Christian Asensio

In the sixties, singer-songwriters appealed in their lyrics to the dream of a Latin American brotherhood. Nations that have a common past and language will have a common future of prosperity if they wake up and stop being pawns in the power games of powers. But in the 21st century, this idealized Latin American unity is hardly manifested in this or that university college and in some academic forums. It’s not that there were no concrete attempts, such as MERCOSUR. However, the loss of ideological sympathies, the rise of new authoritarian regimes, and the growth of mistrust keep this type of initiative practically frozen.

2023 seemed like the perfect year for the region to work together to tackle common challenges in this polarized world. A world that also needs this region. Here are some of the most important green lungs on the planet, like the Amazon, and key resources for the energy transition, like lithium. But little has been seen of the overall designs. On the contrary, the tension and controversy around Twitter in international relations is reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum.

Argentina and Ecuador have just withdrawn their ambassadors after former government minister Rafael Correa, under investigation by the Ecuadorian judiciary, escaped from the Argentine embassy in Quito, where she was hiding, and turned up in Venezuela. President Guillermo Lasso tweeted: “I am very sorry that Alberto Fernández, President of Argentina, placed his personal friendship and political identity with Rafael Correa above the brotherly relationship between the peoples of Argentina and Ecuador.”

Fernández responded in kind: “Try not to confuse this incident, which arose from the lack of skills of Ecuadorian government officials, with the love that binds our peoples.”

the president @LassoGuillermoPlease accept these words with your usual sincere love. Try not to confuse this incident, which is the result of the inexperience of Ecuadorian government officials, with the love that binds our peoples. https://t.co/OQmzguX2KZ pic.twitter.com/GMMWZ95IOP

— Alberto Fernandez (@alferdez) March 21, 2023

This is not Fernandez’s first diplomatic problem. Already with his Chilean colleague Gabriel Boric, with whom he shares ideological positions, he found himself embroiled in controversy. The case began with the fact that the President of Argentina, as part of the Puebla group, signed a letter in which he criticized the justice of the neighboring country due to the postponement of the oral trial of a friendly Chilean politician: former deputy and ex-presidential candidate Marco Henriquez. Ominami. “I respect institutions and expect the same from my colleagues,” Boric said when asked about the letter signed by Fernandez.

Boric responds to Grupo de Puebla: “I respect institutions and expect the same from my colleagues” https://t.co/SehW4diwIL pic.twitter.com/aRrIiJqWY7

— Mercury (@ElMercurio_cl) February 17, 2023

Chile, for its part, has just found itself embroiled in controversy with Bolivia and Venezuela over a migration crisis. The southern country claimed that these countries were preventing the return of their illegal migrants, to which Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ivan Gil demanded that Chile respect the human rights of this population. Most of them are Venezuelans fleeing the social and political crisis created by the government that Gil rightly represents.

The government of Dina Boluarte in Peru had friction with almost every leftist leader in Latin America. So much so that even the parliament of this country declared Colombian President Gustavo Petro persona non grata. At almost the same time, the Peruvian government withdrew its ambassador to Mexico after that country’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), said he would continue to support the sacked Pedro Castillo.

AMLO, which has on other occasions invoked the traditional “non-intervention” principle in Mexican diplomacy, even declared at one of its morning conferences that Castillo’s dismissal was a farce. “Democracy was trampled on and a great injustice was done when he was deposed and imprisoned, and then a de facto authoritarian and repressive government was installed,” he said.

But El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, and his Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, are waging an uphill battle that’s been going on in the Twitter ring for months now. In the hottest part of that exchange, Petro quoted a CNN tweet that reported that the New York City Attorney’s Office had accused Bukele government officials of colluding with gang members. Petro wrote on the social network: “Better than making government agreements under the table is that Justice can make them on the table without cheating and in search of peace.”

Bukele, a regular Twitter user, immediately responded: “(…) I don’t understand your obsession with El Salvador. Isn’t your son making deals under the table and for money? Is everything okay at home?” Bukele pointed out to Petro that Colombian prosecutors were investigating his son, Nicolás Petro, allegedly taking commissions from businessmen and prisoners in exchange for presidential favors.

Agree. First he accuses him of inhuman treatment, and now they are talking about “better conditions”.

Besides, I don’t understand your obsession with El Salvador.

Isn’t your son making deals under the table and for money?

Is everything okay at home? https://t.co/zLjoZoy66R

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbule) March 9, 2023

Colombian analyst Nuri Gomez argues that the international political struggle has ceased to be deliberative and has become adversarial. “The vision of the nation is not assumed, they govern according to the ‘ranking’ obtained in the favor polls. They manage to get the attention of the citizen connected via Twitter, with orders more than dialogue, and with the agendas of the country frozen in time.”

In a specific case of conflict on Twitter between Bukele and Petro Gómez, claims that both want to be seen as leaders of their sectors: “Bukele, who enjoys maximum recognition in his country, adopts the archetype of the “authoritarian father”, with a speech that “evil must be eradicated” to save its citizens from the wrongdoers. Violation of human rights does not matter. Petro, for his part, wanted to be the symbol and voice of the Latin American Left. In his 2022 inaugural address, he made it clear. Both need an enemy to present them to international public opinion. They are needed in attack and defense to build an idyllic narrative about their actions and be considered heroes. Petro doesn’t have Bukele’s approval or results, but he has fans who defend him.”

Jeanne Simon, a political analyst and academic at the University of Concepción, Chile, adds that what has been observed between Bukele and Petro “has to do with the new style of presidents that came from Donald Trump, in which they use this network as a means of almost official communication ( …) It has to do with new styles of government, especially those of a populist nature.”

Sebastian Grundberger, director of the Program for Political Parties and Democracy in Latin America at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, told CONNECTAS that “Twitter is demonstrating the ability to set the agenda immediately. We see people like Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador convicted of corruption, who keeps sending a series of tweets from Belgium. Or this discussion between Peter and Bukele, two people who have many ideological differences, but something in common: a very big ego and the conviction that they play some role or a historical role.

That in the absence of regional leaders and with more and more presidents flirting with authoritarianism, Latin America is unlikely to move forward in integration. As Francis Espinoza, a Chilean political scientist, says, “Autocracies don’t believe in multilateralism.”

In addition, relations with them are also problematic for democratic governments. And questions arise: how ethical can a common front with authoritarian allies be? Wouldn’t that provide international support for anti-democratic regimes, such as the Ortega regime in Nicaragua, which expels opponents and deprives them of their citizenship, or the Maduro regime in Venezuela, which suppresses its opposition? Perhaps true Latin American brotherhood can only be aspired to when all countries share something basic: full democracy.

Every week, the Latin American journalism platform CONNECTAS publishes an analysis of current events in America. If you are interested in reading more information like this, you can enter through this link.

* Member of the editorial board of CONNECTAS