Andean Group - May 2026

In a move that echoed the opening up of Venezuela’s oil and gas sectors earlier this year, on 9 April the national assembly approved sweeping legislation aimed at transforming a mining sector plagued by illegality and environmental degradation into a hub for the West’s critical mineral supply chains. The law is part of the economic opening orchestrated by President Delcy Rodríguez in an awkward tightrope act that seeks to balance the socialist legacy of her predecessors, Nicolás Maduro (2013-2026) and Hugo Chávez (1999-2013), with the interests of the US government that captured Maduro in January and is seeking to benefit from Venezuela’s natural resources. We take a detailed look at the new legislation in the first article of this May 2026 edition of the Latin American Regional Report: Andean Group.

A second article on Venezuela discusses the purge that has been carried out since January by Rodríguez. Maduro loyalists such as the long-serving defence minister, General Vladimir Padrino López (2014-2026), have been dismissed or demoted. There has also been a total overhaul of the military leadership, in what was likely an attempt by Rodríguez to coup-proof her government.

We then turn to Colombia, where the campaign for the 31 May presidential election is taking place in the shadow of last year’s assassination of conservative presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay. With the election imminent, the threat of political violence lingers. All three presidential frontrunners, ranging from left-wing to far-right, denounced threats made against their lives in April.

The next article looks at Peru, which is also preparing for a presidential election on 7 June between the right-wing Keiko Fujimori and left-wing Roberto Sánchez. At a moment of high tension as the vote count crawled on following the 12 April first round, the country teetered on the edge of another bout of instability as opposition lawmakers called for President José María Balcázar’s impeachment over a messy deal to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the US.

Turning our attention to Bolivia, we explore how political churn is adding to chaos in the energy sector amid concern about fuel contamination and shortages. Marcelo Blanco was sworn in as hydrocarbons and energy minister on 22 April, having formerly served as deputy to Mauricio Medinaceli, who had held the role since President Rodrigo Paz took office in November 2025. On the same day, Claudia Cronenbold announced her resignation as head of the state-run hydrocarbons company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB). We wrap up this edition with a look at the concerns of the Andean steel sector as it loses ground to Asian competitors.