elections
Presidential Elections in Uruguay Head to Second Round
On October 26th, Uruguay held its presidential, vice presidential, and parliamentary elections. The previous president, José “Pepe” Mujica, was not able to run since it is not permissible for a president to serve two consecutive terms. Running in his place was the Broad Front candidate, Tabare Vazquez, who comes from the same political party as Mujica. The Broad Front, or the Frente Amplio as its known in Uruguay, is a center leftist group with many former communists and guerrilla leaders.
As Brazil's Economy Slumps, What to Expect From Rousseff
This October Dilma Rousseff was re-elected as Brazil’s president by the slimmest of margins. With approximately 51.4 percent of the vote she beat competitor Aécio Neves of the Social Democracy party (PSDB) who received about 48.5 percent.1 The election reveals Brazil’s clear divide amongst the population with regard to the direction of the country as evidenced by her victory speech in which she admitted that she wants to be “a much better president than I have been until now.”2
Elections in Bolivia: Some Keys to Evo Morales’s Victory
Vazquez Wins Runoff, Broad Front Stays in Power
In a runoff Tabaré Vazquez won the presidential election of Uruguay beating rival candidate Luis Lacalle Pou. Mr. Vazquez, former president serving from 2005-2010, will succeed José Mujica as head of the South American state.
Taxing with Dictators and Democrats in Argentina
Latin American nations are notoriously poor tax collectors and Argentina is among the least effective. Despite a relatively high level of development, Argentina’s governments are unable or unwilling to extract at levels comparable even to the surrounding nations. One possible source of this weakness is Argentina’s political structure, including its fiscal federalism and the incentives provided by elections and national governance. Crucially, taxing is unpopular, so politicians that face reelection or can gain resources elsewhere will avoid it.
Campaigning Against Immigration
Monday, September 21, 2015, marked the one year anniversary of the death of Paola Acosta, a woman who suffered her fate at the hands of her ex-partner1, Gonzalo Lizarralde. She was raped, killed and dumped in a sewer together with her one-year-old daughter, Martina, who she had in common with her attacker. Remarkably, Martina survived. Wednesday, September 23, Gonzalo Lizarralde, marked the first day of the prosecution for the murder of Paola2.
Latinos at the Polls
The race for the president of the United States is nearing the finish line and Republican candidate Donald J. Trump and Democrat opponent Hillary Clinton have been pushing harder than ever to win the votes of the American people. Most recently, this week CNN aired what was the most-watched presidential debate in the history of the United States. While both candidates muddled through their respective weaknesses, one story that was exposed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has since dealt a serious blow to entrepreneur Donald Trump’s campaign.
The 2016 Mexican Gubernatorial Elections: the Pathway to 2018
This Sunday, 12 of the 32 Mexican states hold gubernatorial elections and one constitutional assembly race (Mexico City). Also, in total, the “Elecciones Locales” will define 965 majors, 239 local deputies by the majority principle and 149 local deputies by the proportional principle.1
Argentina Opens its Economy After Currency Devaluation
Following the promise of President Mauricio Macri to re-open the economy to international financial markets after taking power, Argentina exited currency restrictions, devalued its currency, and freed imports and exports.