If Nelson Mandela had been Cuban, rather than South African, he never would have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize or have become a 20th century icon and statesman. Instead, he would have been a “plantado,” one of the political prisoners (the “immovable ones”) who...
The recent presidential elections in Peru have confirmed a pattern that has been in evidence for several election cycles. Peruvians have made it a habit of voting in the first round of the elections so as to place themselves, with regard to the second round,...
Becoming president of Peru is a highly risky proposition. In the last few years five presidents have gone to jail; one of them committed suicide in the presence of the law-enforcement officers sent to arrest him. Earlier this month, President Martín Vizcarra was impeached following accusations...
Populism’s distinctive feature is not the redistribution of wealth. It is the concentration of power outside liberal democratic institutions and the rule of law. The populist leader uses antielitist rhetoric to enhance his messianic appeal with the people and undermines checks and balances by concentrating...
Claiming to be the victim of a coup, former Bolivian president Evo Morales has been granted political asylum by Mexico, where he and his allies will continue to push the fiction that he was forced out by Bolivia’s powerful oligarchy. Morales’s claim stands truth on its head....
