South America looks set for a rightward shift in upcoming elections, reversing the course of a leftist “pink tide” that swept the region in recent years.
Conservative candidates are topping polls in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia, with all due to hold elections soon. The three countries have been mired by worsening inequality, rising criminality, and allegations of corruption, while pressure from the Trump administration has worsened economic growth prospects.
Among those whose successors face dim prospects is Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who has warned of a democratic recession in the region: “When democracy is not able to deliver… it withdraws,” he told The Washington Post.