Latin America’s vicious circle is a warning to the West

When they vote in a presidential run-off election this weekend Colombians face a grim choice between two ill-qualified populists. On the left, Gustavo Petro has still not wholly shaken off his long-standing sympathy for Hugo Chávez, the caudillo who destroyed Venezuela’s economy and its democracy. On the right, Rodolfo Hernández is a bullying former mayor with no team and not much of a programme beyond expelling “the thieves”, as he calls the political class. This line-up reflects voters’ deep scorn for Colombia’s mainstream politicians, even though the country has done relatively well over the past 20 years. It is the kind of polarised choice that has become worryingly familiar in Latin American elections. In a region that was discontented even before the pandemic, there no longer seem to be many takers for the moderation, compromise and gradual reform needed to become prosperous and peaceful.