I'm John Batchett with Professor Evin Ellis of the US Army War College at the end of 2022,

and I ask the professor to comment on democracy in the New World, Central America and South America,

two major elections in 2022, first Columbia, Augustavo Petro, the new president, and then Brazil,

Lula de Silva, the new president, come January 1st. Other pieces of democracy, though, from 2021,

are on spilled across the calendar. So, Professor, I begin with asking your general opinion of the democratic process in the New World,

and these major elections in Brazil and Columbia. Did we learn anything from these elections?

I also note that the election in Brazil was very close, and there was anxiety in major newspapers in Europe and America,

that there would be an intervention by the military. It did not happen. It does not happen.

There was the same kind of anxiety before the Columbia election. It's an old story from the 20th century,

not happening here in the 21st. Is that a positive, Evan? Thank you.

John, thank you. Frustration with the results of democracy amidst tremendous pressures that come from

COVID-19 that come from the inflationary effects of Russia's invasion of the Ukraine and other factors.

I think really are putting democracy to the stress, and not only driving political change,

but political change in some undesirable directions, even though you have what appears to be the vestiges of democratic practices continuing.

And so, again, I would go back to 2019, even before COVID-19, when you had those protests that almost

brought down the government of Ecuador, of Lennon, and Moreno in October 2019, the protests that started

the process against Sebastian Pinyet and Chile that eventually brought the new Gaviol-Bortech government in,

and the protests that even almost brought down the Juki presidency in Columbia.

If that was a demonstration of the frustration of Latin Americans with the continuing corruption and inequality and the inability

of democracies to solve their problems, including solving problems of public security as well as problems of economic progress,

COVID-19 made things even worse. Not only was Latin America one of the hardest hit in terms of the health effects,

and that just exposed how poorly governments were using taxpayer money to support their interests,

...