Current Hot Topics in Latin America Are Covered From the Policy Angle

Our last Latin American Policy (LAP) issue for this year offers critical perspectives on the political, economic, and social dynamics shaping Latin America today. The articles presented delve into crucial areas—from governance and technology policy to environmental sustainability and foreign relations—, providing essential insight into the region's contemporary challenges and transformations. We open the issue with a thought-provoking analysis by Muhammet Derviş Mete in “Video Assistant Referendums (VAR): A Populist Weapon or Effective Tool to Stop Autocrats in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes in Latin America?”. The author argues controversially that constitutional referendums play a corrective role in competitive authoritarian regimes, much like the VAR system in sports, by challenging entrenched rulers in contexts like Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Roberto Duran-Fernandez and Taciana de Carvalho Coutinho explore the profound environmental and developmental puzzle of one of the world's most significant ecological regions in “Amazonia: A Puzzle Between Development and Sustainability?” The text examines the paradox of Amazonia's wealth in biodiversity versus its deep social and economic marginalization, arguing that sustainable development is already underway in grassroots initiatives but requires fundamental institutional transformation. Moving to urban policy and technology, Ronald Sáenz-Leandro presents “The Long and Winding Road: Policy Frictions and the Governance of Ride-hailing Platforms in Latin America.” This study analyzes the regulation trajectories of ride-hailing platforms in Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica, introducing the concept of the “De Facto Deregulation Trap” to explain how institutional fragmentation perpetuates indefinite regulatory uncertainty. The focus then shifts to foreign policy in “From Ideology to Pragmatism: Domestic Challenges Shaping Foreign Policy in Latin America's New Left,” by Juan Pablo Sims, Brice Tseen Fu, Lee, Yun-Tso Lee, and Daniela Catalina Cerda. This piece argues that the current resurgence of left-wing governments since 2018 diverges from the original Pink Tide, with economic difficulties and escalating crime rates compelling these administrations toward more pragmatic and nationally focused foreign policies. Next, Maximiliano Facundo Vila Seoane contributes “Technology policy maneuvers amid hegemonic pressures: The digital TV and radio spectrum policy in Argentina.” The article introduces the concept of technology policy maneuver to understand how peripheral states respond to hegemonic pressures when choosing technology policies, using Argentine telecommunications choices—including digital TV, 5G, and Wi-Fi 6—as illustrative examples. Luis Rivera-Vélez and María Cecilia Díaz offer “Constructing Policy Paradigms Through Implementation: Medical Cannabis Reforms in Colombia and Argentina.” Drawing on the policy paradigms framework, the authors show that medical cannabis reforms in both countries evolved through incremental adjustments during implementation, with mid-level bureaucrats and civil society actors reshaping the policy goals and ideas of legitimate use. Then, David Silva Gutiérrez, Zeus Hiram Zamora-Guevara, Juan Roberto Vargas Sánchez, and Zeus Hernández Veleros examine the resurgence of so-called “natural resource nationalism” in “Resurgence of energy nationalism in Mexico: Classic purposes, historical obstacles, and green opportunities for the energy sector.” The text analyzes the effects of Mexico's 2018 government measures to recover the energy sector's role as an economic engine, noting that while some structural issues have shown slight improvement, the energy transition has been delayed. Finally, Ramón González Viramontes and Jorge A. Schiavon analyze diplomatic efforts in “Mexican Consular Lobbying in the United States: Explaining the Acceptance of the Consular Identification Card.” The authors explore the successful lobbying strategies used by the network of Mexican consulates to achieve the acceptance of the Matrícula Consular, which provides a valid form of identification for Mexican nationals, particularly undocumented migrants. This issue also includes two timely Opinion articles. Robert A. Blecker, Juan Carlos Moreno-Brid, Edgar Pérez-Medina, and Fernando Ricalde-Zamora weigh in on “The USMCA Review and the Mexican Economy: Between Renegotiation and Limbo.” They argue that Trump's return to the presidency in 2025, and his adoption of commercial protectionism as a central instrument of his economic policy have dealt a heavy blow to the operation and prospects of the USMCA and more generally to Mexico's export-led growth strategy. Andrea Oelsner contributes “The End of the Liberal Order—What Liberal Order? Peace and Conflict in an Illiberal World,” in which she argues that by the time the post-Cold War era had set in, the liberal international order was already in decline. Finally, our issue concludes with a Book Review by Raúl Aldaz Peña of Bringing War Back In: Victory, Defeat, and the State in Nineteenth-Century Latin America by Luis Schenoni (2024). We hope this collection stimulates debate and deepens understanding of the multifaceted challenges and agency within Latin America today. Isidro Morales, editor in chief, is retired professor in the School of Social Sciences and Government at Tecnológico de Monterrey, and an external fellow of the Mexico–United States Center at Rice University's Baker Institute.