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Weekly Report - 19 March 2020 (WR-20-11)
As region goes into lockdown, two populists play by own rules
As the vast majority of Latin American countries are adopting drastic measures in a bid to contain the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19), the leaders of the region’s two economic powerhouses, jointly accounting for more than half of its population, are bucking the trend in defiance of their own government’s health strategies. Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and his Mexican peer Andrés Manuel López Obrador may be poles apart on the political spectrum but they are both populist leaders who thrive on close interaction with their support base. Social distancing is one of the chief guidelines to try and arrest the rapid spread of the Covid-19 pandemic but far from leading by example the two heads of state are refusing to change their ways, both shaking hands with and embracing supporters at the weekend.
- As region goes into lockdown, two populists play by own rules
- REGION: Seeking a coordinated strategy to face pandemic
- BRAZIL: Trying to cushion the economy
- COLOMBIA-VENEZUELA: Border closure risks deepening crisis
- BOLIVIA: New uncertainty over electoral schedule
- ECUADOR-PERU: Taking drastic action
- MEXICO: US strangles CJNG
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Opposition sweeps municipal polls
- EL SALVADOR: Bukele takes bold steps to prevent spread
- HAITI: Third time lucky for Moïse?
- Guyana election result up in the air
- Quotes of the week