On March 1, Iran held parliamentary elections that, as expected, were neither free nor fair. And yet, despite the ballot being an exercise that was entirely devoid of democratic legitimacy, the event and the results were far from meaningless. Iranians managed to make their voices heard, loudly rejecting the status quo.
With tightly controlled parliamentary and local elections in late February, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko installed allied figures in seats of power across the country and rooted out whatever was left of Belarus’ political opposition, thereby extinguishing the last dying embers of his country’s democracy.
It may not be a return of the “Pink Tide,” but the region’s left has been showing signs of a revival. Perhaps more than questions of right and left, though, what most characterizes South America today is a sense of instability and democratic fragility. What’s next for the continent?
In response to the success of Chinese electric vehicle, or EV, exports, the U.S. and Europe have opened investigations into Chinese automakers, focusing on aspects of the competition that are deemed unfair or unsafe. But another reason for concern over imports of Chinese-made EVs is so far neglected: human rights violations.