Latin America Power Map
Updated every morning
Latin America Power Map
Who holds power in Latin America — and which way it is moving. Saturday, August 15, 2026.
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Power shifts · since yesterday▲ Costa Rica +1▼ Colombia −1
The biggest moves since yesterday are a Quaest poll showing a near-tie between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro in Brazil, and Milei's easing of dollar-lending rules in Argentina. Mexico's rate hold and diplomatic thaw with Peru also stand out.
The Power Board
14 nations · ranked by power · today’s move · the nine powers
1
Brazil
Lula
82↔ ±0
a new poll shows the 2026 presidential race tightening to a near-tie
2
Mexico
Sheinbaum
72▲ +2
the central bank held rates and the peso extended a rally to its strongest since February
3
Argentina
Milei
66▼ −2
the government eased post-2001 restrictions on dollar lending to revive credit
4
Chile
Boric
64↔ ±0
no specific Chile development in the last day's verified news
5
Costa Rica
Chaves
55↔ ±0
no Costa Rica-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
6
Colombia
De la Espriella
54▼ −2
no Colombia-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
7
Peru
Keiko Fujimori
50▲ +2
Mexico and Peru agreed to restore diplomatic relations severed months earlier
8
Uruguay
Lacalle Pou
47▼ −1
no Uruguay-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
9
Panama
Mulino
46▲ +1
no Panama-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
10
Cuba
Díaz-Canel
41▼ −1
no Cuba-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
11
Ecuador
Noboa
36▼ −1
no Ecuador-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
12
Paraguay
Peña
34▼ −1
no Paraguay-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
13
Venezuela
Maduro
32▲ +2
no Venezuela-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
14
Bolivia
Arce
20↔ ±0
no Bolivia-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
Who’s gaining, who’s losing
Power moves · this week
▲ Gaining power
+2Venezuelano Venezuela-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
+1Brazila new poll shows the 2026 presidential race tightening to a near-tie
+1Mexicothe central bank held rates and the peso extended a rally to its strongest since February
▼ Losing power
−3Argentinathe government eased post-2001 restrictions on dollar lending to revive credit
−1Chileno specific Chile development in the last day's verified news
−1Costa Ricano Costa Rica-specific development in the retrieved last-day coverage
The friends-and-rivals map
Two camps · and the nations in between
Milei's world
Washington · Silicon Valley
- ArgentinaMilei
- ChileKast
- ParaguayPeña
- EcuadorNoboa
- Costa RicaFernández
- PanamaMulino
- ColombiaDe la Espriella
- PeruKeiko Fujimori
- BoliviaPaz
Patrons: Trump · Musk · Bukele · Bolsonaro · Israel
In play
Non-aligned · pragmatic
- MexicoSheinbaum
- UruguayOrsi
Lula's world
Beijing · BRICS
- BrazilLula
- VenezuelaRodríguez
- CubaDíaz-Canel
Patrons: Xi / China · Russia · BRICS
The data behind the rankings
Thirty international benchmarks · six lenses · each one sourced
Markets & money
| Country | Equity | FX /USD | Policy % | Inflation % | Risk bp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 166,934 | 5.21 | 14.25 | 4.7 | 197 |
| Mexico | 64,574 | 17.0 | 6.50 | 3.6 | 233 |
| Argentina | 3.12M | 1,488 | 29.00 | 32.6 | 616 |
| Chile | 10,812 | 914 | 4.50 | 4.0 | 102 |
| Colombia | 2,260 | 3,141 | 12.00 | 5.7 | 282 |
| Panama | — | 1.00 | — | 0.9 | 159 |
| Costa Rica | — | 446 | 3.25 | −1.6 | 165 |
| Uruguay | — | 40.3 | 5.75 | 3.2 | 78 |
| Venezuela | — | 772 | 58.91 | 612† | 6,371 |
| Paraguay | — | 5,984 | 5.50 | 2.3 | 129 |
| Peru | 58,096 | 3.37 | 4.25 | 4.0 | 139 |
| Ecuador | — | 1.00 | 7.02 | 2.3 | 506 |
| Bolivia | — | 11.5 | 6.24 | 14.2 | 561 |
| Cuba | — | n/a | 2.25 | 14.7 | n/a |
Economy
| Country | GDP $bn | Per cap $ | Growth % | Unemp % | Reserves $bn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 2,130 | 10,686 | +1.9 | 6.0 | 367.6 |
| Mexico | 1,864 | 13,741 | +0.6 | 2.6 | 256.3 |
| Argentina | 684 | 14,355 | +3.5 | 7.4 | 32.7 |
| Chile | 344 | 17,735 | +2.4 | 8.5 | 51.5 |
| Colombia | 438 | 8,623 | +2.3 | 8.0 | 66.6 |
| Panama | 92 | 19,814 | — | 10.4 | n/a |
| Costa Rica | 103 | 19,162 | — | 6.3 | 20.9 |
| Uruguay | 80 | 24,549 | — | 7.5 | 18.6 |
| Venezuela | 109† | 3,736† | +4.0† | 35.6 | 13.3 |
| Paraguay | 46 | 7,692 | +4.2 | 5.2 | 9.4 |
| Peru | 323 | 9,911 | +2.8 | 5.9 | 101.0 |
| Ecuador | 126 | 7,199 | +2.5 | 3.1 | 10.5 |
| Bolivia | 56 | 5,107 | −3.3 | 3.3 | 0.15 |
| Cuba | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Public finances & openness
| Country | Debt % | Fiscal % | Curr acct % | S&P | Econ free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 76.5 | −8.1 | −3.0 | BB | 55.1 |
| Mexico | 49.7 | −4.9 | −0.4 | BBB | 61.3 |
| Argentina | 83.2 | −0.4 | −1.1 | CCC+ | 54.2 |
| Chile | 41.7 | −2.8 | −2.3 | A | 73.2 |
| Colombia | 61.3 | −5.7 | −2.4 | BB− | 59.8 |
| Panama | 56.6 | −3.7 | +0.3 | BBB− | 65.5 |
| Costa Rica | 74.2 | −3.4 | −0.7 | BB | 68.6 |
| Uruguay | 70.3 | −3.4 | −0.5 | BBB+ | 70.2 |
| Venezuela | 164† | −5.8 | +2.6 | n/r | 27.6 |
| Paraguay | 45.2 | −1.7 | −3.5 | BBB− | 65.2 |
| Peru | 30.2 | −2.4 | +3.1 | BBB− | 65.9 |
| Ecuador | 50.6 | −2.9 | +5.8 | B− | 55.8 |
| Bolivia | 95.0 | −11.6 | −1.9 | CCC− | 44.1 |
| Cuba | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/r | 25.4 |
Institutions
| Country | Rule of law | Ctrl corr. | CPI 2024 | V-Dem | Press free. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | −0.45 | −0.41 | 34 | 0.70 | 63.8 |
| Mexico | −1.15 | −0.94 | 26 | 0.22 | 45.6 |
| Argentina | −0.25 | −0.33 | 37 | 0.52 | 56.1 |
| Chile | 0.69 | 1.11 | 63 | 0.78 | 62.3 |
| Colombia | −0.56 | −0.29 | 39 | 0.56 | 49.8 |
| Panama | −0.26 | −0.55 | 33 | 0.58 | 66.8 |
| Costa Rica | 0.62 | 0.68 | 58 | 0.81 | 73.1 |
| Uruguay | 0.95 | 1.53 | 76 | 0.79 | 65.2 |
| Venezuela | −2.20 | −1.59 | 10 | 0.04 | 29.2 |
| Paraguay | −0.58 | −1.02 | 24 | 0.38 | 56.8 |
| Peru | −0.51 | −0.72 | 31 | 0.51 | 42.9 |
| Ecuador | −0.97 | −0.78 | 32 | 0.39 | 53.8 |
| Bolivia | −1.27 | −1.00 | 28 | 0.35 | 54.1 |
| Cuba | −0.62 | −0.23 | 41 | 0.06 | 26.0 |
Society
| Country | Gini | Poverty % | HDI | Pop (m) | Fragile St. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 51.6 | 23.1 | 0.786 | 213.6 | 70.3 |
| Mexico | 43.5 | 29.6 | 0.789 | 133.0 | 69.0 |
| Argentina | 42.4 | 38.1 | 0.865 | 46.0 | 44.2 |
| Chile | 43.0 | 6.5 | 0.878 | 19.9 | 41.1 |
| Colombia | 53.9 | 31.8 | 0.788 | 53.9 | 75.6 |
| Panama | 49.7 | 21.7 | 0.839 | 4.6 | 47.7 |
| Costa Rica | 45.8 | 20.3 | 0.833 | 5.2 | 39.4 |
| Uruguay | 40.9 | 17.3 | 0.862 | 3.4 | 33.7 |
| Venezuela | 44.7† | n/a | 0.709 | 28.6 | 89.0 |
| Paraguay | 44.4 | 20.1 | 0.756 | 7.1 | 61.5 |
| Peru | 40.1 | 27.6 | 0.794 | 34.9 | 72.0 |
| Ecuador | 45.2 | 28.0 | 0.777 | 18.4 | 68.0 |
| Bolivia | 42.1 | 37.7 | 0.733 | 12.7 | 69.4 |
| Cuba | 38.0† | n/a | 0.762 | 10.9 | 59.1 |
Security & defense
| Country | Homicide | Org-crime | Mil % | Firepower | Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 19.3 | 6.77 | 0.97 | 11 | 376k |
| Mexico | 24.9 | 7.57 | 0.62 | 36 | 387k |
| Argentina | 4.5 | 5.00 | 0.37 | 32 | 108k |
| Chile | 6.3 | 5.18 | 1.58 | 49 | 80k |
| Colombia | 24.9 | 7.75 | 3.36 | 43 | 429k |
| Panama | 11.7 | 6.98 | — | 135 | 16k |
| Costa Rica | 17.7 | 5.53 | — | n/a | n/a |
| Uruguay | 11.2 | 3.22 | 2.31 | 97 | 24k |
| Venezuela | 12.6† | 6.72 | — | 51 | 109k |
| Paraguay | 6.8 | 7.52 | 0.93 | 81 | 16k |
| Peru | 8.6 | 6.40 | 0.91 | 50 | 120k |
| Ecuador | 45.7 | 7.07 | 2.22 | 72 | 41k |
| Bolivia | 4.4 | 4.95 | 1.37 | 82 | 40k |
| Cuba | 4.5† | 3.37 | — | 65 | 50k |
Sources — Markets: Rio Times market feed, central banks, JPMorgan EMBI (latest close Aug 14, 2026). Economy & finances: IMF WEO 2025/26, ECLAC, Trading Economics, S&P Global, Heritage Foundation 2025. Institutions: World Bank WGI 2024, Transparency International 2024, V-Dem 2025, RSF 2025. Society: World Bank, UNDP 2025, UN WPP 2024, Fund for Peace 2024. Security: UNODC 2023, GI-TOC 2023, SIPRI 2024, Global Firepower 2026. † estimate; — not applicable; n/a not published.
How we read power. The Power Index is established daily by the Rio Times Power Desk analyst engine, weighing thirty international benchmarks across six lenses together with the day’s events and the intangible facets the numbers cannot capture — the presidency, diplomatic and cultural clout, control of the narrative, national standing, alliances and strategic assets — anchored on the hard data. Alliances are mapped from documented ties only. Editorial analysis, not investment advice.