On January 5, 2021, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro proclaimed that Brazil is “bankrupt,” and that there is nothing he can do about it. He made other claims as well, about the pandemic, the media, and reasons for the high rate of unemployment, all of which were met with broad skepticism and scorn. As the pandemic

On December 6, 2020, Venezuela held elections to decide who would control its unicameral legislature, the Asamblea Nacional, or AN. Since the last legislative election, the opposition has controlled the chamber, presided over by Juan Guaidó, who was also recognized by many countries around the world as the Provisional or Interim President of Venezuela after

On November 25, 2020, after days of protest, a group of demonstrators broke into Guatemala’s Congress building and set several rooms on fire. In other parts of the capital, thousands marched peacefully while making their demands, but were nonetheless attacked by police. This led to more demonstrations. The protests were ignited by a national budget

On November 9, 2020, Peruvian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to remove President Martín Vizcarra from office. They cited his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as alleged, but unproven, corruption allegations. While Vizcarra said he would not fight the dismissal, the action by legislators proved to be a risky move in a country where the president

In the run-up to the United States’ general election on November 3, 2020, Latin American journalists, pundits, and commentators offered vast amounts of analysis about what the contest represented for the U.S., for Latin America, for U.S.-Latin American relations, and for the world. They tried to make sense of the contest for their readers. The

In the referendum held in Chile on October 25, 2020, Chileans demanded reform of their constitution by enormous margins. The current constitution, foisted on the nation in 1980 by Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, had survived many decades of democratic rule, but was now thoroughly rejected. The vote came after a year of constant protests, many

On October 18, 2020, after multiple delays, Bolivia finally held its repeat presidential election, almost exactly a year after the disputed contest that sent former President Evo Morales into peripatetic exile. His Movimiento al Socialismo or MAS party, led by former finance minister Luis Arce, won a decisive first round victory. Pundits, editorialists, and analysts

During the first weeks of August 2020, Chileans continued to take to the streets of their nation’s cities to protest against inequality and police brutality, and in favor of the upcoming referendum on constitutional changes. As has happened repeatedly throughout the last year, beginning with protests that erupted on October 18, 2019, over increased transport

Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón, better known as “Quino,” was the Argentine artist most widely known for his iconic and much loved comic strip, “Mafalda,” about a small girl with potent powers of observation and a sharp wit. He died on September 30, 2020, at the age of 88. Artists, writers, politicians, and journalists around the

On September 26, 2020, protesters joined the families of the 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural “Raúl Isidro Burgos” in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero, to mark the sixth anniversary of their forced abduction in 2014. After President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) affirmed that state and federal officials were involved in the students’ disappearances, and apologized