/389/ Betting on Bukele (II) ft. Juan Rojas (Patreon)

On security and democracy in Latin America.

[Patreon Exclusive]

We continue our conversation with Juan Rojas, Latin America columnist at Compact Magazine, by looking at how the 'Bukele model' would work – and not work – across the region: Ecuador, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and beyond.

There is less and less support for democracy in Latin America, which is seen not to deliver the goods. Much of the Left lacks a serious security policy in a context of rising crime. And evangelical Christianity's growth seems to favour harder law-and-order policies. Is the future of politics ideology-lite "efficracy"?

Readings:

El Salvador’s Bitcoin Paradise Is a Mirage, Nelson Rauda, NYT

Behind Bukele's Revolution, Juan Rojas & Geoff Shullenberger, Compact

On Security, Bukele and Petro Have a Problem in Common, Juan Rojas, Americas Quarterly

In response to killings, El Salvador’s bitcoin president attacks civil liberties, Nelson Rauda, LA Times

The Rise of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador's Authoritarian President, Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker

Chaos in Ecuador, Guillaume Long, Sidecar/NLR

¡Viva la ‘eficracia’!, Martin Caparrós, El País