Democracy & Elections Archives - Page 54 of 83

AQ Top 5 Politicians Under 40: Patricia de Ceballos

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To see the rest of our Top 5, click here. Leer en español Patricia de Ceballos could have simmered in anger after her husband, Daniel Ceballos, the mayor of the Venezuelan city of San Cristóbal, was jailed following nationwide demonstrations in February 2014. But, … Read more

AQ Top 5 Politicians Under 40: Eduardo Leite

This article is adapted from AQ’s most recent issue, “Fixing Brazil.” To see the rest of our Top 5, click here. Leer en español When Eduardo Leite ran for mayor of the small city of Pelotas in Brazil’s southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul, the son of university professors did not have much of a … Read more

AQ Top 5 Politicians Under 40: Soledad Chapetón

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The first female mayor of El Alto is as multifaceted and dynamic as the city she serves.

AQ Top 5 Politicians Under 40: Verónika Mendoza

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The former presidential candidate stoking hopes that a modern, more electable left may be taking root in Peru.

Chávez Yes, Maduro No. The Growing Split in Venezuela.

You can call them Chávez acolytes, you can call them Bolivarians, just don’t call them pro-Maduro. As Venezuela’s economy and institutions continue to deteriorate, long-running rifts within the country’s socialist left are becoming more apparent. Nowhere is this more evident than among a growing group of supporters of late former President Hugo Chávez who accuse the current president, Nicolás … Read more

How Sept. 1 Could Be the Beginning of the End for Venezuela’s Maduro

September 1 may mark a “before and after” moment in Venezuela’s political and economic crisis. Following further delays by the electoral authority on advancing a recall referendum against President Nicolás Maduro, opposition leaders have called on residents across the country to mobilize in the capital city this Thursday in what they have dubbed “The Grand … Read more

Sane la relación con México

Read in English Nota del editor: Al igual que a los otros autores, pedimos al Embajador Sarukhan que redactara un memorándum sin considerar quién ganará la elección de noviembre. Sin embargo, al final él llegó a la conclusión de que los dos escenarios eran tan opuestos que optó por escribir el memorándum como si Hillary … Read more

Taking the Long View on Latin American Democracy

When the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) was founded in 1966, there was a clear need for dialogue and debate over the direction the region was headed. Military dictatorships were in power across the Americas, from Honduras to Argentina. Democracy, far from the rule, was the exception. Just 50 years after a future of alternative … Read more

Michel Temer and the ‘Nobody Survives’ Scenario in Brasília

I had dinner recently with a Fortune 500 executive who was absolutely furious over Brazil. At great pains, he had finally convinced his board to take a fresh look at investing there under interim President Michel Temer’s government. But the latest wave of corruption-related resignations and arrests had scared them away once again, for fear … Read more

Venezuela: Is This the Final Straw?

To see a full list of electoral irregularities that have occurred since Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro took office, scroll to the bottom of the page I recently wrote about the one institutional factor that, in my opinion, is keeping Venezuela’s government alive. I called it the judicial shield, which refers to how the Supreme Court … Read more

The Real Lesson of Mexico’s State Elections

Mexicans from the U.S. border to the Yucatan peninsula issued a strong rebuke to President Enrique Peña Nieto and his ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in state elections on Sunday. The PRI lost governorships in six of the nine states it held going into the vote, including four – Durango, Quintana Roo, Tamaulipas and Veracruz – … Read more

This Week in Latin America: Polls Close in Peru

Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered to your inbox every Monday. Peru Votes: With over 90 percent of votes counted as of publication, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski holds a slim lead in Peru’s run-off presidential election thanks to a late surge against his rival Keiko Fujimori. The 77-year-old Kuczynski, who would be the country’s oldest president at the time of taking office, positioned … Read more

Not Impossible: Could Rousseff Return as Brazil’s President?

When Dilma Rousseff was suspended as Brazil’s president last month, Vice President Michel Temer quickly fired the existing cabinet and installed his own team. Though her presidential portraits were put back on the walls after being briefly removed, the message was still clear: Dilma won’t be coming back. But could she? Rousseff’s path back to the … Read more

After Brazil, Will Venezuela Be Next to Remove Its President?

Throughout Latin America, there is talk about presidential interruptions, again. In the last seven years, four presidents have left office prematurely – Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, Fernando Lugo in Paraguay, Otto Pérez Molina in Guatemala, and now Dilma Rousseff in Brazil. Many analysts think that Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is next. However, there is good … Read more

A Final Defense of Dilma Rousseff

Back in March 2014, when the Petrobras scandal was just getting started, some of President Dilma Rousseff’s top aides saw a golden opportunity to kill the investigation – or at least badly wound it. Márcio Anselmo, the Federal Police deputy in charge of the probe, had given an interview (which can be seen here) to … Read more