Trudeau’s Government Has Tried, and Failed, to Roll Back the Pink Tide
Justin Trudeau’s strategy in Latin America has been to attack the region’s progressive governments. He has failed miserably. Now, as left-wing governments mount successive wins across the region, Ottawa may find it played the wrong hand.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau (R) meets with self-declared Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó (L) in January 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. (DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Justin Trudeau’s Latin American strategy is in tatters.
From the beginning of his time in office, Trudeau has launched attacks on what remains of the left-wing governments that came to power in Latin America over the course of the past two decades. His party has supported the overthrow of leftist governments in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia. But socialists remain in power in Venezuela, and leftists in the region have won a series of national elections. Progressive forces have defeated right-wing politicians in Honduras, Peru, Bolivia, and elsewhere. The push for regional integration is being rekindled.
Recently, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) met in Argentina. Other than the United States and Canada, every single country in the hemisphere is a member of CELAC. Thirty-three of the bloc’s thirty-four nations were represented in Buenos Aires. Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro was absent.
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