Latino presidents and their ever-decreasing luck against the justice system

Nobody escapes the justice system. Well, almost nobody. After all, it is an unbiased and democratic tool that every country needs to have. However, Latin America rarely sees its highest bodies being held to account. For comparison, the US has had 3 presidents facing impeachment, but none were found guilty or even arrested. Meanwhile, Honduras has already arrested two presidents in the span of 10 years, the second case just coming to court last week.

It is often the case that presidents forget that using their power and influence has consequences. There could be positive outcomes, like using a donated sum of $15 million to better improve the lives of those affected by earthquakes or poverty, or there could be negative outcomes, like a court finding that said donated money was rather held and stolen by the sitting office.

The latter being what happened for former Salvadoran president, Francisco Flores.

This is the reason why there is an increase of scepticism towards the higher offices from the Latino public. And why when protests happen, like 2019's calls to remove "narco-dictator" Juan Orlando Hernández they are, more often than not, heard. These protests became a catalyst for his arrest last week.

There will never be a president whose actions are accepted by the public. But, because of the spread of narco rings, violent crime, hate-speech, and even terrorism in Latin America over the last decade, the people's bar in terms of criticism toward politicians has risen. It has become an unacceptable situation to live with.

This is also why more radical and progressive presidents have risen to power - the public needs more positive consequences to come from their presidents. Not to say that all justice will be provided, or that any unsupported politician will face court, but as more presidents are called out for their actions and corruption, it will just become harder and harder for them to avoid court.