One of the points that Mickey Glantz makes is that drought, as a societal rather than a meteorological event, requires not just the rain to fail, but also a society’s institutions. So what’s happening in South America right now, in particular the political fallout from a reduction in precipitation, is intriguing. From Ecuador:

A drought in Ecuador is causing power blackouts throughout the country, slowing the economy’s recovery and helping to push Rafael Correa’s popularity to the lowest point of his presidency.

The approval rating of the firebrand socialist fell to 42 percent in a recent Cedatos Gallup poll, half of what it was in the early days of his government in 2007.