Vaccine developments at the beginning of 2021 represented a crucial step toward overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, and inaugurating a new era for all of Brazil. Nevertheless, another task remains crucial for the country: the development of an alternative to the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.
The ambition and capability of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to affect the political affairs of nations across Latin America and the Caribbean have only grown during the global pandemic. Recent events in Guyana and Paraguay show that COVID-19 vaccines have influenced governments, either directly or indirectly, toward Beijing’s political preferences.
El reciente fallecimiento de Aristóbulo Istúriz ha dejado al desnudo el daño antropológico que el chavismo ha provocado entre los venezolanos, tras su prolongado ejercicio del poder con intenciones totalitarias.
Ahora que parece haber finalmente quedado en claro que el gobierno del Presidente Piñera ya se acabó, la pregunta que reina en el ambiente es cuál es el norte que ahora guiará a los partidos de derecha. Después del rotundo fracaso del intento por construir un proyecto exitoso a cargo de Piñera y alejada del legado de Pinochet, la derecha chilena se encuentra sin líder.
En los últimos dos años, por razones diversas, he seguido de cerca lo que ocurre en El Salvador. Debo decir que no me sorprendieron los hechos más recientes, que incluyen la destitución abrupta de los magistrados de la Sala Constitucional y del Fiscal General, por una Asamblea Legislativa en la cual el presidente Nayib Bukele tiene la mayoría holgada.
In Colombia this week, demonstrations against a government tax reform proposal evolved into widespread general protests—fueled by the economic and social desperation provoked by the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic—that have been met with brutal repression from state security forces.
Chinese advances in the Dominican Republic that once inspired concern in Washington have gone largely unrealized. For the U.S., the Dominican Republic represents both a fleeting opportunity and challenge in its struggle against China’s expanding presence in the greater Caribbean region.
President Nayib Bukele’s drive to consolidate power represents another test of the international community’s ability to defend democratic principles. With El Salvador’s democracy in grave jeopardy, the stakes for the U.S. and the rest of Central America could not be higher.
A year of lockdowns, high unemployment, and rising poverty rates has provoked social discontent in Colombia. The current wave of protests—while originally triggered by the government’s poorly conceived, strategized, and communicated tax reform proposal—have been further inflamed by police brutality, a tone-deaf government response, and a vacuum of political leadership.
If the United States allows other Caribbean Basin countries to be eligible for components of its ambitious domestic agenda, it could simultaneously increase U.S. competitiveness and provide benefits to the region that far outweigh any traditional foreign assistance programs.
