Maduro’s landslide May 20 re-election marks the official death of democracy in Venezuela. Dozens of nations worldwide have declared the vote illegitimate, and the US imposed new sanctions.
Despite his 20 percent approval rate, President Nicolas Maduro is almost assured a win in Venezuela’s May 20 election. The opposition says the vote is a “farce.”
REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins
The Venezuelan opposition is asking people not to vote in the country’s May 20 election, which they call a ‘farce.’ President Maduro regime has jailed or blacklisted most of his competitors.
With over a dozen candidates and an incarcerated front-runner, Brazil’s 2018 presidential election has political analysts shrugging their shoulders.
AP Photo/Leo Correa
Leftist former President Lula da Silva is the clear favorite in Brazil’s 2018 presidential race, leading his closest rival — a firebrand conservative — by 15 points. The only problem: He’s in jail.
Mario Abdo Benítez, or ‘Marito,’ as he’s known, is the son of the private secretary to Paraguayan dictator Alfredo Stroessner.
Reuters/Andres Stapff
Paraguay’s conservative president-elect Mario Abdo narrowly won the April 22 election. His father was the private secretary for dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who brutally ruled Paraguay for 35 years.
Protests against social security reforms in Nicaragua quickly gained traction. Now, even the Catholic Church is suggesting ‘democratization’ may be on the horizon.
Reuters/Oswaldo Rivas
For 11 years, Daniel Ortega’s regime has been unshakable. But Nicaragua’s autocratic leader is vulnerable after weeks of deadly protest. Now, some citizens are calling for him to resign.
Some 200,000 Argentinean women marched on March 8 for International Women’s Day. Many proclaimed their support for legalizing abortion.
AP Photo/Tomas F. Cuesta
A new bill that would legalize abortion in Argentina has spurred surprise debate on the gender pay gap, parental leave and political representation. Will Argentinean women finally get their due?
Exuberance in San Jose on the eve of the second round vote.
EPA/Jeffrey Arguedas
Bolivia’s Evo Morales and Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro are both classic Latin American strongmen. But that’s where the similarities end.
David Mercado/Reuters
Bolivia’s populist leader has been in office for 12 years. He’s a thorn in the US’s side and an ally of the late Hugo Chávez. Now he’s running for a fourth term. But that doesn’t make him a dictator.
From president to prisoner.
Leonardo Benassatto/Reuters
Nearly 40 percent of voters in Costa Rica supported an anti-gay evangelical for president. Maybe progressive Costa Rica is more like its troubled neighboring countries than it once seemed.
Adios Raúl, hola Miguel.
smael Francisco/Courtesy of Cubadebate/Handout via Reuters
Miguel Díaz-Canel, a 57-year-old engineer and Communist Party loyalist, is expected to succeed Raúl Castro as president of Cuba. Will change bring prosperity or instability to the Cuban people?
The FARC is out of the running for Colombia’s president. Who gets their votes?
Jaime Saldarriaga/Reuters
A former FARC rebel commander-turned- presidential candidate has withdrawn from Colombia’s 2018 election. Despite increased violence, the peace accord he signed will probably survive this setback.
Latin America’s era of the woman president is over. What have we learned?
Rodrigo Garrido/Reuters
New research on Latin America’s four recent female presidents disproves the idea that merely putting a woman in power will improve gender equality.
The Venezuelans now rushing across the border to seek refuge in Brazil join millions of Brazilian migrants who’ve been displaced within their own country.
Nacho Doce/Reuters
Robert Muggah, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio)
Since 2000, 8.8 million Brazilians have been displaced by disaster, development and crime, new data shows. Now Venezuelan migrants are pouring into the country. Still, Brazil has no real refugee plan.
Can South America’s biggest democracy run properly with a broken, corrupt political class seemingly unable to reform?
Mexico’s new app makes it a snap for political independents to collect voter signatures — unless, of course, their supporters don’t have smartphones or live in rural areas without reliable internet.
Reuters
Almost 50 independents want to run for president of Mexico in 2018. But only a handful will likely make the ballot, in part due to the glitchy election app voters must use to show their support.
Venezuela’s crisis has been terrible for years. But if President Maduro is re-elected, things could actually get worse.
Marco Bello/Reuters
The Venezuelan government has just announced that it will hold a presidential election by the end of April. Despite pervasive hunger and discontent, democracy still doesn’t stand a chance.
Intersectionality in action: Brazilian women are organizing across class and race lines to decry inequality in a country that remains deeply ‘machista.’
Naco Doce/Reuters
Before #MeToo, Brazilian women launched #MyFirstHarrassment and marched for racial equality. Today, this feminist resurgence is tackling health care, plastic surgery, violence and more.
Donald Trump says cheap Mexican labor is hurting American workers. But isn’t it also hurting Mexican workers?
AP Photo/Guillermo Arias
Trump has attacked NAFTA, saying that cheap, under-regulated Mexican labor hurts American workers. If he’s right, then NAFTA negotiations could be a chance to push Mexico on workers’ rights.
Voter turnout was under 50 percent in Venezuela’s Dec. 10 mayor elections, which were boycotted by most opposition parties.
Reuters
Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party won 39 of 40 major mayoral races on Dec. 10. A victorious President Nicolás Maduro is now likely to call a snap presidential election early next year. Can he win?