Source: Al Jazeera
Leftist governments across Latin America are failing to follow a truly leftist direction.
Over the last weeks, Latin America’s left consolidated its presence. Brazil re-elected President Dilma Rousseff to a second term in office; Bolivia re-elected President Evo Morales to a third. In Ecuador, the Supreme Court authorised Congress to move ahead with an amendment for the indefinite re-election of President Rafael Correa. The entrenchment of socially committed candidates on the left, though significant, is a bittersweet victory.
Leftist governments are diverse and their achievements in the region cannot be overlooked. Brazil took 40 million people out of poverty. Bolivia declared a plurinational state; Ecuador’s constitution recognised the rights of nature. Yet, different leftist government disappointed in their own ways.
Curbing political rights
The revolutionary left disenchanted its supporters in the most overt ways, undoing the electoral mechanisms that brought it to power. At first, Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega did not bother to change the rules, running for a third term against the law; and then Sandinistas proposed “re-election without end” to do away with elections altogether. Ecuador is about to announce “indefinite re-election”. Both reforms were presented as constitutional amendments to Congresses largely controlled by the executive branch.
Over the last weeks, Latin America’s left consolidated its presence. Brazil re-elected President Dilma Rousseff to a second term in office; Bolivia re-elected President Evo Morales to a third. In Ecuador, the Supreme Court authorised Congress to move ahead with an amendment for the indefinite re-election of President Rafael Correa. The entrenchment of socially committed candidates on the left, though significant, is a bittersweet victory.
Leftist governments are diverse and their achievements in the region cannot be overlooked. Brazil took 40 million people out of poverty. Bolivia declared a plurinational state; Ecuador’s constitution recognised the rights of nature. Yet, different leftist government disappointed in their own ways.