Our World in 2018

GLOBAL VS. LOCAL WORLDS
Latin
America’s
Annus
Mediocris
By Jorge Castañeda
The highlight of the year was, without
question, the historic peace forged in
Colombia. After a half-century-long
insurgency fueled by drug cartels, Cubans,
and money launderers, the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) laid down
their weapons and entered the political
mainstream. Although some Colombians
felt that President Juan Manuel Santos gave
away too much to reach the accord, the
end of the Western Hemisphere’s longestrunning
armed conflict should be lauded.
Santos may not enjoy the domestic popularity
his achievements merit, but the peace he
championed – which earned him the Nobel
Peace Prize in 2016 – is likely to survive.
Another highlight of the last 12 months
was Latin America’s continued success in
tackling corruption, led by Brazil’s Lava Jato
(Car Wash) investigation.
That probe, which began in 2014, netted
a number of high-profile politicians and
business leaders in 2017, including former
RLIL
da Silva in Brazil; three former presidents of
Peru; and a former head of Mexico’s state oil
company, Pemex. Santos also had to testify –
and deny that he was aware of contributions to
his campaigns from the Brazilian construction
conglomerate Odebrecht.
Corruption charges were also lodged
during the year against Venezuelan President
Nicolás Maduro, Guatemalan President
Jimmy Morales, several former Mexican state
Jorge G.
Castañeda
Jorge G. Castañeda,
Mexico’s Secretary
FA
from 2000-2003, is
Global Distinguished
Professor of Politics
and Latin American
and Caribbean
Studies at New York
University.
governors, and former Argentine President
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, along with a
handful of those who served in her cabinet.
The sheer volume of corruption cases is
staggering, and some worry that the region’s
.I
Brazil, for example, many fear the judiciary’s
tenacity could lead to a military dictatorship or
the equivalent, especially if an extreme rightwing
former soldier is elected president next
year.
These are not groundless concerns, given
the region’s history of authoritarianism.
But with endemic corruption eroding Latin
America’s economic growth and undermining
the rule of law, the investigations underway
are a welcome change from the status quo.
Latin America’s low point in 2017 was, like
its highs, easy to discern: Venezuela’s political
crisis. Protests that erupted in the middle
of the year and lasted through September
resulted in the deaths of more than 120 antigovernment
demonstrators. Many were
killed at the hands of barely disguised progovernment
Chavistas, known as colectivos.
In July, Maduro replaced the elected
National Assembly with a handpicked
constituent assembly to rewrite the
constitution and entrench his regime. The
crisis, fueled by the government’s massive
government services, and basic necessities
like food, medicines, and toilet paper remain
scarce. Some two million Venezuelans have
.
Most Latin American governments have
refused to recognize Maduro’s de facto coup
d’état – an encouraging example of democratic
solidarity in the region. But Maduro has yet
to engage in good-faith negotiations, and
Latin America’s worst crisis seems no closer
to resolution.
Finally, there was US President Donald
TLA.
the impact of Trump’s presidency has been
as profoundly as those on the United States’
southern doorstep.
Consider the crisis in Venezuela, which
was moving toward resolution before
Trump suggested that a military response
148 2018 | OUR WORLD