UNGA in a New York minute. The traffic on Manhattan’s East Side may have been lighter than in pre-pandemic days but a good number of world leaders returned in person this week for the opening debate of the UN General Assembly. How did Latin America factor in, whether at the podium or on the sidelines? 

As the presidents of the region most economically hammered by the coronavirus, Latin American leaders made calls against “pre-pandemic [fiscal] criteria” and “debticide” and for deepening commercial ties to ease the migration crisis. British officials floated the idea of adding some letters to the USMCA. Leaders had a word or two for Nicolás Maduro. Brazil’s vaccine-skeptic delegation couldn’t get into a restaurant. Read these stories and more in our coverage of Latin American issues at #UNGA76.

AS/COA hosted presidents from Ecuador’s Guillermo Lasso to Costa Rica’s Carlos Alvarado. See who visited us at 680 Park and watch our program with Pacific Alliance officials—an event that marked the bloc’s 10-year anniversary. 

Place your bets...on Uruguay. After years of trying to approach Washington, Montevideo is flirting with a turn to Beijing. In a co-authored piece for Barron’s, AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth argues the United States should cozy up to countries like Uruguay rather than risk getting displaced in its own hemisphere.

THEY SAID WHAT?

• The U.S. special envoy to Haiti resigns over mistreatment of migrants at the border. (CNN)
• The Mexican AG’s moves to lock up 31 academics and scientists in maximum security prison draws criticism. (AP)
• Argentina raises its income tax threshold and minimum wage. (Reuters)
• A new podcast series explores Colombia’s shifts in the three decades since the inking of the country’s Constitution. (La Silla Vacía)
• Efforts to unionize delivery app workers across Latin America falter. (Rest of the World)

• PAHO selects health centers in Argentina and Brazil to produce mRNA vaccines. (PAHO)
• England’s new travel rules force fully vaccinated Latin Americans to obey quarantine rules not required for other regions. (The Guardian)