The WSJ writes about A Populist ‘Pink Tide’ Is Ebbing in South America, Argentine Vote Suggests. The presidential victory of center-right politician Mauricio Macri marks potential change in fortunes of populist movements across the continent. Color me skeptic, but when it comes to change, the key word is potential.
I flat-out disagree with this statement,
On Dec. 6, Venezuelans are expected to hand President Nicolás Maduro, the heir to the late leftist firebrand Hugo Chávez, a big loss in midterm elections there. Polls show the opposition winning by at least 20 percentage points, likely giving it control over congress and giving momentum to a possible recall vote on Mr. Maduro.
When it comes to the upcoming election in Venezuela, the only thing one can realistically expect is for Maduro to make good on his word that he will not surrender power. As far as he’s concerned, the votes are already counted.
Interestingly, the chart accompanying the article includes Colombia’s Santos,
I would certainly welcome free-market economies in countries where the rule of law applies to all across Latin America. I just can’t realistically expect that Macri’s win by itself is the start of a domino effect.
UPDATE,
This, however, is very likely:
Analysis: Macri Victory in Argentina Marks Setback for Iranian Ambitions in Latin America (emphasis added),
At his first press conference on Monday morning, the president-elect, who takes office on December 10, repeated two of his campaign commitments. The first of these was that he would send a bill to the nation’s Congress to annul the 2013 pact with Iran, which ostensibly aimed to seek justice for the 85 victims of the 1994 terrorist attack on the AMIA Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, but which the late Federal Prosecutor Alberto Nisman believed was no more than a façade to cover up a secret agreement that guaranteed impunity to the perpetrators.
Read the whole thing.
