April 8, 2023

A weekly review of news and analysis of elections in the Americas, usually posted on Saturdays and occasionally updated throughout the week.

Landscape in Patagonia, Argentina. Photo credit: Wikimedia/Diego Rodriguez (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Upcoming Americas Elections

Argentina Presidential and Legislative Elections: October 22, 2023

Americas Quarterly (April 5, 2023 – podcast): Argentina’s Elections And Reasons For Hope

Colombia Regional Elections: October 29, 2023

In 2022, Colombia elected its first-ever leftist president, Gustavo Petro. In concurrent legislative elections, however, no party won a majority and centrists did not perform well. Ironically given his name, Petro pledged to end oil exploration.

Colombian politics are polarized and the climate is tense.

Bloomberg (April 5, 2023): Colombia’s Petro to Lead Push for Renewal of Venezuela Talks

Adriaan Alsema, Colombia Reports (April 3, 2023): Concerns over violence ahead of Colombia’s local elections

Lucía Cholakian Herrera, Buenos Aires Herald (April 5, 2023): 200 days to the election: the potential presidential candidates so far

Canada Federal Elections: Due by October 2025 – snap elections possible (various provincial and local elections due between now and then)

Natalie Liu, Voice of America (April 5, 2023): Canada’s Probe of Alleged Chinese Interference Gets Mixed Reviews

Past Americas Elections

Ecuador Regional and Local Elections: February 5, 2023

Ecuador held local and regional elections on February 5, as well as a referendum on constitutional amendments backed by President Guillermo Lasso. Lasso, who is center-right, was elected in a close runoff in 2021 in one of the handful of Latin American elections that resisted the “pink tide.” He is up for re-election in 2025.

The elections dealt a blow to Lasso, with the leftist opposition winning most major cities, including the port of Guayaquil, the country’s biggest city, which the right had controlled since the 90s. Now, some are calling for Lasso’s impeachment and/or early elections.

DW (April 7, 2023 – in Spanish): Ecuadorian Parliament notifies Guillermo Lasso about impeachment

Bnamericas (April 4, 2023): Ecuador suffering triple whammy of violent crime, political tensions and natural disasters

Reuters (April 2, 2023): Ecuador’s Lasso authorizes civilian use of guns, citing insecurity

Nicaragua General Elections: November 7, 2021

Nicaragua held general elections on November 7, 2021. President Daniel Ortega, who has been in power for 20 years, sought and won another term after jailing his strongest opponents. Under Ortega’s rule, Nicaragua has become increasingly authoritarian, with rule of law and fundamental freedoms under assault.

Several opposition candidates were arrested before the election, including Cristiana Chamorro, who was seen by many as the opposition’s best chance of ousting Ortega (in fact, her mother, Violeta Chamorro, beat Ortega in the 1990 election, becoming Nicaragua’s first – and to date only – female president and ending 11 years of Sandinista rule).

Charles Lane, Washington Post (April 5, 2023): Nicaragua’s political future emerges from Ortega’s political prison

Peru General Elections: April 11, 2021 (early elections could be set for April or December 2024)

Marcelo Rochabrun, Bloomberg (April 4, 2023): Peru Congress Dismisses Impeachment Motion Against President

Regional Analysis

Juan Carlos Echeverry, El País (April 6, 2023): Ungovernable governments: In Colombia, restrictions on President Gustavo Petro have come from both Congress and the high courts. In the rest of the region, similar dynamics are happening

Americas Elections Coming Up in 2023

Argentina, Provincial Elections in Neuquén and Río Negro: April 16, 2023

British Virgin Islands Assembly Elections: April 24, 2023

Paraguay Presidential, Legislative, and Gubernatorial Elections: April 30, 2023

Argentina, Provincial Elections in Jujuy, Misiones and La Rioja: May 7, 2023

Chile Constitutional Council Elections: May 7, 2023

Argentina, Provincial Elections in La Pampa, San Juan, Salta, Tucumán and Tierra del Fuego: May 14, 2023

Canada, Alberta Provincial Elections: May 29, 2023

Mexico, Some Gubernatorial Elections: June 4, 2023

Argentina, Provincial Legislative Elections in Corrientes: June 4, 2023

Argentina, Provincial Elections in San Luis: June 11, 2023

Guyana Local Elections: June 12, 2023

Argentina, Provincial Elections in Córdoba: June 18, 2023

Guatemala General Elections: June 25, 2023

Argentina Presidential Primary: August 13, 2023

Guatemala General Election Runoffs: August 27, 2023

Argentina, Provincial Elections in Mendoza and Entre Ríos: September 24, 2023

Canada, Prince Edward Island Provincial Elections: October 2, 2023

Canada, Manitoba Provincial Elections and Northwest Territories Territorial Elections: October 3, 2023

Argentina Presidential and Legislative Elections: October 22, 2023

Venezuela Opposition Presidential Primary: October 22, 2023

Colombia Regional Elections: October 29, 2023

Argentina Presidential Runoff: November 19, 2023

Dominica Indirect Presidential Election (by parliament): October 2023 (due)

Chile Constitutional Referendum: November/December 2023 (expected)

Trinidad and Tobago Local Elections: December 20, 2023

Haiti Presidential and Legislative Elections: Long overdue, but could happen in 2023 (delayed from November 7, 2021, no new date set)

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