People cheer during a celebration after the number of signatures to call a referendum to repeal some portions of the Law of Urgent Consideration were achieved in Montevideo, Uruguay, on July 8, 2021.
People cheer during a celebration after the number of signatures to call a referendum to repeal some portions of the Law of Urgent Consideration were achieved in Montevideo, Uruguay, on July 8, 2021.

Uruguay’s Low-Key Drama

Latin America’s most stable democracy holds a high-stakes policy referendum.

Gustavo Petro, the presidential candidate for the Colombia Humana political party, celebrates after winning the primary for the leftist Pacto Historico coalition in Bogotá on March 13.
Gustavo Petro, the presidential candidate for the Colombia Humana political party, celebrates after winning the primary for the leftist Pacto Historico coalition in Bogotá on March 13.

Colombia’s Left Finds Its Footing

A leftist has never ruled Colombia. But after last week’s primaries, the country’s upcoming presidential election is Gustavo Petro’s to lose.

Chilean miner Juan Bugueño leaves the Kiara copper mine in Chile, after work on June 22, 2021.
Chilean miner Juan Bugueño leaves the Kiara copper mine in Chile, after work on June 22, 2021.

Why This Commodity Crunch Is Different

The last time prices soared, Latin American economies boomed. Now, trouble is ahead.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Dec. 5, 2018.
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow on Dec. 5, 2018.

How the War in Ukraine Could Empower Maduro

Skyrocketing oil prices give Venezuela’s embattled leader less incentive to pursue sanctions relief.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet at the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 16.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet at the Kremlin in Moscow on Feb. 16.

What Bolsonaro’s Huddle With Putin Says About BRICS

Founded in a bygone geopolitical era, the economic grouping complicates great-power competition today.

From left to right, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, and Dominican President Luis Abinader wave during a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Panama City on Oct. 20, 2021.
From left to right, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Panamanian President Laurentino Cortizo, and Dominican President Luis Abinader wave during a welcoming ceremony prior to their meeting at the presidential palace in Panama City on Oct. 20, 2021.

Can a New Central American Alliance Nudge Ortega?

Costa Rica’s next president will guide a pro-democracy pact with Panama and the Dominican Republic.

A screen on a bus shows Chinese President Xi Jinping making a speech via video link for a session of the International Olympic Committee in Beijing on Feb. 3.
A screen on a bus shows Chinese President Xi Jinping making a speech via video link for a session of the International Olympic Committee in Beijing on Feb. 3.

Argentina and Ecuador Choose Business Over Boycotts in Beijing

Alberto Fernández and Guillermo Lasso hope financial backing from China can quell economic and political troubles at home.

Brazilian samba legend Elza Soares performs in a concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 28, 2018.
Brazilian samba legend Elza Soares performs in a concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 28, 2018.

What the Death of Two Cultural Giants Says About Brazil Today

Political opposites Olavo de Carvalho and Elza Soares garnered vast youth followings in the final years of their lives.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City on Jan. 11, 2017.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen speaks during a press conference at the Culture Palace in Guatemala City on Jan. 11, 2017.

Why Is Taiwan Bankrolling a U.S. Lobbyist for Guatemala?

Taipei’s checkbook diplomacy is poised for a showdown with Washington’s anti-corruption agenda.

Sergio Garrido, governor-elect of Barinas, displays a document during his accreditation and proclamation by the Barinas State Electoral Regional Office on behalf of the National Electoral Council at its headquarters in Barinas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10.
Sergio Garrido, governor-elect of Barinas, displays a document during his accreditation and proclamation by the Barinas State Electoral Regional Office on behalf of the National Electoral Council at its headquarters in Barinas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10.

Venezuela’s Opposition Wins on Hugo Chávez’s Home Turf

What the sweeping electoral victory means for the future.

People wait in line to receive the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 at the Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, on Jan. 6.
People wait in line to receive the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 at the Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, on Jan. 6.

Omicron Spells the Return of Pandemic Political Calculus

South America is the world’s most vaccinated region. Will that be enough to contain the new variant?

From left to right, Guyana’s ambassador to Chile, George Talbot; Bolivia’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Carmen Almendra; Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez; Colombian President Iván Duque; Argentina’s then-president, Mauricio Macri; Chilean President Sebastián Pinera; Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro; Ecuador’s then-president, Lenín Moreno; Peru’s then-president, Martín Vizcarra; Uruguay’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Ariel Bergamino; and Suriname’s then-ambassador to Chile, Marciano Edgar Armaketo, pose for a picture during the launching of the Prosur regional initiative at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on March 22, 2019.
From left to right, Guyana’s ambassador to Chile, George Talbot; Bolivia’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Carmen Almendra; Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez; Colombian President Iván Duque; Argentina’s then-president, Mauricio Macri; Chilean President Sebastián Pinera; Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro; Ecuador’s then-president, Lenín Moreno; Peru’s then-president, Martín Vizcarra; Uruguay’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Ariel Bergamino; and Suriname’s then-ambassador to Chile, Marciano Edgar Armaketo, pose for a picture during the launching of the Prosur regional initiative at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on March 22, 2019.

Will 2022 Reboot Latin American Regionalism?

Increased cooperation could spur policy shifts from migration to medical manufacturing.

Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks with President of the Constituent Assembly Elisa Loncon on Dec. 21 in Santiago.
Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks with President of the Constituent Assembly Elisa Loncon on Dec. 21 in Santiago.

Gabriel Boric Bookends a Year of Demands for a New Social Contract

This year, voters from Chile to Honduras to Peru elected leftist leaders who promised to ease endemic inequality.

Supporters of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador take part in a protest march after their leaders met with Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso at the Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 4.
Supporters of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador take part in a protest march after their leaders met with Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso at the Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 4.

Meet the Indigenous Leaders Reshaping Ecuador’s Politics

They have slowly but steadily attained political power. What will they do with it?

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States virtually from Beijing on Dec. 3.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States virtually from Beijing on Dec. 3.

Latin America Could Profit From U.S.-China Competition

“Active nonalignment” is on display in a busy week of summits with both Beijing and Washington.

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