Americas Quarterly

2 weeks ago | americasquarterly.org | Brian Fonseca

Reading Time: 4 minutesOngoing renewed talks between the U.S. and Iran show that engagement remains a key instrument in the Trump administration’s foreign policy toolbox, even as it advances a staunch “America First” agenda. This isn’t complicity with Tehran’s regime—it’s strategic, and the move suggests that the White House continues to prioritize pragmatism over ideology. A similar principle can be applied in a case much closer to home and with significant ramifications: Venezuela.

3 weeks ago | americasquarterly.org | Jose Enrique Arrioja |Emilie Sweigart |Rich Brown |Susan Segal

A year after AQ’s report on port infrastructure, Chile’s far south has hit a few roadblocks as investment interest continues. An expert on urban issues discusses trends to watch and argues cities are where the region's political future is being forged. Gilberto Kassab is one of the country’s most important behind-the-scenes politicians, worth watching as the 2026 elections draw closer. Far from Silicon Valley, a digital niche is taking shape, with AI-driven initiatives and a data center boom.

3 weeks ago | americasquarterly.org | Alejandra Oliva

Reading Time: 3 minutesThis article is adapted from AQ’s special report on Guatemala. When you google Antonio de Erauso, the little biographical box at the top of the search page sums him up in one word: “Nun.” That semi-contradiction suggests an intriguing life—but the reality is more fascinating still. The Lieutenant Nun—as Erauso was widely known in the 17th century—was born in 1592, as Catalina de Erauso. Raised in a convent as a novitiate, Erauso escaped at the age of 15.

3 weeks ago | americasquarterly.org | Jose Enrique Arrioja

Reading Time: 16 minutes Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo has an ambitious agenda… …to tackle challenges in one of Latin America’s most unequal countries. Investing more in education and infrastructure will be key to his success… …and essential to the nation’s democratic future. Guatemala’s Bernardo Arévalo was nearly prevented from taking office. Now, can his drive to reform the country succeed?

3 weeks ago | americasquarterly.org | Gema Kloppe-Santamaría |Julia Young

Gema Kloppe-SantamaríaReading Time: 7 minutesKloppe-Santamaría is a Nicaraguan-born sociologist and historian specializing in violence, crime, and gender in Mexico and Central America. She is an associate research professor of Latin American History at George Washington University and a lecturer of Sociology at University College Cork. Author of In the Vortex of Violence: Lynching, Extralegal Justice, and the State in Post-Revolutionary Mexico (University of California Press, 2020).