Impunity Observer

Carlos Torrebiarte—a director with the Association for the Defense of Private Property and a Nuestro Diario weekly columnist—explains how the US Embassy in Guatemala revoked his and his wife’s US travel visa. He contends that the embassy did this to spite him for speaking up against “the policies that the United States wants to impose in Guatemala.” For Torrebiarte, the Prosecutor General’s Office...

Adam Dubove, cofounder and director of financial-intelligence service Ichimoku Fibonacci, and Eduardo Marty, founder and president of the Foundation for Intellectual Responsibility in Argentina, contend that Argentine President-Elect Javier Milei has a historic opportunity to succeed in his incoming administration. Milei, however, needs to work his way through Congress—where his party does not hav...

Maribel Espinoza—a Honduran congresswoman of the Salvador Party—contends that Xiomara Castro’s socialist Libre Party is on a mission to control every branch of the state. She explains that Libre congressmen have violated the Honduran Constitution and the Public Ministry Law with their appointment of a new attorney general. The decision has been in stalemate since August, so the past appointee, Dan...

Adam Dubove—cofounder and director of financial consulting firm Ichimoku Fibonacci—explains that Javier Milei can still beat Peronista Sergio Massa in the runoff. However, he predicts the results will be tight. Further, he contends that the incumbent Peronista government made an elaborate effort to undermine Milei’s candidacy through negative propaganda against the paleolibertarian through media a...

Sebastián Díaz—an Impunity Observer policy analyst—and Mauro Echeverría—Impunity Observer deputy editor—explain how Ecuadorian President-Elect Daniel Noboa won the election against Correísmo. Further, they analyze the main challenges that Noboa will face in his term, which will last one year and a half, given that Guillermo Lasso dissolved Congress six months ago. For Díaz and Echeverría, Noboa’s...

Jair Viana—economist and research director at the Colombian Libertank policy institute—explains the importance of a free-market economy for development. He contends that the freest cities in Colombia, such as Montería, have been economically growing at a rapid clip relative to larger cities. Viana also explains how Bogotá, despite having the highest taxes and the least economic freedom in the coun...

Arturo Damm Arnal—economics and philosophy professor at Panamerican University in Mexico—explains how a coalition of three traditional parties will challenge Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s Morena party. The National Action Party (PAN), the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), and the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) have named Xóchitl Gálvez, an indigenous woman, as their presidential candidat...

Join our Deputy Editor Mauro Echeverría, who will discuss his latest insights regarding Ecuador's insecurity crisis. Recommended links: https://impunityobserver.com/2023/06/01/why-ecuador-law-enforcement-is-no-match-for-narcos/ https://impunityobserver.com/2022/10/31/the-origins-of-escalating-violence-in-ecuador/

Alisa Gray—interim training and assessment specialist at the Voting System Technical Oversight Program (VSTOP)—and Chad Kinsella—co-director of VSTOP—visited Guatemala as foreign electoral observers. They explain the role of foreign observers in the Guatemalan general elections on June 25. Further, Gray and Kinsella describe the main procedural differences between elections in Guatemala and Indian...

Chiara Barchiesi—Chilean congresswoman and founder of the Republican Party—explains that citizens rejected the previous constitutional draft because it ignored the country’s reality and key principles such as the rule of law. She contends that the Republican Party—which has 22 of 51 advisers that will write the new constitutional draft—will work for the people and their problems. Barchiesi, who wa...

Read the analysis in English: https://impunityobserver.com/2023/06/24/why-indianas-latino-secretary-of-state-backs-voter-id/ Lee el análisis en español: https://impunityobserver.com/2023/06/24/por-que-el-secretario-de-estado-latino-de-indiana-respalda-la-identificacion-del-votante/

For Agustín Etchebarne—director at the Freedom and Progress Foundation—Argentines have the opportunity to change the country’s course in the October 2023 presidential election. He explains how Javier Milei's rise, as a classical-liberal economist and presidential candidate, will take votes from both the Peronistas and the Mauricio Macri-led opposition. Either way, there will most likely be a runof...

For Emmanuel Rincón—senior editor at Americano Media—María Corina Machado is the best option to face Nicolás Maduro in next year’s presidential election. Machado is leading in the polls for the 2023 opposition primary election in Venezuela, and Rincón contends that most opposition members are controlled opposition: socialists who promote leftist policies. An electoral victory by this “fake” opposi...

For Daniel Runde—director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)—the Chinese regime has met infrastructure and economic demands that US aid to Latin America has overlooked. He warns that China seeks global dominance in economic spheres, with negative implications for Western values. Runde, author of The American Imperative: Reclaim...

Rafael Curruchiche—Guatemalan special prosecutor against impunity since August 2021—shares how the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Impunity (FECI) has been used in previous years to persecute political opponents. For example, former FECI chief Juan Francisco Sandoval—praised on multiple occasions by the US State Department—has four active arrest warrants for abuse of authority, breach of duty,...

Mauricio Alarcón-Salvador—the executive director of the Foundation for Citizenship and Development (FCD)—explains why Ecuadorians rejected President Guillermo Lasso’s referendum in the February 5 elections. It included proposals to allow the extradition of Ecuadorian drug traffickers and to reduce congressmen from 137 to 121. He also contends that Correísmo has become the largest political force i...

Ricardo Escudero—editor of Minuto Digital Peru and founder of the Savings Institute—explains how former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo’s tenure came to an abrupt end in December 2022, after several corruption investigations against him and his family. Escudero contends that Castillo, in desperation, tried to implement a communist dictatorship in Peru but failed. Escudero believes Dina Boluarte’...

Joanna Guerra—a lawyer, philosopher, and director of Ladies of Liberty Alliance and Fundación Federalismo y Libertad in Mexico—discusses the electoral reform Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) proposed to Congress. For Guerra, the proposed reform was a threat to democracy and a step backward in the country’s efforts to maintain political alternation. Guerra also analyzes how the...

Mauro Echeverría, deputy editor and researcher at the Impunity Observer, visited Cuba in October to report on the island’s political and economic situation. Interviewees told Echeverría that citizens struggle with dire shortages of food, gasoline, and medicine. Similarly, electricity blackouts throughout the day are now a standard feature of life. Cubans no longer trust the regime, which is eviden...

Maria Zuppello—an Italian journalist and political analyst living in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for over a decade—discusses why Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro outperformed the polls. His main contender, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, won the election with 48 percent of the votes, with Bolsonaro only 5 percent behind. Zuppello argues that, despite Lula still being the favorite to win the p...

Join our Editor at Large Steve Hecht, who will discuss his latest insights regarding the United States and Latin America.

Alejandra Moreno—data analyst, chemical engineer, and chapter leader of Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA) in Medellin—analyzes Gustavo Petro’s plans of reform, including an energy transition in Colombia. She explains, however, that an energy transition is not urgent, because Colombia is a leading producer of clean energy in the region. Moreno also discusses the tax reform that Petro and the Histor...

On August 22, Ocean Builders launched their ecofriendly land and sea pods (houses) in Linton Bay Marina, Panama. With 3D-printed architecture and high-tech infrastructure, Ocean Builders is manufacturing an innovative and self-sustainable lifestyle. In this episode, Grant Romundt—CEO at Ocean Builders—explains why they chose Panama as the destination to start the groundbreaking business. Romundt,...

Join our Editor at Large Steve Hecht, who will discuss his latest insights regarding the United States and Latin America.

Cristina Villagómez—a legislative advisor in Chile’s constitutional convention—argues the new proposed constitution would undermine the rule of law and threaten fundamental rights. It is similar to those approved over the last two decades in Bolivia, Venezuela, and Ecuador: an extensive positive-rights (entitlements) document. After witnessing for 10 years the poor performance of the new constitut...