The Craziest Moments in Latin American Politics of 2023

A float with local militia and a blow up doll of the character Super Bigote, in the likene
Ariana Cubillos/AP
Christian K. Caruzo

2023 was a year of majorly influential political news in Latin America.

The region saw several new governments elected, the return of Brazil’s Lula da Silva to power, the end of socialist rule in Argentina, growing Christian persecution in Nicaragua, Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro tallying major wins courtesy of President Joe Biden, and Colombia finding out what happens when you elect a far-left president for the first time ever.

Some news was remarkable because of its political implications, while others stood out as zany or just strange amid the sea of “regular” news. Here are some of the wackiest moments of 2023 in Latin America:

Argentina’s Presidential Election Coverage

Argentina’s 2023 election, and the victory of libertarian economist Javier Milei, left many in shock — the Argentine left more than anyone. Milei’s victory immediately triggered a wave of leftist meltdowns.

With the election over, Milei, still in the first month of his four-year presidency, is starting to apply the “shock therapy” that he promised for Argentina’s critically damaged economy. Argentina’s journalists struggled mightily to keep up with the drama of the past year, producing a handful of great moments that may be common for Argentines, but certainly not for a lot of the rest of us.

During the first round of the presidential election, held in October, the television channel Crónica added to its stable of political pundits a man identified as “the Peronist Joker”:

“Peronism” is a nebulous term that covers a wide sector of establishment Argentine politics, but today is most closely identified with the socialist elite. While the “Peronist Joker” shared his leftist ideals and disdain for right-wing politicians, at a Milei campaign rally, Crónica interviewed “Batman,” who, accompanied by “Spider-Man,” refused to reveal who he voted for, as it was a “bat-secret.”

The results of the first round of the presidential election caused a complete reshuffle of the Argentine electoral chessboard. To explain that, the local news channel La Nación opted to use superhero toys for a visual explainer of who was on what side of the “fight.”

Milei’s inauguration in December saw many flock to the streets of Buenos Aires to celebrate Argentina’s first libertarian president. Some of the men and women who participated opted to don costumes from iconic characters from Dragon Ball Z, the Zorro series, and the Japanese anime Chainsaw Man.

On the left, Argentine ‘Swifties” attempted to weaponize American pop star Taylor Swift against Milei. Similarly, leftist fans of the South Korean boy band BTS tried to “cancel” Vice President Victoria Villarruel over past posts on Twitter in which she made fun of the band.

Chilean Kiddie Slide 1 – Boric – 0

Chile’s far-left President Gabriel Boric was strolling through a playground with his partner on May and decided to slide down an enclosed tube kiddie slide — which resulted in him getting stuck and leaving us all with viral video of the incident:

Boric managed to squeeze his way out of the slide, detaching a section of it in the process. In addition to the viral video, the incident left a small 3,000 Chilean pesos ($3.39) repair bill for the municipality affected.

Chilean Leftists’ Epic Fail at Trying to Change the Constitution

Chile has been trapped since 2019 in a four-year-long process to change its constitution, triggered by leftist rioters burning down a chunk of the capital over public transit fare hikes.

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric (R) receives the text of the proposed new Constitution from the president of the Constitutional Council, Beatriz Hevia, during the closing ceremony of the Constitutional Process at the Hall of Honor of the National Congress in Santiago on November 7, 2023. (Pablo VERA / AFP via Getty)

The first attempt produced a far-left constitution that failed to pass via national referendum, as required, in 2022. The left tried again in 2023, holding elections for a new constitutional convention body, only for the process to entirely backfire, as voters chose majority conservative drafters.

The process finally ended in December after a conservative constitutional proposal failed to pass. Leftists were forced to either vote to replace the constitution with a conservative one, or to vote to keep the constitution they first trashed the country over.

Gustavo Petro’s Twitter Rants Against Israel

Colombia’s far-left President Gustavo Petro caused an international incident with Israel towards the end of the year by unleashing a series of offensive posts on Twitter, apparently unsupervised by any senior advisers. Petro, a former member of the Marxist M19 guerrilla, made multiple accusations against Israel, comparing it to Nazi Germany and threatening to cut diplomatic ties in response to Israel launching self-defense operations after October 7. On that day, terrorists affiliated with the genocidal organization Hamas invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people, abducting 250 others, and engaging in a wide variety of atrocities including the mass slaughter of children, gang-rape, and torture. Petro’s reaction to the terrorist attack was to condemn Israel.

Petro’s continued rants nearly single-handedly destroyed decades of friendly relations between both countries.

‘Super Mustache’ Nicolás Maduro Launches Podcast, Tiktok Influencer Career

Venezuela’s socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro is not just the leader of a socialist tyranny – he’s a superhero, a TikTok influencer, and the star of his own television show and podcast.

Maduro’s superhero alter ego, Súper Bigote (“Super Mustache”) debuted its official salsa theme song in February and an emergency hotline in May.

The socialist ripoff of Superman – or rather, an effigy built to resemble him – found itself in a perilous situation in April, requiring the help of the regime’s police to save it from a fiery end during a local community’s Burning of Judas celebrations, a ceremony that is part of the country’s Holy Week celebrations.

Maduro also kicked his TikTok influencer career into overdrive during the year, generating content for the Chinese social media platform on a steady basis and instructing his regime’s top brass to open accounts of their own.

@nicolasmadurom

¡Llegó el viernes Venezuela! #esviernesyelcuerpolosabe #nicolasmadurom #venezuela

♬ sonido original – Nicolás Maduro

Drug Traffickers Use Augusto Pinochet’s Long-Lost Firearm in Police Shootout (Yes, in 2023)

A .380 Pietro Beretta that once belonged to late Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was the surprise star of a shootout between Chilean policemen and drug traffickers in May — 16 years after Pinochet’s death.

The firearm was reported missing in 2014, showing up nine years later in the possession of a 15-year-old drug-trafficking boy who discarded it on the patio of a house as he tried to run away from the police.

The incident marked another chapter in Chile’s failure to implement gun control, which it has tried to do since the 1970s.

Venezuela’s ‘Nelson Mandela Police Detention Center’

The socialist Maduro regime, without a hint of irony, opened a brand new detention center in June named after late South African President Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for opposing the nation’s apartheid system in a small cell without a bed or plumbing.

The Maduro regime has not publicly talked about it since the initial inspections – and international disgust at its debut.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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