Trump Effect Reverses the Tide in Latin America as the Left Fades and the Right Rises

[Financial News] Since the start of the second Trump administration, a right-wing wave has been sweeping across Latin America. In the past seven to eight months, right-wing governments have taken power in Bolivia, Costa Rica and Chile. More recently, right-wing candidates have also gained momentum in the presidential races in Peru and Colombia. In particular, both Peru and Colombia were brought to power by left-wing governments in the last election, making the results of these contests a potential turning point in the region’s broader shift to the right.
According to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) in Peru on the 14th local time, Keiko Fujimori, the right-wing candidate of Popular Force, won 50.052% of the vote in the runoff of Peru’s presidential election held on the 7th. Roberto Sánchez of Together for Peru received 49.948%, but as overseas ballots are counted, the gap between the two candidates is widening. Local media and financial markets now expect Sánchez will not be able to overturn the result.
In Colombia’s presidential runoff on the 21st, the far-right Abelardo de la Espriella is also in a favorable position, ahead of the far-left Iván Cepeda. According to a poll released on the 10th, Espriella, the candidate for Guardians of the Homeland, led Cepeda by 52.6% to 44.8%. After finishing first in the first round of voting, Espriella has emerged as a major force in the election by promising tough security measures, including building a massive "CECOT-style" prison, along with lower public spending and pro-business, pro-market policies.
The growing strength of the right in successive presidential elections across Latin America is being attributed to a combination of chronic cartel-related crime and deteriorating public safety, fiscal deficits driven by populist policies, and indirect pressure from the United States.
Analysts say the United States’ Western Hemisphere Strategy, which has taken shape under the second Trump administration, is also influencing the region’s rightward shift. The Trump administration has made blocking China’s diplomatic and economic influence in Latin America a top priority. In practice, Washington has been pressing left-wing governments in the region with the threat of heavy tariffs, while offering full support to pro-U.S. and right-wing leaders such as Javier Milei in Argentina, José Antonio Kast in Chile and Espriella in Colombia, encouraging a bloc-like alignment.
whywani@fnnews.com Hong Chaewan Reporter