Seven right-wing presidential candidates have come to power in Latin America over the last year and a half.
Posted by The Headlines, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 75%
The HeadlinesOct 26, 2026
Multiple sources, including Reuters-cited coverage and the WSJ, report that right-leaning candidates won seven straight Latin American presidential elections over roughly the last year and a half, starting April 2025. The claim's count and timeframe match that record, and the extraction faithfully reflects the passage, though the streak ended with Lula's Brazil win on Oct 25, 2026.
What was said
… We're gonna start today with Brazil. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, there, the leftist president Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva, pulled off a remarkable reelection, ending a string of conservative wins across Latin America over the last year and a half. Seven right-wing presidential candidates have come to power there, including in Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Costa Rica, but Lula narrowly held on to the presidency in Brazil, something few pollsters predicted. He won out over Flavio Bolsonaro, whose father, Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, was convicted of attempting a coup after losing to Lula himself in the last election. …
The Headlines · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The WSJ reports that Lula's win 'ended a sequence of seven straight presidential wins by right-leaning candidates that started in April 2025,' spanning Honduras, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, and others.[3]
Supports. Daniel DePetris's column states that 'over the last year and a half, right-wing candidates have won seven presidential elections' in Latin America, matching the claim's wording and timeframe.[4]
Supports. AP reporting on the Peru runoff describes conservatives as having won seven major presidential elections in Latin America, and the CFR and International Viewpoint pieces describe the same seven-win run since Trump's return to office.[1][5][6]
Context. Other sources use different baselines, such as PRIF counting 13 of 17 presidential elections since 2023 and UPI counting nine right-leaning governments, so the 'seven' figure depends on counting only the recent run of elections.[7][8]
Context. Coverage notes that Lula's Brazil victory on October 25 broke the streak, so the claim describes the run as it stood before that result; the claim is graded as of the posting date.[2][3][6]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 tier 2, 5 not rated
- 1From 'The Lion' to 'The Tiger': Conservative Trump allies gain ground in Latin Americaapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Brazil’s Lula wins historic fourth term, Flavio Bolsonaro refuses to concedereuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Latin America's Right-Wing Surge Suddenly Seems Vulnerablewsj.com · tier 2 · cited for: supports, context
- 4Daniel DePetris: Brazil’s elections appear to be another win for Donald Trumpchicagotribune.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5The governments of the new right and Trumpism in Latin Americainternationalviewpoint.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Understanding Latin America’s Rightward Political Shift | Council on Foreign Relationscfr.org · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 7The Rise of the Radical Right Across Latin America - PRIF BLOGblog.prif.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 8Latin America shifts right in 2025 and aligns with Trump - UPIupi.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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