There is practically no country on the American continent that is stable: Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Colombia — in all of them today there is great political and social instability, and the class struggle is clearly intensifying.
The neoliberal policies being applied in all these countries mean that the response of the working people, and of the poor, is to mobilise to prevent their living conditions from falling even further than before, in societies where living conditions are already quite miserable.
Latin America has been particularly convulsed recently. Crises are the daily bread in our region; growing poverty and inequality are not accidental. They are explained by the existence of a dependent and backward capitalism within the global economic system.
Bolivia: a deep crisis
The clearest example at this moment is Bolivia, which is approaching two months of continuous struggles against the right‑wing government of Rodrigo Paz, with road blockades including the blockade of the city of La Paz (the capital). The struggles are led by trade‑union, peasant, and Indigenous organisations demanding the resignation of President Rodrigo Paz, whom they call a traitor and sell‑out. The honeymoon with the current government did not even last six months since he came to power in November 2025.
Thousands of Bolivians took to the streets, accusing the government of abandoning its electoral promises, betraying the people, wanting to sell Bolivia to large transnational economic groups, and handing over the country’s wealth to imperialists.
The brutal repression used by the government was not enough to intimidate the thousands of Bolivians who came out to confront the state’s violence. Social tension continues to grow. The Bolivian right wants to return to the neoliberal cycle, but the people say otherwise.
Unfortunately, the leadership of the Central Obrera Boliviana (COB) negotiated and signed a “pacification” agreement with President Rodrigo Paz on 19 June, giving the government a breather. The union rank‑and‑file, peasants, and Indigenous communities consider this agreement a betrayal of the struggles and are clearly dissatisfied. Mobilisations continue in many sectors, even though the leaders who signed the agreement achieved a certain demobilisation. But once President Rodrigo Paz again tries to implement his neoliberal policies, he will once again face major problems. What is clear is that Bolivia will not be socially stable in the coming years.
Ecuador’s situation is no better
Ecuador is also going through a deep multidimensional crisis. Each passing day, social discontent grows. The roots of this unrest also lie in the neoliberal policies implemented by the government of Daniel Noboa.
Workers and the poorest sectors of society are suffering from high inflation and rising living costs, reduced access to basic foodstuffs, and increasingly precarious working conditions.
To this must be added the security crisis and the control of large parts of society by drug‑trafficking. This situation benefits the right‑wing government of Noboa, as they use it to justify an authoritarian, dictatorial drift and to criminalise social protest, trying to confuse drug‑trafficking with the social struggles of popular sectors.
As we can see, Ecuador is submerged in a deep political and social crisis, aggravated by drug‑trafficking and organised crime, a profound economic recession, and enormous class polarisation. The poorest sectors of society can no longer endure this situation, which has plunged them into levels of poverty and misery they can no longer accept.
Daniel Noboa’s regime is part of the contemporary Latin American far right, not only because it centres security and military force in its agenda, but because of the specific way it combines political authoritarianism with the staunch defence of business‑class privilege.
Ecuador will continue to be a pressure cooker ready to explode; it is only a matter of time before a major social uprising.
Argentina: a crisis of the highest order
Argentina faces a major social crisis, with high social tension throughout the country due to prolonged economic recession and a sharp fall in purchasing power.
Milei’s government faces strong social discontent; the collapse in workers’ living standards has been brutal. Today it appears we may be at a breaking point that could lead the Argentine people to a major social explosion, similar to what we saw in 2000–2001.
At this moment, Argentina is economically in a dead end. On top of everything else, there is a massive debt with international banks such as the IMF. The only possible outcome, according to the text, is that the people march to the Casa Rosada and kick out the sitting president.
Peru cannot find a way out
Peru is divided in equal parts, at least electorally. Keiko Fujimori and Roberto Sánchez tied in the last presidential election (7 June 2026). The Peruvian elite is making great efforts to convince the population that Fujimori won, but this does not convince a large percentage of people, who sense a strong smell of fraud.
Large mobilisations have already taken place denouncing fraud against Roberto Sánchez. In any case, whoever takes office will preside over a crisis‑ridden government, as all Peruvian governments have been for the past two decades. Governments last very little time in power, and it is unclear how they could overcome the social and political polarisation that exists, given state institutions are completely discredited.
Overcoming Peru’s crisis requires a profound reform of the political system to establish real democratic institutions — but above all, it requires listening to and taking into account ordinary people, something the dominant elite is not willing to do because it would endanger their enormous privileges.
The only way out of this dead end can come from the working people, peasants, and Indigenous communities building their own class‑based political alternative.
Colombia and rising political instability
Suspiciously, Colombia’s elections look very similar to Peru’s. In Colombia there is also a tie, and the elite claims that the right‑wing candidate won by less than one point in the elections of Sunday 21 June.
Colombia is highly polarised, 50–50 for each side. There is also a strong smell of fraud. Large demonstrations are already denouncing the election results. As in other countries, Colombia faces great polarisation, making it likely that whoever assumes the presidency will have a very unstable government.
The future president, De la Espriella, wants to govern by decree because he lacks a parliamentary majority. He wants to combine his policies with a militarised state and strong repression. His declared goal is to destroy the left in Colombia, something not easy given the strong support the left‑wing candidate received.
The elections took place in a battlefield full of fake news and extreme disinformation, similar to what happened in Argentina, Peru, and Chile, where right‑wing presidents also came to power through lies and deceit.
We must not forget that De la Espriella has links with mafias and supports environmental destruction, worsened by his alliance with Israel and blind obedience to the United States. Like other right‑wing presidents on the continent, he also wants to be Trump’s errand boy.
His campaign centred on “iron‑fist policies against crime,” promising mega‑prisons in the style of El Salvador’s Bukele and ending Petro’s “total peace” policy. As we can see, Colombia will have anything but social peace in the coming period.
Chile unstable
Since José Kast’s right‑wing government took office, tension has risen. From day one, protests began, along with efforts to rebuild social organisation to confront the far‑right government.
Chile is currently marked by a tense political and social scenario caused by fiscal austerity, including major cuts to social spending, health, and education, which are already strongly felt across the country.
Things could worsen if Parliament approves a bill the government calls “National Reconstruction,” which includes even more direct attacks on Chilean workers.
The possibility of a new social uprising like October 2019 is already visible on the horizon. The coming period will not be one of social peace or political stability.
The problem is capitalism!
If we want to end the current problems of the working class, we have no alternative but to end capitalism, the system that creates all these problems not only in this continent but across the planet.
The only ones who can respond to the current crisis are workers, students, and rural and poor masses.