Venezuela-US tensions, Brazil’s rare earths, Chile votes

A military engagement between the US and Venezuela might push oil prices higher (although we suspect the move would be limited), lead to renewed migration outflows and harden pro- or anti-US stances across the region. Elsewhere, the news of US financing for a Brazilian rare earths project lends further support to the idea that the country could become a significant producer of mined output towards the end of this decade. Finally, Chileans head to the polls in a general election on Sunday, but the country's strong balance sheet means that the stakes are much lower than in elections taking place elsewhere in the region the next year, including in Brazil and Colombia.