From our newsletter:

You might notice something when looking at the above chart. Many of the countries that top 2% of GDP in spending on research and development (R&D) – whether it be France and Germany or Japan and the United States – are among the world’s largest and most industrialized economies. Even China, which is one development category below, spends a notably high amount of its massive economy on R&D.

No doubt, to be a major player in the world today you have to be at the forefront of emerging technologies and innovation — and dedicated public funding is a big part of that.

Enter: Brazil.

South America’s giant is leading its neighbors in terms of R&D expenditure and it’s not even close. Brazil spends the equivalent of roughly 1.2% of its economy—which doesn’t seem like much, until you realize that Brazil’s economy is worth over $1.6T, making its investment come out to nearly $20B each year. That’s roughly the size of Haiti’s entire GDP or close to McDonald’s total annual revenue! As the largest public spender in the region by far, Brazil’s closest peers by this metric are developed European countries rather than its own neighbors.

Brazil’s R&D expenditure takes the form of research done in world-renowned public universities such as the University of São Paulo or the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. It can also be seen in the consistent modernization of Brazil’s armed forces and the scientific and medical breakthroughs propelled by government-funded private companies. From AI and vaccine development to sustainable agriculture and renewable energy research, Brazilians are at the forefront of regional innovation.

Public R&D has been tied to greater growth and productivity for countries and their private sectors, so Brazilian policymakers have got the right idea. Now comes the tough part: making sure that the public funding goes towards sectors that maximize growth and minimize inequities. After all, scientific breakthroughs and technological advances are not just cool—they can eradicate diseases and improve the lives of everyday citizens. For proof, just ask the thousands of families impacted by the 2016 revelation by Brazilian medical researchers that the Zika virus could lead to brain damage for infants.

While there remains work to be done if Brazil wants to match its peers in London or Tokyo, it’s worth recalling that every country currently investing more in R&D is also quite richer. Brazil may have a long way to go in making sure the benefits of development and public expenditure are spread equally—but more than any other Latin American country, it’s well on its way.

Source: UNDP, World Bank
Tools: Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

From our newsletter:

It may seem unbelievable, but Mexico's leading trading partner is not the US per se, but Texas. In fact, in 2022, Mexico traded more with Texas ($286B) than it did with all of Asia ($262B) and six times as much as it did with all of Latin America ($48B).

It's no longer news to most that nearshoring has taken Mexico by storm following COVID-19. International consumer goods companies and vehicle manufacturers are moving production to the country's northern states. Big news came from the state of Nuevo Leon as Tesla announced a new Gigafactory in its capital city of Monterrey. However, most may not know that even Chinese companies are now choosing to manufacture in Mexico instead of China!

As of 2021, China's GDP per capita was 25% larger than Mexico's ($12.5K vs. $10K). China's official minimum wage ($377/Month) is now larger than Mexico's ($234/Month). The assumption that Chinese labor is cheap by definition has changed in recent years. Also, the disruptions to the global supply chain from the pandemic and the Suez Canal blockage have raised concerns about the risks associated with manufacturing predominantly in Asia to provide for a US consumer market. In addition, the imposition of tariffs on about 66% ($300B) of Chinese goods imported to the US that the Trump administration set are still in effect. Meanwhile, the USMCA trade agreement guarantees little to no tariffs between Mexican and US entities.

The nearshoring craze in Mexico seems to be here to stay. So long as the US remains a large consumer market, the world will adapt to sell to it. Meanwhile, the decay in international relations and the fear of further supply chain complications have turned the dial back to when trading overseas was risky and unattractive.

The "Made in China" days may be behind us, and, as Nuevo Leon's governor, Samuel Garcia, recently stated regarding the new line of Tesla vehicles built in his state, these will hit the market branded as "Made in Nuevo Leon."

Tools: Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer, Sheets
Sources:

• Texas | OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity,

• California | OEC - The Observatory of Economic Complexity

• Consulta de cuadro resumen (SIE, Banco de México) (banxico.org.mx)

• Consulta de cuadro resumen (SIE, Banco de México) (banxico.org.mx)

from our newsletter:

Of all places, Venezuela has been on a cheese revolution since the beginning of this century, producing in 2020 3x the amount it did in 2000. We were thrilled to see that the country with usually the most troubling news in the region is actually LatAm's 2nd largest cheese producer and surpassed Switzerland (the cheese homeland) in production for the first time in 2009.

Source: OWID

Tools: Affinity Designer, Rawgraphs

From our newsletter 🗞️:

This year, there are 54 Hispanic representatives between the House and Senate, almost three times the amount back in 2001, with Hispanics now accounting for 11% of all members of Congress.

As Pew Research pointed out, the percentage is still lower than the population of Hispanics in the country — 19%. But make no mistake; there's been extraordinary progress in this demographic's representation.

In 2001, the US's share of Hispanics or Latinos was 12.5%, while their representation in Congress was a meager 3.5%. And Black members in Congress prove that reaching full representation is possible; their 13% share is roughly equal to the US's Black population share.

Source: Pew

Tools: Rawgraphs, Affinity designer

so you’d suggest doing it per capita? that could be a good idea

Can you expand?

That’s right. Uruguay and Chile have done a really great job in the last couple of decades. The rest of Latam need to learn from them!

It needs a strong judicial system before all

LatAm (+ some Caribbean) is home to:

• 3 “full democracies”
• 9 “flawed democracies”
• 8 “hybrid regimes”
• 4 “authoritarian regimes.”

Essentially, a 50/50 split across the report's best two and worst two categories.

How long can the LatAm cling to its status as the world's most democratic emerging region?

Latin America's score has declined for 7 consecutive years, showing the biggest slip among all regions since 2008.

So, what's driving this decline? Lately, it's been three countries. Haiti, El Salvador, and Mexico showed the most significant score declines in the region in 2022.

*Read more on our newsletter. *

Source: EIU

Tools: Affinity designer, Rawgraphs

We already did! Here 😀

They're second only to Texas now!

From our newsletter:

Oil production growth since 2000:

• 🇲🇽 Mexico: -47%

• 🇻🇪 Venezuela: -77%

• NEW MEXICO: +812%

With a tiny fraction of the population of Venezuela and Mexico, the US state of New Mexico has experienced a boom in its oil & gas sector in recent years, surpassing the LatAm oil giants' production.

According to a Financial Times story by Myles McCormick, the boom accelerated after Russia invaded Ukraine, which drove Russia out of the list of US suppliers, and demand for domestic oil to record levels.

Aside from the obvious economic perks this brings to the state and the US, New Mexico's workforce is thriving. There's been a great decline in unemployment and a great increase in wages.

People working in the industry can earn over $27/hour, forcing companies in other sectors to compete. According to McCormick, Burger King is now offering $28/hour in NM, compared to $19/hour in New York City (so 47% higher than one of the most expensive cities to live in).

McCormick's analysis also points out that the increased production has taken the state's budget from $6B four years ago to around $9.5B this year, leading to increased spending in education, housing, healthcare, and infrastructure.

Sources: Financial Times, EIA, CNIH, OPEC

Tools: Excel, Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

From our newsletter:

Sugarcane was first introduced to Brazil in 1532. Nearly 500 years later, the country exports over 700M tonnes yearly—roughly the same amount as the continent of Asia, and 7x the amount exported by Africa.

This is a staggering number, not least because Brazil’s population of 216M is far below both continents’ total populations and land area. The country is the world’s largest exporter of sugarcane, producing 40% of the global total in 2020, which contributed $8.95B to its economy.

Cana de açúcar, as it’s locally called, is not native to Brazil and was instead brought to the country by Portuguese settlers. The commodity has a number of distinct uses. It can be drank raw or turned into a special juice, caldo de cana, which is quite popular across the country.

Source: FAO

Tools: Excel, Affinity Designer, Rawgraphs

That's a great question! I would assume their income is more so reported in the US, though, no? (assuming you mean MLB players)

Source: World Inequality Database

Tools: Excel, Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

From our newsletter:

There’s no way to sugarcoat it: the pandemic has only worsened the problem of global economic inequality.

Perhaps nowhere is this more true than in Latin America, which has been named the most unequal region in the world by, among others, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund.

But while it’s not breaking news that global crises further inequalities and concentrate more wealth in the hands of the rich, it may surprise you to learn where this is most the case.

The Dominican Republic, Peru, and Mexico are all among the most unequal countries in the world per World Inequality Lab figures, with the top 1% of each country earning between 25-30% of the country’s total income.

Yes, you read that right. The richest 1% of Mexicans earn over a quarter of the money flow in the country; the richest Dominicans, nearly a third.

--------

Sign up to Latinometrics, and continue reading here

Source: oec.world

Tools: Excel, Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

It does! No Mexican or Brazilian artist is present in LatAm’s top 10

Top 10 from LatAm. 4 others for reference.

Source: https://kworb.net/spotify/artists.html

Tools: Excel, Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

From our newsletter:

Is Puerto Rico the music capital of the world? 🇵🇷

Puerto Rico, with 3.3M people or 0.4% of LatAm's population, is the birthplace of 6 of the region's top 10 most streamed artists on Spotify. Many of them are also top artists worldwide.

There is no way such a stat is a product of chance.

There must be an incredible force behind the success of so many artists from a tiny island roughly the size of Connecticut, the US's 3rd smallest state.

For over a hundred years, the island has been the motherland of original music genres:

• Bomba by enslaved Africans

• Plena by Jíbaros (native farmers)

• Danza (adapted from Europe's contradanza)

• and more recently, Reggaeton and Latin trap

The US territory, the only one that maintains Spanish as the official language, has one of the world's highest concentrations of music stars per capita (perhaps the highest).

When looking at Spotify streams, singers like Ricky Martin or Chayanne are at a disadvantage because they became big well before Spotify existed, so they do not appear on our chart.

However, the last 20 or so years have brought about a new era of rappers like Residente and reggaeton superstars, best exemplified by Bad Bunny, currently the most streamed artist on the planet for three years in a row.

Bad Bunny was inspired by “the King of reggaeton,” Daddy Yankee, who is 4th on the list despite also having somewhat of a disadvantage. His iconic song, Gasolina, came out in 2004, when your writer still burned custom CDs and used a Walkman.

Gasolina was listed as #50 by Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and there's absolutely no way you haven’t heard it before.

Colombian J Balvin is number two on the list and has more streams than Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift. Behind every great artist, there's a great producer.

In J Balvin's case, that person is “Sky Rompiendo,” who is responsible for some of J Balvin's greatest hits and collaborations like Safari with Pharell Williams. Sky has also produced songs for Ozuna and Maluma, also top 10 artists, and many other Latin stars.

So, undoubtedly, Puerto Rico and Colombia LatAm's music capitals. The big inexplicable question is: why are there 0 artists from Brazil and Mexico in Latin America's top 10? 🇲🇽🇧🇷

From our newsletter:

Love it or hate it, Shakira has quickly "facturado" her very public divorce, earning an estimated $99K - $795K since her collab with Bizarrap was released.

The launch has become a global sensation, reaching 100M views on YouTube within the first three days of its release. This makes it the fastest-ever song in Spanish to break 100M views on YouTube. Their achievement is even more mind-blowing because the only other artists to reach this milestone are K-Pop, Indian, and Japanese. You read that correctly; Shakira's Spanish song achieved more views in 3 days than any song by Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Beyoncé, or Justin Bieber has ever been able to.

For the memesphere and pop culture, this is a lesson in meme generation. And to prove it, Clara-mente (clearly), we're jumping on the bandwagon with our chart.

One line after the other of the song co-authored by Shakira is really thought out to become an Instagram post. The winning quote has been "Las mujeres ya no lloran, las mujeres facturan," which roughly translates to "Women no longer cry, they send their invoice."

Bizarrap is undoubtedly an artist worth highlighting and deserves a Latinometrics chart of his own at some point. The sunglass-sporting Argentinian music producer has independently collaborated with artists of all kinds and garnered an incredible 6B+ YouTube views since joining the platform in 2017.

Biza's career started by filming local rap battles in his small hometown of Ramos Mejia. Nowadays, the 24-year-old music prodigy can catapult emerging artists' careers with a single collaboration. Latin music stars like Nicky Jam, Residente, Trueno (and now Shakira) eagerly fly to his home to be a part of his impressively viral track record.

This most recent collaboration is on track to become the biggest yet, and the effects go beyond the music scene. For marketers, the way Casio reacted can serve as a case study. The rarely mentioned brand has garnered more than 5.7M in earned media on Instagram in the last few days following Shakira's line that her ex "traded a Rolex for a Casio," or Shakira for his lover. A parody account also showed a picture of a young Shakira wearing a Casio.

The brand took advantage of the diss by acting fast, enlisting Casio owners to call themselves #teamcasio. According to Google Trends, searches for the brand have grown 7x in some countries since the song was released, and sales will surely follow.

Shakira's song alludes to the fact that women no longer need to suffer in private when faced with betrayal, injustice, or abuse, whether in the workplace or the love space. Instead, they can actually own their story and seek justice in whatever way it may come.

Source: kworb
Tools: Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

From our newsletter:

The cost of mobile data across the world has been steadily dropping. According to cable.co.uk statistics, almost all countries have experienced a significant price drop.

Even the most expensive country for mobile online browsing in LatAm, Cuba, saw a drop from $13.33 per GB in 2020 to $3.10 in 2022. In fact, according to the Alliance for Affordable Internet, from 2015 to 2020, the world's average price of mobile data as a percentage of income dropped by more than half.

The drops are partly due to increases in competition and the introduction of new technologies like 5G. Spectrum auctions have played a part in price reductions. Spectrum auctions are like big sales, where telecom companies bid and pay the government for the right to use parts of the airwaves to improve their services and coverage. This gamification for providing mobile services increases competition and further drives cost down.

Institutions are also responsible for developing the infrastructure to reach telecom accessibility and affordability. Funttel in Brazil, for example, has been successful in expanding mobile coverage in rural areas and increasing access to mobile services for low-income and disadvantaged populations since its implementation in 2000.

Source: Cable.co.uk
Tools: Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

From our newsletter:

Uruguay has outperformed all other Latin American countries when it comes to eradicating informality, cutting it in half in the span of a decade.

Informal workers don't pay taxes and are not covered by social security, meaning that, although employed, they don't have access to social benefits like healthcare or pensions.

Having said this, it's no secret that Latin America has a vast informal economy, with more than half of its population working informally. In this context, Uruguay has become an anomaly in the region, with only a 20% informality rate. This puts them closer to Europe, which has a 17% rate.

The improvement did not happen overnight, though. It's a result of decades-long efforts. What can other countries learn from Uruguay?

After starting the century with an economic crisis, Uruguay saw sustained economic success, outperforming other countries in the region. Labor formality is a natural byproduct of economic success, meaning that the economic context laid the groundwork for their decline in informality.

However, this could not have been achieved without successful policies by Uruguay's government in various areas.

• First, in 2005 the country set up policies to reactivate collective bargaining aka negotiations between employees and employers on working conditions. This has led to stronger unions in the country, which have worked towards workers' inclusion into social security.
• Second, the government has introduced several tax reforms, including tax incentives for employers to integrate their workers into social security.
• Lastly, the government has introduced other social programs, such as unemployment insurance and healthcare modifications.

Even as the pandemic brought about an increase in informal employment across Latin America, Uruguay's informality surprisingly decreased even further by an **estimated 3% during this period. **

This phenomenon is still being investigated; however, some experts have pointed to a generalized failure of small businesses in the country, driving labor into larger companies operating in the economy's formal sector.

Source: Our World in Data

Tools: Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer

Source: Google Finance

Tools: Excel, Rawgraphs, Affinity Designer