The Rest Is Politics

Snapshot · The Rest Is Politics

548. Burnham vs. Westminster and Trump’s Next Target

Explore episode Jun 30, 2026

Where this was said

Latin America: The Second Pink Tide Reversed

At 43:42 · chapter starts 39:18

Alastair opens the second half by acknowledging the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, before pivoting to the big political story: the collapse of Latin America's second pink tide. Rory traces the arc from Hugo Chávez and Evo Morales in the first tide, through Boric, Petro, Castillo, Lula, and Sheinbaum in the second, to the current right-wing sweep in Chile, Colombia, and Peru. José Antonio Kast won in Chile, described by Economist correspondent Michael Reid as authoritarian and uninspiring. Keiko Fujimori won Peru by fewer than 50,000 votes, 50.13% to 49.86%. Most disturbingly, Colombia elected Esprilla — a Trump ally and former mafia lawyer who represented drug traffickers and disappearances, modelling himself explicitly on El Salvador's Bukele. Trump's interventions, from endorsements to threatened sanctions, appear to have contributed to these narrow victories, though the drivers are also deeply internal — principally the perception that organised crime is out of control.

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