BUENOS AIRES, June 25 — The political calculus in Latin America is shifting decisively. Over the past year, voters across the region have handed power to right-wing and far-right candidates, rejecting leftist incumbents in a string of presidential elections that signal a broader realignment. The most recent victory came Sunday in Colombia, where right-wing extremist candidate Abelardo de la Espriella edged out left-wing opponent Ivan Cepeda.
De la Espriella ran a campaign focused on the nation’s security crisis, promising voters he would hit drug gangs and guerrilla groups hard. The win marks another data point in a pattern that is reshaping the geopolitical chessboard south of the United States.
What this signals is a regional trend, not an isolated event. In Chile, far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast took office in March, wresting control from a leftist government. Kast has been open about his admiration for Chile’s 1973-1990 military dictatorship under General Augusto Pinochet, framing it as a positive period in the country’s history.
His policy agenda pursues cuts to education and welfare while handing tax cuts to businesses. Argentina, meanwhile, has been governed since 2023 by right-wing populist Javier Milei, a vocal admirer of US President Donald Trump.
Milei has bet heavily on austerity to rescue Argentina’s financially destitute economy. The broader stakes are clear. Voters across Latin America are turning to candidates who promise order, security, and fiscal discipline, even when those candidates carry baggage from authoritarian pasts.
The appeal of tough-on-crime messaging and economic shock therapy appears to be cutting through traditional left-wing platforms focused on social welfare and redistribution. What to watch next: how these right-wing governments govern once in power. Milei’s austerity experiment in Argentina is still unfolding.
Kast’s cuts in Chile face stiff opposition. And in Colombia, de la Espriella must deliver on his security promises against entrenched guerrilla networks.
The electoral victories are one thing. Sustaining public support while implementing painful reforms is another.
