Years End
The years end was a quiet week for politics in Latin America. Mostly we saw a contnuation of previous trends. President Bukele boasted that El Salvador is now the safest country in Latin America, based on the number of murders. Great Britain sent a patrol ship to Guyana and President Maduro of Venezuala called this a provocation and activated troops. However, Venezuela is not in a position to do much in Guyana because of the geography. President Noboa promised to cut government spending to bring it line with IMF targets. But he said the cuts would not be as drastic as in Argentina. President Milei scandalized some people by passionately kissing his girlfriend on live television. And that's about it.
Some easy predictions for next year. President Bukele will be re-elected for a second term next year. President Maduro will jail or exile his political opposition to prevent himself from losing in next year's election. Nicaragua will continue to disgrace itself by jailing anyone critical of its government. And murder and kidnappings will continue to be problems in Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico.