Hello, our Latin America Weekly newsletter is back after a two-week pause! We hope you had an excellent Christmas and already wish you a happy new year! In this issue: Peru to bring forward elections after deadly Castillo protests. Venezuela’s alternative president could soon be ousted. And El Salvador joins the regional wave of pension reforms.
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Deaths and early elections mark aftermath of Castillo ousting in Peru
The shocking ousting of Pedro Castillo as president of Peru has led to rarely-seen levels of turmoil, in a country where political crises were already the norm.
- At least 27 deaths in and around protests were confirmed by authorities (the largest toll since 2009), while Congress voted to call early elections in April 2024, shortening the current presidential term by two years.
Recap. Mr. Castillo took office from a very weak position, taking less than 19 percent of the vote in the first round of the 2021 presidential elections. With little clout in capital Lima (most of his support came from rural areas...