Versión Español
In this week’s Latin America News Roundup, PanAm Post English editor David Unsworth takes a look at the region’s top news items:
In Argentina, president Mauricio Macri’s party won a considerable victory, strengthened by a divided opposition, as former president Cristina Kirchner broke with the Peronists to form her own political party.
- Read More: Ecuador’s Ruling Party Divided over Vice President Replacement Scandal
- Read More: Sebastián Piñera Poised to Become Chile’s Next President with Strong Lead in Polls
Kirchner was defeated by Macri’s candidate Esteban Bullrich in Buenos Aires province, but her second place showing was strong enough to retain a Senate seat, and keep her out of prison, at least for now.
Lenin Moreno and Rafael Correa have escalated their bitter and surprising feud for the future of the Alianza Pais party, and the country of Ecuador itself. The famously confrontational Correa has accused the current president of “being a wolf in sheep’s clothing” and undoing the gains of his decade in office.
Moreno, on the other hand, has called out Correa for leaving the country with high debt levels, and allegedly spying on the presidential office, noting that some people seem to forget when their presidential term expires. Moreno has also promised to relax enforcement of Correa’s infamous media law, change the law on presidential reelection, and overturn Correa’s law on real estate speculation.
In Chile, former president Sebastian Pinera appears poised to cruise to a second (non-consecutive) term, leading several left-wing candidates by a wide margin. Antofagasta senator Alejandro Guillier is in distant second place.
Finally, in Brazil, the besieged president Michel Temer seems to have as many political lives as a cat, as he avoided a corruption trial in the Brazilian Congress yet again. The lower chamber needed a two thirds vote to move forward with the trial, but ended up voting 251 to 233 against the motion. Temer is still not out of the woods, as corruption allegations swirl about, but it appears that he will at least be able to hold his office until 2018.
