Weekly Report

At the turn of the century, Latin American countries were swept by a “pink tide” – a series of electoral victories of leftist presidential candidates, such as Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Lula da Silva of Brazil and Evo Morales of Bolivia. These economies did not immediately suffer because of the powerful tailwinds of the commodity “super cycle”, but the political developments have had profound long-term impacts on their political landscape and economic fundamentals.

Twenty years later, political uncertainties are rising across Latin America again. Some countries are either being rocked by increasing social unrest or facing major elections that could lead to sweeping changes in executive and legislative leadership in the coming months. A new wave of a left-wing political shift will inevitably damage their already fragile macro fundamentals and should be closely monitored.

What are the root causes of these issues? What are the shared challenges of Latam countries? Where does commodity fit in? Our Emerging Market & China strategy report “Latin America: Political Crosscurrents And Commodity Tailwinds” addresses these issues.