Colombian President Gustavo Petro is suddenly facing two scandals triggered by the alleged misdeeds of his son and brother. The question now is whether his family matters will turn out to be much ado about not very much, or the kind of controversy that cripples his presidency, which is still only in its first year.
Mass protests broke out in Suriname last month after President Chan Santokhi decided to comply with the conditions of the government’s International Monetary Fund loan agreement—including a phasing out of state subsidies and the introduction of a new tax. The timing of the government’s austerity measures couldn’t have been worse.
Though Peru’s protests have entered a lull in recent weeks, its neighbors in the Andes are now experiencing their own political challenges, with the presidents of Ecuador, Colombia and Bolivia having all hit their own rough patches in recent weeks. While the details of their political crises are different, two big trends connect them.
