El Taller: Cuba, Iran and the Wounded Empire with Hilary Goodfriend
In the second part of this El Taller conversation, hosts José Luis Granados Ceja and Kurt Hackbarth continue their wide-ranging discussion with Hilary Goodfriend, a postdoctoral researcher at UNAM and specialist in Central American politics.
The conversation turns to the geopolitical fallout from the U.S. war in Iran and what it could mean for Latin America. With Lindsey Graham publicly declaring “Cuba is next” and U.S. military action already underway in Ecuador, the hosts and Goodfriend consider whether a bloodied empire will retreat or lash out at smaller powers, a pattern with deep roots in Central American history.
They also examine the economic vulnerabilities of the region, from remittance-dependent economies like El Salvador to Mexico’s complex position in USMCA negotiations. The discussion traces how decades of U.S.-funded NGO-ization depoliticized social movements, leaving a vacuum that far-right figures like Bukele have exploited—and what lessons progressive governments in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil might draw from Central America’s recent history.
Throughout, the conversation returns to a central tension facing left governments today: the pressure to moderate in the face of destabilization versus the need to mobilize and deliver for the base that brought them to power.
-
The Uncomfortable Ally Splits Off: Hugo Eric Flores, Now with PAZ, Rails Against Morena
Once the operator who opened Morena’s door to Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Flores now leads the evangelical party PAZ, which just won national registration and 84.4 million pesos to run alone in 2027.
-
Leaked Cerimedo Audios: He Talks About Sheinbaum and Calls Negre ‘a Mercenary, Worse Than Me’
Sheinbaum says the far-right outlet La Derecha Diario was built to destabilize Latin American democracies, with Mexico already among its targets.
-
Mexican Government Seeks Free Admission to 53 Museums and Archaeological Sites Next Year
Mexico’s federal government proposes free admission to 53 INAH museums, monuments, and archaeological sites — among them Bonampak, La Venta, and Tamtoc — in next year’s Federal Rights Law, saying the cost of charging is disproportionate to the revenue.
