Four Latin American projects transformed complex global statistics into high-impact local investigations. Andrés Escobar, from Bolivia’s El País, claimed the top prize of this edition.
In an information ecosystem challenged by data overload and the rise of artificial intelligence, the urgency to build the future of journalism demands cutting-edge methodological tools. Driven by this mission, Media Party and the World Bank joined forces to launch the Regional AI and Data Training Program, a strategic initiative designed for journalists and creators across the region to transform complex development data into high-impact visual narratives.
Following 30 days of intensive training, personalized editorial mentorship from international experts, and the use of the World Bank’s advanced Data360 platform, the program has concluded with extraordinary results. Four investigative journalism teams from Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and Ecuador—each initially awarded a USD 1,000 microgrant to fund their reporting—successfully published rigorous stories that bring urgent local agendas to the forefront.
To determine the program’s winner, an editorial committee evaluated the publications based on five core pillars: impact, narrative quality, technical use of data, journalistic focus, and visualization sophistication. After a close deliberation, journalist Andrés Escobar, from the Investigative Team at El País (Bolivia), was awarded an additional USD 1,000 prize for his outstanding investigation into the pension system.
Below is an overview of the four brilliant investigations that prove that behind cold numbers lie the deeply human stories shaping the pulse of our societies.
Bolivia — Working Blindly: The Informality Emptying Bolivian Pensions
By Andrés Escobar (El País)
The Investigative Team at El País focused on one of Bolivia’s most acute structural crises: labor informality, with figures that rank among the highest in Latin America. Escobar crossed these indicators with the reality of the Bolivian Pension Fund, revealing an alarming fact: only 14% of the workforce funds it, and by 2025, those savings had lost 16% of their value. The series includes four articles exploring two main axes—informality and the fund—including capital flight to tax havens.
Mexico — The Pension Mirage: Older Women in Pachuca Unable to Retire
By Erick Giovanny Flores (Criterio Hidalgo)
In 2025, the World Bank recognized the economic potential of the aging “silver generation”; however, millions of older women in Mexico still work in vulnerable employment conditions and cannot afford to retire. By crossing the World Bank’s Silver Economy projections with the reality in Pachuca, Flores documented the universe of women who sustain themselves through informal markets (tianguis), bazaars, and catalog sales, without an adequate pension or access to the formal job market. The investigation stands out for its innovative visual matrix correlating the cost of the basic food basket with income types.
Argentina — The Geography of Opportunity: How Postal Codes Define Career Destiny
By Juan Martín de Chazal (+Comunidad | RIL)
Over the next decade, an estimated two million young Argentines will reach working age, but the market is projected to generate barely half of the required jobs. Based on this World Bank insight, De Chazal raised a crucial question: how much does birthplace influence access to formal employment? Through a three-part series backed by maps, human stories, and data visualizations, the investigation convincingly demonstrates how geographical distribution creates unequal conditions for formal private employment across the country.
Ecuador — Empty Classrooms and Lethal Violence: Youth at a Crossroads
By Jéssica Zambrano Alvarado (Indómita)
In a context where Ecuador has lived under nearly uninterrupted states of emergency since 2024, this investigation links school dropout rates with the ongoing security crisis. Utilizing World Bank data showing a 784% increase in homicides between 2015 and 2025, Zambrano discovered that the very generation leaving schools behind is also dying violently. Drawing on data from the Ministry of the Interior, the report highlights how adolescents aged 13 to 17 register the highest growth in violent death rates, alongside a sharp decline in school enrollment and educational budgets.
The Beginning of a Regional Conversation
At Media Party and the World Bank, we celebrate the commitment, technical rigor, and tireless effort of these four newsrooms. Each team worked actively to build visualizations and analyses that shed light on deep-seated issues that, until now, remained hidden within large databases.
This program reaffirms the value of collaborative and multidisciplinary journalism as an indispensable pillar for moving the needle of public conversation in Latin America. The four investigations will be officially presented on stage at Media Party Buenos Aires this October.
In the coming days, we will launch a series of special features on our blog to break down, one by one, the findings, methodologies, and graphics of these powerful investigations.
