Is the election result in Chile the beginning of a shift to the right in Latin America?

In Chile, the political right has now total control in the drafting of the new constitution. Yet President Gabriel Boric was elected only a year ago with a left-wing majority. A similar pendulum swing to the right could soon be repeated in Argentina and, in the medium term, in Brazil or Colombia.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

In one and a half years, the political mood in Chile has completely changed. As recently as December 2021, a majority elected former student leader Gabriel Boric and his left-wing governing coalition.

Now the majority of Chileans voted right-wing conservative in the elections to the Constitutional Council. The Republican Party around former presidential candidate José Antonio Kast experienced a landslide victory. Together with the traditional right, they now have a qualified majority in the Council. The council is to draft the new constitution by November. Boric’s left-center coalition did so poorly that it does not even have a veto power in the body.

This has created the paradoxical situation that a right-wing party that never wanted a new constitution will control the drafting of a new Basic Law.

The reason for the change in Chile’s voting behavior can be explained by the weak performance of the Boric government. Two-thirds of the people in Chile reject his center-left government. The population is concerned about high crime, recession and high inflation, as well as immigration. Right-wing parties traditionally score well on these issues.

Although in 2020 almost 80 percent of Chileans still wanted a new constitution, this is no longer so important to them. They have other more existential problems. In addition, voting fatigue is spreading in Chile: The 15 million voters have been called to the polls seven times since then.

It will now be exciting to see whether Kast and his party will seize the opportunity and actually draft a new bill. The majority of Chileans want more social democratic elements to be integrated into the existing constitution. However, it is also quite possible that Kast and his political comrades-in-arms will take a confrontational course. They could try to turn right-wing conservative demands such as the one for a general ban on abortion into constitutional laws.

If so, there would be a strong likelihood that the next vote in December would also reject this bill – as it did the previous left-wing version in September 2022. A rejection would reduce Kast’s future political chances.

The majority of investment banks have welcomed the result of the vote in Chile. They now hope that the general uncertainty about the future constitution and the economic course of the Boric government will be reduced and investors will regain confidence in the Andean country. Nevertheless, political tensions will continue.

However, it is quite possible that this shift to the right could be repeated in other countries in the region in the short to medium term. In other words, everywhere where the ruling left-wing governments are not very successful in addressing the concerns and needs of the citizens.

This is the case in Argentina, for example, where a conservative government will probably be elected in October – after the politically weak term of office of the Peronist Alberto Fernández. But Gustavo Petro in Colombia and even Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are already showing clear signs of weakness at the beginning of their governments.

Increasing pressure on central banks and finance ministers in Latin America

Few expected the significantly higher growth in the first quarter of this year. But the decisive factor for the longer-term economic trend will be when the central banks cut their interest rates. A fierce dispute has broken out in the region over this.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

In the first quarter, growth in most Latin American economies was significantly higher than expected. At the beginning of the year, for example, the investment bank JP Morgan forecast contractionary growth of -0.4 percent in gross domestic product in the first quarter. Now, economists expect that the economy in the region may have grown by 2.1 percent.

The economies of Chile, Brazil and Mexico in particular grew significantly more strongly. This was due on the one hand to stable exports to China (Chile), record results in agricultural exports (Brazil) and the further recovery in domestic consumption (Mexico). Only in Peru, Uruguay and Argentina was growth significantly lower than expected.

But the recovery could soon be over again. The International Monetary Fund and most investment banks continue to forecast low growth for the region this year: After the 3.6 percent increase last year, growth is likely to fall to around one percent, according to JP Morgan. Oxford Economics expects growth of just 0.4 percent in the region’s six largest economies.

Because the economy is now threatening to cloud over again, governments in all countries have increased the pressure on the central bank and the finance minister. They want the banks to finally lower interest rates and the finance ministries to expand government budgets. Private consumption and investment could then increase, and the state would have more capital available to stimulate growth.

But the central banks refuse because they want to fight the still high inflation in their countries with a restrictive monetary policy. Their mandate is not growth, but monetary stability. Finance ministers are also trying to control spending so that deficits in national budgets do not grow again.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, for example, repeatedly blames the central bank for slow growth. He would love to fire the central bank president. But that is not possible. The central bank is autonomous. Lula cannot replace the president until the end of next year.

In Colombia, Gustavo Petro has just replaced José Antonio Ocampo, his finance minister who is respected by investors, in a cabinet reshuffle. In Mexico, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador cut the salary of top officials because the central bank’s decisions are a thorn in his side.

However, the governments’ attacks on the central banks are having a negative effect: In Brazil, for example, inflation expectations for the end of 2023 have risen from around 5 to 6 percent. Investors fear that the central bank, under pressure from the government, could cut interest rates faster than necessary to meet the inflation target. In Colombia and Mexico, too, interest rate cuts are likely to start later than recently expected, thus weighing on growth.

The good news: In Uruguay, Latin America’s first central bank has now cut its key interest rate. In Chile, this could be the case from the middle of the year.

Brazil and Mexico have the same problem: they are growing too little

The two largest economies in Latin America are currently developing in an astonishingly similar way – even though they have completely different structures.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

In Brazil and Mexico, Latin America’s two largest economies, central banks have been raising interest rates to curb inflation long before the FED and the ECB. According to forecasts by investment banks such as JP Morgan, inflation in both countries will fall to around 5.5 percent this year.

But the successes on the inflation front have come at a high price: High interest rates in Brazil are one of the reasons why the economy slipped into recession late last year. This year, Brazil will grow by just 0.5 percent (2022: 2.9 percent). In Mexico, on the other hand, growth forecasts for this year have recently improved, despite high interest rates. However, the number two economy in Latin America will also only grow by 1.7 percent this year. In 2022, the figure was 3.1 percent.

Mexico benefits above all from its proximity to the USA and privileged access to the world’s largest single market. The USA, Mexico and Canada are integrated with each other in the USMCA free trade area. Now, in short order, BMW and then Tesla have announced that they will start production of electric cars in Mexico. Already last year, foreign corporations invested $35 billion in Mexico, the most since 2015. Remittances from Mexicans in the U.S. account for an additional four percent of GDP.

But Brazil also increased its foreign investment to $91 billion last year. This puts the country in fourth place worldwide in terms of foreign direct investment. The last time the figure was this high was eleven years ago, when Brazil was still growing at double-digit rates.

In many other respects, too, the two largest economies are similar in macro data, despite the different structure of their economies: While Brazil mainly exports raw materials, food and energy, Mexico’s exports are dominated by industrial products. Consumption on the domestic market is crucial for growth in both economies. Brazil, for example, concentrated 38 percent of Latin America’s GDP with a gross domestic product of $1,919 billion. Mexico followed with $1,421 billion and 23 percent of regional economic output.

In terms of inflation, current account deficits and dollar debt, the two economies are fairly similar. The most important differences can be seen in their national budgets: While Brazil produces a national deficit of more than eight percent of GDP, i.e. spends far more than it takes in, the deficit in Mexico’s national budget is only four percent.

However, both economies are performing similarly badly in one crucial respect: they are both growing far too little compared with the average for the emerging markets worldwide. Mexico has barely returned to its pre-pandemic level. Next year, both economies will grow by just one percent – according to JP Morgan. That is far too little in view of the poverty problems in these countries.

EIU Democracy Index: Chile rises, Mexico loses

The quality of democracies in Latin America has continued to decline every year since 2015. Nevertheless, there are positive developments.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Latin America remains the region in the world with the highest density of democracies after North America and Europe, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) latest Democracy Index for 2022. But the quality of democracies in Latin America has continued to decline – for the seventh year in a row.

There are two contrasting regional trends in Latin America with regard to democracies: Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico are becoming increasingly authoritarian. South America, on the other hand, is largely able to maintain the level of its democracies.

El Salvador, Mexico and Haiti are the region’s democratic rejects.

This is particularly worrisome for Mexico, where about 20 percent of Latin Americans live. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is persistently trying to reduce the influence of the electoral authority and is increasingly relying on the military in the economy. In addition, the independence of the media is threatened, according to the EIU.

In South America, on the other hand, democracies held their own last year, especially in Brazil, Colombia and Chile. There, fundamental political changes legitimized by elections have taken place.

In Brazil, the increasing erosion of democratic institutions under President Jair Bolsonaro was halted when he was voted out of office. His supporters’ attempt to annul the election results with the help of the military also failed.

In Colombia, Gustavo Petro was the first left-wing politician to come to power with a clear mandate from voters. In Chile, too, Gabriel Boric has been elected as a left-wing president amid complex constitutional reform.

In both states, the elections were not challenged despite the sometimes close results. It was possible to defuse the charged and polarized mood among the population. Shortly before the pandemic, there had been nationwide, violent protests in both states.

In addition, three countries in South America – Uruguay and Chile, along with Costa Rica in Central America – are in the top democratic group of 24 countries worldwide. This shows that democratic progress is possible even in the face of complex challenges in the region. Uruguay is the top performer at 11th place, three positions ahead of Germany. Costa Rica and Chile are roughly on a par with Great Britain or Austria.

Nevertheless, this is little consolation: These three model democracies unite just four percent of the 670 million Latin Americans. Just under half (45 percent) live in authoritarian states or democracies with major shortcomings, i.e. “flawed democracies. For almost two-thirds (62 percent) of Latin Americans, the state of their democracies has deteriorated.

Dictatorships are Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele is transforming his country into an authoritarian regime.

The EIU sees the growing power of drug mafias and militias as one of the greatest threats to democracies in Latin America. Their extremely high profits make it easy for them to undermine democratic institutions through corruption.

Germany and South America update their relations – it was about time for that

Chancellor Scholz’s visit paves the way for closer cooperation with the long-neglected region. It is the first step in a rapprochement between partners who have lost sight of each other.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Chancellor Angela Merkel last visited Brazil eight years ago. She launched consultations between the two governments as part of the strategic partnership with the country. These were to take place at the highest level regularly every two years.

But it never came to a continuation. Brazil was already in the midst of a serious economic and political crisis. Shortly thereafter, Dilma Rousseff was impeached. Brazil’s economy stagnated for over a decade, and most recently President Jair Bolsonaro isolated Brazil in the West with his environmental and human rights policies.

In retrospect, it can be said that Germany was ten years too late in offering government consultations with Brazil. After all, Brazil’s economic boom and geopolitical revaluation took place between 2005 and 2012. Germany had simply slept through the spirit of optimism in South America.

But Latin America as a whole was also not a priority for the German government for a long time. Merkel’s 2017 visit to Mexico and Argentina went largely unnoticed. Foreign Ministers Guido Westerwelle (2009 to 2013) and Heiko Maas (2018 to 2021) tried to elevate the region as a focus of their foreign policy – with little success.

That has now changed: Chancellor Scholz just visited Argentina, Chile and Brazil in a four-day trip. This time, many things were right:

Timing: The chancellor visited governments that welcomed foreign attention. In Brazil, Scholz was the first visiting head of government to pave the way for his colleague Lula to return to world politics. He paid respect to isolated Argentina. President Boric in Chile, who is in a polling slump, could also use Scholz’s support. In all three countries, the visit from Germany was well received. That was not always the case.

Political affinity: Governments in power in the states are politically close to the traffic light coalition in Berlin. Mutual trust is greater than in the last two decades. That makes the exchange easier.

Coalition of interests: Just as Germany wants to secure raw materials, energy and sales markets in South America, South American governments are hoping for technology transfer, better market access and political alternatives to the major powers China and the USA from Europe. The agreement between Mercosur and the EU could benefit from this. It is interesting for both sides.

Strategy: Scholz appeared in South America with a mixture of soft power and cash. During his visits, he emphasized the value of human rights and the fight for democracy. Svenja Schulze, Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, who was also present in Brazil, suggested closer cooperation on environmental and climate policy and announced generous funding for an emergency program.

In Germany, the headlines were dominated by Brazil’s President Lula’s refusal to take sides in the Ukraine conflict and his insistence on a peace solution.

However, this is not surprising and shows how difficult it is for the West to mobilize the global South against Putin in the Ukraine war. In Latin America, support for sanctions against Russia is low.

This experience is just as important for Berlin as it is for Brasília, Buenos Aires and Santiago: Only if Europe and Latin America subject their relations to a reality shock will the chances for future realistic agreements increase. The EU-Mercosur agreement, which is on ice after 20 years of negotiations, is a cautionary example of how not to proceed.

Brasília Bridge — © Pixabay/doloresbarrioslua

The German Chancellor visits South America – the timing could not be better

The Chancellor meets the presidents of Argentina, Chile and Brazil during his lightning visit. All governments are currently welcoming political support from Europe. These are good conditions to talk about reviving the EU-Mercosur agreement and the supply of raw materials and green energy.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Rarely before is a German chancellor likely to be received with as much goodwill and attention in South America as he is these days – even though Olaf Scholz will spend less than a day each in Buenos Aires, Santiago and Brasília.

All these governments are currently under great pressure:

In Argentina, the economy and politics are in a severe crisis. Inflation is almost 100 percent, the foreign exchange coffers are empty and the economy is threatening to stagnate again. The government is at a loss as to how to drive the country out of the crisis. Without help from the IMF, the country would be insolvent.

For President Alberto Fernández, the chancellor’s visit is above all an important political boost to show that Argentina is not isolated. Elections are in October, so any positive news is a plus for Fernández.

As a negotiating partner, Argentina is difficult: Within Mercosur, Argentina is the biggest brakeman, wanting protected markets for its industry and renegotiating the agreement.

In Chile, President Boric’s popularity rating is in the basement: two-thirds of Chileans disapprove of his government. Inflation is at an all-time high of nearly 13 percent, and the central bank is putting the brakes on. The economy will stagnate this year.

Politically, Boric’s government may be the closest to the red-green-yellow coalition in Berlin in South America. In addition, the government is interested in a close partnership with Germany in raw materials and renewable energies and is much more advanced and reliable in this area than Argentina or Brazil.

Brasília is the chancellor’s most important stop. Lula is about to return Brazil to the stage of world politics. Shortly after Scholz, he will meet Presidents Joe Biden in the United States and Xi Jinping in China. After narrowly winning the election, taking office and rioting in Brasília, Lula has gained political strength. The business community remains skeptical of him.

The Brazilian president is also interested in a quick conclusion of the EU-Mercosur agreement and is trying to close ranks between the four member states in South America to achieve this. With a convincing environmental and human rights agenda, he will help Scholz reduce resistance to an agreement with Mercosur in Europe as well.

Lula currently seems to want to revive his former foreign policy: In doing so, he sees Brazil in the role of mediator and spokesman for the global South. Whether this ambition still fits into the era of increasing geopolitical tensions and disputes remains to be seen.

However, this means that Europe is only one and certainly not Brazil’s most important foreign policy partner – the United States and China clearly have priority for the pragmatist Lula. The reverse is also true: China is currently highly active in reviving its investments and political channels to Brazil and South America after the pandemic break. On the part of the U.S., too, the Lula government is receiving a level of attention that Washington has not shown toward Brazil in decades.

The chancellor’s visit is also so important because Berlin has left the continent on the sidelines for almost a decade. For German business, Scholz’s trip is therefore a special opportunity to get its foot in the closing door in South America after all.

EU-Mercosur Agreement: Is 2023 the last chance?

At its summit meeting a few days ago, Mercosur showed itself to be divided. If Brazil does not soon provide impetus for a new integration in South America, then the agreement with the EU will hardly be salvageable.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Mercosur presented a sad picture at its traditional meeting. As at summits in recent years, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was absent. Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou handed over the temporary presidency for the next six months to Alberto Fernández of Argentina.

But there was little sign of harmony at the summit. The Argentine president strongly criticized Uruguay. This is because the country is not only negotiating a free trade agreement with China – which is not allowed under the Community’s statutes. Only together can the four member states conclude negotiations with other partners. Lacalle Pou also announced at the summit that Uruguay had applied for membership of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This is the large Pacific Rim alliance of eleven Asian and American states, which China could also soon join.

In response to criticism from Argentina, Uruguay’s representatives stated, mutatis mutandis, that Mercosur was increasingly becoming a burden for their country. Mercosur’s lack of will to conclude new agreements with other regions or countries would limit Uruguay’s potential in world trade. Mercosur has not negotiated an agreement with any of the ten largest economies in the world.

The Argentine president, in turn, declared these days that he wanted to renegotiate the agreement with the EU. The Argentinean automotive industry needs more protection than is provided for in the agreement. Otherwise, European carmakers in particular would flood the country with their exports. The fact that many of the car factories in Argentina belong to European manufacturers – that did not seem to be a contradiction to the Argentine president.

Argentina is also the country within Mercosur that impedes imports from partner countries the most: Of the 87 market access restrictions imposed on Brazilian exporters worldwide, twelve originate from Argentina.

At the same time, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign affairs representative from Spain, is campaigning hard these days in South America to inject a new dynamic into the agreement between Mercosur and the EU. “The Brazilian presidency of Mercosur and the Spanish presidency of the EU in the second half of 2023, offer a great opportunity to give the necessary new impetus to the relationship between the EU and Mercosur.”

The decisive factor, however, is likely to be the position of Brazil under Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who takes up his presidency on January 1, 2023. So far, all Lula has said about the agreement with the EU is that it will have to be renegotiated.

Lula’s designated foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, has now stated in his first detailed press briefing that the president’s first international trips will be to Argentina, the United States and China. Otherwise, in addition to South and Latin America, Africa would be the new government’s main priority. Vieira mentioned Europe and Mercosur only in passing.

So it is likely to be decided in the next few months whether the agreement between the EU and Mercosur can be given new life – or should be abandoned for good.

Geopolitical relaxation with the USA makes Venezuela interesting again

For four years, Venezuela was an international pariah. That is changing. In the medium term, Venezuela could also become interesting for German companies.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Last week, the U.S. announced a special permit for national companies to operate in Venezuela: Effective immediately, U.S. oil company Chevron, as well as North American oil industry service companies (Halliburton, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes and Weatherford), will be allowed to restore oil facilities and produce oil in Venezuela. Chevron must export the oil it produces to the United States. This is to pay off Venezuela’s accumulated debt to the California company. The Venezuelan state may not levy any taxes or royalties on the production.

This is an u-turn in U.S. policy toward Venezuela. In 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump had imposed tough sanctions on the West’s richest oil country after rigged elections. All trade with Venezuela in dollars is banned to this day.

But now the West is looking for new sources of oil after the loss of Russian oil on the world market. And Maduro is up to his neck in water. For a long time, he was able to circumvent the sanctions with the help of Russian banks. But this channel has been closed since the start of the Russian war in Ukraine.

Thus, since the start of the war in Ukraine, there has been a steady rapprochement between the U.S. and Venezuela: In principle, Washington is concerned with obtaining commitments from Maduro to democratic elections. In return, the U.S. offers a gradual lifting of sanctions.

It is still completely open whether Venezuela will experience a renaissance as a major oil producer for the West. The decisive factor is whether Maduro is willing to hold fair and clean elections. In eight years, five negotiating groups have tried to reach an agreement. However, Maduro has never been willing to make concessions.

The thaw in relations with the USA could also open up opportunities in Venezuela again for other companies – including German ones. That’s because Venezuela is experiencing growth again this year for the first time after a severe decade-long recession that saw the economy shrink by 80 percent. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean expects growth of 12 percent this year (2023: 5 percent). By allowing the dollar as a second currency, Maduro has been able to curb inflation since 2019. The local consumer market has also reawakened since then. Consumer goods have been entering the country, especially from the U.S., since the government lifted import tariffs.

It is true that foreign companies are only allowed to supply pharmaceutical and food products to Venezuela – all other imports are banned due to US sanctions. But those who produce in the country are not affected by the sanctions. Investments in the energy, telecommunications, agro-industry and tourism sectors are considered promising.

It seems that the German business community should look at Venezuela again.

The Inter-American Development Bank faces a change in leadership

In the next few days, a decision will be made on the new presidency of the leading development bank for Latin America. This is important: the IDB needs new motivation and an urgent boost of energy.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

On Sunday, the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will elect the new presidency for the next five years. This is a key and important decision for the region.

With lending of $23.4 billion in 2021, it is the most important multilateral financier for the region alongside the World Bank and the Latin American Development Bank CAF. Alongside the U.S., which calls the shots with a 30 percent share, Brazil and Argentina are the most influential members with an 11 percent voting share. But Germany, for example, also has a 1.9 percent stake in the bank, and Japan holds five percent.

It is completely open who could make the running: Ilan Goldfajn, who is currently responsible for Latin America at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, is applying from Brazil. Many consider him the most suitable candidate because of his experience as ex-central bank chief in Brazil and at the head of leading private banks. Whether Brazil’s recently elected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will support his candidacy remains unclear.

Nicolás Eyzaguirre Guzmán, former Chilean finance minister and Goldfajn’s predecessor at the IMF, has also thrown his hat into the ring. He has worked with left-of-center governments in Chile and is therefore considered a suitable interlocutor for the new leftist governments in South America. Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago and Argentina have also nominated candidates.

The election comes just two years after the last one. Mauricio Claver-Carone, who was almost single-handedly pushed through by President Donald Trump, had to vacate his post because he had violated compliance rules. According to an investigative report by the bank, he allegedly had an affair with a female employee, whom he also approved two hefty pay raises in one year.

The appointment of the US-American Claver-Carone in 2020 contradicted the unwritten rule that had been observed since the bank was founded in 1959: Presidents have always come from Latin America – but it is primarily the U.S. that calls the shots at the Washington-based bank. Trump broke the rule with the support of Brazil, ruled by President Bolsonaro.

Claver-Carone had set out to put the bureaucratic, expensive bank, which was riddled with political cronies, back on its feet. He failed, however, mainly because he had no networks in Latin America and knew little about the region.

Latin America would now benefit from a more agile development bank that is more willing to take risks and would also be endowed with greater capital. This time, there are competent candidates for the post at the head of the most important multilateral donor.

Positive signals for democracies worldwide come from Brazil

The elections in Brazil have halted the increasing erosion of democracies in the West for the time being. The rule of law in the world’s fifth-largest country has held its ground.

by Alexander Busch, Latin America correspondent for Handelsblatt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung

Brazil’s democratic institutions have earned top marks in recent days: Three hours after the polling stations closed, the election results were known on Sunday – in the world’s fifth-largest country with 215 million citizens. By comparison, in the midterm elections currently taking place in the U.S., the final result is not expected for days.

In Brazil, immediately after the results were announced, the leaders of the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate and the Supreme Court declared that the election had been clean and that there was no reason to challenge the results. It is highly unlikely that the result will be questioned in the judiciary after all. At the same time, the bureaucracies and politicians in Brasília have smoothly begun preparing for the transfer of power.

Even when radicalized supporters of Bolsonaro blocked the highways in the days after the elections because they believed the elections to be rigged, the Supreme Electoral Court always maintained control of the situation: It ordered the security forces to crack down – which they did. Numerous influential supporters of the president and election loser Bolsonaro from politics, business and society called for an end to the protests.

These demonstrations have currently lost momentum, although there could well be further unrest before the transfer of power on January 1, 2023. The transfer of power could still be bumpy. The close result of the elections has left many of Bolsonaro’s supporters in Brazil disappointed.

Another positive aspect is that Brazilian democracy is showing signs of dynamism. The shift to the right in society that has taken place in recent years has now also reached Congress and the institutions. In contrast to some democracies around the world, such as in Europe, Brazil’s political system is showing itself to be integrative. New political actors have the chance to reach the levers of political power through democratic elections.

After a long time, this is once again good news from the global south, which few had expected.

Brasilia Congress — © Pixabay/Daiana Sou

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