☀ Domingo Brief — Raid in Rio

Each Sunday, take two minutes to catch key stories and opportunities shaping Latin America.

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Latinometrics
November 02, 2025 • Reading time: 3 minutes

Welcome back to the Domingo Brief! This week, we’re keeping up with Milei’s midterm successes, Mexican green investments, and more.

Trivia of the Week 🎯

Just 28% of you correctly guessed Buenos Aires as the Latin American city which received the first overseas banking office of a US bank. In 1914, National City Bank (today Citibank) opened an office in the Argentinean capital; it followed this up with a branch in Rio de Janeiro the following year. Citi’s previous international offices in cities like Calcutta, London, and Shanghai stemmed from the International Banking Corporation, as in the first decade of the 1900s US banks weren’t permitted foreign operations. Citi went on in the 1910s to acquire control of Haiti’s treasury and impose crippling debt payments on the small Caribbean island country.

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

Which city houses the largest collection of Mexican art outside of Mexico?

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🇦🇷 Javier Milei scored a decisive and much-needed political victory in Argentina’s midterm elections last Sunday, with his La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party exceeding expectations and winning over 40% of votes across the country. LLA won 15 of 24 provincial elections and was the most-voted party nationwide, indicating voters are still largely backing his sweeping libertarian political agenda of deregulation and liberalization. Markets rallied at the sign of Milei’s electoral successes, having been weakened in recent months by both Milei-linked political scandals and weaker LLA performances.

Latinometrics: Milei didn’t just secure political survival—he actually strengthened LLA’s hand, meaning he can both hold back congressional vetoes as well as more easily pass his desired policies. In theory, victory also assures continued US support, including both a $20B bailout as well as US backing for an additional $20B in private-sector or multilateral support. While voter turnout was lower than anytime since the return of democracy in 1983, and Milei will still rely on fragile coalitions with more centrist policymakers, the President of Argentina goes to bed this week stronger than he’s been in the last two years.

🇧🇷 Brazilian police carried out the deadliest raid in the history of Rio de Janeiro, carrying out operations against Brazil’s second-largest gang, the Red Command (CV), in the North Zone favelas of Penha and Complexo do Alemão. The raid left at least 119 people dead, though how many victims were CV members versus civilians remains unclear. Videos from the raid evoked imagery of a warzone, with drones carrying explosives and shootouts in both urban and forested areas, while the entire city, Brazil’s second-largest, largely shut down as roads were blocked. Penha citizens protested in front of the seat of the state government at Guanabara Palace, calling for the resignation of the governor of Rio state.

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