Throughout his five years in office, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has dramatically altered the country’s landscape, using his popularity to craft and maintain a narrative that often contradicts reality. Now, with his term coming to an end, the question is whether Mexico’s “post-truth politics” will end with it.
Last week, Colombian President Gustavo Petro threatened to call for a constitutional convention, reopened peace talks with a notorious criminal group and canceled a cease-fire with a dissident FARC faction. Announcements like these would normally create months’ worth of media coverage. Under Petro, they have become almost uneventful.
Argentine President Javier Milei’s shock therapy has produced some short-term progress. His long-term success may be jeopardized by his firebrand character.
The suspension of a Brazilian judge last month as part of an investigation into his links with an organized crime group did not make headlines. But it is a worrying sign of the ever-growing influence of the country’s main drug-trafficking organizations, which have steadily accumulated wealth and power in recent years.
Last week, Brazil’s Supreme Court published documents showing that the country came close to a coup in late 2022. Transfers of power are supposed to be routine formalities in democracies. Yet, from Brazil to Guatemala to the U.S., the hemisphere has seen incumbent presidents attempt to undermine democracy after losing elections.
As the U.S. enters an election year, concerns in Europe are growing over Washington’s ability to project power in Europe and the Middle East. Yet this focus often draws attention away from how much the foundations of U.S. global power are anchored in its ability to exert effortless dominance over the Western Hemisphere.
Although President Joe Biden’s approach to Latin America has notched a few victories, pretty much nobody is happy with it. A few big challenges have dominated the agenda for the past few years, without any progress to show for it. They are fueling perceptions of a broader failure that will possibly worsen in the coming months.
The U.S. is reportedly pressing Haitian PM Ariel Henry to step down amid a standoff between Henry and an alliance of gangs calling for him to resign.
As the strong favorite to win Mexico’s presidential election, Claudia Sheinbaum owes much of her support to the popularity of her mentor, populist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. But the echoes of AMLO in Sheinbaum’s campaign conceal significant differences that will shape the path forward for Mexico under its next president.
Venezuelan officials announced that national elections will be held on July 28, partially fulfilling an agreement with the U.S. that remains on life support.
A standoff between Ecuador and Russia over a proposed arms transfer to Ukraine last month foreshadows how global competition among great powers may play out in Latin America moving forward. If the region doesn’t learn from the episode, it will find itself vulnerable to much larger forms of economic coercion over the coming decade.
Though often seen as a region with marginal geopolitical leverage, Latin America is increasingly being targeted by Moscow’s influence campaigns. Those efforts are finding receptive audiences, due to a variety of factors. And countering Russian propaganda will not be easy, as doing so effectively requires a nuanced approach.