Hello, and welcome to the Latin America Weekly newsletter! In this issue: A referendum defeat corners the president of Ecuador. El Salvador boasts of building the largest prison in Latin America. And the sexual abuse scandals rocking Colombian politics.
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Tough loss takes Ecuador government to the brink
President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador was already having a tough time of late — but now the billionaire president’s bet on an eight-question referendum to regain some political momentum has massively backfired. Not only did voters reject all of the government’s reform proposals, but that day also saw Mr. Lasso’s fiercest critics secure victories in the crucial mayoral races of Quito and Guayaquil, the country’s two largest cities.
Drug violence. Mr. Lasso tried to leverage rising levels of violence and political discontent, with questions on reducing the size of Congress and requesting authorization to extradite members of organized crime groups to face trial in other countries.
- The latter is a common practice in countries like Mexico and Colombia, which have seen top cartel...