South America Archive

When it comes to repairing the harm done by populist authoritarian leaders, restoring the independence of democratic institutions is often just the start. The next challenge can be to steer polarized societies through the economic belt-tightening that is required after an autocrat’s spending spree. That seems to be the message from Ecuador, where President Lenin Moreno won overwhelming support in a 2018 constitutional referendum that overturned much of the political legacy of his predecessor and one-time mentor, the brash leftist Rafael Correa, and also blocked him from returning to office by putting a two-term limit on the presidency. But Moreno […]

An economy in freefall. A humanitarian crisis that has caused millions to flee the country. Frequent mass demonstrations against the government. And an opposition movement whose leader is recognized by dozens of countries as the legitimate interim president. In many places and at many points in history, these ingredients have proven sufficient for regime change. But in Venezuela, the government of President Nicolas Maduro continues to hang on. For this week’s interview on Trend Lines, Raul Gallegos joins WPR’s Elliot Waldman for a conversation about how Maduro has been able to remain entrenched in the presidential palace in Caracas despite […]

LIMA, Peru—When Martin Vizcarra stepped up from the vice presidency to replace the disgraced Pedro Pablo Kuczynski as president of Peru in March 2018, the odds appeared stacked against him. An austere, accidental leader whose tiny political party, Peruvians for Change, controlled a fast-disintegrating congressional bloc, Vizcarra immediately came under heavy fire from the hard-right Popular Force party, led by Keiko Fujimori, which had seized on a bribery scandal to force Kuczynski to resign. After three months of attempting to appease the Fujimoristas—and seeing his approval ratings plummet—Vizcarra launched a make-or-break campaign against Peru’s rampant corruption, and by implication Popular […]