But Argentine voters' stinging rejection of President Cristina Fernandez and her husband Nestor Kirchner and the political infighting that prompted the overthrow of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya both reflect tough times for Latin America's leftist-oriented populist governments.

Until now, a bloc of Latin American nations led by Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and consisting of Honduras, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Bolivia had been able to trumpet their political and economic success under what Chavez calls "21st Century Socialism." The formal name for their economic alliance is the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our Americas.

Argentina, which prospered from 2003-07 under Nestor Kirchner, has had an unofficial alliance with these five countries.

The populist leaders of the six countries have seemed to operate from a stylebook written by Chavez, albeit with some differences, analysts said.

In general, the populists have brooked little opposition while bashing capitalism, knocking the press, denouncing the United States whenever possible and dividing the public by viciously attacking real and imagined enemies.

In most cases now, however, the six presidents find their national bank accounts dropping dangerously low because they doled out too much cash during the boom times.

The drop in oil prices has forced Chavez, for example, to slow the import of car parts to a trickle, while Ecuador's Rafael Correa has practically stopped the import of new clothes.

Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega is getting less foreign aid that he badly needs because of his virulent speeches against the United States and foreign investors.

"Populism is running out of gas in Latin America, and it's beginning to show," Arturo Porzecanski, a native Uruguayan who is a professor of International Finance at American University, said in a telephone interview.

Meanwhile, Latin American countries led by market-friendly leftist presidents who saved money and welcomed foreign investors have a brighter economic outlook for this year and next.

Not only that, these presidents _ Brazil's Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Chile's Michelle Bachelet and Uruguay's Tabare Vazquez _ remain popular even though the global recession has knocked their economies for a loop.

"Bachelet has never been more popular," said Eugenio Guzman, a government professor at the Universidad de Desarollo in Santiago, Chile. "We have a sound economy.