Hello, and welcome to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: U.S. approval slumps among Latin Americans after initial Biden-led bump. Venezuela bans leading opposition challenger from running. And why 60 percent of Uruguayans are struggling for water.
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Biden bump in Latin America is no more
![U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during Memorial Day celebrations. Photo: Cameron Smith/White House](https://brazilian.report/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/53008956605_e391357931_c.jpg)
After a major bump in 2021, the first year of the Joe Biden presidency, approval of U.S. leadership sank in 2022 among Latin American countries. In ten countries across the region (including the ones with the biggest economies and populations), the U.S.’s image took a major dent.
![](https://brazilian.report/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Change-in-approval-of-U.S.-leadership-624x1024.png)
Biden disenchantment? The numbers suggest that the 2020 election of Mr. Biden, who replaced Donald Trump and his hardline anti-immigration rhetoric and policies, represented hope that U.S. diplomacy toward the region would drastically change. That hasn’t happened — at least not to the degree advocacy groups and Latin Americans, in general, had hoped.
- Mr. Biden kept Title 42, a controversial Trump-era statute formally meant as a public health measure but in practice used to allow...