Can the New Left Deliver Change in Latin America?

Abstract

The intense Latin American electoral cycle of 2020–22 coincided with deteriorating socio-economic conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing frustration with the status quo. Anti-incumbent sentiment coupled with demands for more inclusive and fair economic models prompted a pronounced shift to the left in the region, although with many different shades of ‘pink’. But an increasingly polarised and fragmented political and social environment is testing the ability of new governments to deliver change, as shown by the popular rejection of a new constitution in Chile. A more limited fiscal space is also constraining these governments’ effectiveness. Nevertheless, political alignment among countries with important stakes in global climate-change mitigation and thwarting drug trafficking could produce more cohesive foreign-policy stances and increased regional leverage.