Banning the opposition, a growing trend in Latin America

The recent court ruling in Guatemala suspending the presidential candidacy of opposition businessman Carlos Pineda — who was leading the race according to pollsters — was far from an isolated incident.

The country had already banned two competitive candidates earlier this year. The first was left-wing indigenous leader Thelma Cabrera, arguing that her vice-presidential candidate Jordán Rodas did not meet the legal requirements to run because of unresolved complaints against him during his time as a human rights lawyer. 

After that came conservative businessman Roberto Arzú, the son of former president Álvaro Arzú Irigoyen, accused of campaigning outside approved time windows.

The banned tickets were all led by government critics, with Mr. Pineda even saying that he might leave the country to avoid reprisals after the court’s decision, in line with other worrying developments in Guatemala, including the arrest last year of prominent journalist José Rubén Zamora on charges of influence peddling and money laundering.

Whatever the technicalities of each case, the sheer number of key government rivals swept aside without public participation would make even the most innocent observer suspect that it is not strict adherence to the rule of law that is driving these court decisions.

But what is even more striking is the fact that similar things are happening across the continent, with key opposition figures being banned everywhere from Venezuela to Brazil over the past decade, even in countries that are still widely considered democracies.

Long list of banned opposition candidates

The most notable example in recent history is that of Brazilian...