This 2018 will be plagued by events that will capture the attention of the global media and shape public opinion
1. INSTABILITY OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
One of the main destabilizing factors during the past year was the new U.S. administration. It is foreseeable that this 2018 the White House will continue to be marked by the rash and reckless style of President Donald Trump, even more so given the shadow of the FBI investigation into possible violations committed by people close to the president or himself during the 2016 presidential campaign.
2. WAR AGAINST VENEZUELA
The Bolivarian nation is currently the main battleground of the war against the progressive movements of our region. The domestic right wing and its international allies are seeking by all means to bring down the government of Venezuela, with the hope that with it the rest of the processes of social change in Latin America and the Caribbean will fall. It is no coincidence that the strongest economic attacks and attempts at political isolation are concentrated on the government of Nicolás Maduro, who has announced presidential elections for this year.
3. ELECTIONS IN MEXICO
“So far from God and so close to the United States,” is the phrase with which Mexicans define their recent history. Combined with the news from the north, where the construction of a border wall is planned, is widespread social unrest due to corruption and violence. It is in this scenario that general elections in one of the largest Latin American economies will take place.
4. LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA’S ELECTORAL CAMPAIGN
Despite all attempts to discredit former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the leader of the Workers’ Party continues to lead the polls ahead of this year’s elections. The economic and social situation of the South American giant has continued to deteriorate since the parliamentary coup against the elected President, Dilma Rousseff, and many have placed their hopes of recovery on the union leader who changed the face of Brazil and lifted 20 million people from poverty.
5. POPULAR RESISTANCE IN HONDURAS
The streets of the Central American nation witnessed the popular discontent stemming from the confirmation of the electoral victory and further mandate for the current President, Juan Orlando Hernández. The opposition coalition has called for a new stage of struggle and resistance against what it calls a “dictatorship” in the country.
6. TENSIONS IN THE KOREAN PENINSULA
Despite attempts at mediation by countries such as Russia and China, tensions on the Korean peninsula are escalating, with the United States spearheading an onslaught of political and economic sanctions against Pyongyang, which considers all possibilities to maintain its sovereignty. Most experts agree that never before have we been so close to a nuclear conflict, and are calling for calm given the impact that a possible war would have.
7. THE RISE OF CHINA AS A GLOBAL POWER
The history of humanity does not reflect many peaceful handovers of regional or global leadership. China is emerging as a new economic power, but faces U.S. hegemony at the military level. Although few envisage a direct confrontation, Washington could use other means to try to destabilize Beijing and encourage border or other conflicts with its neighboring countries.
8. THE RENEWED ROLE OF RUSSIA IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA
In the same sense as in the case of China, the growing role of Moscow in the international arena is an affront to the United States, which enjoyed unchallenged global power for a brief period after the fall of the socialist camp and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. However, the Kremlin now seems convinced that a passive position is not the best strategy to guarantee its interests beyond the borders of the immense Russian territory.
9. THE TENSIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
A region marked by war for decades, Western powers are busy playing with fire in Middle East. Specific actions such as U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or the obvious interference in the internal affairs of Iran (where there have been recent anti-government protests) could trigger much greater events.
10. SECESSION AND THE FAR RIGHT IN EUROPE
Catalonia and Brexit are just the tip of the iceberg of the underlying conflicts in Europe, a region that faces the largest wave of refugees since WWII and where xenophobic and ultranationalist ideas are on the rise.
