Approve or reject? That’s the choice Chileans face on September 4 when they vote on the proposed Constitution. With campaigning underway, we track polling to see how voters are planning to cast their ballots. Read in for a breakdown of voter intention by age, gender, ideology, and more. 

Follow other votes taking place in the region in our 2022 Election Guide. 

Democracy dies in darkness. In the latest Democracy Dialogues, former Ambassador John Feeley spoke about an OAS press freedom initiative he's directing, explaining that “A function of journalism is … to hold the truth up to power." Watch the conversation.

What’s coming up in Latin America? 

• July 26: Argentine President Alberto Fernández is slated to meet with Joe Biden, though the U.S. president’s positive Covid result may require a change of plans.
• July 28: Peruvian President Pedro Castillo marks one year in office.
• August 5: Deadline for political parties in Brazil to select candidates for October’s election. Check our regularly updated poll tracker on the presidential contest.

THEY SAID WHAT?

• President-elect Gustavo Petro wins a last-minute majority in Congress as Colombia’s new legislature is installed. (El País)
• Peru’s ex-President Martín Vizcarra calls on Castillo to hold early elections. (La República)
• At the Mercosur summit, Uruguay’s plans to negotiate a trade deal with China spark tensions with neighbors. (La Nación)
• What’s causing Panama’s biggest protests in years? (Al Jazeera)
• The United States adds 60 names to the Engel List of Central American leaders blacklisted from U.S. travel and business.

Growth in Latin American tourism from May of 2021 to May 2022. Tourism in the region is finally starting to recover from the pandemic’s effects, per International Air Transport Association figures reported in El Peruano. A major factor helping recovery: the relative strength of the U.S. dollar, which is encouraging Americans to travel abroad. 


181%

Increase in passenger traffic to Latin America from May 2021 to May 2022.

84%

Increase in reservations made to vacation in the Dominican Republic from 2019 to 2022. The increase was 73% in Mexico and 65% in Jamaica. These countries are anomalies on a global level, as worldwide vacation reservations are at one-tenth of their 2019 levels.