Colombia enters 2026 with an economy that looks stable at first glance: growth has avoided a hard landing, the peso has surprised on the upside, and consumption remains resilient. However, these headline outcomes broadly overstate the economy’s strength. Fiscal accounts are deteriorating, security conditions are worsening in large parts of the country, and political fragmentation is complicating decision-making. The coming election cycle is unlikely to resolve these tensions on its own. At best, it will determine how they are managed.

No Peruvian president has completed a full term since 2016. The last to do so was Ollanta Humala, who later received a 15-year prison sentence for aggravated money laundering. What followed was a decade of seven failed presidencies, defined by ineffective leadership, corruption, bribery, impeachments, resignations, and a coup attempt.

During his 2017 presidential campaign, José Antonio Kast said that if Augusto Pinochet were still alive, ‘he would clearly vote for me,’ a remark that underscores his long-standing alignment with the legacy of Chile’s former dictator.