☀ Domingo Brief — Goodbye Venezuela Oil License

Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Brazil’s historic Oscars achievement, Uruguay’s new president, and more.

Trivia of the Week 🎯

About 38% of you correctly guessed Dominican Republic as the Caribbean territory NOT conceded to the United States following the Spanish-American War of 1898. Under the Treaty of Paris, Puerto Rico became an unincorporated territory of the U.S., while Cuba, freed from Spanish colonial rule, was placed under nominal U.S. military control. The Pacific island of Guam was also ceded by Spain, along with sovereignty of the Philippines for a $20M payment. The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, gained independence from Spain in 1865, long before the conflict began!

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

🇧🇷 Brazilian film I’m Still Here achieved the country’s first ever Oscars win. The national blockbuster confronts Brazil’s painful history of political disappearances amidst the military dictatorship that ruled from 1964 to 1985. Amidst the madness of Carnaval, millions of Brazilians paused celebrations and crowded into bars and restaurants to watch the film take home recognition of Best International Feature, resulting in an explosion of cheers throughout the country’s streets.

🇨🇴 President Gustavo Petro has announced a plan to reduce drug violence and rebel attacks by paying farmers to switch to legal crops. The government will seek to eradicate 25K hectares of coca plantings in the violence-afflicted Catatumbo region within 140 days, promoting the cultivation of cacao and coffee crops and improving road infrastructure to enable market access to farmers. The plan marks a renewed effort to decrease violence and weaken rebel groups profiting from the lucrative cocaine trade in one of Colombia’s prime coca-growing regions.

🇵🇦 Port facilities at either end of the Panama Canal have been purchased by an investment group led by American Wall Street fund manager BlackRock. The $22.8B agreement for majority ownership of these port operations was struck with Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings. This marks the latest twist over conflicting allegations of who controls the Panama Canal, most notably United States President Donald Trump’s persisting claims of strategic Chinese influence.

🇺🇾 Yamandu Orsi has taken office as Uruguay’s president following his election win in November of last year. The center-left former mayor, endorsed by famed leftist former president Pepe Mujica, won the presidency against the ruling center-right coalition, promising a different balance between social welfare and economic growth. In his inaugural address on Sunday, Orsi reassured Uruguayans he would avoid a sharp policy shift and focus on sensibly addressing issues related to high living costs, inequality, and worryingly persistent levels of violence crime.

🇻🇪 Venezuela’s oil concession agreement has been canceled by the United States. The agreement, granted by former U.S. president Joe Biden in 2022, allowed American oil giant Chevron to pump and export oil alongside Venezuela’s state-owned PDVSA. U.S. President Donald Trump, however, has decided to reverse the concession, giving Chevron one month to exit the country and citing authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro’s failure to meet free electoral conditions in Venezuela’s presidential race last year.

Our Partner 🤝

At IEFA LATAM Forum, energy will be one of the central themes, bringing together industry leaders, investors, and policymakers to discuss the future of oil, renewables, and infrastructure across the region.

If your company is looking to connect with key players, showcase expertise, or establish a strategic presence, this is the event to be at.

The impressive line up of speakers includes everyone from Argentina’s Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo to YPF’s CEO, Horacio Marín. Latinometrics charts will also make an appearance.

Location: Four Seasons Buenos Aires

Dates: March 17 & 18, 2025 (in 8 days!)

Interested in participaing? Let us know below:

Venture Capital

🇧🇷 Capim has raised $26.7M in a Series A round led by QED Investors and Valor Capital. The 2021-founded Brazilian SaaS provides operating systems for dental clinics to digitize management and enable BNPL financing for patients. It has facilitated dental procedures for over 60K Brazilians, and now plans to launch a new POS terminal along with AI-powered digital tools.

🇲🇽 VEMO has acquired $63.7M to expand electric mobility in Mexico. Founded in 2021, VEMO has installed over 550 charging stations across Mexico and operates one of the largest EV ride-hailing fleets. It now aims to expand its electric fleet as well as its car-leasing program for drivers.

Domingo Dispatch 🗞️

🇧🇷 Bolsonaro And The Prisoner’s Dilemma (Thomas Traumann, Americas Quarterly)

🇻🇪 What Is The Significance of Venezuela’s Naval Incursion Into Guyana? (Ryan C. Berg, CSIS)

Visualizing Latin America via AI

Our big thanks to Ignacio Gutierrez for his help with this week’s Domingo Brief.

We at Latinometrics hope you realize Latin America’s potential this week.