Analysis: Bolivia Vote Suggests Pandemic May Fuel Populism in Latin America
Analysis: Bolivia Vote Suggests Pandemic May Fuel Populism in Latin America
“[As the economy deteriorates], there is a real danger of a backward slide in democratic governance in the region," said AS/COA's Steve Liston to Reuters.
A landslide win by Bolivia’s socialist party at weekend elections may herald a year of dramatic shifts in Latin American politics as the painful economic impact of the pandemic discredits incumbents and fuels demand for change.
Bolivia’s former economy minister Luis Arce won Sunday’s vote in the Andean nation, pledging to protect welfare spending as he takes over next month from a conservative interim government…
Stephen Liston, senior director at the Washington office of the Council of the Americas, warned that anger and mistrust of governments as the economic crisis deepens could open the door wider to populism or an authoritarian backlash in a region with a troubling history of both.
“There is a real danger of a backward slide in democratic governance in the region,” he said…
