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Brian Winter calls himself an optimist when it comes to Latin America. He's covered

the region for decades. These days, he's editor of America's quarterly. But after the first

few weeks of 2023, I am struggling with that optimism because I worry sometimes that I hear

myself talk about 2000s, and it almost sounds like an aging rock band playing its greatest hits.

You're like those are the good old days. Exactly. No, it sounds like you're sitting on your front

porch rocking chair waxing philosophical about when times were good. Back in the early 2000s,

when Brian was living first in Argentina, then Brazil, people were talking about the Latin American

decade. Local economies were booed by commodities prices, and local political races were getting

more democratic. Now, Brian looks at the region and sees anti-government protests getting violent

in both Peru and Brazil. In Chile, voters are duking it out over a new constitution,

and polls reveal democracy is taking a beating. If you had told Brian two decades ago that hundreds

...