People wait in line to receive the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 at the Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, on Jan. 6.
People wait in line to receive the first dose of the Sputnik V vaccine against COVID-19 at the Plaza Murillo in La Paz, Bolivia, on Jan. 6.

Omicron Spells the Return of Pandemic Political Calculus

South America is the world’s most vaccinated region. Will that be enough to contain the new variant?

From left to right, Guyana’s ambassador to Chile, George Talbot; Bolivia’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Carmen Almendra; Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez; Colombian President Iván Duque; Argentina’s then-president, Mauricio Macri; Chilean President Sebastián Pinera; Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro; Ecuador’s then-president, Lenín Moreno; Peru’s then-president, Martín Vizcarra; Uruguay’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Ariel Bergamino; and Suriname’s then-ambassador to Chile, Marciano Edgar Armaketo, pose for a picture during the launching of the Prosur regional initiative at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on March 22, 2019.
From left to right, Guyana’s ambassador to Chile, George Talbot; Bolivia’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Carmen Almendra; Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benitez; Colombian President Iván Duque; Argentina’s then-president, Mauricio Macri; Chilean President Sebastián Pinera; Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro; Ecuador’s then-president, Lenín Moreno; Peru’s then-president, Martín Vizcarra; Uruguay’s then-foreign relations vice minister, Ariel Bergamino; and Suriname’s then-ambassador to Chile, Marciano Edgar Armaketo, pose for a picture during the launching of the Prosur regional initiative at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on March 22, 2019.

Will 2022 Reboot Latin American Regionalism?

Increased cooperation could spur policy shifts from migration to medical manufacturing.

Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks with President of the Constituent Assembly Elisa Loncon on Dec. 21 in Santiago.
Chilean President-elect Gabriel Boric speaks with President of the Constituent Assembly Elisa Loncon on Dec. 21 in Santiago.

Gabriel Boric Bookends a Year of Demands for a New Social Contract

This year, voters from Chile to Honduras to Peru elected leftist leaders who promised to ease endemic inequality.

Supporters of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador take part in a protest march after their leaders met with Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso at the Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 4.
Supporters of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador take part in a protest march after their leaders met with Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso at the Carondelet Palace in Quito, Ecuador, on Oct. 4.

Meet the Indigenous Leaders Reshaping Ecuador’s Politics

They have slowly but steadily attained political power. What will they do with it?

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States virtually from Beijing on Dec. 3.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the Forum of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States virtually from Beijing on Dec. 3.

Latin America Could Profit From U.S.-China Competition

“Active nonalignment” is on display in a busy week of summits with both Beijing and Washington.

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, former cricketer Garfield Sobers, Barbadian President Sandra Mason, singer Rihanna, and Prince Charles stand during the presidential inauguration ceremony at National Heroes Square in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Nov. 30.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley, former cricketer Garfield Sobers, Barbadian President Sandra Mason, singer Rihanna, and Prince Charles stand during the presidential inauguration ceremony at National Heroes Square in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Nov. 30.

Barbados Steps Out From Under the Queen’s Umbrella

From Rihanna to climate finance, the small island nation has big foreign-policy goals.

A health worker holds a vial of the Sputnik V vaccine at the Lumiere movie theater, used as vaccination center, in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina, on March 26.
A health worker holds a vial of the Sputnik V vaccine at the Lumiere movie theater, used as vaccination center, in Rosario, Santa Fe province, Argentina, on March 26.

How Sputnik V Helped Bring Down Argentina’s Peronists

President Alberto Fernández was an early champion of the jab. Now he’s paying the political price.

Presidential candidate of the Liberty and Refoundation Party, Xiomara Castro, greets supporters during an election campaign tour in Honduras.
Presidential candidate of the Liberty and Refoundation Party, Xiomara Castro, greets supporters during an election campaign tour in Honduras.

Is Democracy Backsliding in Latin America—or Making a Comeback?

In a packed elections month, several key elections are toss-ups.

Chilean Environment Minister and COP25 president Carolina Schmidt (center) meets with delegates from Indigenous communities during the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 3.
Chilean Environment Minister and COP25 president Carolina Schmidt (center) meets with delegates from Indigenous communities during the COP26 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 3.

Deforestation Déjà Vu at COP26

Past conservation efforts have floundered. Latin American nations will decide whether the new pact succeeds.

Helicopters stand at the Carepa military base, close to where the drug lord Dario Antonio Úsuga was captured, in Antioquia department, Colombia, on Oct. 24.
Helicopters stand at the Carepa military base, close to where the drug lord Dario Antonio Úsuga was captured, in Antioquia department, Colombia, on Oct. 24.

What a Gangster’s Takedown Says About Colombia’s Fragile Peace

The Gulf Clan grew in areas where implementation of the country’s 2016 peace deal has lagged.

Demonstrators protest in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasília on Oct. 8, the day Brazil was expected to reach the milestone of 600,000 people dead of COVID-19.
Demonstrators protest in front of the Planalto Palace in Brasília on Oct. 8, the day Brazil was expected to reach the milestone of 600,000 people dead of COVID-19.

Brazil’s Senate Accuses Bolsonaro of Crimes Against Humanity

It’s a new low for his government’s catastrophic pandemic response.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint news conference with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City on Oct. 8.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a joint news conference with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City on Oct. 8.

The U.S.-Mexico Drug War Gets a Rebrand

Can the “Bicentennial Framework” be a turning point?

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera delivers a press conference a day after he was mentioned in the Pandora Papers, a media investigation exposing world leaders’ use of tax havens, at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 4.
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera delivers a press conference a day after he was mentioned in the Pandora Papers, a media investigation exposing world leaders’ use of tax havens, at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 4.

Hips Don’t Lie (and Neither Do Receipts)

Latin American leaders—and pop stars—are ensnared in the Pandora Papers leak.

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera (right) and then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao speak after the signing of agreements at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on June 26, 2012.
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera (right) and then-Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao speak after the signing of agreements at La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, Chile, on June 26, 2012.

Can the United States Rival China in Latin America?

The newly announced Build Back Better World initiative weighs its prospects in the region.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuña-Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 19.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuña-Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, on Sept. 19.

The View From Haiti

Many decry U.S. policy toward the country—and its migrants—as anti-Black racism.

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