Last month, Colombia announced it will apply for BRICS membership, and Argentina formally requested to become one of NATO’s global partners. Ten years ago, both of those statements would have sounded absurd. But while they are a sign of Latin America’s changing diplomatic alliances, it would be a mistake to read too much into them.
The Americas
The regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro will probably remain in power after elections scheduled for late July. But the past few weeks have been unusually positive ones for Venezuela’s opposition. The faintest glimmers of optimism have begun to appear due to events unfolding in ways that have caught the Maduro regime off guard.
Last year, Chinese automaker BYD clinched a deal to take over Ford Motor’s factory in Bahia, Brazil, after Ford decided to withdraw from the Brazilian market. BYD is already the world’s largest producer of electric vehicles, and the move into Brazil is an effort to further consolidate its early conquest of EV markets in the Global South.