2020s in North American political history

The political history of North America in the 2020s covers political events on the continent, other than elections, from 2020 onwards.

Barbados
The government of Barbados announced in September 2020 that it would transition to a republic during the next year. In 2021, an indirect presidential election was held to choose the first ever President of Barbados. The outgoing Governor-General of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason, was the only candidate nominated; Mason was sworn in on 30 November, the 55th anniversary of Barbadian independence from the United Kingdom.

Cuba
At the 8th Congress of the Communist Party, Raúl Castro officially resigned as the First Secretary, the most powerful position in Cuba. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel was officially named First Secretary of the Communist Party following the resignation of Raúl Castro. He is the first person not of the Castro family to hold the position since the 1959 Cuban revolution.

A series of protests against the Cuban government and the ruling Communist Party of Cuba began on 11 July 2021, triggered by the shortage of food and medicine and the government's response to the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba. The protests have been described as the largest anti-government demonstrations since the Maleconazo in 1994.

Dominican Republic
In March 2020, massive protests occurred in the Dominican Republic, due to announced postponement of national elections.

El Salvador
in the 2020 Salvadoran political crisis on 9 February 2020, the Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele ordered 1,400 Salvadoran soldiers from the Salvadoran Army to enter the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador to coerce the approval of a loan request of 109 million dollars from the United States for Bukele's security plan for El Salvador. After winning a majority in the 2021 Salvadoran legislative election, President Bukele's party Nuevas Ideas voted to sack the country's Attorney General and the five judges of the Constitutional Court.

Guatemala
Alejandro Giammattei became the new president in 2020. Later in the year, the 2020 Guatemalan protests breakout in response to COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricanes Eta and Iota.

Haiti
The 2021 Haitian protests were a mass protest movement consisting of popular movement and opposition mass street demonstrations and violent protest marches across Haiti that began on 14 January in protest at president Jovenel Moïse's plan to run for one more year in power. The protests and civil unrest that paralysed Haiti hit hard. Since the 14 January protest, hundreds of thousands took part in weekly protests calling for the government to resign.

President Moïse said he foiled a coup attempt to kill him and overthrow the government in February 2021; at least 23 people were arrested. He was assassinated on 7 July 2021 at 1 a.m. EDT (UTC−04:00) when a group of 28 gunmen stormed his residence and opened fire. First Lady Martine Moïse was also shot multiple times in the attack. Joseph Lambert, the President of the Senate, was nominated as provisional President of Haiti by a group of senators, potentially succeeding Jovenel Moïse. Following the assassination, Ariel Henry assumed the office of acting prime minister on 20 July.

In September 2022, Henry announced that the government would be ending fuel subsidies and that the price of petroleum products would be increasing; this led to protests, including a demonstration in Port-au-Prince that escalated to a riot days later. In response to the government, a federation of over a dozen gangs blockaded the country's largest fuel terminal. This blockade and the surrounding unrest has led to the temporary closure of foreign embassies in Haiti, as well as resource shortages, hospital service reductions, school closures, and workers being unable to commute to work.

In 2023 the situation in Haiti continued to spiral downhill, with the last democratically elected officials leaving office, leaving Haiti without an elected government. As of September 2023, reports indicated that approximately 80% of the Haitan capital was under the control of gangs. On 11 October 2022, Henry and his cabinet requested the deployment of foreign troops to oppose the gangs and anti-government demonstrations in Port-au-Prince. On 15 October, the United States and Mexico sent armored vehicles and military equipment to aid the Haitian government. On 21 October, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to approve sanctions on Haiti, namely an asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo aimed at the country's armed gangs.

On 4 March, armed gangs attacked the heavily fortified Toussaint Louverture International Airport, exchanging gunfire with police and the Haitian Armed Forces in an attempt to take control of the facility after rumors that Henry would return to the country, fueling speculation that an alliance between rival gangs was forming to overthrow the Haitian government. Other gang leaders, including Guy Philippe, reportedly will try to take over the presidency of Haiti. With the Port-au-Prince airport shut down due to gang violence, on 5 March, Henry's chartered plane was prevented from landing in Santo Domingo and landed instead in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On 12 March 2024 Ariel Henry announced that he would resign.

Honduras
In 2021, a former cartel leader testified in a New York court that he had bribed President Juan Orlando Hernández with 250,000 US dollars to prevent extradition to the United States. His brother Tony Hernández was sentenced to life in prison on allegations of drug trafficking, with court documents claiming that the two had conspired to engage in "state-sponsored drug trafficking".

The leftist Xiomara Castro became in 2021 the country's first female president, as well as the first president not to be a member of either the Liberal Party or the National Party since democracy was restored in 1982.

Mexico
As the Fourth Transformation enters its second year, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) faces challenges involving social violence (particularly drug-related and other killings), corruption, major infrastructure development, universal health care, and decentralization of the government. At a news conference on January 15, 2020, journalist Jorge Ramos pointed that during AMLO's first year as president, there were more homicides than under his predecessors; Ramos asked if a change in strategy and/or personal were required. The president assured him that we would see results by December.

Following several notorious cases of femicide, violence against women emerges as a priority concern. Hundreds of thousands march on March 8 and millions of women strike on March 9, 2020.

Nicaragua
In May 2021, Nicaragua's Supreme Electoral Council revoked the legal status of opposition party the Democratic Restoration Party (PRD). The same week, the Ortega government opened an investigation into Cristiana Chamorro, alleging money laundering, which threatened to disqualify her candidacy as people under investigation are barred from running. The same day, the police also raided the news offices of her brother Carlos's media channel, Confidencial. On 5 June, the Ortega administration arrested Arturo Cruz. On 8 June, the government arrested Félix Maradiaga, a leader of the Blue and White National Unity (UNAB) opposition group. Later the same day they arrested economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro, the fourth pre-candidate to be detained. On 20 June, the government arrested Miguel Mora, a pre-candidate affiliated with the PRD until the government revoked its charter. Peasant leader Medardo Mairena was also arrested on the night of 5 July 2021, On 9 July, law professor and Civic Alliance attorney María Asunción Moreno announced her intention to register as a pre-candidate with the CxL. The following day, she received a summons from the government, and, following information that she would be arrested, went into hiding and later into exile. On 12 July, Luis Fley confirmed he had gone into exile in response to "threats from the dictatorship to arrest me". Later on 24 July, the government announced the investigation and then the arrest of ACxL conservative pre-candidate Noel Vidaurre, Most of those already arrested are accused of violations of Law 1055, "performing acts that undermine independence, sovereignty, and self-determination".

On 15 June, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States put out a statement saying it "unequivocally condemns the arrest, harassment and arbitrary restriction imposed on potential presidential candidates, political parties and independent media outlets" and called for "the immediate release of potential candidates and all political prisoners." A large majority of member states (26) endorsed the statement; Following Mora's arrest, Mexico and Argentina jointly recalled their ambassadors from Nicaragua for consultation, citing "the worrying political-legal actions carried out by the Nicaraguan government in recent days that have put at risk the integrity and freedom of various opposition figures (including presidential candidates), Nicaraguan activists and businessmen".

United States
The impeachment trial of Donald Trump found him not guilty in February 2020. The 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries ended up supporting moderate Joe Biden (former Vice President to Barack Obama) as the party's nominee, over more progressive choices such as Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren. The presidential campaign was dominated by the issues of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic fallout. A month before the election, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died unexpectedly, leading to the nomination and confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement by the sitting President Trump and the Republican-held Senate. The election ended with Biden winning. Trump made numerous false allegations of election fraud and attempted to overturn the election results, but this failed.

George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests are an ongoing series of protests, lootings, riots, and demonstrations against police brutality and racism in policing. The protests began in the United States in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, after George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white police officer. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck for almost nine minutes during an arrest the previous day.

The unrest began as local protests in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota before quickly spreading across the entire nation as well as George Floyd protests outside the United States in support of Black Lives Matter. While the majority of protests have been peaceful, demonstrations in some cities descended into riots and widespread looting, with some being marked by street skirmishes and strong police reaction, notably against some peaceful protesters and members of the media. At least 200 cities imposed curfews by 3 June, while at least 27 states and Washington, D.C, activated over 74,000 National Guard personnel due to the mass unrest. From the beginning of the protests to June 3, at least 11,000 people had been arrested, including all four police officers who were present while Floyd was murdered.