Welcome again Foreign Policy‘s Latin America Brief.
Highlights this week: Fuel inflation hits South America as a result of the Iran war, Peruvian presidential candidates ready for the election, and a new Netflix documentary series praises the prosecutor fighting femicide in Mexico City.
Power supply problems related to US-Israel war in Iran so far they have been less severe in Latin America compared to most of the developing countries. Governments have not issued work-from-home orders or fuel rationing, as they have to have in parts of Asia. But the global energy crisis still grips the region, bringing economic pressure and intense political negotiations.
Chile has had some of the biggest impacts. On March 26, for example, the price of ordinary grade gasoline jumped almost 30 percent from the previous day, while the cost of diesel rose by 60 percent. President José Antonio Castwhich was launched last month, has not used many policies to control inflation, particularly to pass cost to Chileans.
Kast’s right-wing approval rating has already fallen by more than 10 percent since his inauguration, according to an analyst. People’s Beats.
Meanwhile, in Bolivia, public outcry over gas prices caused the state-run energy company to cut back. walk back one of President Rodrigo Paz’s main pro-market policies: the removed of fuel subsidies. And in Peru, the president discussion Tuesday featured a debate on candidates’ proposals to ensure affordable gas.
While eliminating oil subsidies may be politically risky, there is no guarantee that extending them preserves the popularity of leaders. In Brazil, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced a plan for diesel subsidies after the war started. But Lula, who is running for re-election in October, slipped the presidency opinion polls to reach the same level as his main competitor, Flávio Bolsonaro.
Lula has tried to shift the blame for the price shock to US President Donald Trump, saying the Iran war “is Trump’s.” He can use that approach when the election is near, especially since Flávio—the son of the former right-wing President. Jair Bolsonaro– he wanted to compare himself to Trump. (He appeared last weekend at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas.)
For many countries in the region, the energy shock may demonstrate the value of separating energy from energy. Brazil built a large domestic ethanol industry after the 1973 oil crisis, and is considering a policy of increase the amount of ethanol in the motor fuel mixture. Even Argentina’s pro-oil regime is benefiting from the same power, last week increase the percentage of ethanol that is allowed in car tanks.
In March, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley it promised to accelerate the country’s transition to renewable energy, saying it was “stupid” that Barbados did not do so sooner after the oil shock that followed Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Colombia is set to host an international player collection on that topic this month. The First Conference on Switching Fuels from Fossil Fuels, co-organized by the Netherlands, has been working since last November’s UN climate summit in Brazil. It may gain more importance amid the current energy shock.
At least 46 countries have succeeded he said are sending delegates to the conference, including major oil producers Australia, Canada, and Norway.
Sunday, April 12: Peru holds presidential elections.
Friday, April 24, to Wednesday, April 29: Colombia is holding a conference on transitioning from fossil fuels.
Pushback from Beijing. US pressure on South American countries to reduce China’s presence in the region has caused reactions from Beijing. After the Supreme Court of Panama has been cancelled Hong Kong company contracts in the Panama Canal, China has it increased detention of Panamanian-flagged ships in its own waters, according to the US Federal Maritime Commission.
In another case, China responded to Mexico’s new tariffs on Chinese goods, as well as imports from other countries with which it does not have trade agreements, by conducting a trade investigation in Mexico. Last week, it is he concluded that Mexico’s actions were a “violation of trade laws” and said it reserved the right to take unspecified further steps in response.
Colombian investment laws. Colombian President Gustavo Petro he announced last week that he plans to move the country away from investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) arrangements. The ISDS system allows companies to seek financial compensation from countries for certain government actions.
That means, for example, that if Colombia were to ban oil drilling, an oil company that already has drilling contracts could seek compensation. ISDS provisions are present in most trade agreements, but both countries are present Europe and across developing countries have distanced themselves from them in recent years, citing a desire for self-determination.
Petro is set to step down in August, and his successor may reverse course. For now, however, his promise is another example of how the Petro administration has countered many of Colombia’s diplomatic doctrines. Long a champion of free trade, the country had followed the ISDS system in the past.
Relatives of femicide victims protest during the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women protest in Mexico City on November 25, 2025.Frayeli Garcia/AFP via Getty Images
Combating feminicide. Netflix’s new documentary series, Prosecutorfollows the first-ever director of the Mexico City office dedicated to fighting femicide, or gender-based violence against women. Mexico City confirmed the crime of femicide in the country 2011but the alleged cases continued to pile up, uninvestigated and unsolved.
Therefore, in 2019, Mexico City created a new public prosecutor’s office. Lawyer Sayuri Herrera entered the office aiming to reverse the apathy of the masses in the Mexican justice system. The filmmakers were given extensive access to the office, and the series captured the details of that world.
Prosecutor includes the time members of Mexico’s elite called to try to prevent the release of a wealthy man who shot his wife in a restaurant full of witnesses. Rich or poor, criminals generally showed no remorse for the position. The series shows why fighting gender-based violence is an uphill battle—but also what trying to do it looks like.
Latin America is one of the places in the world where it is common to see femicide classified as a different crime than murder. Which country was the first to do so?
Costa Rica
Guatemala
Argentina
Brazil
The year was 2007. Guatemala followed soon after, in 2008.
A supporter of Peruvian presidential candidate Rafael López Aliaga of the popular Renovación party, known as “Porky,” wears a pig mask outside the Lima Convention Center in Lima on March 31.Ernesto Benavides/AFP via Getty Images
Before Peru’s presidential election on April 12, the candidates with the largest number of voters include Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori; Rafael López Aliaga, known as “Pork,” the right-wing former mayor of Lima and Alfonso López Chau, the left-wing former central bank director.
Support for López Chau has grown in recent weeks, according to opinion polls Datum and Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP). But even so, an IEP poll late last month found that 29 percent of Peruvians are still undecided, and a further 27 percent said they might change their minds before election day. The race may continue until the replay.
Surveys show that insecurity and the economy are the main concerns of voters. In response to the global energy crisis, all major candidates have said they will work to lower energy prices. Fujimori has promised fuel subsidies, while Lopez said goodbye and Lopez Chau promising relief through standards set by the government. López Chau too he swore green energy transition.
The two right-wing candidates have suggested they will implement a tough security crackdown, which could give them a boost at a time when insecurity is growing in Peru. But above all, the Peruvian vote seems to be dominated by dissatisfaction with the political class. The country has he had eight presidents in the past decade.
