From Guatemala to Belize, political tensions stir across Central America

Central America is experiencing a wave of unrest that is remarkable even for a region whose history is riddled with turbulence. most recent example is political upheaval in Guatemala as country hes for a runoff presidential election in August.

A look at various events roiling Central American countries:

Guatemala

Guatemala is locked in  most troubled presidential election in country’s recent history. first round of elections in June ended with a surprise twist when little known progressive candidate Bernardo Arévalo of Seed Movement party pulled ahe as a front-runner.

Now heed to an August runoff election with conservative candidate and top vote-getter Sandra Torres, Arévalo has thus far managed to survive judicial attacks and attempts by Guatemala’s political establishment to disqualify his party. It comes after or moves by country’s government to manage election, including banning several candidates before first-round vote.

While not entirely unprecedented in a country known for high levels of corruption, American officials call latest escalation a threat to country’s democracy.

El Salvor

El Salvor has been rically transformed in past few years with entrance of populist millennial President Nayib Bukele. One year ago, Bukele entered an all-out war with Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatruchas, or MS-13, gangs. He suspended constitutional rights and threw 1 in every 100 people in country into prisons that have fueled allegations of mass human rights abuses.

sharp dip in violence that followed Bukele's actions, combined with an elaborate propaganda machine, has ignited a pro-Bukele populist fervor across region, with or governments trying to mimic Bitcoin-pushing leer.

At same time, Bukele has announced he will run for reelection in February next year despite constitution prohibiting it. He has also me moves that observers warn are grually dismantling nation’s democracy.

Nicaragua

President Daniel Ortega is in an all-out crackdown on dissent. For years, regional watchdogs and U.S. government raised alarms that democracy was eroding under leer of Sandinista National Liberation Front. That came to a he in 2018 when Ortega’s government began a violent crackdown on protests.

Most recently, Ortega forced hundreds of opposition figures into exile, stripping m of ir citizenship, seizing ir properties and declaring m “traitors of homeland.” Nicaragua has thrown out aid groups such as Red Cross and a yearslong crackdown on Catholic Church has forced Vatican to close its embassy. tightening chokehold on country has prompted many Nicaraguans to flee ir country and seek asylum in neighboring Costa Rica or United States.

Honduras

President Xiomara Castro took office last year as  first female president of Honduras, winning on a message of tackling corruption, inequality and poverty. wife of former President Manuel Zelaya, who was ousted in a military coup, she won a landslide victory.

But her popularity has dipped as many of her promises for change have gone unfulfilled. At same time, government has sought to mimic neighboring El Salvor's crackdown on gangs, responding fiercely to a grisly massacre in a women’s prison in June.

Costa Rica

Once known as land of “pura vida” and mild politics compared to surrounding region, Costa Rica has seen rising bloodshed that threatens to tarnish country's reputation as a secure haven. Homicides have soared as nation has become a base for drug traffickers. President Rodrigo Chavez, who took office last year, has promised more police in street and tougher laws to take on uptick in crime.

At same time, a migratory flight from Nicaragua has overwhelmed country, which is known as one of world’s great refuges for people fleeing persecution. government has since tightened its asylum laws.

Panama

Panama is heed into presidential elections in May, with simmering frustration at economic woes, corruption and insecurity acting as a potential harbinger for change. Any shift could have global significance due to Panama’s status as a financial hub.

nation has also become epicenter of a stey flow of migration through perilous jungles of Darien Gap running along Colombia-Panama border.

Belize

Belize is often seen as a place of relative calm in a region that is anything but. A former British colony named British Honduras, Belize’s government system is still tightly tered to country. But Prime Minister Johnny Briceño has sought to distance his nation from monarchy. nation is also one of few in Americas that maintains formal ties with Taiwan amid a bro effort by China to pull support away from island country by funneling money into Central America.