In the headlines: Protests take over Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, and Haiti; Argentina puts Peronists back in power; Brazil suffers the largest oil spill in its history while former President Lula is released from prison; and more.
Argentina
Argentines elected to put Peronists back in power after the presidential election last month. President Mauricio Macri lost the vote to leftist Alberto Fernandez and former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who ran as his running mate. Fernandez won with 47% of the vote, enough to prevent a run-off election, and gained most of his support from those hoping a different party will fix the country’s economic crisis. Many seem optimistic that Fernandez and Kirchner will be able to improve the economy. Fernandez vowed to work with Macri in order to have a seamless transition of power.
Bolivia
After a contentious presidential election last month that led to massive street protests, President Evo Morales resigned following a report from the Organization of American States (OAS) found “clear manipulations” in the vote count. Bolivia’s Electoral Board abruptly halted the public tally with only 83% of votes counted, claiming the stoppage was intended to focus on a slower official calculation. After a 24-hour silence, official election results were announced with 98.4% of the votes counted, giving Morales a 10% lead over Carlos Mesa, just enough to avoid a run-off election. Following the vote, the opposition called for peaceful protests, but clashes between pro- and anti-government protesters were violent, leaving three dead. Roadblocks brought business to a stop, protesters burned government buildings and forced resignations from politicians aligned with Morales, and the military and police supported the protests suggesting Morales resign to bring peace.