On August 31, users of Twitter/X woke up to a platform devoid of Brazilians. After a protracted fight with CEO Elon Musk, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered a shutdown of the social media site in his country. Marie Santini, founder of Net Lab, details the timeline that led to the shutdown and how it fits in the Brazil’s larger efforts around Internet regulation. Then, University of Palermo’s Agustina Del Campo gives a regional panorama and explains what’s changing with the approach of countries—and companies—to Internet moderation.

Access other episodes of Latin America in Focus at www.as-coa.org/podcast and send us feedback at latamfocus@as-coa.org. Share and subscribe at Apple, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The music in this podcast is "Caiboaté" performed by Alejandro Brittes and Baroque Ensemble for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at: musicoftheamericas.org

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members

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Our latest edition of Latin America in Focus marks a major milestone: episode 200. Over the past eight years, we’ve covered a range of topics—and asked a lot of questions, including in our episode titles. For this episode, we decided to revisit three of those questions to see how we would answer them now. Half the world is going to the polls in 2024, so we focus on elections.

Americas Quarterly Editor-in-Chief and AS/COA Vice President of Policy Brian Winter tells us why Latin America’s anti-incumbency trend may be coming to a close. Pew Research Center’s Director of Race and Ethnicity Research Mark Hugo Lopez covers how Latino voters view the high-stakes U.S. presidential competition between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. And, AS/COA Online Editor-in-Chief Carin Zissis shares what to watch for in Mexico, where Claudia Sheinbaum is preparing to take the presidential reins in Mexico.

Speaking of elections, check out AS/COA’s 2024 guide for more about this year’s votes. www.as-coa.org/2024

Find out more about what the Latino vote means for the U.S. elections in our poll tracker: https://www.as-coa.org/articles/poll-tracker-latino-vote-2024-us-presidential-election

Listen to the original episodes that sparked these three segments:

• “Will the Anti-incumbency Wave Reach Argentina and Guatemala?” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-will-anti-incumbency-wave-reach-argentina-and-guatemala
• “What Do We Really Know about the Latino Vote?” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-what-do-we-really-know-about-latino-vote Mark Hugo Lopez also appeared in an episode titled, “The Myth of the Monolithic Latino Vote” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-myth-monolithic-latino-vote
• “In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum Won Big: Now What?” https://www.as-coa.org/articles/latam-focus-mexico-claudia-sheinbaum-won-big-now-what

The music in this podcast is “Galopada” by Itiberê Zwarg, performed for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at: musicoftheamericas.org

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members

Follow us on social media:

Twitter/X: @ASCOA
Instagram: @ascoa
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Since he came to power 11 years ago, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro has been stacking the decks in his political favor. But will he hit a wall in the July 28 election? The regime disqualified popular rival candidate Maria Corina Machado, yet a unified opposition is leading the polls. “[The Maduro government] could try to do a mega fraud, but the political costs, even within the ruling coalition, could be very high,” journalist and political analyst Tony Frangie Mawad tells AS/COA’s Guillermo Zubillaga in an on-the-ground view of the electoral competition.

The fight to govern Venezuela is being played out online as well. Mariví Marin Vázquez, founder and executive director of digital observatory ProBox, explains why the country’s voters have turned to social media to get news. She told AS/COA’s Carin Zissis how the regime exploits social media algorithms as it seeks to soften Maduro’s image, even as online tools offer an opportunity for independent news sources and civil society to share information.

Access other episodes of Latin America in Focus at www.as-coa.org/podcast and send us feedback at: latamfocus@as-coa.org

Learn more about Venezuela’s elections at: www.as-coa.org/2024

Read ProBox resources on Venezuelan social media use (t.ly/y7bh3) and the Maduro regime’s use of online tools (t.ly/Kk1NG).

Read an Americas Quarterly article by AS/COA’s Board Chair Andrés Gluski and President/CEO Susan Segal about why this electoral round may be different: t.ly/NDCxh

This is the seventh episode in our 2024 election series. Prior episodes covered what comes next for Mexico after Claudia’s Sheinbaum’s electoral win, how Latin America figures into the Trump-Biden battle, the Dominican Republic’s unique political culture, the economic agenda for Panama’s next president, the youth vote in Mexico, and Nayib Bukele’s global reach. Find this content and more in this year's election guide at: www.as-coa.org/2024

The music in this podcast is “Nos volveremos a encontrar,” performed by Venezuelan singer-songwriter Geraldyn García and cuatro player Daniel Molina for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at: musicoftheamericas.org

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members

Follow us on social media:

Twitter/X: @ASCOA
Instagram: @ascoa
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