Twitter / Alberto Fernandez
On the night of November 14, Argentine President Alberto Fernández euphorically celebrated an electoral defeat. Earlier that day, in the legislative elections, the ruling Peronist coalition –Frente de Todos– obtained only 33.5 percent of the national vote against 42 percent of the opposition coalition Juntos por el Cambio. Why was the president celebrating, then, apart from lifting the spirits of Peronist supporters?Read more +
Twitter / Alberto Fernandez
Argentina’s ruling Peronist coalition -Frente de Todos- came close to collapsing after suffering a humiliating defeat in the September 12 primary elections, when it obtained only 32 percent of the vote nationally, against 42 percent for the opposition coalition, Juntos por el Cambio.Read more +
Nick Humphries / Flickr / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
Chile’s initiative to fully phase out coal generation by 2040 will be critical for the Southern Cone country to comply with its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. However, despite the urgency of slashing Chile’s emissions, ensuring that coal workers are not economically abandoned in the process exemplifies one of the main challenges for policymakers surrounding the just transition.Read more +
Daniel Correa / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
The failure of the right to obtain sufficient seats for a veto, the near total rejection of the moderate parties that historically have governed Chile, and the stunning power of anti-establishment, independent leftists all point towards a Convention that will draft a thoroughly leftist new constitution.Read more +
Photo: William Skewes-Cox / "Election night celebrations"
A popularly written constitution marks a new founding for Chilean democracy after the Pinochet dictatorship and the subsequent decades-long transition. But it will not assure the success of any one project in particular.Read more +
Eneas de Troya / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
As governments and regional organizations muster a plan for post-pandemic economic recovery, addressing corruption must be at the forefront of any response — now more than ever.Read more +
Armando Simonin / Flickr / CC By-NC 2.0
The actions, or lack thereof, of the presidents of the region’s two biggest countries, Mexico and Brazil, have drawn particular scrutiny, casting a fresh spotlight on populism in Latin America and its particular vulnerabilities in the face of a global pandemic.Read more +
Flickr / Rodrigo Vera
In Chile, the second government of Sebastian Piñera in 2018 was viewed as the end of a cycle – the return of the Latin American right, together with Macri in Argentina, Duque in Colombia, and PPK in Peru. In Chile, the main threat in the presidential elections was seen as…Read more +
Casa Rosada/ Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Mauricio Macri’s failure confirms that there seems to be no politically sustainable way to open up and reform Argentina’s economy. The long-term benefits of liberalizing, improving competitiveness and reducing fiscal spending might be clear in theory, but the immediate social costs of these policies are simply too high for Argentines to bear.Read more +
Palácio do Planalto / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
It is hard to imagine exactly what kind of deal Bolsonaro and Trump, both anomalous, unconventional leaders, drawn to one another mainly by temperament and ideology, could strike with another. Could they really end up accomplishing what previous governments in both countries had failed to achieve? Could they forge an alliance between two countries that have long maintained a rather distant and often distrustful relationship?Read more +
nefasth / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Even in more stable countries like Chile, disaffection with democracy pervades. Democracy in Latin America is and will always be an evolving issue. In November 2018, a Latinobarometro poll showed that only 48% of Latin Americans believed in democracy as the best form of government, the lowest percentage in decades. One of the more…Read more +
Knight Foundation/flickr/CC BY-SA 2.0
The murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month prompted worldwide outrage and a business backlash that has refocused attention on the safety of journalists. Latin America and the Caribbean was the deadliest part of the world in 2017 for journalists, with more than a quarter of murders taking place in the region.Read more +
Fran[zi]s[ko]Vicencio / Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0)
Recent protests for increased abortion access in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and beyond underscore the relationship between female insecurity and lack of access to reproductive healthcare in the region.Read more +
Felipe Salgado / CC BY 2.0 / Flickr
Chile, which has historically received fewer immigrants than its neighboring countries, partly due to its natural Andean “wall,” has recently seen an incredible influx of Haitian migrants. Chile’s migrant population is now 10% Haitian, in close competition with the 12% that is Venezuelan. Why are Haitians choosing Chile in such great numbers, and how has the host country responded?Read more +
