☀ Domingo Brief — CELAC’s Show of Unity

Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Costa Rica’s money laundering investigation, Ecuador’s upcoming election run-off, and more.

Trivia of the Week 🎯

Just under half (44%) of you correctly guessed Montevideo as the Latin American capital which holds the largest percentage of its country’s total population. Montevideo’s population is roughly equal to 1.3M people, representing slightly over 38% of Uruguay’s 3.4M people. The country never underwent a strong effort to build secondary cities throughout its history and, with better access to public services and a lack of geographic barriers, Montevideo easily attracted people from rural towns. Several other Latin American capitals also hold concentrated proportions of their populations, like Lima and San José.

Each week, tune back in for the answer to the previous week’s trivia question. No cheating!

🇧🇷 Mercado Libre announced a $5.8B investment in Brazil, aiming to expand its logistics network and increase technology for e-commerce and fintech, loyalty programs, and other entertainment initiatives. The investment is expected to create 14K jobs in a country which represents half of the company’s primary market. The announcement event was attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who gave a speech celebrating the scaling of private investment in the country as a key component of economic growth.

🇨🇱 Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper firm, reported a boost in production for the first quarter of 2025, expressing bullishness about long-term prospects for global demand despite uncertainty in world trade. This increase represents slightly higher output than over the same period in 2024. Driven primarily by growing demand from China, demand is expected to stay strong in the second quarter. Despite a national power outage in February crimping production, Codelco has reclaimed its place as the world’s top copper producer, edging out competitor BHP.

Unlock Unique Insights with Latinometrics Premium.