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While the “lurch to the left” in the Americas may be a simplistic reading of recent events in the region--as left-of-center leaders govern moderately and responsibly in Brazil, Chile, and Peru, for example--Venezuela’s firebrand, Hugo Chávez, and his acolytes in South America continue to tear down democratic institutions to put congresses, courts, and the media in the service of their own radical agenda. Sowing class warfare, social division, and political polarization, “antisystemic” leaders in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua seek to replace already weak governing institutions with personalized political movements. This axis of caudillos already has dissolved the historic pan-American consensus in favor of democracy and now seeks to internationalize its anti-United States, antidemocratic campaign by inviting Russia and Iran onto the U.S. doorstep. At this event, several noted regional experts--led by Her Excellency Marisol Argueta, foreign minister of El Salvador--will crystallize the challenge ahead and summon a robust democratic response. AEI’s Roger F. Noriega will moderate.

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