Stagnant Latin American Left?

That, anyway, is what former Uruguayan President José Mujica suggests in an interview.

P. ¿Viene una época difícil para la izquierda latinoamericana? 

R. No sabemos. La derecha tampoco está dando muchas respuestas, no creo que pueda hacer maravillas. Yo creo que estamos en un momento de retroceso de la izquierda en Europa y cierto grado de estancamiento en América Latina.

This is a good point. We see crises of low commodity prices but also of serious corruption, which are hitting multiple countries with leftist governments. As Boz points out, presidential approval ratings in UNASUR countries are hovering right around 30%. At the moment, the Latin American left has very little new to offer. Yet neither does the right, beyond simply asserting that its different. The free market mantra doesn't carry the same weight it used to given the suffering its extreme versions fostered.

Mujica was famed for his down-to-earth presidency, and has always been ready to speak his mind, yet without ideological baggage.