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.
Of special relevance in the Latin American context, Brazil, the largest nation and economy of the continent, and a country that historically managed well to sustain a course of largely autonomous but close relations with the hemispheric hegemon, finds itself today in an especially challenging position.
The choices that the Lula government makes on welcoming Chinese participation in key sectors of the Brazilian economy will shape the ability of the Brazilian government to make private and sovereign decisions.
Even if the implementation of a virtual sur never results in a full-fledged currency union or meaningfully increases regional integration, it would still aid Latin America’s economies through its role as a shared unit of account.
[Lula] faces major domestic challenges: a grim economic outlook following Brazil’s lost decade, a congress dominated by conservatives and agribusiness interests, and polarization that threatens the country’s very social fabric.
On Sunday, January 8, supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro laid siege to the National Congress building, the Presidential Palace, and the Supreme Court in Brasilia.
There is plenty of room for the international community to offer logistical support and equipment in the battle against transnational criminal networks. But these strategies only work if the Brazilian government wills it.
Last Friday, former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—the leading candidate in October’s presidential election—announced Geraldo Alckmin as his running mate during a press conference in São Paulo.
With his historic inauguration, Pedro Castillo put one crisis to rest and turned his attention to numerous others: foremost among them, how to repair a healthcare system devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and overhaul a brittle and uneven economy that has failed many Peruvians.
This past weekend, following a series of revelatory Senate hearings investigating the government of President Jair Bolsonaro’s catastrophic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets in over 200 cities, condemning the Bolsonaro administration and demanding his impeachment or resignation.
