A map of Latin America shows countries with members of the São Paulo Forum ruling parties (red) and non-São Paulo Forum ruling parties (blue) in 2011 (left), 2018 (center), and 2024 (right).
The government of Barbados announced in September 2020 that it would transition to a republic during the next year. In 2021, an indirect presidential election was held to choose the first ever President of Barbados. The outgoing Governor-General of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, was the only candidate nominated; Mason was sworn in on 30 November, the 55th anniversary of Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom.[37]
The 2021 Haitian protests were a mass protest movement consisting of popular movement and opposition mass street demonstrations and violent protest marches across Haiti that began on 14 January in protest at president Jovenel Moïse's plan to run for one more year in power. The protests and civil unrest that paralysed Haiti hit hard. Since the 14 January protest, hundreds of thousands took part in weekly protests calling for the government to resign.[46][47][48]
President Moïse said he foiled a coup attempt to kill him and overthrow the government in February 2021; at least 23 people were arrested.[49] He was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1 a.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) when a group of 28 gunmen stormed his residence and opened fire.[50] First Lady Martine Moïse was also shot multiple times in the attack. Joseph Lambert, the President of the Senate, was nominated as provisional President of Haiti by a group of senators, potentially succeeding Jovenel Moïse.[51] Following the assassination, Ariel Henry assumed the office of acting prime minister on 20 July.
In September 2022, Henry announced that the government would be ending fuel subsidies and that the price of petroleum products would be increasing; this led to protests, including a demonstration in Port-au-Prince that escalated to a riot days later.[52] In response to the government, a federation of over a dozen gangs blockaded the country's largest fuel terminal.[53][54] This blockade and the surrounding unrest has led to the temporary closure of foreign embassies in Haiti, as well as resource shortages, hospital service reductions, school closures, and workers being unable to commute to work.[55]
In 2023 the situation in Haiti continued to spiral downhill, with the last democratically elected officials leaving office, leaving Haiti without an elected government.[56] As of September 2023, reports indicated that approximately 80% of the Haitan capital was under the control of gangs.[57] On 11 October 2022, Henry and his cabinet requested the deployment of foreign troops to oppose the gangs and anti-government demonstrations in Port-au-Prince.[58][59] On 15 October, the United States and Mexico sent armored vehicles and military equipment to aid the Haitian government.[60] On 21 October, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to approve sanctions on Haiti, namely an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo aimed at the country's armed gangs.[61][62]
On 4 March, armed gangs attacked the heavily fortified Toussaint Louverture International Airport, exchanging gunfire with police and the Haitian Armed Forces in an attempt to take control of the facility after rumors that Henry would return to the country,[63] fueling speculation that an alliance between rival gangs was forming to overthrow the Haitian government.[64] Other gang leaders, including Guy Philippe, reportedly will try to take over the presidency of Haiti.[65] With the Port-au-Prince airport shut down due to gang violence, on 5 March, Henry's chartered plane was prevented from landing in Santo Domingo and landed instead in San Juan, Puerto Rico.[66][67][68] On 12 March 2024 Ariel Henry announced that he would resign.
Honduras
In 2021, a former cartel leader testified in a New York court that he had bribed President Juan Orlando Hernández with 250,000 US dollars to prevent extradition to the United States.[69] His brother Tony Hernández was sentenced to life in prison on allegations of drug trafficking, with court documents claiming that the two had conspired to engage in "state-sponsored drug trafficking".[70]
As the Fourth Transformation enters its second year, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) faces challenges involving social violence (particularly drug-related and other killings),[72] corruption, major infrastructure development, universal health care,[73] and decentralization of the government.[74][75] At a news conference on January 15, 2020, journalist Jorge Ramos pointed that during AMLO's first year as president, there were more homicides than under his predecessors; Ramos asked if a change in strategy and/or personal were required. The president assured him that we would see results by December.[76]
Following several notorious cases of femicide, violence against women emerges as a priority concern. Hundreds of thousands march on March 8[77] and millions of women strike on March 9, 2020.[78]
Born in Tepetitán, in the municipality of Macuspana,[79] in the south-eastern state of Tabasco, López Obrador earned a degree in political science from the National Autonomous University of Mexico following a hiatus from his studies to participate in politics. He began his political career in 1976 as a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). His first public position was as director of the Indigenous Institute of Tabasco, where he promoted the addition of books in indigenous languages. In 1989, he joined the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), becoming the party's 1994 candidate for Governor of Tabasco and national leader between 1996 and 1999. In 2000, he was elected Head of Government of Mexico City. During his tenure, his crime, infrastructure, and social spending policies made him a popular figure on the Mexican left.[80] In 2004, his state immunity from prosecution was removed after he refused to cease construction on land allegedly expropriated by his predecessor, Rosario Robles. This legal process lasted a year, ending with López Obrador maintaining his right to run for office.[81]
Described as being center-left, progressive, a left-wing populist, social democratic, and an economic nationalist,[85] López Obrador has been a national politician for over three decades.[86] During his presidency, he has promoted public investment in sectors that had been liberalized under previous administrations and has implemented several progressive social reforms. Supporters have praised him for promoting institutional renewal after decades of high inequality and corruption and refocusing the country's neoliberal consensus towards improving the state of the working class.[87] Critics have claimed that he and his administration stumbled in their response to the COVID-19 pandemic and attempts to deal with drug cartels.[88] He left office in September 2024, succeeded by Claudia Sheinbaum, and retired from both electoral politics and public life.[89]
Nicaragua
In May 2021, Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council revoked the legal status of opposition party the Democratic Restoration Party (PRD).[90] The same week, the Ortega government opened an investigation into Cristiana Chamorro, alleging money laundering,[91] which threatened to disqualify her candidacy as people under investigation are barred from running.[90] The same day, the police also raided the news offices of her brother Carlos's media channel, Confidencial.[90] On 5 June, the Ortega administration arrested Arturo Cruz.[92] On 8 June, the government arrested Félix Maradiaga, a leader of the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB) opposition group.[93] Later the same day they arrested economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro, the fourth pre-candidate to be detained.[94] On 20 June, the government arrested Miguel Mora, a pre-candidate affiliated with the PRD until the government revoked its charter.[95] Peasant leader Medardo Mairena was also arrested on the night of 5 July 2021,[96] On 9 July, law professor and Civic Alliance attorney María Asunción Moreno announced her intention to register as a pre-candidate with the CxL.[97] The following day, she received a summons from the government,[97] and, following information that she would be arrested, went into hiding and later into exile.[98] On 12 July, Luis Fley confirmed he had gone into exile in response to "threats from the dictatorship to arrest me".[99] Later on 24 July, the government announced the investigation and then the arrest of ACxL conservative pre-candidate Noel Vidaurre,[100] Most of those already arrested are accused of violations of Law 1055, "performing acts that undermine independence, sovereignty, and self-determination".[101]
On 15 June, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States put out a statement saying it "unequivocally condemns the arrest, harassment and arbitrary restriction imposed on potential presidential candidates, political parties and independent media outlets" and called for "the immediate release of potential candidates and all political prisoners."[102] A large majority of member states (26) endorsed the statement;[102] Following Mora's arrest, Mexico and Argentina jointly recalled their ambassadors from Nicaragua for consultation, citing "the worrying political-legal actions carried out by the Nicaraguan government in recent days that have put at risk the integrity and freedom of various opposition figures (including presidential candidates), Nicaraguan activists and businessmen".[103]
The impeachment trial of Donald Trump found him not guilty in February 2020. The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries ended up supporting moderate Joe Biden (former Vice President to Barack Obama) as the party's nominee, over more progressive choices such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. The presidential campaign was dominated by the issues of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic fallout. A month before the election, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died unexpectedly, leading to the nomination and confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement by the sitting President Trump and the Republican-held Senate. The election ended with Biden winning. Trump made numerous false allegations of election fraud and attempted to overturn the election results, but this failed.
[[File:|thumb|The electoral map for the 2020 election. Blue denotes the 306 electoral votes for Biden, while red denotes the 232 electoral votes for Trump.]]
Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election
Day one actions of his presidency included restoring U.S. participation in the Paris Agreement, revoking the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline and halting funding for the Mexico–United States border wall.[119] On his second day, he issued a series of executive orders to reduce the impact of COVID-19, including invoking the Defense Production Act of 1950, and set an early goal of achieving one hundred million COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States in his first 100 days.[120] The first major legislation signed into law by Biden was the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that temporarily established expanded unemployment insurance and sent $1,400 stimulus checks to most Americans in response to continued economic pressure from COVID-19.[121] He signed the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a ten-year plan brokered by Biden alongside Democrats and Republicans in Congress to invest in American roads, bridges, public transit, ports and broadband access.[122]
Biden began his term with over 50% approval ratings; however, these fell significantly after the withdrawal from Afghanistan,[131] and remained low as the country experienced high inflation and rising gas prices, even as they later decreased during his presidency.[132][133] His age and mental fitness remained a frequent subject of discussion throughout his presidency, ultimately culminating in his late decision to not seek re-election.[134] Despite this, Biden oversaw the strongest economic recovery of any G7 nation post COVID-19 and one of the strongest economic recoveries in United States history, breaking a 70-year record for low unemployment,[135] and the creation of over 16 million new jobs, the most of any single term president.[136] Biden's political legacy is considered to be damaged by the re-election of Donald Trump in 2024, with Biden's unpopular tenure leading to support for his former opponent.[137] His preferred successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, was defeated by Trump in the 2024 presidential election.
References
^Lopes, Dawisson Belém; de Faria, Carlos Aurélio Pimenta (January–April 2016). "When Foreign Policy Meets Social Demands in Latin America". Contexto Internacional (Literature review). 38 (1). Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro: 11–53. doi:10.1590/S0102-8529.2016380100001. No matter the shades of pink in the Latin American 'pink tide', and recalling that political change was not the norm for the whole region during that period, there seems to be greater agreement when it comes to explaining its emergence. In terms of this canonical interpretation, the left turn should be understood as a feature of general redemocratisation in the region, which is widely regarded as an inevitable result of the high levels of inequality in the region.
^Fernandes Pimenta, Gabriel; Casas V M Arantes, Pedro (2014). "Rethinking Integration in Latin America: The "Pink Tide" and the Post-Neoliberal Regionalism"(PDF). FLACSO. Retrieved 28 December 2017. In general, one must say that these governments have as defining common feature ample and generous social inclusion policies that link effectively for social investments that certainly had an impact on regional social indicators (LIMA apud SILVA, 2010a). In this sense, so far, all of these countries had positive improvements. As a result, it was observed the reduction in social inequality, as well as the reduction of poverty and other social problems (SILVA, 2010a)
^Lopes, Arthur (Spring 2016). "¿Viva la Contrarrevolución? South America's Left Begins to Wave Goodbye". Harvard International Review. 37 (3): 12–14. South America, a historical bastion of populism, has always had a penchant for the left, but the continent's predilection for unsustainable welfarism might be approaching a dramatic end. ... This 'pink tide' also included the rise of populist ideologies in some of these countries, such as Kirchnerismo in Argentina, Chavismo in Venezuela, and Lulopetismo in Brazil.
^da Cruz, Jose de Arimateia (2015). "Strategic Insights: From Ideology to Geopolitics: Russian Interests in Latin America". Current Politics and Economics of Russia, Eastern and Central Europe. 30 (1/2). Nova Science Publishers: 175–185.
^ abIsbester, Katherine (2011). The Paradox of Democracy in Latin America: Ten Country Studies of Division and Resilience. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. p. xiii. ISBN978-1442601802. ... the populous of Latin America are voting in the Pink Tide governments that struggle with reform while being prone to populism and authoritarianism.