Bernardo Arévalo Assumes the Presidency of Guatemala by Lorena Arroyo
January 13, 2024
Introduction:
(El País) This Sunday an image will be seen in Guatemala that seemed impossible half a year ago. The progressive sociologist Bernardo Arévalo (Montevideo, 65 years old) will be inaugurated as president of the Central American country in a ceremony at the Miguel Ángel Asturias cultural center in the capital. If there are no last-minute surprises, something that few dare to rule out after a long process of transition of power loaded with judicial obstacles and in which the president-elect himself has denounced an attempted coup d' état to prevent him from taking office, at leader of the Semilla Movement will be given the presidential sash in an event attended by a dozen Latin American leaders and the King of Spain.
Arévalo, a diplomat expert in conflict resolution who has also been a deputy, will assume the Presidency with the main promise of fighting corruption in order to later tackle the problems of the most populous country in Central America, with more than 17 million inhabitants, high rates of poverty and inequality and great development needs in education, health or infrastructure. His electoral offer has squarely confronted him with what in Guatemala they call the “corrupt pact,” an informal alliance of politicians and bureaucratic and business elites who protect each other to maintain power. The most recent signs came after Arévalo's unexpected victory in the first round in June and his subsequent triumph in August, when the Public Ministry headed by the attorney general, Consuelo Porras , began a series of attempts to derail the transition of power. through judicial means.
These attempts failed mainly thanks to the firm defense of democracy and the vote of Guatemalans promoted by indigenous movements throughout the country, which have been resisting for more than 100 days with different actions, such as a sit-in in front of the headquarters of the Public Ministry. in Guatemala City. And also due to the constant condemnation of the international community, which has denounced every offensive by the Prosecutor's Office to prevent the inauguration of the elected president and disqualify his party, the Semilla Movement.
Arévalo Sworn In as Guatemala's President by Jake Johnson
January 15, 2024
Introduction:
(Common Dreams) Anti-corruption activist Bernardo Arévalo was sworn in as Guatemala's president early Monday after months of fierce opposition from the Central American nation's right-wing political establishment, obstruction that progressive campaigners and other leaders in the region decried as a coup attempt.
Arévalo's inauguration was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, but the proceedings were delayed for hours as conservative legislators stonewalled efforts to select new congressional leadership.
The delay, part of a sustained push by right-wing forces to derail the transfer of power, sparked fury in the streets, with Arévalo backers—including Indigenous groups and the country's youth—mobilizing as it appeared that the president-elect's opponents were launching a last-ditch attempt to stop him from taking office.
Leading government officials from other Latin American nations expressed alarm over the delay and said in a joint statement that "the will of the Guatemalan people must be respected."
Reuters reported that Arevalo's inauguration was "thrown into disarray after the Supreme Court allowed opposition lawmakers to maintain their leadership of Congress, and forced members of the president's Semilla party to stand as independents, further diluting its presence."
Traffic through the Panama Canal is being slashed because of drought, disrupting global trade
Source: AP
Updated 12:48 AM EST, January 18, 2024
PANAMA CITY (AP) — A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.
The new cuts announced Wednesday by authorities in Panama are set to deal an even greater economic blow than previously expected.
Canal administrators now estimate that dipping water levels could cost them between $500 million and $700 million in 2024, compared to previous estimates of $200 million.
One of the most severe droughts to ever hit the Central American nation has stirred chaos in the 50-mile maritime route, causing a traffic jam of boats, casting doubts on the canal’s reliability for international shipping and raising concerns about its affect on global trade.
Votes being counted in El Salvador, where strongman president's victory is all but assured
CNN — Vote counting is underway after polls closed Sunday in El Salvador, where the strongman president Nayib Bukele is expected to easily win a second term amid a dramatic turnaround in the country’s once-sky high levels of violence.
Bukele, 42, faced little in the way of organized opposition and enjoys one of the highest favorability ratings in the region, regularly polling above 70% in independent surveys.
His supporters trumpet a crackdown on criminal gangs in the country that resulted in a dramatic fall in the murder rate, once the highest in the world.
But the mass arrests – El Salvador now has the world’s highest incarceration rate – have also triggered outcry from human rights groups, who allege Bukele’s government has detained innocent people and subjected prisoners to dehumanizing conditions behind bars, including torture.
Mexico is Suing U.S. Gun-makers for Arming its Gangs − and a U.S. Court Could Award Billions in Damages by Timothy D Lytton
February 16, 2024
Introduction:
(The Conversation) The government of Mexico is suing U.S. gun-makers for their role in facilitating cross-border gun trafficking that has supercharged violent crime in Mexico.
The lawsuit seeks US$10 billion in damages and a court order to force the companies named in the lawsuit – including Smith & Wesson, Colt, Glock, Beretta and Ruger – to change the way they do business. In January, a federal appeals court in Boston decided that the industry’s immunity shield, which so far has protected gun-makers from civil liability, does not apply to Mexico’s lawsuit.
Additional Extract:
Mexico’s allegations
Mexico claims that U.S. gun-makers engaged in “deliberate efforts to create and maintain an illegal market for their weapons in Mexico.”
According to the lawsuit, the manufacturers intentionally design their weapons to be attractive to criminal organizations in Mexico by including features such as easy conversion to fully automatic fire, compatibility with high-capacity magazines and removable serial numbers.
Mexico also points to industry marketing that promises buyers a tactical military experience for civilians. And Mexico alleges that manufacturers distribute their products to dealers whom they know serve as transit points for illegal gunrunning through illegal straw sales, unlicensed sales at gun shows and online, and off-book sales disguised as inventory theft.
Along the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua a Regional Election is Being Held by Wilfredo Miranda
March 3, 2024
Introduction:
(El País) The Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua, both the south and the north, is attending unusual regional elections this Sunday, March 3: since these elections were instituted 36 years ago, for the first time no indigenous political party will appear on the ballot. Instead, what this electorate, composed mostly of indigenous peoples, will find will be national political groups, such as the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and four other troupe parties of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
The Yapti Tasba Masraka Nanih Asla Takanka party (Yatama, or Children of Mother Earth, in the Miskito language) has been exterminated by the Sandinista Government. The leader of Yatama, former representative Brooklyn Rivera, was kidnapped by the police on September 29, 2023, and to date is, according to the Legal Defense Unit (UDJ), “in forced disappearance due to concealment of his whereabouts.” Two days later, substitute legislator Nancy Henríquez, president of the indigenous political organization, was arrested.
Ronald, a Miskito indigenous person interviewed by EL PAÍS on condition of anonymity, said that many Caribbean people “don't even know about the existence of an electoral process this Sunday.” “The Government has sold this as 'Victorious Caribbean Elections 2024', but really in the communities there is no desire to go to vote, not only because we do not feel represented, but because this is going to be another electoral circus like the general votes. “Everything remains the same so that Daniel and Rosario maintain their total political control of the country and now of the Coast,” he lamented.
Added to the arrests of Rivera and Henríquez was the cancellation of the legal status of Yatama, “the only organization with the political capacity to dispute votes for the FSLN on the Coast,” according to Miguel González, a political scientist originally from Bluefields, the main city in the Southern Caribbean. In an interview with Confidencial , the professor also said that the other five regional parties that exist do not represent any real competition for Sandinismo and the national parties.
Nicaragua: Rights Experts Decry Persecution of Government Opponents February 29, 2024
Introduction:
(United Nations News) President Daniel Ortega and other high-level officials should be held accountable “as should Nicaragua, as a State that goes after its own people targeting university students, indigenous people, people of African descent, campesinos and members of the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations,” they said in a statement.
The accusation comes in their latest report detailing how the situation in the country has deteriorated over the past year.
Long-term objective
The report found that violations, abuses and crimes have been perpetrated not only to dismantle active opposition efforts, but also to eliminate all critical voices and dissuade any new organization and initiative to mobilize society in the long term.
“Nicaragua is caught in a spiral of violence marked by the persecution of all forms of political opposition, whether real or perceived, both domestically and abroad,” said Jan Simon, the group’s chair.
As the government has moved closer to its goal of total destruction of critical voices in the country, patterns of violations of the right to life and personal security are less prevalent today, the experts noted.
Over the weekend, the violence in the capital Port-au-Prince ramped up once again. Heavily armed gangs attacked the National Palace and set part of the Interior Ministry on fire with petrol bombs.
It comes after a sustained attack on the international airport, which remains closed to all flights - including one carrying Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
He tried to fly back to Haiti from the United States last week, but his plane was refused permission to land. He was then turned away from the neighbouring Dominican Republic too.
Mr Henry is now stuck in Puerto Rico, unable to set foot in the nation he ostensibly leads.
wjfox wrote: ↑Mon Mar 11, 2024 12:17 pmHaiti spirals to collapse as gangs tighten grip
4 hours ago
Haiti is fast descending into anarchy.
Over the weekend, the violence in the capital Port-au-Prince ramped up once again. Heavily armed gangs attacked the National Palace and set part of the Interior Ministry on fire with petrol bombs.
It comes after a sustained attack on the international airport, which remains closed to all flights - including one carrying Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
He tried to fly back to Haiti from the United States last week, but his plane was refused permission to land. He was then turned away from the neighbouring Dominican Republic too.
Mr Henry is now stuck in Puerto Rico, unable to set foot in the nation he ostensibly leads.
Haiti's unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigns
6 minutes ago
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to resign, the chair of the Caribbean group of countries has said, following weeks of mounting pressure and increasing violence in the country.
It comes after regional leaders met in Jamaica on Monday to discuss a political transition in Haiti.
Mr Henry is currently stranded in Puerto Rico after being prevented by armed gangs from returning home.
He had led the country since the former president's assassination in July 2021.
Speaking following the meeting in Kingston, Caribbean community chair and Guyana President Irfaan Ali said: "We acknowledge his resignation upon the establishment of a transitional presidential council and naming of an interim prime minister."
Plan to install new leaders in Haiti appears to crumble after political parties reject it
March 13, 2024, 5:56 PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- A proposal to install new leadership in Haiti appeared to be crumbling Wednesday as some political parties rejected the plan to create a presidential council that would manage the transition.
The panel would be responsible for selecting an interim prime minister and a council of ministers that would attempt to chart a new path for the Caribbean country that has been overrun by gangs. The violence has closed schools and businesses and disrupted daily life across Haiti.
Jean Charles Moïse, an ex-senator and presidential candidate who has teamed up with former rebel leader Guy Philippe, held a news conference Wednesday to announce his rejection of the proposed council backed by the international community.
Moïse insisted that a three-person presidential council he recently created with Philippe and a Haitian judge should be implemented.
“We are not going to negotiate it,” he said in a loud voice as he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. “We have to make them understand."
