Turning pink again

In a grossly simplified account of a complex process, Latin America swung decisively to the left in the first decade of this century, in a movement that became known as the ‘pink tide’.... Read More

There are many views and disagreements over what the first pink tide really was in Latin America, and over what it achieved.... Read More

Writing in April 2022, Jorge Castañeda a former Mexican foreign minister and now an academic at New York University, said that a second pink tide may have begun in 2018 with the election in Mexico of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) followed by the election of Alberto Fernández in Argentina (2019), the election of Luis Arce in Bolivia (2020), Pedro Castillo in Peru (2020), and Gabriel Boric in Chile (2021).... Read More

A new factor that evolved between the first and second waves of the pink tide is that environmental or ‘green’ concerns have risen much higher up the political agenda.... Read More

There was one notable absence from the first wave of the pink tide: Mexico.... Read More

Starting in March 2020 the global Covid-19 pandemic hit Latin America hard, mainly impacting the following two years (although tail-end effects are likely to continue for some time).... Read More

For many analysts Gabriel Boric is the perfect example of a generational change among Latin America's left-wing leaders.... Read More

The first wave of the pink tide was enabled by the extra revenues generated by the global commodity boom in the 2000s and the early 2010s.... Read More

Such is Brazil's size and influence that if Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was in office for two consecutive terms in 2003-2011, wins a third term in elections due next October, the second wave of the pink tide will be deemed to have gathered a lot of critical momentum.... Read More

A further difference between the first and second waves of left-wing administrations in Latin America is that, in general terms, during the gap between the two, political systems and institutions have been weakened, and as a result are now more fragile than they were two decades ago.... Read More

As this issue went to press leftist Gustavo Petro won the second round of Colombia’s presidential race with 50.55% of the vote, against right-wing anti-corruption candidate Rodolfo Hernández, who received the backing of 47.3% of the voters.... Read More

The second wave of the pink tide is a reality and, as we’ve mentioned, there is a strong possibility that Brazil will add momentum by electing Lula in October of this year.... Read More