Snapshot · The Rest Is Politics
Colombia's new right-wing president Esprilla worked as a lawyer for organised crime groups associated with drug trafficking and disappearances before entering politics.
Where this was said
At 42:10 · 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. [1] — Rory Stewart "Just a few years ago, Latin America looked decisively left: Boric in Chile, Petro in Colombia, Castillo in Peru, Lula in Brazil. Now Chile,…" 39:55
Just a few years ago, Latin America looked decisively left: Boric in Chile, Petro in Colombia, Castillo in Peru, Lula in Brazil. Now Chile, Colombia, and Peru have all swung right — several by tiny margins — and the continent's political centre of gravity has shifted dramatically toward Trump-aligned leaders.
Keiko Fujimori won the Peruvian presidential election by fewer than 50,000 votes, 50.13% to 49.86%, in one of Latin America's closest recent contests.
Kalanick estimates that a decade ago, 90% of media coverage of tech business was negative, treating companies like political targets.
2024–2025 marked the single largest decrease in violent crime and murder in the US since 1937.
From 2024 to 2025, violent crime decreased 9%, property crime decreased 12.4%, and motor vehicle theft decreased 23%.
California's Ebony Alert Program, designed for the swift recovery of missing Black youth and women, officially went into effect on January 1, 2024.
Andrew Santino discovered that American tourists now need to pay $20 to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK, starting January 2025.
Kay Classman, a 28-year-old woman, was arrested for repeatedly enrolling in a Bronx high school posing as a 16-year-old student across multiple school districts.
A poll around 2011 found that 16% of Americans believed 9/11 was an inside job, illustrating how viral misinformation had already embedded itself in public opinion before social media peaked.
Andrew Wilson offered Candace Owens $300,000 to debate her Charlie Kirk conspiracy theory, but she refused.
According to the podcast, only 11 people were killed by the coordinated Israeli pager attack on Hezbollah operatives, despite widespread detonations.
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