@tiago My favorite latex "replacements" are org-mode/RMarkdown/Weave.jl
You can still use latex where needed, and it compiles through latex at the end, but you get a lot more (including code execution, selective export, inline figures, easier tables, etc) for a lot less of the annoying syntax, while maintaining the beautiful typesetting. If you haven't tried them, I heavily suggest giving them a shot!
If anyone is interested, I can post an example document as well 😄