Americas Quarterly 4.7 (112) NEWS UPDATED WEEKLY The AQ Podcast is a conversation on politics and economics in Latin America hosted by Brian Winter, contributing editor for Americas Quarterly MAY 7 Colombia’s High-Stakes Election Colombia goes to the polls on May 31 amid some of the worst violence the country has seen in two decades. FARC dissidents have carried out dozens of attacks in recent weeks, prompting an appeal for peace from Pope Leo XIV. In a way, the campaign has been shadowed since last year by the assassination of senator Miguel Uribe Turbay. And yet, paradoxically, President Gustavo Petro's approval rating has risen 10 points this year. Now three candidates are vying to succeed him: Iván Cepeda, Petro's preferred successor on the left; Paloma Valencia, a conservative senator from Álvaro Uribe's party; and Abelardo de la Espriella, a right-wing outsider who echoes both Javier Milei and Nayib Bukele. Today on the podcast, we want to understand the outlook for Colombia. Who is most likely to make it to the second round? And what would each of the three candidates mean for the country? Our guest is Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, speaking from Bogotá. 34 min APR 30 The Gray Tide: What a Rapidly Aging Latin America Means As recently as the 1960s, the average woman in Latin America had six children. Today that number is 1.8. In Chile, it has fallen to 1.1, lower than Japan. Combined with rising life expectancy, the result is a region aging faster than any other in the world. If current trends hold, national populations could decline by a third in Chile and Uruguay, a quarter in Brazil, and a fifth in Argentina by 2100. The consequences are already visible: pension crises and census counts that have come in millions lower than governments expected. Today on the podcast, we dive deeper into AQ's latest cover story to understand what this demographic transformation means for Latin America's economies and politics specifically. Is there a silver lining? And can the region adapt? Our guests are Laurence Blair, author of AQ's cover story on The Gray Tide, and Ernesto Revilla, Chief Economist for Latin America at Citigroup. 33 min MAR 26 Understanding Delcy Rodríguez Nearly three months after the fall of Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez is still standing as interim president of Venezuela. The broad feeling, at least for now, is that Rodríguez and the chavista regime are not going anywhere. Since she took office on January 5th, Rodríguez has signed an amnesty law, reformed the hydrocarbon law, and restored diplomatic relations with the U.S. for the first time since 2019. Yet she has done this while keeping most of the chavista regime entrenched in power. Diosdado Cabello remains her Interior Minister, her brother, Jorge Rodríguez, runs the National Assembly, and the new Defense Minister is the former head of Venezuela's feared intelligence service, accused of overseeing torture and human rights abuses. What do her actions ultimately mean for the future of Venezuela? Our guest is Juan Forero, Bureau Chief for South America at the Wall Street Journal. 34 min MAR 12 Brazil, Colombia and a Regional Case for Optimism After seven years covering Latin America for the Financial Times, and a previous post in the 1990s, Michael Stott is leaving the region as an optimist. His argument: that Latin America's strengths have been systematically underappreciated, and that in an increasingly dangerous and unstable world, what the region has going for it is about to matter more than it has in the past. In this episode, we take stock of the unique moment across the hemisphere: the tightening race between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of Brazil's October election, the fragmented right in Colombia and the outlook for their presidential election in May, the uncertain futures of Cuba and Venezuela, and how this White House is likely to continue influencing events in years to come. Our guest is Michael Stott, now the South Asia bureau chief for the Financial Times. 31 min FEB 26 Cuba on the Brink For 67 years, many people have been waiting for change in Cuba — and for 67 years, the communist regime has endured. It survived the fall of the Soviet Union, the death of Fidel Castro, economic sanctions, and political pressure from 13 different U.S. presidents. But the Trump Administration, fresh off its military operation in Venezuela, is now applying unprecedented economic pressure on the island, effectively cutting off its oil supply, and pushing basic services to the point of collapse. This follows years of a deepening crisis that has driven as much as a fifth of Cuba’s population to leave since 2020. Is this the moment when change might finally come to Cuba? Our guest is Patrick Oppmann, Havana bureau chief for CNN. 33 min FEB 12 Rodrigo Paz’s Overhaul of Bolivia When Rodrigo Paz was inaugurated in early November 2025, he vowed to implement “capitalism for all.” He inherited an economy in rough shape after 20 years of rule by the MAS party: Inflation was above 20%, foreign currency reserves were nearly exhausted, and fuel lines stretched for blocks. In many ways, Bolivia was also isolated in its relationships abroad, aligned more with Russia and Venezuela than with its South American neighbors or the United States. Now, almost 100 days into his new government, President Paz has had mixed success in pushing through early changes. So, what's next for Bolivia? And in a country with a long history of instability, what are the odds of Paz maintaining power and successfully getting his agenda passed? Our guest is Gabriela Keseberg Dávalos, a Bolivian strategic policy adviser. Gabriela has previously served as Senior Foreign Policy Adviser to the Vice-President of the European Parliament for Human Rights and Democracy, and as Director of Global Public Affairs for a network of think tanks. 35 min 4.7 out of 5 112 Ratings About The AQ Podcast is a conversation on politics and economics in Latin America hosted by Brian Winter, contributing editor for Americas Quarterly Information Creator Americas Quarterly Years Active 2016 - 2026 Episodes 198 Rating Clean Copyright © 2026 The Americas Quarterly Podcast Show Website The Americas Quarterly Podcast You Might Also Like