Happy Friday, Chasqui readers! We are closing the year with music—a new Latin America in Focus about the region's sonic soft power, to be specific. Plus, we look at early indicators of Trump's policies towards Latin America. 

The specter of tariffs. Just days after his election, Donald Trump trumpeted tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, forcing the leaders of both countries to have emergency conversations with the U.S. president-elect. These threats were consistent with calls Trump made throughout his campaign to place tariffs on foreign exports, including from Latin America.

If he follows through, what might that mean for hemispheric trade? AS/COA maps out the state of imports and exports across the region and looks at which countries stand to have their economies most disrupted by tariffs.

Another tariff threat Trump made? Against the BRICS bloc. Trump spoke out against a plan for the group of emerging economies to have its own currency. But is this even in motion within the bloc’s countries? Learn more in our explainer.

Transatlantic trade. Could Trump’s tariff threats act to unlock alternative trade talks? After 25 years of deliberations, Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, finalized the text for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union in December. But the long road to make the FTA into reality is far from over. As our Mercosur explainer details, legislatures on both sides of the Atlantic need to approve the agreement for it to go into force.

Trump’s priorities. Outside of just tariffs, Trump’s vision for Latin America is becoming clearer. As AS/COA Vice President Brian Winter writes in Foreign Affairs, the region might be a major focus for Trump. Why? "Trump's top domestic priorities depend heavily on policy toward Latin America," he writes. Read his full perspective.

The cabinet expands. Over the past weeks, Trump has continued to announce members of his presidential administration. That includes his treasury secretary, the U.S. trade representative, and the deputy secretary of state. For that latter position, Trump intends to nominate Christopher Landau, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, who grew up partially in Paraguay. Together with Marco Rubio, Landau could make it two Spanish speakers leading the U.S. State Department. Learn more about the recently announced figures in our piece on Trump's team's Latin America connections.

54 percent. Argentine President Javier Milei’s approval in November, according to Encuesta de Satisfacción Política y Opinión Pública. That’s higher than that of his presidential predecessors, Alberto Fernández (32 percent) and Mauricio Macri (51 percent), at the same point into their terms.

4 out of 5. Argentines who say Milei's economic adjustment is being paid for by the people.

60 and over. The age group where Milei has the highest approval (56 percent). His lowest approval rate is among Argentines aged 27 and under (37 percent). 

How are Argentines grading their president, his administration officials, and his performance on top issues, one year into his term? Read our approval tracker.