This Week In Latin America

Morales suffers electoral setback in Bolivia

President Evo Morales suffered one of his biggest electoral setbacks in the 29 March departmental and municipal elections since taking office in 2006. Exit polls indicate his ruling Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) won in just four of Bolivia’s nine departments, with two going to a second round on 3 May and three to different opposition outfits. This is not only down from the six won in the last (2010) local elections but a far cry from the eight in which the MAS won a majority vote in the most recent (October 2014) general elections (losing only in Beni). While the MAS remains the only national political organisation, the defeat for the ruling party in its symbolic bastions of La Paz and El Alto, along with other strategic seats, is a wake-up call for Morales.

Colombian peace process enters uncharted waters

Big gestures on either side have advanced the peace process between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group further than any previous effort in the history of the 50-year armed conflict. The government negotiating team in Cuba struck a deal with Farc counterparts on 7 March to work together to clear anti-personnel landmines and other improvised explosives placed by the guerrillas. In return for what he described as “a hugely important step”, unprecedented indeed, President Juan Manuel Santos responded days later with three of his own gestures: he ordered the military to halt aerial bombing of Farc camps, the prelude to a bilateral ceasefire; he cancelled the extradition to the US of a guerrilla and a paramilitary; and he instructed the military to intensify attacks on other ‘illegal armed groups’.

Caracas mayor arrested, protester killed as Maduro’s conspiracy claims grow

Venezuela: the arrest of the opposition mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, as an alleged party to a plot to stage a coup, and the death in the westernmost state of Táchira of a young protester at the hands of a police officer, against the backdrop of more claims by President Nicolás Maduro about a continually expanding conspiracy against his government.

‘March of silence’ and other Nisman-related events have major political implications

Two events in the past week have marked a watershed in the repercussions of the still unsolved death of Argentine prosecutor Alberto Nisman, who had drawn up criminal charges against President Cristina Fernández, foreign relations minister Héctor Timerman and others. On one side is the strictly legal arena, where two separate developments are taking place: the furtherance of Nisman’s charges and the investigation of Nisman’s death. On the other side is the laterally connected political arena, where the survival of kirchnerismo will be played out in the run-up to the October presidential elections.

Peru’s Humala responds to “political noise”

Peru’s President Ollanta Humala took drastic action this week to prop up his ailing government. After dismissing as “political noise” the various setbacks faced by his administration, the questioning of its integrity in relation to an illegal spying scandal, and allegations of financial irregulari- ties directed against First Lady Nadine Heredia, Humala responded by inviting political parties to talks with his government. In the past these have borne little fruit. This time they resulted in a concrete development: the temporary suspension of the national intelligence agency (Dini) pending a radical revamp. This is a big gesture. Whether it is sufficient to dampen down the noise is a moot point.

Pope Francis and Giuliani vie for influence in El Salvador

Pope Francis is at it again. The Holy See played an integral part in brokering the accord between the US and Cuba to take a historic step towards renewing diplomatic relations. Now it could be poised to take a decisive role in El Salvador. The Pope has instructed the Roman Catholic Church in the country to set aside religious differences and embrace the ‘Pastoral initiative for life and peace’ (Ipaz) of El Salvador’s Protestant churches to hold a dialogue with rival mara gangs. With El Salvador close to reclaiming the unwanted tag of the world’s most violent country from Honduras, mara gangs revealed a unilateral truce in late January after Ipaz leaders visited imprisoned leaders. Meanwhile, pursuing a decidedly different approach, El Salvador’s private sector has hired the tough-talking former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, as a security consultant to come up with a plan for reducing violence in the country.