Colombia shows that in this environment, even the best governments cannot win

The final domino has been toppled.

The last time that Latin America swung to the populist Left, Colombia alone defied the trend. Hugo Chavez’s victory in Venezuela paved the way for victories by allies and mimics around the region. By 2008, every other Latin American state was in the hands of the radicals — even square, bourgeois Uruguay, after 175 years of alternating Blanco and Colorado governments, elected a socialist-communist coalition. Colombia alone held out, sticking loyally to the conservatives who had defeated the narco-terrorists and delivered strong economic growth.