time: 2 minutes This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on the 2024 U.S. presidential election and its impact on Latin America Eugenio Rengifo 46 years old, Frutillar, Chile Executive director of Chile’s national environmental fund Fondo Naturaleza Chile (FNC), established in 2021 What they do: FNC raises and manages funds for nature conservation projects, working closely with the government, private sector, and local communities. According to FNC, Chile invests much less in conservation than a country of its wealth and biodiversity should. AQ: Which FNC conservation proje ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes SANTIAGO—In a country where the average life expectancy has increased from 67 to 80 years in just over a generation, maintaining a well-functioning pension system is not only critical but politically advisable. Even more so, considering Chile’s economy grows only 2% year-on-year, and by 2050, almost half of its population will be over 65 years old. How can the country confront this challenge? In recent years, previous administrations have attempted to address the issue with limited success due to the ambitions of their proposals. Former Presidents Michelle Bachelet and ..read more

Reading Time: 5 minutes SANTIAGO—Chile is stuck in the slow lane on lithium. President Gabriel Boric’s administration is hoping a roadmap introduced one year ago will steer the mineral-rich country onto a faster course by encouraging investment without compromising social and environmental commitments. A few investors are eager to jump in. But with state companies mandated to control the most coveted assets and legal clouds on the horizon, others are wary.  Lithium is among a handful of minerals critical for renewable energy and batteries used in electric vehicles, so Chile’s policy matte ..read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes “Why would I want to keep on living in a country where people hate me?” So says Augusto Pinochet, who, after two centuries of life as a vampire, has finally decided to die. The Oscar-nominated film El Conde, directed by Pablo Larraín, bitterly satirizes Chile’s infamous dictator, who staged a coup against democratically elected President Salvador Allende, and then ruled the country for 17 years. In this grisly farce, up for an award for its cinematography on March 10, Larraín manages to inject freshness and humor into a story that has been told and retold for decades. B ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes Almost immediately after former Chilean President Sebastián Piñera died in a helicopter crash this week, the tributes started coming in. Some of them were quite unexpected. “As everyone knows, we didn’t have the same ideas,” Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina’s former president, wrote on social media. “But we were always united by a relationship of much respect: He was a man of the (ideological) right, but deeply democratic. I remember with affection his sense of humor and the warmth of his family, whom I met in Chile. For them, all my condolences.” The outpourin ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute The images coming out of Ecuador in the past week were just the latest reminder of the extraordinary power of drug cartels in Latin America. Despite efforts by many governments, the production of cocaine in the region continues to soar, and criminal groups have diversified their practices. In this episode, a look at how leaders around Latin America are responding to this crisis. We’ll discuss whether legalization of some drugs might be politically viable and how drug violence is likely to impact politics in years to come. Our guest is Lucía Dammert, a researcher in ..read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute In 2023 Latin America’s economies performed better than analysts expected. 2024 also promises growth, although the picture will vary a lot by country. On today’s podcast, we’ll look at which may perform better, which will do worse, what factors could determine success or failure and what may be the impact of elections, which are set to take place in six Latin American nations this year. Our guest is Ariane Ortiz-Bollin, Vice President – Senior Credit Officer for Latin America Credit Strategy and Research, at Moody’s Investors Service. Subscribe to the Americas ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes On December 17, 56% of Chilean voters rejected a constitutional proposal drafted by a majority right-wing council. A previous text, written by a mainly left-wing convention, was dismissed by 62% of voters in the September 2022 plebiscite. After yesterday’s referendum, President Gabriel Boric said that the constitutional process was now closed for the remainder of his term. AQ asked analysts to share their reaction to the result: Patricio Navia, professor of liberal studies at NYU and professor of political science a ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes Chile’s referendum on December 17 will reveal if voters back the second attempt at rewriting the constitution in as many years. According to polls, chances are that this new draft will not obtain more than 40-45% support, in which case the current constitution, which dates back to 1980—the Augusto Pinochet era—will remain in force. The country’s political divide will likely contribute to mostly “no” votes in the plebiscite. While an elected convention dominated by leftists drafted the first version rejected in 2022, this second iteration is the product of an elected cou ..read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes As the world’s second-largest producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate (LCE), a crucial part of electric car batteries, Chile has long outpaced Argentina and Bolivia in attracting investment to mine it. But a series of events is changing Latin America’s so-called “lithium triangle.” With the world’s largest deposits, Bolivia has secured new multimillion-dollar investments, and Argentina’s lightly regulated lithium sector is roaring full speed ahead. In contrast, Chile has no new projects underway, and a planned overhaul of the industry under President Gabriel Boric ..read more