A year of lockdowns, high unemployment, and rising poverty rates has provoked social discontent in Colombia. The current wave of protests—while originally triggered by the government’s poorly conceived, strategized, and communicated tax reform proposal—have been further inflamed by police brutality, a tone-deaf government response, and a vacuum of political leadership.
Four years since social unrest gripped French Guiana, the territory has seen marginal improvements; nevertheless, many of the structural problems of the French département persist.
The public spat between the United States and China at the recent bilateral summit held in Alaska clearly showed that future relations between the two world powers will not only be very difficult but could also escalate dangerously.
On the day before the Easter holiday, the Colombian Attorney General’s office issued an indictment against the former governor of the Antioquia Department and current presidential contender, Sergio Fajardo, for fund mismanagement alleged to have taken place in 2013. Fajardo’s response to the allegations against him may redirect his candidacy just one year before Colombia’s presidential election.
Grant provides an informative retrospective on the Pink Tide era.
The current situation in Haiti raises concern regarding the status of the country’s democracy, leaving the international community to evaluate their possible role in the Caribbean nation’s governance crisis.
After the election on February 7, Ecuador is now faced with a runoff between Andrés Arauz and Guillermo Lasso on April 11. Regardless of the outcome, the challenges facing the country’s economic future are enormous.
This does not mean a Petro presidency is the best option for Colombia. Though both the current government and the business sector want to avoid this scenario, their actions have continued to open the door to the possibility of a Petro victory.
President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party won more than two-thirds of the votes in El Salvador’s February 28 legislative elections. The consolidation of power puts democratic processes and counterbalances to the country’s executive branch at risk.
Among the first critical tests of the Biden administration will be the November 2021 presidential elections in Honduras and Nicaragua. Both countries are facing difficult elections mired by corruption, authoritarianism, and weak oppositions.
