Ivan Briscoe is senior researcher at the Fundacion para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Dialogo Exterior (Fride), Madrid. He was previously editor of the English edition of El País newspaper in Madrid and also worked for the Buenos Aires Herald, the UNESCO Courier and in the field of development research.

Recent articles

A cautious left outguns an intransigent right - just. But now José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero's government faces an even bigger political test, says Ivan Briscoe

The collision of epic ambition, popular mobilisation, elite resistance, ideological passion, consumer expectation, and messy reality is forcing Latin America's hyped-up leaders to face the unpredicted consequences of their own political projects. Ivan Briscoe maps the coordinates of the emerging new era.

(This article was first published on 19 December 2007)

Guatemala's election is taking place against the background of a corroded state, riven society, disconnected elite and paralysed people. Ivan Briscoe's riveting essay dissects the elements of an unfolding crisis.

"Everything is broken, and there is total movement." Ivan Briscoe plunges into the maelstrom of the "Bolivarian revolution" and emerges with a forensic assesssment - both panoramic and ground-level - of a major political experiment.

The story of how Argentineans have responded to defeat in the Malvinas/Falklands war of 1982 contains a quarter-century of contradictions, says Ivan Briscoe.