In little more than a year, seven Latin American countries have held presidential elections—and right-wingers have won them all. Never has the regional pendulum swung so fast. Barring Brazil and Mexico, nearly every sizeable Latin country now has a leader who either courts Donald Trump or sounds like him. The latest is Abelardo de la Espriella, who was formally declared president-elect of Colombia on June 24th after a tight race. He calls himself El Tigre and promises to „hunt down” gangsters „in their burrows”.
This Trumpian „Orange Wave” has risen because voters are sick of gangs and illegal migrants. Centrists and leftists have failed to calm their fears. Populists on the right offer tough-sounding solutions. If Mr Trump can mass-deport migrants, they reason, why can’t we? If he can blow up drug boats, why shouldn’t we be ruthless? Such messages have proved popular. And leaders who imitate Mr Trump tend to win his favour, since imitation is flattery: he loves that.
De redactie van NRC selecteert de beste artikelen uit The Economist voor een breder perspectief op internationale politiek en economie.
In economic matters warm ties with the White House are clearly helpful. The region relies on trade with the United States. Chums may be spared the stiffest tariffs, and sometimes receive direct help. Argentina’s painful but necessary economic reforms might have failed, had they not been led by a pro-Trump president, Javier Milei. The US Treasury extended him a $20bn credit line to avert a currency crisis.
