Beijing’s influence in Latin America is now viewed more positively than that of the United States, a major poll conducted in 17 Latin American countries showed.
The 2026 Latinobarometro survey showed China overtaking the United States in terms of influence for the first time since the annual survey began in 1995.
It showed 57% of people in Latin America considering the United States to be a positive influence, down from 60% in 2020.
China, meanwhile, was considered a positive influence by 65% of respondents, a jump from 48% six years ago.
Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic were the only countries in the region where US influence was deemed more positive than that of China.
The report partly attributed the shift to Washington’s “almost complete absence” from the region in the two decades after the 2003 Iraq War.
During that time, Latin America “drew closer to other powers, to China, to the European Union, to Japan,” said Marta Lagos, director of Latinobarometer.
Lagos said China had won over Latin American populations by allowing them to access cheaper imports.
“The void that China fills is the void in people’s pockets, more than anything else,” she said.
The growing disaffection towards the United States comes nearly halfway through Trump’s second term, during which he has openly asserted his desire for hegemony over Latin America.
As a country, the United States remains more popular than China, with 63% saying they had a favourable view of the world’s top economy, compared to 58% for its arch-rival.
But America’s popularity was markedly down compared to 2024, when Democratic president Joe Biden was in the White House and 73% had a favourable view of the United States.
Trump’s push to restore US dominance in what Washington calls “our hemisphere” was in evidence in January when the United States overthrew Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
The Latinobarometro poll showed a majority of people in all but one country – Argentina – approving of Maduro’s capture by US special forces.
But only 35% considered it benefited Venezuela, compared to 28% who said it harmed the Caribbean country.
Citizens of Venezuela itself were, however, among those who viewed US influence most positively.
The 2026 survey was based on some 19,200 face-to-face interviews carried out in 17 countries between May 7 and June 17, with a margin of error of 1%. — AFP
