The final result won’t be known until later this month, but if the first round of Brazil’s election is any indication, it will soon become the latest Latin American country to turn back to conservatism after socialism led to crime, inflation, and stagnant economic growth. At a time when so many young Americans are tempted by the easy answers socialism offers, Latin America’s painful experience should serve as a warning of what the United States can still avoid.
Conservative candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, led socialist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 47% to 45%, in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election, setting up a runoff election that will be held Oct. 25. Considering how well Bolsonaro’s party performed in downballot races across the country, he is now the favorite to win round two.
A Bolsonaro win would cap an extraordinary run of victories for the Latin American right. Center-right businessman Daniel Noboa won Ecuador’s presidency in October 2023, followed a month later by libertarian economist Javier Milei in Argentina. In 2025, Bolivia elected Rodrigo Paz, ending nearly two decades of socialist rule, while Honduras and Chile elected conservatives Nasry Asfura and José Antonio Kast. This year, Laura Fernández won in Costa Rica, Keiko Fujimori in Peru, and Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia. Brazil, Latin America’s largest country, could be next.
Despite the considerable differences among these countries, their election storylines were remarkably similar: Across much of the region, socialist governments enjoyed initial success, supported by high commodity prices, which encouraged them to spend record amounts and nationalize key sectors of the economy.
But as commodity prices fell and socialist governments spent more on benefits for voters and less on the infrastructure needed to develop their economies, growth slowed, and corruption exploded. Add in the left’s aversion to enforcing the law, and much of the region began experiencing high crime, high inflation, and slow to nonexistent economic growth.
Noboa and Milei have responded by targeting the bloated government and making public order a priority. In Ecuador, Noboa announced plans to cut $1 billion in government spending and deployed the military against criminal gangs, including inside prisons. In Argentina, Milei slashed spending, eliminated rent controls, and cut regulations. Annual inflation fell from more than 200% in 2023 to 34% by April 2026, the government recorded a second consecutive budget surplus, and homicides were down 19% from when he took office. Milei’s results show what economic reform can accomplish, while Noboa’s campaign against criminal gangs reflects the region’s growing demand for public order.
Unfortunately, here in the U.S., the Democratic Party seems intent on learning about socialism’s failures the hard way. According to Gallup, a record-high 66% of Democrats view socialism positively, compared with just 42% who view capitalism positively. As recently as 2010, the opposite was true: A majority of Democrats viewed capitalism positively, while fewer viewed socialism positively. Thanks to young Democratic Party voters, outright socialists now control the cities of New York, Chicago, and Seattle, and are on the verge of controlling Los Angeles as well.
None of these local experiments with socialism is going well. Despite all their fancy promises, rents are up, educational achievement is down, and families continue to leave each of these cities in droves.
A BIPARTISAN DEAL TO GET AMERICA BUILDING AGAIN
Socialism’s central flaw is that it rewards political connections instead of productive work. When the government controls businesses and prices, investment follows politicians’ priorities rather than consumers’ needs. Price controls discourage production, subsidies shelter failing enterprises, and taxpayers cover the losses. Governments can redistribute wealth for a time, but without incentives to create more of it, their promises eventually outrun the resources needed to pay for them.
Latin America just spent two decades learning this lesson the hard way. Hopefully, enough young voters will start paying attention to what is happening down south before they inflict the same costly lesson on the U.S.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
