Canning House | Latin American Weekly Report

During the vote to impeach Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff on 17 April, Joaquim Barbosa, the lead supreme court justice in the prosecution of the mensalão cash-for-votes scandal and one of the few elder statesmen to enjoy support from across the country’s political divide, voiced the thoughts of many when he wrote on Twitter: “It’s enough to make one weep for shame.” Regardless of the eventual outcome of the impeachment process, the spectacle of Brazil’s 513 federal congressional deputies casting their votes aloud in an atmosphere akin to a stand full of drunken football supporters will linger long in the collective memory and alienate yet further many Brazilians sceptical of the efficacy of their democracy.

More recent briefings & intelligence

All change in Ecuador

President Guillermo Lasso has called a snap election. He is the first Ecuadorian president to do so after the mechanism’s addition to the country’s Constitution in 2008. In Canning House's latest blog, Walter Spurrier offers an overview of the candidates vying to be country's next leader.

Chile’s Rear-View Mirror

"Anniversaries, like New Years’ Eve, offer opportunities to look back and to look forward. As Chile observes the 50th anniversary of the coup that toppled President Salvador Allende and ushered in a brutal 17-year dictatorship, Chileans are engaged in precisely that exercise. The problem is that with respect to both perspectives, looking ahead through the windshield and behind in the rear-view mirror, Chileans do not seem to agree on what they see. "

21-04-2016: Latin American Weekly Report

More recent briefings & intelligence

All change in Ecuador

Chile’s Rear-View Mirror

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