News of democracy

Too stable? Uruguay's model election masks problems

Today 10:00 Election day passed off peacefully in Uruguay, with the losing candidate accepting defeat gracefully. But underneath the surface, Argentina's neighbour faces a raft of issues, including growing disenchantment with the political system.

EXPLOSIONS IN BRASÍLIA

Brazil investigating Supreme Court bomb attack as 'terrorist act'

14-11-2024 14:06 Blast which were set off outside of the Brazilian supreme court are now being investigated by security authorities as a potential terrorist act.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Brazil, Spain struggle to shake criticism as Maduro enablers

25-09-2024 18:06 At a recent United Nations gathering, Brazilian President Lula and Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez faced scrutiny for their ambiguous stance on Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela.

FEATURE INTERVIEW

Ian Bremmer: ‘No matter who wins, many Americans will not accept the legitimacy of the election’

02-03-2024 06:53 Influential political analyst and founder of the Eurasia Group traces a panorama of the elections which will be dogged by the spectre of the assault on Capitol Hill and the possible conviction of Donald Trump. In a feature-length interview, he debates the new world order – and offers a few remarks on Javier Milei.

by Cecilia Degl'Innocenti

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Fight club

24-02-2024 06:08 For President Javier Milei, anyone who thinks differently is simply an enemy. This is a real problem because it undermines the very concept of democracy.

by Nelson Castro

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Blinken says Argentina 'can count' on US support to stabilise economy

23-02-2024 16:29 President Javier Milei and Foreign Minister Diana Mondino received the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, at the Casa Rosada, in a new gesture of rapprochement between Joe Biden's administration and Argentina's new government.

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Blinken highlights Argentina opportunities, but warns Milei over rights

23-02-2024 14:10 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington wants to help Argentina “feed and fuel” the world, but leaves Buenos Aires with a pointed message to President Javier Milei about importance of human rights.

by James Grainger

IN FOCUS

How El Salvador's Bukele became Latin America's most popular leader

31-01-2024 10:43 Despite accusations of human rights abuses and constitutional overstepping, Nayib Bukele's crackdown on drug gangs has won him approval ratings around 90%, according to numerous polls.

A WALK THROUGH HISTORY

How Argentina arrived to 40 years of democracy

09-12-2023 09:31 From Raúl Alfonsín to Alberto Fernández, a breathless, compressed account of how Argentina traversed four decades of democracy.

by Michael Soltys

Election 2023

Lula says Argentina needs a president who ‘likes democracy’

14-11-2023 12:07 Brazil president avoids explicitly declaring support for ally Sergio Massa but says Argentina needs to elect a president who ‘likes democracy’ in Sunday’s run-off – a not-so veiled jab at outspoken libertarian Javier Milei.

VOTING & DEMOCRACY

104-year-old grandmother wins court battle to protect her vote

07-11-2023 16:00 Berazategui grandmother Fanny Magdalena Córdoba, has voted in every election since 1951, when women first won suffrage in Argentina. Blocked in this year's elections from casting a ballot due to her age, she went to court to ensure she retained her democratic right to vote.

by Ariel Stemphelet

EDITORIAL

Tomorrow never knows

21-10-2023 05:46 Tomorrow is the time to go beyond day-day thinking and ponder the next four years.

ELECTION 2023

Lula declares that Argentine democracy is 'in danger' with Milei

21-09-2023 15:29 Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva meets his US counterpart Joe Biden; Leftist leader warns that democracy in Argentina is endangered by threat of Javier Milei winning the Presidency.

OPINION & ANALYSIS

Eduardo Porter: Latin America is waxing nostalgic for dictators

29-08-2023 10:09 Fifty years after Augusto Pinochet infamously squashed democracy in Chile, the false promise of authoritarian rule once again tempts the region’s citizens.

Bolsonaro's Trial

Bolsonaro's political future at stake in Brazil trial

22-06-2023 11:26 Jair Bolsonaro faces make-or-break trial in Brazilian courts that could determine the former president's political future and stoke uncertainty.

As I see it

Prospects for demagogues look bright

17-06-2023 06:58 When people come to the conclusion that they simply cannot trust run-of-the-mill democratic politicians to do anything that might make their lives easier because they are in cahoots with the rich, they will turn to populists who at least appear to share their way of thinking.

by James Neilson

CHILEAN CONSTITUTION

Far-right wins most seats on Chile's constitution rewrite body

08-05-2023 10:58 Chile's far-right Republican Party finished in first place Sunday in a nationwide vote to choose the 50 members of a committee that will draft a replacement to the country's dictatorship-era constitution.

PARAGUAY ELECTION

Paraguay gears up for tight presidential election

29-04-2023 07:05 Paraguayans go the polls Sunday for the South American country's closest presidential race in many years, with a center-leftist coalition hoping to end an almost unbroken, seven-decade run for the ruling right-wing Colorado party.

Bilateral relations

Biden's envoy arrives with messages of support for Argentina

15-04-2023 13:48 IMF support, macroeconomic support and planes – US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman’s visit to Argentina came with clear messages. "There is a programme between Argentina and the IMF and what they are negotiating is something that the United States supports," she told reporters.

BOOKS & LITERATURE

Buenos Aires Book Fair returns with focus on 40 years of democracy

15-04-2023 06:11 Forty-seventh annual Feria Internacional del Libro de Buenos Aires, running from April 27 to May 15, will honour Argentina’s 40th democratic anniversary and acclaimed authors from across Latin America.

by Api Dhadda

WAR IN UKRAINE

Adviser to Lula met Putin to discuss peace talks for Ukraine

04-04-2023 10:37 An adviser to Brazil President Lula met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow to discuss opening peace negotiations with Ukraine, official in Brasilia confirms.

Bilateral relations

Biden, Fernández call for 'economic integration' in White House meet

29-03-2023 23:26 US President Joe Biden hails an "enormous opportunity" to increase "economic integration" with Argentina as he hosts President Alberto Fernández at White House.

BILATERAL MEET

‘Satisfied’ Fernández flies home with Biden's vow of support

29-03-2023 23:23 A long-awaited meeting between Argentina’s Peronist leader and US President Joe Biden finally took place this week, with both sides emerging subsequently to talk up bilateral relations and opportunities in the coming years.

ALBERTO IN WASHINGTON

Inside the bilateral: What did Alberto and Joe say to each other?

29-03-2023 21:54 President Alberto Fernández’s delegation spent more than an hour and a half in the White House; Seeking support in its discussions with the IMF, US President Joe Biden remarked on the heavy economic inheritance both leaders received upon taking office.

by Rosario Ayerdi, from Washington

BILATERAL MEETING

Fernández asks Biden for IMF support in White House meeting

29-03-2023 17:28 Argentina's president hosted by United States leader at the West Wing in Washington; Alberto Fernández asks for US support with the International Monetary Fund and condemns war in Ukraine.

by Rosario Ayerdi, from Washington

BILATERAL MEET

Alberto Fernández lands in New York ahead of Biden bilateral

27-03-2023 10:59 President Alberto Fernández lands in New York ahead of bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden; Economy Minister Sergio Massa travelling to Washington on Tuesday to join delegation.

by Rosario Ayerdi, from New York

BILATERAL MEET

Biden to meet with Alberto Fernández during democracy summit

26-03-2023 13:09 US President Joe Biden will host President Alberto Fernández in Washington next week after a planned meeting was postponed last year, White House confirms.

GRUPO PUEBLA FORUM

Fernández de Kirchner: ‘I don’t care if they put me in prison’

22-03-2023 16:32 Argentina’s vice-president uses closing speech of Grupo Puebla summit in Buenos Aires to repeat claims she is a victim of political persecution and condemn the “lawfare” that is flooding the region.

DIPLOMATIC DEFECTION

High-level defection: why a North Korean diplomatic family chose freedom

02-03-2023 12:30 Born into an elite North Korean family with ties to the ruling dynasty, Oh Hye Son convinced her husband Thae Yong Ho, then deputy ambassador at North Korea's London embassy, to give up their privileged place in the Pyongyang regime for the sake of their children.

WAR IN UKRAINE: ONE YEAR ON

US, Ukrainian envoys call on democracies to unite against Russian aggression

23-02-2023 17:11 US Ambassador to Argentina Marc Stanley marks one-year anniversary of war by calling for solidarity between countries challenging Russian aggression, as Ukrainian Chargé d'affaires demands renewed agricultural and energy sanctions against Moscow.

by Erica Davis

FOREIGN POLICY & DIPLOMACY

Biden and Lula put on pro-democracy show under Bolsonaro’s shadow

10-02-2023 11:09 Joe Biden hosts his counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the White House Friday in a show of support for Brazilian democracy, shaken last month by a right-wing insurrection akin to the invasion of the US Capitol in 2021. The elephant in the room: former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, who's been vacationing in Florida since December 30.

FOREIGN RELATIONS & DIPLOMACY

US, Brazil to seek reset with Biden-Lula meeting

08-02-2023 17:18 The US and Brazil will seek to reset ties this week when President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva travels to Washington to meet Joe Biden, both keen to turn the page on the Jair Bolsonaro years.

CORRUPTION

Argentina retains low score in global corruption ranking

02-02-2023 12:50 Transparency International publishes results of annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), with discouraging results for the country and the region.

CELAC SUMMIT 2023

Lacalle Pou voices discontent at CELAC summit

24-01-2023 21:35 Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou delivers forceful remarks at “ideological” CELAC summit, declaring that “there are countries here that do not respect democracy or human rights.”

BRAZIL IN TURMOIL

Pope cites Brazil in critique of political crises in Americas

09-01-2023 21:48 Argentine pontiff cites "various countries of the Americas where political crises are laden with tensions and forms of violence that exacerbate social conflicts."

CHAOS IN BRASÍLIA

President Alberto Fernández assails 'coup attempt' in Brazil

09-01-2023 00:00 Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner also condemns attack, attributing it to "hate speech in the media and social networks."

GLOBAL REACTION

World leaders condemn anti-government mob attacks in Brasília

08-01-2023 23:44 President Alberto Fernández slams "coup attempt" by supporters of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazilian capital, as leaders from across the globe condemn "outrageous" attack on democracy.

And that reminds me…

The 39 steps

10-12-2022 04:45 Raúl Alfonsín’s election victory and inauguration gave most people every impression of a fresh start even if a Radical party then nearing its centenary could hardly be described as a new force.

by Michael Soltys

DEMOCRACY

Democracy overseas: Voting in Argentina for the US midterm elections

01-12-2022 20:27 More than 8.7 million US citizens are scattered across different continents living overseas ― a large source of unrecognised voting power.

by Sade Collier