LATIN LEFTY MELTDOWN: Bolivians Reject Evo Morales’s Bid to Lift Term Limits.
Across Latin America, the winds that propelled Leftist regimes have died down. In Argentina, we saw the end of the Kirchner reign and the election of the centrist Mauricio Macri. Brazil’s leftist President Dilma Rousseff is fighting to stave off her own impeachment. And Venezuelans have been struggling to escape the grip of Marxism. Now, even Bolivia’s Evo Morales, long a favorite of leftists around the world, is finding that his popularity has limits. . . .
If there’s one place where President Obama’s restrained foreign policy might be said to have borne fruit, it’s Latin America. In the Obama era, it’s become more difficult for Latin American populists to blame Washington for their countries’ problems. But even if staying uninvolved in Latin America might have worked thus far, that’s already starting to change. President Obama himself plans to visit Argentina next month. And with political turmoil in Brazil and looming civil conflict in Venezuela, Obama’s successor will likely have to spend even more time looking south.
Given Obama’s track record with places that he has focused his attention on — *cough* Syria *cough* — let’s hope he doesn’t pay attention to Latin America before he leaves.