A significant geopolitical shift in Latin America

Hinting at the United States, the President of Mexico, Lopez Obrador, has demanded the ‘Organization of American States’ (OAS) to be replaced by a body that is autonomous and not subordinate to anybody. OAS is an international organization of 35 countries from the two continents of North and South America. It aims to achieve cooperation among them. The statement has highlighted a significant geopolitical shift that has taken place in the Latin American countries of these two continents.

 

Left-ward shift

OAS has largely seen a rivalry between the United States and the conventionally leftist governments of Cuba and Venezuela. However, the left or even the far-left governments have recently gained power in several American countries, and China is using the opportunity to make inroads in the region. With all this, these countries are facing numerous and severe problems.

Argentina

Argentina is witnessing a whopping 46% inflation. The Argentinian peso has fallen by a staggering 108% against the US Dollar. At the same time, Argentina is faced with a $44 billion loan from the IMF, which it calls ‘unpayable’. It has severely impacted the lives of the common man.

Peru

Peru is down with recession, pandemic, unemployment and poverty. To solve these issues, newly elected President Pedro Castillo has reached out to China and urged for supplying vaccines. Another way in which Castillo is trying to find a solution to these problems is by attempting to change the constitution.

Chile

Under a recently held referendum, Chile is soon slated to change its nationalist constitution. Before the referendum, anti-constitution protestors ran riots in Chile and even burnt down churches spreading anarchy. Markets are sceptical, sensing the end of the Free Market economy. Analysts have warned against any major changes to the constitution as it may threaten Chile as one of the richest nations and stable democracies of Latin America.

All these countries, in addition to Bolivia, Mexico, etc., have undergone a leftist shift while Brazil is seeing a leftist resurgence with the acquittal of former President Lula da Silva. At the same time, China is pitching in with its vaccines to gain traction with people and governments in the region amid the pandemic. Overall, analysts see uncertainty gripping the region.