This Week in the Americas

Latin America’s Pink Tide?
By Laura Carlsen

Elections in Latin America continue to be an important gauge of change. With the exception of Mexico, which on closer examination is not so much of an exception, the balance continues to shift to the left. But a deeper analysis of elections in Ecuador, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Mexico indicates that the “pink tide” interpretation—that a diluted trend leftward is sweeping the continent—may be insufficient to understand the complexity of what’s really taking place in each country and the region as a whole.

Laura Carlsen is director of the IRC Americas Program in Mexico City, where she has worked as a writer and political analyst for the past two decades. The Americas Program is online at http://americas.irc-online.org/.

New from the IRC Americas Program:

Hugo Chavez’s Plans
By Niko Kyriakou with Martin Markovits

Hugo Chavez scored a resounding victory in well-monitored elections earlier this month. Since, he has raised eyebrows by dedicating his victory to the Cuban revolution and declaring the beginning of a “new society.” Just what does the unorthodox ruler have in store for Venezuela and the region? And, how will Venezuela’s shaky relationship with the United States evolve during Chavez’s upcoming six-year term?

Niko Kyriakou is a roaming freelance reporter based in Latin America. Martin Markovits is a reporter based in Caracas, Venezuela. Both are contributors to the IRC Americas Program, at www.americaspolicy.org.

Will Ecuador Turn Toward Mercosur?
By Ariela Ruiz Caro

The election of Rafael Correa creates an even split within the Andean Community of Nations between Ecuador and Bolivia who seek new forms of regional integration and Colombia and Peru who have signed Free Trade Agreements with the United States.

Ariela Ruiz Caro (ariela@independiente.com) is a Peruvian economist and international consultant and a regional trade analyst with the IRC Americas Program, online at www.americaspolicy.org.

Lula: Between the Elite and the Movements
By Raúl Zibechi

On Oct. 29, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the second round of Brazil’s presidential elections with more than 60% of the vote. A large portion of Brazilians, including several leftwing critics, believe that Lula’s second term (2007-2010) will center more on development than the first term, model itself less after the demands of the market, and move closer to the social movements.

Raúl Zibechi, a member of the editorial board of the weekly Brecha de Montevideo, is a professor and researcher on social movements at the Multiversidad Franciscana de America Latina and adviser to several grassroots organizations. He is a monthly contributor to the IRC Americas Program (www.americaspolicy.org).

Mexico’s Short Summer of Liberal Democracy
By Víctor M. Quintana S.

Electoral democracy appears to be undermining, rather than consolidating, certainty, stability, and governability in Mexico. Far from serving as an instrument to solve the country’s problems it has become a problem in its own right. Why?

Víctor M. Quintana S. is a collaborator with the IRC Americas Program (www.americaspolicy.org). He is an adviser to the Frente Democrático Campesino in Chihuahua and researcher at the Autonomous University of Ciudad Juárez.

Ecuador Chose the Path of Change and Sovereignty
By Eduardo Tamayo G.

Many Ecuadorians experienced a feeling of satisfaction as they celebrated the triumph of the middle-class economist Rafael Correa over the multimillionaire banana magnate Alvaro Noboa. A majority of Ecuadorians asked for change, national sovereignty, political reform, the fight against poverty, and to diminish the tremendous social and economic inequalities.

Eduardo Tamayo G. originally published this article on ALAI at http://alainet.org/active/14701〈=es.

Dealing with Ortega
By Nadia Martinez

In what seems like a case of Cold War blues, U.S. officials had unsuccessfully attempted to sway the elections in favor of Mr. Ortega’s opponents. The meddling backfired, however.

Nadia Martinez was born and raised in Panama. She is co-director of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network, a project of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington.

No Clear Victory for Left in Nicaragua
By Alejandro Bendaña

Daniel Ortega’s presidential win isn’t exactly another victory for the Latin American Left.

Alejandro Bendaña is president and founder of the Centro de Estudios Internacionales in Managua, Nicaragua  and a contributor to Foreign Policy In Focus. He served as Nicaragua's ambassador to the UN and Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry during the Sandinista Government.

If you would like to reproduce our articles for free, please cite the source, and let us know at americas@ciponline.org. We also welcome comments about our materials.

If you would like to unsubscribe, click on the link below that says "Update Profile/Unsubscribe". If you would like to subscribe for the first time to our multitude of topical lists, please go to http://app.streamsend.com/public/iKs8/Mr1/subscribe.

The Americas Program is a fiscally sponsored program of the
Center for International Policy
http://www.ciponline.org/
Email: americas@ciponline.org
Tel. in Mexico: (52 55) 5324-1201, U.S. phone: (202) 536-2649

Donations can be mailed to: (please specify Americas Program)

Center for International Policy
1717 Massachussets NW, Suite 801
Washington, DC 20036

Or by visiting the site: https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/CenterforInternationalPolic/OnlineGiving.html