News of democracy

Brazil's Bolsonaro ordered to stand trial for attempted coup

26-03-2025 22:26 Brazil's Supreme Court orders former president Jair Bolsonaro to stand trial on charges of plotting a coup after failing to win re-election in 2022.

AS I SEE IT

Demography should help the US keep China at bay

15-03-2025 07:46 Despite the fact that demography has always been China’s not so secret weapon, in recent years it has become a major problem that seems certain to put a premature end to the imperial dreams of Xi and his immediate successors.

by James Neilson

GOVERNMENT COUP

Brazil prosecutor charges Bolsonaro over failed coup plot

19-02-2025 14:47 Brazil's attorney general charged ex-president Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt, including approval of a plan to poison his political rival amidst the 2022 election.

ANGER IN CARACAS

Anger in Caracas as G7 backs Venezuelan opposition candidate

27-11-2024 22:04 Edmundo González Urrutia announces that he intends to travel to Caracas on January 10 to take office as president of Venezuela.

ANALYSIS

Too stable? Uruguay's model election masks problems

27-11-2024 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.