First, this most exhilarating news comes from telesurenglish.net:

Alberto Fernandez and running mate former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner celebrate after election results in Buenos Aires

‘Argentina: Progressive Fernandez Wins Presidency, Defeats Macri’, Oct. 27, 2019

“As the candidates needed 45 percent of the vote to avoid a second round, the 47 percent obtained by the Fernandez-Fernandez ticket has been enough to give them the win.

With almost 90 percent of votes counted, Argentinian opposition progressive ticket Alberto Fernandez and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner have won over right-wing incumbent President Mauricio Macri with 47,75 over 40,76 percent respectively in Sunday’s general elections.

As the candidates needed 45 percent of the vote or 40 percent with a 10-point lead over the runner-up to avoid a second round, the 47 percent obtained by the Fernandez-Fernandez ticket has been enough to give them the win.

The ballot was effectively a referendum between Macri’s austerity and the “social contract” of the left-leaning opposition, who have attracted voters who have been hurt badly by the Macri’s neoliberal model that led to the most severe economic crisis in decades.

Argentina’s choice could have far-reaching implications: it is one the world’s top grain exporters, is stirring the energy world with its huge Vaca Muerta shale field and is on the cusp of restructuring talks with creditors over US$100 billion in debt.

Fernandez, a relative unknown until this year outside Argentine political circles, holds a 20-point lead in most opinion polls after thumping Macri in an August primary.

The economy has taken center stage with the country in the grip of recession for most of the last year, the outlook for growth darkening, annual inflation over 50 percent, job numbers down and poverty up sharply.

The conservative incumbent won backers with plans to reform Argentina’s notoriously closed economy with trade deals and a successful push to lure foreign investment into energy projects and infrastructure.”

As you likely already know, on Oct. 24 Evo Morales of the MAS Party (Movement to Socialism) with 99.99 percent of the votes counted in Bolivia, Evo Morales was again elected president of the Andean country Bolivia with 47.07 percent of the votes. 

His closest rival Carlos Mesa received 36.51 percent, putting Morales over the 10% threshold advantage that would have required a run-off.”

Of course the OAS, the EU, and US are contesting the vote as illegal, chock full of violence (there indeed was, but only from the opposition likely fueled by CIA provocateurs. They’d announced that if Evo were to win, they’d putsch him, and they sure have been trying.  See: ‘a US-made color revolution seems to be afoot in Bolivia’, Oct. 24, 2019, c99%. Evo had told the OAS officials to go ahead and count the votes again, as many international observers had given the results their official okey-dokeys.  But it’s still up in the air as I type, and the hasthtag #Bolivia is alive with smears and lies still.  Will the OAS soon punish Evo and MAS with sanctions, and/or declare Carlos Mesa the ‘interim President of Bolivia?  (i’d included a brief CV of him in the link above.)

@camilateleSUR

‘The United States threatens “serious consequences” for Bolivia’s government before vote counting has even completed, offering a deceptive and inaccurate version of events surrounding the Bolivian election.
Michael Kozak at the House Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere’:
(Camila’s Tweet of Kozak’s rant)

On the other hand, this from Jeremy Corbin, and good on him!

@jeremycorbyn 4h4 hours ago  “Congratulations to @evoespueblo on his re-election as Bolivia’s President. Evo Morales and his movement have secured indigenous peoples’ rights, halved extreme poverty and presided over impressive economic growth.”

The non-aligned movement (NAM) meeting in Azerbaijan had also acknowledged him as the new President.  (#NAM on Twitter)  More on NAM and the huge global protests against neo-liberalism from Flowers and Zeese below the fold.  You can find a storify by Tweet of a number of them here.

(I’ll stick some illustrative Tweets from AndeanInfoNet , etc.

#Bolivia Opposition leader Carlos Mesa, "They tell me to not give up- to strap on a pair. So here I am." Testicle references are always a bad omen in any political conflict. https://t.co/aqisILJdXL

— AndeanInfoNet (@AndeanInfoNet) October 29, 2019

Tense stand offs between Pro-evo miners and pro opposition protestors #Bolivia #LaPaz - I’m standing far away because the dynamite packs a punch #BoliviaElecciones2019 pic.twitter.com/MQXJv9VEIV

— Olivia Arigho-Stiles (@OliviaArigho) October 28, 2019

US DOS #Bolivia-"US stands w/partners in the region & OAS observers in calling for an accurate accounting of votes cast..if not feasible in the opinion of the OAS mission, a 2nd round that is credible & transparent. In the interim, we call for calm..." https://t.co/GyCxR3TPk9

— AndeanInfoNet (@AndeanInfoNet) October 27, 2019

#Morales supporters celebrate victory in #LaPaz amid opposition protests #Bolivia pic.twitter.com/mPLyc6vku2

— Ruptly (@Ruptly) October 29, 2019

Sadly, in Uruguay:  Uruguay’s General Elections Exit-Polls Confirm Runoff Vote, telesurenglish, Oct. 27, 2019

“Some 2.7 million Uruguayans were summoned to vote this Sunday to choose their next president, vice-president, senators, and deputies of the Parliament.

The first results from validated exit polls indicate that there will be a second electoral round between the leftist Broad Front candidate Daniel Martinez and right-wing representative of the National Party Luis Lacalle Pou after Sunday’s elections.

According to various exit polls, the leftist Broad Front would reach around 37 to 40 percent of the votes while its contender the National Party would have around 30 percent, meaning an absolute majority over 50 percent would not be reached resulting in a runoff vote to be held on Nov. 24.

“We will continue to do everything to ensure stability and certainties. Uruguay has to continue growing, distributing wealth and being a land of justice,” Martinez said while acknowledging the Broad Front will face Lacalle in a second round.

While the security ‘Live without Fear’ referendum, presented by National Party’s Jorge Larraña, was rejected as it didn’t obtain more than 50 percent of the popular vote. The constitutional referendum wanted to change the law by allowing police night raids, the creation of a National Guard, and reducing rights for detainees.”

On Oct. 27, 2019 telesur english had reported: ‘Colombians Vote in Regional Elections Marred with Violence’  (e.g., no Presidential election)

“Colombians went to polls Sunday to choose provincial governors, mayors and regional legislators in elections that could influence the 2022 presidential contest, following campaigning marred by violent attacks on candidates.

RELATED:Colombia:
Violence Against Social Leaders Remains Before Polls

Colombian President Ivan Duque Sunday asked his countrymen to vote “conscientiously” in the elections.”

“ Unlike last year’s presidential elections, when voters largely split between left and right-wing candidates, President Ivan Duque’s Democratic Center party and leftist parties will have only limited wins, said Ariel Avila of the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation think tank.

“Everything seems to indicate that political machines have aligned, organized and political clans will win,” he said.

Seven candidates have been killed, a dozen attacked and more than 100 threatened, says voting rights group the Electoral Observation Mission (MOE).

“Local elections are really where political power in this country is in play,” said the MOE’s Alejandra Barrios. “They are the start, what structures the next elections, which are legislative and presidential.

The elections would show the power of political clans, she added.  Colombia’s best-known clan is the Char family of business tycoons who dominate politics in the coastal province of Atlantico and its capital, the port city of Barranquilla.

Their candidates have held the mayor’s office for more than a decade and their current pick is leading the polls.

The diverse local alliances backing candidates make the election “atypical”, Interior Minister Nancy Patricia Gutierrez told Reuters, adding that about 142,000 police and military will safeguard Sunday’s voters.

“Whoever has control of the mayor’s office or the province has a 50% probability of leaving a successor because of the levels of contracting and the economic resources that gives,” Avila said.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………..

From Zeese and Flowers Oct. 27, 2019: ‘Revolts Against The Neoliberal World Order’ (a few excerpts):

“Protests against the US and big finance-imposed neoliberal capitalism have exploded across the globe. Two weeks ago, in Pink Tide Against US Domination Rising Again In Latin America, we reviewed 12 Latin America nations that are rising up against privatization, the cutting of social programs, soaring prices and low wages. In the last week, mass protests in Chile and Bolivia have begun and Lebanon has widespread protests against debt and austerity measures. The Nonaligned Movement, which is critical of the use of illegal unilateral coercive measures by the United States to force countries to bend to its will, is meeting in Azerbaijan.

A central part of the recent rise of the Pink Tide was the mass protests in Ecuador led by indigenous peoples and the labor movement. Their actions forced President Moreno to repeal a package of laws that were demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This week, after Moreno arrested movement leaders, talks broke off and then, on Thursday, the indigenous movement convened to form a popular parliament to develop a new economic plan to avoid detrimental changes required by the IMF. The future in Ecuador is uncertain, but the people are not backing down.

Chile Explodes In Long-Suppressed Rage, Government Responds With Abusive Military Force

[See a number of representative Tweets and Instagrams here.]

This Friday, more than one million people took to streets in the Chilean capital of Santiago uniting in a call against extreme neoliberal capitalism. The capital was brought to a standstill after a week of widespread protests that were met by a heavy police and military force. So far, 16 people have died, over 200 have been wounded and over 1,500 have been detained, including children.” [snip]

“The government declared a state of emergency and, for the first time since Pinochet, ordered the military with tanks and armored vehicles to patrol the streets. By Saturday, October 19, President Piñera went on television and said: “I have heard the voice of my compatriots.” He suspended the fare increase and announced he would host a roundtable to discuss the issues. He said, “The people will be heard—but the protests have to stop.” This has not deterred the people from continuing to protest.

In a Sunday night address to the nation, Piñera declared: “We are at war with a powerful enemy which is prepared to use violence without limit.” But it was the 11,000 soldiers and Carabinero police who rampaged across, firing live rounds at demonstrators and dragging protesters out of their homes at night. The president’s harsh response only aggravated the situation. Curfews were defied by thousands of demonstrators and, in Santiago, protesters holding pictures of victims under the Pinochet dictatorship temporarily surrounded the tanks.” [snip]

“The uprising in Chile is significant because prior to these protests it was described as a success of capitalism. Chile is the original and perpetual laboratory for neoliberalism, with more than forty years of economic shock policies and a steady, low-intensity war waged against the nation’s working classes. Capitalists are shocked. Brian Winters, Vice President for Policy at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, said “Everyone following Latin America is watching this and saying, ‘Oh my god, Chile, too?’” [lonish snip]

“The Non-Aligned Movement Unites Against Illegal Unilateral Coercive Measures of the United States

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is meeting in Azerbaijan this weekend. At the meeting, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro criticized the IMF and denounced the U.S. economic and financial aggressions for being as lethal as its armies. He criticized IMF neoliberal austerity and privatization policies as an attack on the most vulnerable and a violation of human rights. He described the unilateral coercive measures of the United States as a violation of international law aimed at pressuring people to support US neoliberalism by inflicting collective punishment against the people as blackmail.” [snip]

“People in the United States suffer similar conditions to those around the world who are plagued by neoliberalism. As the Arab Spring inspired the Occupy Movement, will this Anti-neoliberal Autumn rekindle mass protests in the United States? This is something we need to ponder and perhaps to prepare for and organize to make happen.”

The rest, again, is here.

(cross-posted from Café Babylon)