Raúl Castro’s retirement in April 2021 as first secretary of Cuba’s Communist Party marks the end of an extraordinarily long and coherent era of political power in Latin America. Raúl followed his brother, Fidel Castro, as leader of the party, and the Cuban government. The brothers Castro have ruled Cuba continuously since the Cuban Revolution

On April 11, 2021, Ecuador and Peru held tense and hard-fought presidential elections. In Ecuador, it was the much-anticipated second round between “neoliberal” businessman Guillermo Lasso (making his third run at the presidency) and “progressive” Andrés Arauz, generally regarded as a stand-in for former President Rafael Correa. In Peru, it was the first round of

In early April 2021, a political earthquake compounded Brazil’s severe health crisis. After President Jair Bolsonaro fired his defense minister during a broader cabinet reshuffle, the heads of Brazil’s Army, Navy, and Air Force resigned in protest. The Bolsonaro administration has been particularly reliant on the military, staffing positions throughout the government with current and

A virtual summit on March 26, 2021, marked the 30th anniversary of the founding of Mercosur, the regional trade bloc that comprises Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay (the founding members), along with a number of associate members, including Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Suriname, and Guyana. Venezuela, technically a full member, remains in a kind

In March 2021, the rising numbers of Central American migrants arriving in Northern Mexico have caused Republican critics of U.S. President Joe Biden to accuse him of encouraging migrants (apparently by not treating them with brutality). Democrats, for their part, maintain that the Trump administration left behind a broken system, with thousands of minors still

After the Brazilian Supreme Court annulled former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s graft convictions on March 8, 2021, Lula (as he is known) lost no time jumping right back into Brazil’s political arena. He gave a speech that literally stopped the country in its tracks as Brazilians interrupted their routines to listen. His

In early March 2021, as new variants of COVID-19 were clearly spreading quickly in Brazil, its healthcare system seemed to teeter on the edge of collapse. Some of the new variants could be deadlier and more infectious, and are causing serious concern among Brazil’s neighbors in the region, and around the world. The response by

On February 28, 2021, El Salvador held municipal and legislative elections in which President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas party won an outright majority of seats in the nation’s unicameral legislature. Nuevas Ideas, known as “N,” eclipsed both the right-wing Alianza Republicana Nacionalista or ARENA party, and the left-wing Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional

During February 2021, Latin America witnessed scandals in various countries as networks of influence and privilege allowed “VIPs” to get coronavirus vaccines before health care professionals, educators, first responders, and the elderly who were to be given priority. The first uproar occurred in Peru where “Vacunagate” angered millions, though an even bigger upheaval erupted in

Carlos Menem, who died at the age of 90 on February 14, 2021, was president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Having been in frail health for some time, he died after a short hospitalization for a urinary tract infection. Despite his Peronista origins, he became known for market economic policies and the privatization of