OJO! Here Are Eight Stories to Watch in Latin America in the Coming Year Tim Rogers, Kevin Gray, Manuel Rueda and Jared Goyette - Fusion
go to original January 1, 2015

A young women yells “This is repression!” as police surround protesters in Mexico City during a march on December 1, 2014. (N. Parish Flannery/Instagram)

For Latin Americaphiles, hope springs eternal; next year is always our year. But 2015 promises to be particularly interesting and newsworthy, judging by the events set in motion as the curtain dropped on ’14.

It will be a year of important geopolitical shifts, as the Venezuelan-led ALBA bloc shrivels on the vine, and Uncle Sam gets his Latin groove-thing back. The Chinese government and private sector are also angling to become increasingly big players in the region — they’re eyeing Mexico’s energy sector and endeavoring to carve a massive canal across Nicaragua.

Colombia, meanwhile, will focus on burying the hatchet with FARC guerrillas, as the two sides move into a crucial moment in peace talks that would end four decades of hostilities.

It will be a year of social awakening and economic opening in Mexico, political unraveling and economic chaos in Venezuela, and all breeds of trouble in Central America’s northern triangle (when isn’t that the case?). It’ll be a year of #FlashbackFridays from old newsmakers such as the Castro brothers and Daniel Ortega, as well as new political players in Argentina, as that country holds its first election in more than a decade without a Kirchner on the ballot. In the case of Peru, Keiko Fujimori will try to make an old name new again.

Some countries will advance, while others will fall backwards. Many will just spin in circles. And, as is always the case with Latin America, there’ll be plenty of surprises that no one saw coming (until they happen, of course, and then all the pundits will flap their arms and say: “I told you so! I’ve been warning about this for years, but nobody listened!”)

Take a peek inside Fusion’s crystal ball at the stories to watch in Latin America in 2015 here

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