Forget regional integration. Basic diplomacy will remain an uphill battle until the region’s leaders return to a shared definition of democracy.

Three decades after its founding, Latin America’s largest trade bloc continues to deal with internal divisions, including over a stalled trade deal with the European Union. How could the return of Brazil’s Lula change the calculus?

Debt-for-nature swaps gain traction in Latin America; To fix U.S. migration woes, the government needs to go big; Venezuelan organized crime now stretches across the continent.

Walking on eggshells with South Africa only obscures an increasingly discordant U.S.-South Africa relationship.

Opposition, not ideology, wins elections; Chinese foreign direct investment moves beyond natural resources and Brazil; Livent-Allkem merger bets on lithium in the Americas.

The Council on Foreign Relations’ blog on Latin America and the world will again feature regular analysis and updates on trends shaping the region.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s state visit to the United States involved an impressive range of meetings with a broad range of actors and sectors of U.S. society.