On May 21st, five candidates presented their credentials for membership of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for the 2021-2024 term. Four posts need to be filled.
Countering democratic backsliding driven by powerful executives is as relevant as eliminating corruption, the deficit of the rule of law and the scourges of inequality and violence that plague Latin America’s democracies. Yet the latter issues still dominate public debate.
Since the disarming of the FARC two-and-a-half years ago, the actors, figures and methods have changed. But the conclusion is clear: drug trafficking in Colombia is more alive than ever before.
Since the mid-nineties, a majority of established democracies have fallen victim to an autocratic wave. And while each country’s trajectory to autocracy is different, the tactical model of the aspiring dictator is evident in all of them.
Peru has become an important partner for China in the Western Hemisphere both in terms of commerce and investment. But not all Peruvians share the government’s enthusiasm for Chinese investment.
Aspiring autocrats in Latin America and around the world are increasingly taking pages from the playbooks of the Chávez/Maduro regime in Venezuela and Vladimir Putin in Russia.
Latin America needs to forge alliances in a complex, changing world, but betting on extra-continental autocracies will not bring greater social equity and respect for human rights to the Americas.
Rarely has the region seen such an undiluted diplomatic fiasco as what occurred on the Colombia-Venezuela border. But then, perhaps that was the point. Stagecraft has replaced statecraft.
The European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean have laid the groundwork to place the low-carbon and climate-resilient agenda at the heart of their relationships.
Ivan Duque’s low approval ratings have been blamed on missteps, migrants and a mentor that never seems to go away. But there are structural reasons too, and those aren’t likely to go away after his term.
