Freedom House Countries with a record of respecting term limits and ensuring orderly presidential succession exhibited notable signs of good governance during the year. In Botswana, President Mokgweetsi Masisi held a historic meeting with representatives of a leading LGBT+ rights organization and promised to work toward decriminalizing same-sex relations. Liberia’s government implemented new initiatives to counter human trafficking, which have led to successful prosecutions. And under President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Tanzania, civil society groups enjoyed somewhat more space to operate after a period of intense repression under the previous administration. These examples underscore the potential for further democratic gains in the region if the virtuous circle of free elections and policy improvements is allowed to take hold. AMERICAS: Despite successful elections, freedom remains in jeopardy AMERICAS: STATUS BY POPULATION AMERICAS: STATUS BY POPULATION AMERICAS: STATUS BY COUNTRY AMERICAS: STATUS BY COUNTRY AMERICAS: STATUS BY POPULATION AMERICAS: STATUS BY COUNTRY population Total Total population 1.0 billion 1.0 billion 11% FREE 11% PARTLY FREE NOT FREE 23% 72% 72% 23% Total Total countries countries 35 22% 22% 6% 6% FREE PARTLY FREE 35 66% 66% Although Freedom in the World has recorded the downfall of many long-standing dictatorships in the Americas over the last 50 years, the countries of the region continue to grapple with serious threats to political stability and fundamental rights. The relaxation of harsh or abusively enforced COVID-19 restrictions resulted in some improvements to freedom of movement in 2022, but dire political, economic, and humanitarian crises in repressive settings such as Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have reignited mass emigration. Independent media are also under pressure as powerful figures resist public scrutiny: authorities in Guatemala arrested the founder and president of one of the country’s most prominent newspapers, and journalists in Uruguay faced threats and lawsuits for their reporting. competitive balloting in two of the region’s most populous countries led to victories for opposition candidates. In Colombia, Gustavo Petro became the nation’s first leftwing president, and his running mate, Francia Márquez, became the first Black woman to serve as vice president. Another leftist challenger, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, defeated incumbent Jair Bolsonaro for the presidency of Brazil, and calls for a military coup to reverse this outcome were rebuffed amid violence by Bolsonaro’s supporters. But Pedro Castillo, who rose from obscurity to become Peru’s president in 2021, was impeached and arrested after an unsuccessful attempt to dissolve Congress, leaving his successor, former vice president Dina Boluarte, to cope with widespread protests and a lethal crackdown by security forces. Rotations of power through elections continued to provide opportunities for democratic progress, though the risk of antidemocratic breakdowns persisted. Free, fair, and Perennial weaknesses in the rule of law remained a challenge for many countries in the region. Amid a prolonged political vacuum in Haiti, gangs took over the capital and violently FreedomHouse.org 25