Understanding Latin America
Dear readers and colleagues, this month we bring you five articles that reflect the current reality of Latin America, one each from Peru, Brazil, Cuba, Honduras and Costa Rica.
- Meet the World’s Least Popular President
- Brazil elects record-high number of Indigenous mayors, vice mayors & councilors
- Cuba Struggles Amid Hurricanes, Sanctions, and Blackouts
- Honduras: A Case Study In How “Mafia Style” Investments Menace Impoverished Countries
- Death threats and drug trafficking suspicions: Political tension rises in Costa Rica
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MEET THE WORLD’S LEAST POPULAR PRESIDENT
In a country riven by deep political, social, and geographic divisions, there are few subjects on which all Peruvians can agree – except for the fact that nobody likes President Dina Boluarte. In a recent poll, 92% of Peruvians say they disapprove of her administration, a discontent that cuts across all socioeconomic and regional demographics with little variation. Boluarte only emerged as a national figure in the 2021 elections, when she was chosen to be the running mate of Pedro Castillo, who was elected to office on his left-wing, outsider platform. She came to power in December of 2022, after Castillo was impeached, which lead to weeks-long, violent protests. Boluarte almost immediately shed her left-wing persona and created alliances with the right-wing majority in Congress. Since then, her approval rating has never cracked 20 percent, but she’s reached a new wave of unpopularity amid a devastating wave of crime and extortion, and herlong silences, often going months without speaking to the press or addressing citizens. What can we expect with the rest of Boluarte’s term in office?
Noah Hurowitz, October 23, 2024
https://theintercept.com/2024/10/23/peru-president-dina-boluarte-rolexgate/
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BRAZIL ELECTS RECORD-HIGH NUMBER OF INDIGENOUS MAYORS, VICE MAYORS AND COUNCILORS
A record-high number of Indigenous people were elected in Brazil’s municipal elections in October, winning 256 seats as mayors, vice mayors and city councilors across the country. This represents an 8 % increase compared to the elections in 2020, with some saying it could pave the way to increase the number of Indigenous people elected in state and federal seats in the 2026 elections. It also contributes to the fight for Indigenous rights, and better insures public services locally, say experts. There are some contradictions with the results, however, as many Indigenous people running for office or elected are with parties that are antagonistic to the collective rights of Indigenous people. Experts say these alliances happen when Indigenous candidates seek their best options of winning, so they seek out the larger parties, which tend not to have their best interests in mind. There was also a wide gender gap in the seats won by Indigenous officials, as only 36 of the total 234 Indigenous councilors elected are women. Could these candidates help change the system for the better?
Karla Mendes, October 16, 2024
https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/brazil-elects-record-high-number-of-indigenous-mayors-vice-mayors-councilors/
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CUBA STRUGGLES AMID HURRICANES, SANCTIONS, AND BLACKOUTS
Cuba had a hard month, with grid failures and a Category One hurricane that caused nation-wide blackouts, which the government is still struggling to get back on track. The multiple crises have caused an electricity crisis, but one that is deeply rooted in the sweeping US sanctions. The Joe Biden administration has denied that sanctions have anything to do with Cuba’s electrical problems, but Washington specifically targets tankers that deliver the fuel the island needs to keep the lights on. By freezing assets of ships delivering oil, the Treasury Department leaves Cuba with fewer suppliers, driving up the island’s energy costs. More broadly, the Biden administration has left in place the most potent sanctions enacted by the Donald Trump administration, including the powerful Helms-Burton Title III, which chills investment in the island, and the accusation that Cuba sponsors terrorism, which cuts it out of much of the world banking system. Economists calculate that these new sanctions cost the state billions of dollars a year — leaving less money to import petroleum, repair obsolete infrastructure, and import solar panels. The Cuban people have been resilient in face of multiple crises, but how much more can they withstand?
Ed Augustin, October 26, 2024
https://jacobin.com/2024/10/cuba-sanctions-hunger-hurricanes-energy
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HONDURAS: A CASE STUDY IN HOW “MAFIA STYLE” INVESTMENTS MENACE IMPOVERISHED COUNTRIES
Honduras is struggling with corporate lawsuits, currently facing 15 claims before the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) for at least $14 billion. This is about 40 percent of the country’s GDP, according to the “Corporate Assault on Honduras” report released in September. Corporate lawsuits are posing a growing threat to developing and impoverished countries across the world. Often employed to punish public efforts to regulate companies, protect local communities and their environment, or fight corruption, these lawsuits are a serious threat to democracy. In Honduras, the majority of these claims came from investors in sectors that benefited after the 2009 coup d’état, which is also referred to as the narco-dictatorship period, many of which have direct or indirect links to criminal networks in the country. These include investors from the energy sector, Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs), and public-private partnerships, who filed 12 of the 15 claims pending against the country before ICSID. Authors of the report identified these claims as being linked to “mafia-style” investments because they fit into three categories, they’re: 1) irregular, 2) odious, and 3) linked directly or indirectly to criminal networks. As fear mounts for Hondurans in the face of rising lawsuits and fees, what are the country’s options?
Marcia Perdomo, October 23, 2024
https://fpif.org/honduras-a-case-study-in-how-mafia-style-investments-menace-impoverished-countries/
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DEATH THREATS AND DRUG TRAFFICKING SUSPICIONS: POLITICAL TENSION RISES IN COSTA RICA
A growing number of lawmakers in Costa Rica have been receiving death threats amid rising political tensions with the administration of President Rodrigo Chaves, who is currently under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office for corruption, abuse of power and other crimes. President Chaves, halfway through his four-year term, has violently lashed out at his critics, with some saying his verbal assaults are unprecedented in Costa Rican politics. Some of his targets include: opposition lawmakers who have accused him of leading a “narco-government” or denounced deforestation in the country, the president of Congress, community leaders, and union representatives – all of whom have since received messages threatening their lives. Journalists critical of the administration have also reported receiving threatening messages. Critics also argue that Chaves’ wild tongue and policies are enabling the expansion of organized crime in the country, which has contributed to the spike in homicides since 2023. What are his critics so angry about?
October 23, 2024
https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-10-23/death-threats-and-drug-trafficking-suspicions-political-tension-rises-in-costa-rica.html
