Security & Strategic Review - July 2023

After dissatisfaction with social inequality saw mass protests erupt in Chile in 2019, the country’s political class agreed to launch a constituent process to replace the current magna carta, which was drafted during General Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973-1990).... Read More

For the first time in its 59-year insurgency against the Colombian state, the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) guerrilla group has signed a ceasefire agreement.... Read More

Counter-narcotics and corruption are a key frontline in the escalating war between two factions of Bolivia’s ruling left-wing Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS).... Read More

Whilst it has been largely overshadowed by the general elections that will be held the same day, Ecuador is preparing for a referendum on 20 August which could result in a landmark ban on oil drilling in Yasuní national park, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth.... Read More

Brazil’s ‘tech lash’ has gained steam under the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose government has been pushing for legislation to clamp down on tech companies to monitor their platforms for misinformation and other forms of toxic online discourse.... Read More

On 23 May a select committee inquiry (CPI) in Brazil’s lower house of congress began investigating the recent activities of the landless workers’ movement, Movimentos dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST), which has ties to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s centre-left Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT).... Read More

Since the 11 May lifting of US federal order Title 42, authorities in both the US and Mexico have touted a decrease in irregular migration.... Read More

Illegal logging is on the rise in Mexico, according to human rights groups and environmental watchdogs.... Read More

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador often justifies the additional duties and powers the armed forces have gained during his administration by claiming the defence ministry (Sedena) is incorruptible.... Read More

El Salvador’s national assembly, which is controlled by President Nayib Bukele’s Nuevas Ideas (NI), has passed two electoral reforms which overhaul the country’s political system.... Read More

In May the World Bank (WB) released a new country climate change and development report (CCDR), warning of the impact of climate change on Honduras which, historically highly exposed to extreme natural hazards, remains one of the poorest and most unequal countries in the Western Hemisphere.... Read More

In May Costa Rica’s right-of-centre Partido Progreso Social Democrático (PPSD) government led by President Rodrigo Chaves announced that it had issued its first licence for medical cannabis to a local firm, Azul Wellness.... Read More

The 8 June 2023 meeting in The Bahamas between US Vice President Kamala Harris and Caribbean leaders has been presented by the US administration led by President Joe Biden as further proof of Washington’s re-engagement with the Caribbean after the doldrum years of the former administration led by Donald Trump (2017-2021).... Read More

*** GOOD LOCAL ELECTION FOR GUYANA’S RULING PPP/C.... Read More