The Americas Archive

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is battling an angry middle class, disgruntled unions and the country’s biggest media group. But despite growing social unrest and her own falling popularity ratings, the defiant Kirchner has vowed not to diverge from her left-wing model. Hundreds of thousands of Argentines protested across the country on Nov. 8 against what they view as Kirchner’s creeping authoritarianism. The mass demonstration, dubbed 8N, was followed by the nation’s first general strike in more than a decade on Nov. 20. Media conglomerate Clarín, meanwhile, is refusing to adhere to an anti-monopoly law […]

The leaders of the Pacific Alliance, comprised of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, held a summit meeting earlier this month to consider membership applications from Panama and Costa Rica and to ratify observer status in the trade group for four other countries. In an email interview, Gian Luca Gardini, a lecturer in international relations and Latin American politics at the University of Bath, discussed the Pacific Alliance’s trajectory. WPR: What are the main priorities for the Pacific Alliance in terms of trade and integration, and how successful has it been so far? Gian Luca Gardini: The Pacific Alliance has three […]

CARACAS — With campaigning for Venezuela’s December gubernatorial races now officially under way, the country’s political opposition finds itself in a tough spot. Still licking its wounds from its loss in October’s presidential election, the Democratic Unity Coalition (MUD) must get quickly off the mat to prove its credibility not only to a weary electorate but also to its own fractious members. In the wake of the presidential contest, the MUD leadership is doing everything it can to reassure the more than 6.5 million citizens who cast their ballots for opposition challenger Henrique Capriles Radonski of the coalition’s prospects in […]

In recent years, democratic legitimacy has become a requirement for wielding power in an increasing number of countries. Populations that endured years of dictatorship now demand the right to elect their leaders. In a growing number of cases, however, politicians with authoritarian tendencies have found a way to game the system, extending their rule, seemingly indefinitely, while technically preserving their claim to democratic and constitutional lawfulness. The most remarkable aspect of this new trend is how well it works, and how much it seems to be spreading. Politicians in places as different and distant as Venezuela and Russia have successfully […]