A Watershed Moment for Guatemala’s Democracy? Part 1

When Guatemalans went to the polls on election day on June 25, 2023, the electoral process itself had been questioned nationally and internationally because of the exclusion of three presidential candidates… However, turnout was not the biggest surprise on election day. More remarkable were the choices made by Guatemalan voters, which stunned the Guatemalan political establishment as well as domestic and international observers.

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Ecuador: The Next Domino to Fall to Autocracy?

The U.S. and other like-minded democracies have an obligation to assist Ecuador in combatting criminality while preserving essential civil liberties. Enduring democratic leadership in Ecuador and the world will have to bring both effective law enforcement and civil liberties to douse the fire.

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Orwell’s Shadow? Chile’s Disinformation Commission Sparks Suspicion

Last September, Chileans voted overwhelmingly to reject a draft constitution that would have turbocharged President Gabriel Boric’s progressive agenda. Boric’s leftist allies blamed “fake news” for misleading the electorate. Ahead of another constitutional referendum this December, the government quietly published a decree to establish an Advisory Commission Against Disinformation. The initiative has sparked deep unease among free speech advocates and an outcry from Boric’s political opponents.

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As the Petro Administration Stumbles, the Far-Right Prepares

Colombian President Gustavo Petro will likely pave the way for a far-right administration in the same way that Iván Duque paved the way for Petro’s own rise to power. He does not seem to know it yet, and Petro does not seem to be acting like a far-right candidacy is realistic right now. Petro ought to understand that both the short- and long-term future of Colombia’s left wing depends on his success.

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Kirchnerism is in Crisis, But Peronism Will Survive

With inflation and poverty rising, the acute state of currency reserves, open confrontation between government officials, and a vice president that constantly questions the president’s legitimacy, we may be witnessing the end of Kirchnerism’s 20-year-long hegemony over Peronism.

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To Understand Mexico’s Tragedy, be Wary of the Strongman Theory

The causes and explanations of how Mexico has regressed to a far more dysfunctional country lie in the somewhat hidden, not-so-thrilling everyday representations of weakness and impotence—the day-to-day stories of stranded and neglected citizens trying to survive government corruption and incompetence. The challenge of being treated as citizens, not thanks to but despite the government, reveals Mexico’s dysfunction

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Brazil and the Illiberal Anti-U.S. Alliance

Lula’s work to create a de facto anti-U.S. illiberal alliance of Latin American leftist regimes and extra-hemispheric U.S. rivals further comes at a time in which those countries geographically closest to the United States—including Mexico, the Northern Triangle, and parts of the Caribbean—are moving away from political and security cooperation with the US, and toward a deepen embrace of the PRC.

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