South America Archive

Changing realities in the Americas are forcing Japan to re-evaluate its brand in the region. Seeking to preserve and expand its longstanding economic connections from Argentina to Mexico, Japan is taking active steps to raise its profile in the shadow of China’s continuing push into Latin America and growing uncertainty about the role of the United States under the Trump administration. As the newly protectionist trade talk coming out of Washington threatens economic pillars like NAFTA, there are surprising consequences for Tokyo. Traditionally, Japan has taken a low-key approach to Latin American issues, content to build its relations quietly and […]

In late August, Colombia’s largest guerrilla movement, the FARC, launched a new political party, known as the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force—preserving the FARC acronym. It was the latest step toward the FARC’s political normalization after last year’s historic peace accord. In an email interview, Adam Isacson, a senior associate for defense oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America, explains how the new party fits into Colombia’s political landscape and assesses its chances for electoral success. WPR: What history does the FARC have in establishing a political party in Colombia, and how might that influence the current formulation and decision-making […]

After months of delays, polling booths finally opened in Venezuela last Sunday for gubernatorial elections in each of the country’s 23 states. Accusations of fraud have already marred the results, as candidates backed by President Nicolas Maduro and his regime won an overwhelming majority of seats despite poor polling numbers that pointed to an opposition victory. Candidates with the opposition coalition have demanded an electoral audit in every state, citing cases of voter intimidation, repeat ballots and nonfunctioning polling booths. The opposition’s failure to turn the tide on the regional level looks like a major political loss, but the situation […]

Argentina’s former president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is a fierce political figure who does not retreat from a fight. And now, in the final days leading up to Oct. 22 midterm elections in which she is running for a Senate seat, she has found a new and unexpected weapon, building her case for victory on the strength of a mystery that has captured the country’s attention. On Aug. 1, a bearded tattoo artist and political activist disappeared without a trace in the southern Patagonia region. The 28-year-old, Santiago Maldonado, had joined a protest by Mapuches, an indigenous people, when someone […]