On May 8, 2018, Argentine President Mauricio Macri went to the International Monetary Fund for help as a “preventative” measure after the nation’s currency plummeted amid high inflation and rising U.S. interest rates. In recent weeks, investors have fled Argentina, driving up demand for U.S. dollars, and pushing the peso down. Argentina asked for “stand

Amid protests and violent repression that has left more than 60 people dead, hundreds injured, and many others “disappeared” in Nicaragua, a growing movement emerged in late April, 2018 demanding President Daniel Ortega’s resignation, along with that of his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The deadly action by police against demonstrators, along with censorship of

On April 19, 2018, the National Assembly of Cuba confirmed Miguel Díaz-Canel as the new president of the Council of State, the country’s leader for all practical purposes. The parliament ratified the former vice president with the votes of 99.83% of the deputies present. Díaz-Canel replaces General Raúl Castro, who retires from the position after

Corruption and the ongoing crisis in Venezuela were the main agenda items at the subdued VIII Summit of the Americas held in Lima, Peru, on April 13-14, 2018. Many heads of state did not participate, some in acts of solidarity with Venezuela and others because of looming domestic matters. In fact, the sparse attendance raised

On Saturday, April 7, 2018, former President Lula da Silva turned himself in to police, ending four days of intense drama during which Lula had been waiting at the metalworkers union in São Bernardo do Campo for the Brazilian Supreme Court to decide his fate. Huge crowds of pro-Lula protesters surrounded his car and chanted,

On April 1, 2018, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, a former minister of Costa Rica’s current left-of-center government, won his nation’s presidency with 60.7% of the vote, over Fabricio Alvarado Muñoz, an evangelical preacher, former member of Congress, and strident opponent of LGBTQ rights, who got 39% of the vote. Carlos Alvarado’s victory defied the polls and

In the seemingly continuous “perp walk” that is the Peruvian presidency in recent decades, scandal has struck again. President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, known as PPK, resigned on March 23, 2018, before the Peruvian legislature could throw him out. He and his government were caught up in the region-wide corruption scandal generated by the Brazilian construction

On March 14, 2018, Marielle Franco, Rio city council member, human rights activist, and critic of the military, was gunned down in an execution-style shooting that also killed her driver and injured her assistant. Franco was returning from an event in the Maré Favela zone organized to promote the empowerment of black women. The councilwoman,

On Sunday, March 11, 2018, Colombians went to the polls for their nation’s first legislative elections since the 2016 peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas turned political party. Cámara and Senado contests were widely seen as the first test of the agreement’s popularity, and of Colombians’ willingness to accept it. Many observers pointed to the

Observers across the region noted with satisfaction how the 2018 Oscars had “a lot of Latin flavor.” Mexican director Guillermo del Toro won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture for his film The Shape of Water. The Pixar and Disney film Coco, inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday, won Oscars for Best Animated Feature