This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on trends to watch in Latin America in 2025
Leaders in Latin America are spending quite a lot of time trying to figure out the policies of the new Trump administration and how they will impact their countries. However, President-elect Trump and his team must also spend time figuring out Latin America. Countries in Latin America have the potential to be our most important partners, not just economic but political, if they receive the urgent U.S. attention they deserve.
On the economic front, Latin America is home to almost everything the world needs, with critical minerals of every type, abundant energy and agriculture, as well as a similar entrepreneurial spirit. Latin America can also provide a strong and secure supply chain for our industrial base. But Latin America also requires investment, a fact that China has already discovered. And while U.S. investment comes from the private sector, which needs to respond to private shareholders, there are ways to support investment that reduce some of the sovereign risk. In most countries private investment, particularly from the U.S., is still preferred to Chinese investment.
There are many other challenges which require U.S. attention. First and foremost, the need for democracy in Venezuela—a goal which, if achieved, would certainly reverse the immigration flows of recent years. Organized crime is inflicting security challenges from Mexico to Chile, driving illicit drug trafficking including fentanyl and other criminal activity. The U.S. and Latin America need to work together to confront this shared challenge.
So, the Trump administration will have a choice and an opportunity. If we look at Latin America as a continent of shared values and opportunities, we can work together and be the most competitive and prosperous hemisphere in the world—creating growth, development and quality jobs for our peoples.
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