South America

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blindpig
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Fri Aug 06, 2021 12:56 pm

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Defending Latin America’s Resistance Axis
August 5, 2021
By Stephen Sefton – Aug 2, 2021

Early in July this year Hezbollah’s Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah spoke to a conference in which he outlined the main elements of the region’s Resistance Axis’ media and communications strategy. He stressed the rightness of the Resistance cause challenging Western imperialism, in particular Israel’s genocidal, colonialist settler occupation of Palestine. He pointed out the strength, unity and resilience of the Axis, led by Iran and Syria, but including Hezbollah itself and allied movements in Lebanon, Iraq, Palestine and Yemen. Nasrallah also emphasized the importance of the Resistance Axis leadership’s determination to report the facts of events in the region truthfully with rigorously honesty when offering analysis.

Together moral right and political strength, truthful reporting and analytic honesty have created and nurtured deep, broadly based, committed support across the region. Few observers doubt that the Resistance cause will ultimately triumph in Syria and Palestine, given the relentless relative decline of US and allied imperial power relative to Russia and China and the steadfastness of Iran and Syria. The formidable unity and solidarity of the movements successfully challenging the US and Israel in Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Yemen offer lessons essential for their resistance counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Sayyed Nasrallah’s remarks have particular relevance to the Resistance Axis composed of the ALBA countries led by Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela whose governments all strongly support Iran and Syria. In varying degrees, these countries have also long suffered relentless aggression from the United States, its allies and regional proxies, in Cuba’s case for over sixty years. Nasrallah’s criteria defnitely apply to the experience of this bloc of resistance to US and allied imperialism in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The moral right of these countries is founded on their historic struggle against imperial domination and on the fundamental principles of modern international law, namely, non-aggression and the right to self determination. To circumvent that profund moral right the US and its allies seek to apply their own illegal “rules based order” applying all kinds of aggression on the basis of false accusations of human rights violations processed through the corrupt institutions of the United Nations and the Organization of American States. As in the case of Palestine and wider West Asia, this genocidal Western aggression is driven by profound nostalgia for the era of unlimited colonial and neocolonial domination.

The moral right of the ALBA countries to their resistance is undeniable and so too is the formidable political strength, unity and resilience they have mobilized to defend their cause against relentless economic, diplomatic, media and psychological warfare, domestic terror and even military attack. Over centuries, all these countries’ peoples have resisted foreign domination. Cuba’s Revolution triumphed in 1959 and has resisted Yankee and allied onslaught and destabilization for over 60 years. Likewise, Venezuela since Comandante Chávez became president in 1998 and Bolivia since Evo Morales was elected president in 2006, have also endured relentless US and allied hostility and aggression. Nicaragua has been the target of US intervention ever since the Sandinista Front for National Liberation overthrew the Somoza dictatorship in 1979.

Despite everything the US and its allies have attempted in recent years, these countries have stood firm in defense of their right to self-determination. In their case too, the combination of moral right, political strength and unity, truthful reporting and honest analysis has consolidated not only solid domestic support to resist US and allied aggression, but also national consensus rejecting neoliberal policies promoting corporate greed, in favor of socialist development programs focused on the needs of the human person. The frustration and desperation of the US, its allies and their regional mercenaries and proxies will certainly intensify as their efforts continue failing to break down broad popular support for the ALBA countries’s governments. All four governments are now well aware of the methods deployed by the US and its allies to carry out their wildly misnamed “soft coups”.

To expose, disarm and defeat the increasingly desperate imperialist campaigns of aggression effectively, the Resistance Axis led by Iran and Syria has shown the importance of ever closer unity and coordination between governments, popular movements, media outlets and all expressions of popular consciousness and awareness. Nicaragua has not suffered the same economic and military aggression as Cuba and Venezuela, but its leadership, especially Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, have been subjected to perhaps an even more systematic and comprehensive campaign of demonization, as intense as that against Muammar al Gaddhafi prior to and during the destruction of Libya. In fact, most progressive and even anti-imperialist media outlets and intellectuals tended to accept at face value the false imperialist media account of the failed coup attempt in 2018.

However, by telling the truth honestly in the most determined way, Nicaragua’s government has largely overcome the concerted psychological warfare campaign deployed against it, preserving and reinforcing support and solidarity where it is most needed, both among Nicaragua’s people and internationally in bodies like the Foro Sao Paulo. The government’s dignified, forceful and persistent presentation of the country’s reality at a diplomatic level has successfully defeated efforts by the US and its allies to isolate the country. Similarly, good faith reporting by international organizations, like the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Panamerican Health Organization, UNESCO, or even the World Bank, on their work with Nicaragua consistently contradicts claims by the corrupt human rights organizations of the UN and the OAS that the country’s government is a repressive dictatorship denying basic rights to its people.

The failed coup attempt in Nicaragua in 2018, the coup in Bolivia in 2019, continuing constant aggression of all kinds against Venezuela and, most recently, the US organized and funded protests in Cuba and the accompanying intensification of the blockade, are all part of what Stella Calloni and other writers have identified as the new Plan Condor. This reality is very well understood by now, both across the region and increasingly among the anti-imperialist movements in North America and Europe. As Sayyed Nasrallah has explained in the context of occupied Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, by persistently reporting events in the region truthfully and analyzing them honestly our governments and popular movements can build and consolidate the moral and political strength and unity necessary to overcome the US and its allies and achieve the definitive Second Independence of Latin America and the Caribbean.

https://orinocotribune.com/defending-la ... ance-axis/

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List of the People of Chile elects Cristián Cuevas as presidential candidate

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Cuevas is 52 years old, the son of Eleodoro Cuevas, a coal miner, and Benicia Zambrano, and he has 10 siblings. | Photo: @PiensaPrensa
Published August 6, 2021 (2 hours 44 minutes ago)

The internal process of the collective chose whoever was the leader of the subcontracted mining workers in the Andean country.

The political movement Lista del Pueblo elected on Thursday the social leader Cristián Cuevas as its candidate for the presidency of Chile, who will be in dispute in the elections next November.

The group reported that after conducting the internal selection process, Cuevas -the only candidate- obtained 43 votes in favor and there were 30 abstentions, with a total of 73 votes.

The new standard-bearer of the People's List, the body that emerged in principle to design the country's new Constitution, was the one who led the struggles of the subcontracted copper workers.


He was also the first union representative to declare himself belonging to sexual diversity.

Cuevas has been active in the Communist, Socialist and Social Convergence parties. Now you will have the task of leading the first presidential nomination of this progressive social movement.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/chile-li ... -0003.html

Google Translator
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Tue Aug 10, 2021 1:06 pm

Inauguration Speech of Peru President Pedro Castillo, July 28, 2021
AUGUST 6, 2021 / CHICAGOALBASOLIDARITY

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Inauguration Speech of Peru President Pedro Castillo

Discurso Completo de Pedro Castillo https://radiografica.org.ar/2021/07/29/ ... -castillo/

Madam President of the Congress of the Republic Ladies and Gentlemen Congressmen of the Republic,

Presidents of the sister republics of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, His Highness the King of Spain.

Members of the honorable diplomatic corps. Authorities present.

Women and men of my beloved Peruvian people.

I begin by greeting my brothers and sisters, descendants of the original peoples of pre-Hispanic Peru, my Quechua, Aymara and Amazonian brothers and sisters, Afro-Peruvians and the various communities of migrant descendants, as well as all the dispossessed minorities of the countryside and the city. Together, we say today, KASHKANIRACMI! WE STILL EXIST!

I am addressing you on this symbolic day, the 200th anniversary of the declaration of Peru’s independence, two centuries of republican life. I am immensely proud to be here today.

But although we are commemorating such a symbolic date, our history in this territory goes back much further. For five thousand years we have been the cradle of transcendental civilizations and cultures. Important and extensive states such as the Wari and, later, the Tawantinsuyo [Incas] flourished in our lands. For four and a half millennia, our ancestors found ways to solve their problems and live in harmony with the rich nature that providence offered them.

It was like this until the arrival of the men of Castile, who with the help of multiple felipillos [ those aided the conquistadores] and taking advantage of a moment of chaos and disunity, managed to conquer the state that until that moment dominated a large part of the central Andes.

The defeat of the Inca Empire marked the beginning of the colonial era. It was then, and with the founding of the viceroyalty, that the castes and differences that persist to this day were established.

The three centuries in which this territory belonged to the Spanish crown allowed it to exploit the minerals that sustained the development of Europe, largely with the labor of the grandparents of many of us.

The repression of the just revolt of Tupac Amaru and Micaela Bastidas [wife of Tupac Amaru] ended up consolidating the racial regime imposed by the viceroyalty: it put an end to the Andean elites and further subordinated the majority of the indigenous inhabitants of this rich country.

Forty years later, the independence of the Viceroyalty of Peru from Spain in 1821 brought no real improvement for the majority of Peruvians; the so-called aborigines continued to be exploited as second-class citizens for the treasury of the brand new Republic of Peru. Over time, to the old Afro-Peruvian community brought by force, was added the one coming from China and then from Japan, blood that enriched our veins, but also carries with it pain. These are not stories of a remote past: until very late in the twentieth century, those who were identified as “Indians” continued to contribute to the state a contribution in work known as road conscription, while in the Amazon many peoples voluntarily isolated themselves in the face of the ferocious advance of the rubber tappers who imposed regimes of slavery and violence, which were widely recorded in the famous English report called the Blue Book.

Until the 1960s, many haciendas were sold with peasants inside. Countless Peruvians continued to live in servitude.

It was not until the 1979 constitution that all adults were able to exercise the right to vote.

The popular organization achieved advances in the access to rights, a process that was truncated by the coup d’état of 1992, which laid the foundations for a curtailment of rights, a weakening of the State and for the rules that govern to this day.

Since then, our country has believed in various governments that came to power thanks to the popular vote, but which nevertheless failed the people.

This time a government of the people has arrived to govern with the people and for the people, to build from the bottom up. It is the first time that our country will be governed by a peasant, a person who belongs like many Peruvians to the sectors oppressed for so many centuries. It is also the first time that a political party formed in the interior of the country, wins the elections democratically and that a teacher, more precisely a rural teacher, is elected to be Constitutional President of the Republic. It is difficult to express the great honor that this means to me.

I want you to know that the pride and pain of deep Peru run through my veins. That I am also a son of this country founded on the sweat of my ancestors, erected on the lack of opportunities of my parents and that in spite of that I also saw them resist. That my life was made in the cold of the early mornings in the countryside and that it was also these country hands that carried and rocked my children when they were small. That the history of that Peru so long silenced is also my history. That I was that child from Chota who studied in the rural school N10475 in the hamlet of Chugur. That today I am here so that this story is no longer the exception.

I want you to know that you have my word:

We will not let you down. I will not let you down.

OUR POLICY LINES

The fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, PRESERVING LIFE AND HEALTH.

Our first great task is to continue the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit our country so hard. On this date, I do not want to fail to remember all the Peruvians who are no longer with us, and those who miss them today. We will honor their memory by ensuring that this is a priority.

The mutations of the virus are still surprising scientists around the world. This is not over, but I am absolutely certain that we will move forward, building on what has been advanced, listening to science and putting the welfare of Peruvians first.

It is our turn to govern at a time of enormous gravity for Peru. We must maximize our efforts to achieve the vaccination of our entire population in the shortest possible time.

Health is a fundamental right that the State must guarantee. PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH will be the first priority of the government. We will establish a universal, unified, free, decentralized and participatory health system. Primary Health Care will be prioritized in order to strengthen prevention and bring Health closer to the population. We will improve the health care capacity of health centers and health posts and we will promote the creation of 5,000 comprehensive community health care teams, which will have a territorial criterion so that no Peruvian family is left without medical coverage. We must strengthen hospital care. At the end of my term, I will deliver specialized hospitals by region, among which we will prioritize: mother-child hospital, neoplastic hospital, clinical-surgical hospital, tropical medicine hospital and oral health hospital. In order to bring health care to all Peruvians, we have to work in coordination with all levels of government, each one in its own role. Therefore, I call on the regional governors to prepare their records and locate the land where these hospitals will be built.

We will also begin with the construction of the San Juan de Lurigancho and VRAEM hospitals.

We must put an end to the centralism that causes millions of Peruvians to have to travel to Lima for a medical consultation. We also need to value the work of the men and women who have dedicated their lives to health. Who has not been moved by their efforts and sacrifices during this last year?

Hundreds have died during the pandemic, and we owe it to them as well.

To those who work in the health field, I want them to know that they have an ally in this government. No more precarious jobs, the country needs to maintain the commitment and contribution of health workers and professional associations. We will develop the capacities that the country needs and we will decentralize the human resources of this sector. And to all Peruvian men and women I say that their health and wellbeing is our priority.

Economic reactivation

In the last 30 years there has been much discussion about the shortcomings of the economic model implemented in the 1990s. In spite of this, no government listened to the discontent of the majority and thus refused to make the changes desired by the population. But the pandemic ended up making it clear that the criticisms of the economic model were not only legitimate, but also valid. Today, the population is demanding changes and is not willing to give them up.

Now, is it true that these changes imply putting at risk the achievements made with the effort of all Peruvians during the last decades? No, it does not. It is possible to make these changes responsibly, respecting private property, but also putting the interests of the nation first. And that is what we are aiming at. Because we want to build a more prosperous country, but also a fairer country. A country where greater generation of wealth and well-being are distributed more equitably among all Peruvians. That is the commitment that today, July 28, on our bicentennial, that our government assumes.

Today, we urgently need the recovery of jobs and family incomes, which requires a thorough reactivation of the economy. Unfortunately, during the electoral campaign, people have tried to scare the population with the story that we wanted to expropriate savings, houses, automobiles, factories and other assets owned by citizens, which is totally false. We will do nothing of the sort because we want the economy to maintain order and predictability, which is the basis for investment decisions. People’s property, obtained with effort and within the framework of legality, is guaranteed by the State.

What we advocate is to put an end to the abuses of monopolies, of consortiums that corrupt and charge artificially high amounts for basic goods and services, as has happened with domestic gas and medicines, or when financial entities charge up to 200% for consumer credit. Thus, for example, the Banco de la Nación should be able to provide citizens with all available banking services at reasonable rates, which will allow them to compete effectively in this market, but without usury. We do not even remotely intend to nationalize our economy nor to implement an exchange control policy. We only want the economy of families, especially those with lower incomes, to be more stable and prosperous; that large companies do not cheat the Treasury through tax evasion or avoidance, that the State fulfills its supervisory and defensive function of the environment, the consumer and society. I do not believe that any true Peruvian can be against this purpose.

The Lava Jato case is a blemish that will haunt us for a long time. We have to banish corruption, but for that we have to punish harshly and swiftly all those who participate in it. In the mentioned case we see many officials, even up to three former presidents of the country involved, two of whom have been arrested, but paradoxically we do not see any businessman in prison. Some were for a few days, but now they are free and even out of the country. This is not correct.

Promoting Investment and a new way of doing projects in Peru.

Peru is a country with a millennial mining and agricultural tradition; all the cultures that flourished in the territory have left us a sample of their skills, which today is part of the heritage of all of us. However, today there is a critical anomaly in the mining, energy and hydrocarbon sector.

We will implement the criterion of social profitability, which is superior to social license. This means that every project must contribute, among others, by:

Energizing the local, regional and national economy. That is to say, to generate “movement” as they say colloquially.

To really increase the national income, promoting the net income of capital and that the benefits are accounted for locally. Where the collection of taxes or royalties is positive and relevant.

Improve the level of employment and salaries, conditions and salaries in accordance with the International Labor Organization, and also that the local people are able to work locally.

Work, and also that locals have access to relevant management positions.

To carry out technology transfer. Foreign investment, foreign or extra-regional, is a means to disseminate technologies in the receiving areas. This implies strengthening the relevant institutions so that local learning becomes a reality.

Improve income distribution, where intervention does not generate privileged groups and others excluded.

Promote and preserve culture and the environment. Any intervention must accurately quantify mine closures and provide real guarantees for any environmental liabilities. The actors must adapt to each scenario and not the other way around. Peoples and territorial organizations must actively participate in the management of THEIR development.

If a project has NO social profitability, it simply DOES NOT GO.

This means a new pact with private investors, where the State intervenes to reduce costs, facilitate processes, maintain legal security, and in exchange the local population and the country receive contributions that generate development and greater opportunities with a real care for the environment.

State participation will be promoted, as in all countries in the region, as a partner or majority executor.

The Peruvian State faces difficult challenges in the short and medium term; it needs a new way of mining in its territory. In a scenario of peace with social justice. Where each people is the protagonist of its destiny.

MAIN ACTIONS TO BE DEVELOPED

In my administration we will initiate the following:

IN HEALTH

Facing a third wave of contagions, we have to date 16% of the population vaccinated with two doses and a very weak first level of care. This means the enormous challenge of reaching more than 70% of the vaccinated population by the end of the year and achieving community protection. We are going to commit the entire state apparatus and with our people mobilized, we will immediately summon all regional governors and their regional directors to evaluate actions in the face of the pandemic.

Health centers and health posts will guarantee free medical attention, laboratories and exams, whether they are insured or not.

Measures will be taken to extend the opening hours for non-Covid patients up to 12 hours in the facilities of the Ministry of Health and Social Security.

Necessary measures will be taken to continue with the vaccinations, extending opening hours and extending their presence to the most populated areas of the capital cities. First level establishments will vaccinate during extended hours.

IN ECONOMY

Immediately, to create one million jobs in one year, our government will implement the following measures:

Public investment coup and generation of temporary employment.

Activate public programs to generate employment that will also allow for the maintenance or construction of works throughout the country. To this end, it will allocate:

3,000 million soles for Municipalities and Regional Governments for the acceleration of investments.

1,000 million soles to fix dirt roads to the populated centers.

700 million soles for the Trabaja Peru program of small municipal works intensive in employment.

Direct and immediate transfer of financial support of 700 soles to each vulnerable family. Given that the pandemic has generated many costs in education and health for families, and to this has been added in the last month of the previous government a rise in prices that affects family food.

The programs of credit facilities carried out in a concerted manner between the government and the Banco Central Reserva de Peru, have allowed to sustain business sectors during the pandemic, but excluding the majority, agriculture, SMEs [small and micro enterprises] and consumers. Therefore, we want to sustain and expand them. In this sense:

We will extend grace periods and facilitate the rescheduling of debts to MYPES [Micro and Small Enterprises].

We will launch a new credit program specifically oriented to the protection of employment.

And we will give special attention and priority to the sectors most affected by the pandemic:

Agro

SMEs

Tourism

Transportation

EDUCATION

For the above reasons, my government, which is the government of the people and for the people, will immediately declare public education in a state of emergency, in order to recover learning and prevent inequity from continuing to grow.

This leads us to propose a set of measures that I will now detail:

A sufficient budget for Basic and Higher Public Education that will be progressively improved. We propose to increase the budget of the education sector to respond to the great educational needs of vulnerable sectors: rural, bilingual, marginalized and urban peripheries. We intend to double the budget allocation for public education in the first years of our government and increase the share of spending in the GDP.

We will improve the distribution of educational resources with equity criteria and prioritizing actions that help overcome the social differences deepened by the pandemic.

We will strengthen early childhood education, returning the Cuna Más Program to the local decentralized management units (UGEL) of the education sector, so that together with the first cycle educational services that operate with the participation of families and communities, the Early Childhood Development Program will be developed.

By the first semester of the year 2022 at the latest, our schools will return to classroom activity. To this end, we will guarantee the vaccination of all teachers, promoters, assistants and staff of educational services, the adoption of biosecurity measures in all educational institutions and programs.

We will promote the revaluation of the teaching profession, guaranteeing the initial and continuous quality training, and pertinence for the socio-cultural environments. The recognition and revaluation of the role of teachers and managers of public institutions, establishing incentives to ensure quality education for all. We consider of vital importance that the educational system has a firm base of stable teachers.

We will promote housing and Pedagogical Resource Centers for teachers in rural areas. It is time for this old aspiration to become a reality and for rural teachers, true apostles of Peruvian education, to receive a minimum of service to be able to carry out their hard and important work.

We will guarantee the improvement of the learning of children and young people, reducing the historical differences between groups; through: Strengthening early childhood education together with families and communities. Promoting the improvement of teacher performance; guaranteeing that the National Curriculum and Curricular Plans are promoted by teachers, students, parents and the community.

Innovation will be a priority in schools and internet connectivity will be a right. Initially we will work in 800 educational institutions enabled for technical high school.

At school we will guarantee food at the initial, primary and secondary levels, prioritizing the preparation of food with nutritious local products, in such a way that at the same time economic resources will be inserted to strengthen and develop local agriculture.

We will gradually promote a policy of free admission to universities and higher education. This system works well in other countries and we believe that the same will happen here.

We will strongly promote the schools and institutes of higher technical education and in the educational institutions of basic education. Also the technical training of students in the last 3 years of secondary education.

1 billion soles will be allocated until December for the payment of the teachers’ social debt.

MINING

Putting order in mining. This means, clear rules, scenarios without surprises for the actors. Using the best practices that are used in other scenarios, expelling corruption, and establishing clear and limited procedures that facilitate the exploration, exploitation, control and adequate closure of each project.

We will do our best to produce more and with greater added value.

HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND SANITATION

In our Bicentennial Peru, there are three million Peruvians who do not have access to drinking water and 7.5 million who do not have access to sewage systems. Water coverage in urban areas reaches 95% of Peruvians, while in rural areas it is only 78%. Sewerage coverage is even more worrisome: while 89% of urban Peruvians have access to sanitation services, only 30% in rural areas. The water and sanitation infrastructure gap is 49 billion soles.

Our government’s commitment to Peru is to close the water and sanitation services gap 100%, for this we need a total change in the way the State serves. In the first 100 days of our government we will strengthen the execution of sustainable and quality rural sanitation works through the executing nuclei as a mechanism to promote the direct and vigilant participation of organized civil society and at the same time fight the cancer of corruption. We will facilitate the population’s access to the national program Techo Propio [social assistance program for the needy] and significantly expand the number of beneficiaries. The hope of hundreds of thousands of families to have access to a roof of their own begins to become a reality today. In addition, we will promote the formalization of rural and urban properties through a joint effort with local governments. To this end, we will simplify the regulations on land titling and sign inter-institutional agreements to carry out urban cadastral surveys in less time.

PRODUCTION

We will promote and recognize industries and investments with social profitability, with specific policies for large companies, for small businesses and for the communal and cooperative sectors.

We will review the economic conditions with large fishing companies to obtain greater tax revenues for the country, and to generate greater added value and industrialization of our natural and marine resources and decent employment.

We will ensure sustainability in the exploitation of fishing resources and the productive chain for direct human consumption based on the regulation and control of the capture of marine species by large and medium-sized companies, research for sustainability and expansion and diversification of fishing for consumption, and aquaculture.

We will promote micro and small aquaculture enterprises and the implementation of industrial aquaculture parks, the production of salted anchovy, jerky and sausages with artisanal fishermen and the revival of our industry to supply our food assistance programs.

For SMEs we will implement credit funds with preferential rates through rural and municipal banks and private banks and the Banco de la Nación; with differentiated ceilings, according to the requirements of each category and sector.

We will make the requirements more flexible to facilitate access to credit and formalization of MYPES.

The State will endorse the MYPES so that they can access loans and become technified, recognizing their prestige as good payers.

Strategic alliances will be developed for technological and productive development, between the University and technical education at all levels, the CITEs [ Centro de Innovación Productiva y Transferencia Tecnológica]; and the MYPES and companies, to promote technological innovation, productive chains, national industrialization and productive diversification, which will allow greater competitiveness and give added value to our raw materials in each territory.

AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Zero hunger and malnutrition, with health and economic reactivation, promoting the consumption of healthy ecological products; for this we will promote state purchasing programs with nutritious and quality local products, to immediately combat hunger in rural and urban areas. The social organizations of soup kitchens and soup kitchens will be recognized and integrated into this ambitious national program.

For the immediate economic reactivation of the rural sector, we will allocate 3 billion soles for the FAE AGRO Fund [business fund for small agriculture], making it more accessible and with greater presence nationwide. Agrobanco will become an efficient engine for the development of the country’s agriculture, especially for small farmers and even family agriculture. Today less than 2.5% of the total number of farmers qualify for credit from this entity and this cannot continue.

We will implement the national plan of Industrialization and Productive Improvement of the Countryside, with the participation of the Regional Governments and Local Governments, we will redirect public funds to provide state-of-the-art equipment and technology to organized farmers.

The immediate implementation of the National Livestock Restocking Plan, which will restore productivity to more than 1.7 million livestock farming families in the Coast, Highlands and Jungle. The best way to combat anemia will be to allow our children to eat high quality proteins rich in iron.

Prioritize irrigation projects, as well as planting and water harvesting projects to integrate us to international markets. We will take advantage of our biodiversity for productive agricultural and industrial development.

WOMEN AND VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

National Entrepreneurial Women’s Program that grants accessible credits to stimulate the family economy, to face the economic consequences of the pandemic that has placed women in informal, vulnerable jobs, and without social protection.

Promote the National System of Care for dependent persons -children, children, elderly people, people with disabilities- given that 98,000 Peruvian children have lost one of their caregivers as a victim of the pandemic.

From now on, for the children of Peru, the state will assume the financing of the integral rehabilitation of the victims of sexual violence.

We will strengthen the National Specialized Justice System for the protection and punishment of violence against women and family members. Only in an articulated and coordinated manner will we achieve protection and real access to justice for victims.

MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND THE CAREER OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHER

Due to our low level in Science, Technology and Innovation, exports corresponding to the year 2019 were composed of 79 % of products without added value. That percentage rose to 81% in 2020.

Due to globalization and global warming, this reality is expected to worsen.

To meet these challenges, my government will propose the creation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Technological Innovation. With this ministry, the generation of knowledge necessary for Peru’s development and technological independence will be strengthened. Likewise, it will be necessary to study the possibility of a career for scientific and technological researchers in order to incorporate talented graduates and repatriate those who migrated due to lack of opportunities.

Science and technology are the pillars of contemporary development. A country that is not capable of recognizing and incorporating its ancestral knowledge and generating new knowledge from research; and having and promoting a universe of outstanding professionals in this field, will never be able to reach the levels of development required to adequately distribute among its population the basic public services, such as food security, adequate housing, efficient public transportation and a relevant and quality education and public health system.

PETROPERU

PETROPERU will participate in all aspects of the oil industry, the exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gas deposits, transportation to refineries and the commercialization of derivatives. In this way we will be able to regulate the final prices and avoid exploiting the citizen, raising food and ticket prices for the benefit of a monopolistic company. We are not talking about public subsidies, since this company will have to participate fully in the market with its own resources, but with a reasonable profit rate and without any kind of abuse.

We are willing to recover sovereignty over all our natural resources because many, today, are in foreign hands, with contracts that have guaranteed tax stability. This is one of the main reasons that oblige us to seek a new Political Constitution that, among other things, allows us to adapt the contracts to the changing circumstances of the international market, guaranteeing the State’s income.

THE RONDAS [autonomous peasant patrols in rural communities] AND CITIZEN SECURITY

We know that citizen security is one of the problems most felt by the population. The National Police is the pillar on which public activity fights against this evil, but that is not enough. In spite of the efforts made in this field, gangs, gangs and street robberies, aggressions to the physical integrity of the people and their lives are still rampant. We believe that we must expand the system of the Rondas, which is nothing more than the population organized to provide security to the entire population. In the image of the peasant patrols, we propose to call on the entire population to form them where they do not exist and include them in the National System of Citizen Security, at the corresponding regional and local levels.

We will allocate a budget to provide them with the necessary logistics.

Likewise, we will promote their participation in the supervision of the authorities in the execution of public investment in their communities.

We will strengthen the law of “rondas” by influencing their internal organization and respecting their autonomy. We are sure that together with the Peruvian National Police we will be able to achieve a more efficient public security.

Foreign criminals will have 72 hours to leave the country. Finally, young people who do not study or work will have to do military service.

DEFENSE: A NEW ROLE FOR THE ARMED FORCES

Certainly our armed forces have, as established in Article 165° of the Constitution, the primary purpose of guaranteeing the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic. However, in times of peace, nothing prevents teams, technical personnel and, in general, all available personnel from participating in the execution of development projects, such as roads, engineering works, dams, etc. We believe that this is not only possible but necessary. This function is regulated in Article 171 of the Constitution, but has been restricted for political reasons. We will once again entrust the Armed Forces with the participation in some important development projects. This will be one of the changes that we will promote from the executive branch.

We will strengthen the institutionality of the armed forces, bearing in mind meritocracy, rather than cronyism for promotions.

We will promote voluntary military service with the creation of the program “Enter to serve your country and ensure your preparation for the future”.

We will strengthen the equipment of the Armed Forces so that they can efficiently fulfill their commissioned mission.

CULTURE

We will introduce an intercultural approach through:

A Plan to linguistically transform the Peruvian State, with the objective that all public institutions, where native languages predominate, communicate officially in those languages. To this end, maximum deadlines and learning opportunities should be determined so that all public servants and officials can prove their command of the respective native language in the exercise of their functions.

Recognition of indigenous communities so that they can be considered within the scope of ILO Convention 169.

We will allocate a larger budget to the various departments to encourage the rescue and promotion of cultural industries.

We will stimulate the publishing industry.

The management of cultures will be decentralized.

One of the pending challenges we still face as a Republic is the recognition of cultural diversity in the formulation of public policies, which has meant that Peruvian men and women from rural areas continue to be invisible as they were two hundred years ago. This is why it is necessary to interculturalize the State, that is, to establish that when the most relevant decisions are made, the voices of the native peoples and communities and of the Afro-Peruvian people are considered.

In this sense, a restructuring of the Ministry of Culture is required, starting with its name, which should be renamed the Ministry of Cultures. In a diverse country such as ours, a ministry is needed that recognizes the diverse cultures in force and implements policies in which the native peoples themselves participate in their elaboration and execution.

FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION

We will review all legislation on corruption, the classification of crimes related to it, and the penalties imposed in the criminal code in order to strengthen them, both with regard to public officials, as well as companies and national and foreign businessmen involved. We must have legislation that discourages criminality of all kinds and not like the present one, which encourages it.

The Comptroller’s Office has pointed out that corruption embezzles more than 20 billion soles a year, which is as much as the entire public expenditure in Health for the year 2021 or two thirds of the public expenditure in the Education Sector this year.

We will have to strengthen the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Attorney General’s Office and the entire anti-corruption judicial system so that we can energetically reduce corruption.

REGULATION OF STATE ADVERTISING

State advertising, by means of which some governments have put undue pressure on the media to achieve political benefits, paralyze criticism and even guide the editorial line of some, must be better regulated. In this sense, we will establish that this expenditure will be made giving priority to provincial media and virtual networks. We believe that in this way we will be able to guarantee a better coverage of state advertising and a correct decentralization of public spending.

TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATIONS

Promotion of the construction and improvement of rural roads as the first priority.

Improvement of public transportation with integrated systems and new road corridors, which will save hours of travel time and improve the quality of life of our population.

Implementation of an Integrated Vehicle Monitoring and Supervision System, through preventive control.

Immediate use of the Dorsal Network: National Network of the Peruvian State REDNACE, in INTRANET mode, oriented to the integration of all the entities of the State at national level, allowing an efficient management.

Start of the following projects: Inca Train that will cover the route from Cajamarca to Puno. And the Grau Train of longitudinal scope along the entire Tumbes – Tacna coast. Both will be managed from the vocation of integration of local markets and tourism with international financing.

Foreign Trade and Tourism

A 500 million soles financing program will be managed in order to execute impact projects to improve and give value to the tourist, gastronomic and living cultures capital.

We will improve the opening of bilateral trade markets and regional integration, improving exports and foreign exchange income. We will seek to improve TLCs [Free Trade Agreements] based on the country’s interests.

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND DEVELOPMENT

Our country has great challenges in environmental matters. In this field we have to create strategic instruments for the modern management of environmental resources such as the Action Plan of the National Strategy of Biological Diversity, the National Implementation Plan of the Stockholm Convention and the Plan of Heavy Metals, Metalloids and Toxic Chemical Substances, among others.

We need a Ministry of the Environment that is capable of putting a stop to environmental degradation, deforestation of our forests, vulnerability to climate change, that guarantees environmental quality standards, that is committed to sustainable mining, as well as a transition to a socially inclusive, low-carbon economy.

We fully agree that Peru should become a carbon neutral country by 2050 and for this we must make serious progress in fulfilling the commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% to 40% compared to what was projected for 2030. Our government affirms this commitment expressed in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Our country has 13% of the total territory of the Amazon. In the year 2000 we had 78 million hectares of forest cover, but we have deforested several hundred thousand hectares since then. We have to reverse this trend. The Amazon is the main inheritance we will leave to the next generations and we will fulfill our responsibilities to this part of the world. This is my commitment.

A new Law of Territorial Ordering and environmental economic zoning, which guarantees that the instruments generated from the environmental point of view become effective.

We will eliminate the obstacles that prevent the collection of environmental infractions, which should be used to strengthen environmental policy.

SOCIAL PROTECTION

The public and private pension systems, as well as the health care of the population in Es salud and MINSA [Ministry of Health], to which we have referred above, are in crisis. We believe that social protection in Peru must move from “insurance” policies to access to health and pensions. No Peruvian should have to make collections, denigrate themselves in show programs or beg for health care or to have a decent pension. Health and pensions will be universal and with a decent coverage. On this basis, we will propose the creation of an Executive-Legislative Commission for the creation of a New Social Protection System.

With this objective, we will promote the consolidation of a single health prevention system unifying Es salud, the National Health System of the Ministry of Health, the Regional Health Directorates and the health systems of the Armed Forces and the National Police. All of them in a single large system that provides services to all the inhabitants of the country.

Within this framework of the social protection system, a people-centered social development and inclusion policy will be approved, with a logic of articulation and coordination with other sectors and levels of government. Social programs will be strengthened and the household targeting system will be improved to serve the country’s most vulnerable population.

The Constituent Assembly

Everyone knows, because we have stated it many times, that one of our main political banners, now converted into a banner of the majority of the people, is the call for a constituent assembly that will provide our country with a new Magna Carta that will allow us to change the face of our economic and social reality. We will insist on this proposal, but always within the framework of the law and with the legal instruments that the current constitution itself provides. Rest assured that we will never make a clean sweep of legality, no doubt to achieve this purpose we will have to reconcile positions with the Congress of the Republic, since it will be here, in the house of the laws where the corresponding norms will have to be approved.

The Peruvian people must be certain that we do not want to make changes for the simple desire to make them, but that many of the provisions currently in force only benefit large corporations so that they can take our wealth in abundance. The state must be free to promote, to monitor and regulate according to the interests of the majority. We will energetically execute AND RESPECT what the people decide.

It is true that the 1993 Constitution does not contemplate the figure of a Constituent Assembly, nor the elaboration of a New Constitution; neither does it contemplate the attribution of the President of the Republic to call for a constituent referendum. It only mentions the possibility of a partial or total reform of the Constitution by the Congress. Does this mean that the Peruvian people are condemned to remain prisoners of this Constitution for the rest of their lives, despite the fact that most of those who voted in the recent elections, and who today are less than 46 years old, did not participate politically in the approval of this Constitution? The answer, undoubtedly, is no. The original constituent power emanates from the people and not from the rulers or the authorities. The Constitutional Court pointed out, some years ago, that this power must be exercised exclusively by the people, through a constituent referendum.

It is for this reason that I am announcing that we will present before Congress, scrupulously respecting the procedure for constitutional reform provided for in Article 206 of the current Constitution, a bill to reform it; which, after being analyzed and debated by Parliament, we hope can be approved and then submitted for ratification in a popular referendum.

There are those who question why a Constituent Assembly is needed, if the Constitution can be reformed by the Congress. Those who make this objection should remember that the Executive Branch should concentrate on governing, and the Congress on legislating and exercising political control over the government; tasks that should be related to attending to the urgent matters of each day. That is why the constituent work cannot and should not be in charge of these bodies. On the other hand, the Constituent Assembly will be elected by the people exclusively to dedicate itself to elaborate, within a predetermined period of time, a draft Constitution, product of political debate and pluralist agreement, which will be submitted to a referendum. Once this task has been fulfilled, it shall be dissolved.

The Constituent Assembly of the Bicentennial must be plurinational, popular and with gender parity. Its composition must include, in addition to candidates proposed by the registered political organizations, percentages of candidates from indigenous, native and native peoples; from Afro-Peruvian people; from independent candidates coming from the unions of popular organizations and from the civil society. Genuinely representative of all the Peruvian People.

I call upon all Peruvians

Dear compatriots, I must tell you that I will not govern from the House of Pizarro, because I believe that we have to break with the colonial symbols in order to put an end to the ties of domination that have remained in force for so many years. We will cede this palace to the new Ministry of Cultures to be used as a museum to show our history, from its origins to the present.

All Peruvians must know that the tasks ahead of us are hard and that they need all of us. That is why we must put aside ideological differences, political positions and personal interests, in order to pull our country out of the serious crises that burden it.

I call on all the men and women of Peru, without distinction of any kind, to tell them that now is the time for the reconstruction of national unity. This is a task that commits us all; we will do it in democracy, seeking national consensus, assuring once again that on July 28, 2026, I will return to my usual teaching duties. As our Quechua ancestors used to say before undertaking a great task: Huk umalla huk sunquilla and huk maquilla! A single force, a single heart and a single direction! Which is the direction of progress and social justice for all Peruvians.

Thank you very much Peruvian people.

LONG LIVE OUR HOMELAND!

LONG LIVE PERU!

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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Wed Aug 11, 2021 1:33 pm

TURNAROUND IN PERUVIAN FOREIGN POLICY: THE LIMA GROUP LOSES ITS CAPITAL
10 Aug 2021 , 10:47 am .

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The Foreign Ministers of Venezuela and Peru, Jorge Arreaza and Héctor Béjar, in a first meeting (Photo: Foreign Ministry of Venezuela)

The political turns now taking place in the region have had Peru as an inevitable point of attention. With the election of Pedro Castillo to the presidency, the foreign policy of the Andean country is subject to a clear change.

A few days after assuming power, the new Peruvian government has reversed the official position held by its predecessors regarding the internal affairs of Venezuela. Recently, Foreign Minister Héctor Béjar pointed out that the policy of the government he represents will be contrary to "sanctions" and unilateral blockades.

Venezuela is a benchmark to measure the position of the countries in the regional context, understanding that the positions in front of the Caribbean country polarize international relations on this side of the world. But the signals that the new Peruvian government is sending go much further.

THE LIMA GROUP LOSES ITS CAPITAL

Peru announced its withdrawal from the Lima Group as part of the "new policy of non-interference" to be implemented by President Pedro Castillo, as announced by the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Héctor Béjar.

Recently, the Foreign Ministry official pointed out that this regional entity, in four years since it was founded, supported the Venezuelan opposition, recognizing the openly biased and unweighted profile that Peruvian diplomacy took. Regarding the Lima Group, he affirmed that it was "the most disastrous thing we have done in international politics."

Immediately afterwards, Béjar pointed out: "We condemn the blockades, embargoes and unilateral sanctions that only affect the peoples and we fully support the free and autonomous right of each people to maintain trade freely and without obstacles."


The Lima Group, founded in 2017 to ignore in advance the presidential elections that would take place in Venezuela in 2018, was projected on the regional political scene through the "Declaration of Lima", signed by 14 countries of the continent led by the United States.

However, this instance was largely functional well beyond its starting point, and this was evidenced in various ways.

It served as a multilateral group parallel to the Organization of American States (OAS) at a time when Venezuela was still a state party. In 2017, the application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter against Venezuela was truncated, since the promoter countries did not have the necessary two-thirds of the votes, this due to the position of the ALBA-TCP and Caribbean countries.

However, Grupo de Lima, through training in a separate store, managed to impose a false continental consensus to oust Venezuela and promote its political isolation and economic blockade.

The Lima Group would be in 2019 the main political floor for the regional launch of the parallel government of Juan Guaidó, serving said entity for the conformation of a foreign relations structure favorable to the "interim" and unelected government in Venezuela.

Now, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry has announced that said group has lost its symbolic and founding capital.

Regarding the blockade against Venezuela, Béjar said: "We will join the European and Latin American nations that are already working against the unilateral blockades that affect the Bolivarian nation and without intervening with their different political tendencies."

When Béjar was asked if he plans to meet with Carlos Scull, designated as Venezuela's "ambassador" in Peru by opposition leader Juan Guaidó, Béjar said he did not know him, making clear the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between the governments of Venezuela and Peru. .

Indeed, the swearing in of Pedro Castillo and the Bicentennial events in that country were attended by the Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza.

The decline in the siege agenda against Venezuela goes through the breakdown of consensus on isolation and on the application of the economic, financial and commercial embargo against the country. In this dispute, it is evident that Peru's new position becomes, more than symbolic, politically decisive.

In the context of the events, the Lima Group has had a de facto inactivity that has been verified in the last year. With a weak activity that has fallen mainly on diplomatic officials and not on leaders, their actions have been summarized in the publication of communiqués.

Now with a negotiation in the making between the Venezuelan opposition and Chavismo acting as the legitimate government in Venezuela, it is clear that the foundational mantras of the Guaidó government, which were also the mantras of the Lima Group, namely, "cessation of usurpation, government transition, free elections ", have lost hold in the same way as this international instance.

THE TURNAROUND IN PERUVIAN FOREIGN POLICY

According to a report issued by the Samuel Robinson Institute (ISR), according to the statements of the Peruvian Foreign Minister, Peru will return to the Confederation of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), now that its relaunch points it as the most viable option to replace the OAS. A possibility that has been taken up from the opinion of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador in recent days, but which had been promoted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez more than ten years ago, right at the founding of CELAC.


In addition, Peruvian diplomacy will withdraw from Congress the request to exit the treaty that instituted the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and that, on the contrary, will promote its reconstitution and modernization as a cooperation and consultation body that affirms the entity of South America. in world politics, refers the ISR.

To fully understand this turn, it is essential to review its enclave in the context and history of foreign relations of Peruvians.

In the times of Alberto Fujimori, the Andean country sought a place in the region with its fight against the Shining Path guerrilla as a showcase element, becoming a security benchmark. In the same way, they promoted as a "successful" formula the establishment of the neoliberal model at all costs, which was done in a draconian way. Peru carried out an international image projection through a fluid foreign agenda.

The era of Fujimorism imposed the image of a modern and pacified Peru. But Peruvian diplomacy also had the purpose of covering up the crimes of Fujimori, totalitarianism and the harsh transition in the imposition of the liberal economic model.

Everything would collapse with Fujimorism and the country would enter a political and institutional loop that reached the governments of Alejandro Toledo and Ollanta Humala.

With Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Peru sought a greater international projection, especially as an articulating country of the right-wing forces in South America and exploiting to the maximum, together with Chile and Colombia, the relations and influence consolidated through the Pacific Alliance as counterproposals to UNASUR and the ALBA-TCP.

The very profile of Kuczynski, trained abroad and even with a foreign accent (they called him "El Gringo"), largely outlined the intentions of Peruvian foreign policy, which were none other than to function as an extension of the Department of Foreign Affairs. American state.

Kuczynski pointed out that Latin America was for the United States "like a nice dog that is sleeping on the rug and does not create any problems," he said, taking for granted the servility of Peruvian diplomacy. The exception in the region, according to the president, was Venezuela.

The brief impetus of Peruvian diplomacy as a modulating actor on the regional scene to harass Venezuela had its zenith with the Lima Group, but with the departure of Kuczynski from power, engulfed by the labyrinth of the Peruvian institutional crisis, such brevity left to the fret.

During the interim presidency of Martín Vizcarra, Peru was once again entrenched in conflict and internal ungovernability, which would also drag Vizcarra through the political crisis, open clash of powers and lawfare .

Now, foreign policy is opening its way to a new stage, taking up some positions that were not seen since Ollanta Humala, but with a much more accentuated character. The government of Pedro Castillo affirms itself to the left of international relations and from the beginning it has taken a clear turn, just to reaffirm the multilateral instruments, coinciding with a new impetus for progressivism in the region.

The level of coherence of the new government in Peru determined in its outside policy will have to be sustained from a governance that must be founded in the face of the harsh pressures it will have internally. This new episode in the life of Peru, with regional consequences, is just beginning.

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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Sun Aug 15, 2021 4:57 pm

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The Death of the “Lima Group” and Re-Birth of the Latin American Anti-Imperialist Left
August 14, 2021
By Nino Pagliccia – Aug 12, 2021

One of the most despicable foreign policy decisions made by the government of Canada must have been co-opting a small number of Latin American countries to turn against their regional neighbour Venezuela. The plotters called themselves the Lima Group after a meeting that took place in Lima, Peru. That was much more than a casual coming together of like-minded rightwing governments. That was an intentional ganging up of eleven Latin American governments with a Canadian boss to commit an act of betrayal against the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Betrayal to a shared cultural and historical background. Canada took on the leadership role in this deceiving scheme. To be specific, this happened during the government of Justin Trudeau with Chrystia Freeland as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Exactly four years later, after approximately thirty ineffective bureaucratic joint declarations and several countries withdrawing, the so-called Lima Group is on the verge of being declared defunct. It is quite fitting that one of the last withdrawal from the group comes precisely from Lima. Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Héctor Béjar could not have said it any better, “The Lima Group must be the most disastrous thing we have done in international politics in the history of Peru.” But Peruvians also made an outstanding contribution to our region last April by electing leftist Pedro Castillo as president contributing to the re-birth of the Latin American anti-imperialist left.

The “Lima Group”

The so-called Lima Group issued its last joint statement in early 2021 to announce that they “do not recognise the legitimacy or legality of the National Assembly [of Venezuela] installed on January 5, 2021. This illegitimate National Assembly is the product of the fraudulent elections of December 6, 2020, organised by the illegitimate regime of Nicolás Maduro.” Do they offer any proof of the “fraudulent elections”? Of course not. They have also delegitimized the dozens of international observers present at the Venezuelan elections.

The listed signatory countries of this statement were, “Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela.” Of course Peru is now out. If you wonder how Venezuela is named on this list, the explanation is that they made up a parallel “Venezuela” with an unelected “president” Juan Guaidó. This is a fictitious, non-existent entity that has no recognition by the United Nations. The UN recognises the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela as a State member of the world organisation and the representatives appointed by the government of President Nicolas Maduro. If anything, this is what makes the “Lima Group” a self-appointed body with no mission statement except the unwritten aim to dismantle the Bolivarian Revolution headed by president Maduro who was democratically elected by the majority of Venezuelans in their sovereign right. More seriously, we should all be warned that The “Lima Group” pretence to be an international body is irresponsible and dangerous.

The rest of the signatory countries are headed by rightwing governments, some with grim records of human rights violations. Suffice to mention Canada-supported Colombia as an example. Political analyst Yves Engler recently wrote, “During the past month [Colombian] security forces have killed at least 50 and probably dozens more. Over 300 individuals are missing, according to Colombia’s National Movement of Victims of State Crimes, in a country with a history of political disappearances.” This is the country with which Canada, by its own admission, “shares a commitment to democracy and human rights.”

To understand the real nature of the “Lima Group” it is important to backtrack to when the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was still a member of the Organization of American States. At the time, the US and Canada, with full unauthorised support of the OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, had been very active in trying to twist the application of the Inter-American Democratic Charter and condemn Venezuela for “unconstitutional alteration or interruption of the democratic order.” A majority vote of the 33-country organisation would have expelled Venezuela from it.

But that failed on several attempts and for a good reason. The US and Canada were in contempt of Chapter 4, Article 19 of the 1948 OAS Charter that explicitly says, “No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State.” This article is unequivocal and is the foundational principle that should prevent any intervention against Venezuela. But not for the Canadian government, not for the US government and not even for the guardian of the Charter, OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro.

Nevertheless, in order to bypass the lack of the required votes to condemn Venezuela, Canada took on the leading role in creating the spurious “Lima Group” in August 2017 to issue mostly misleading statements that would “justify” foreign intervention through economic sanctions and other coercive measures.

In the meantime, the US, which is not a member of the group, would use its hardline approach of military threats, coercive measures and financial blockade of Venezuela as a direct intervention “in the internal or external affairs” of Venezuela. The Maduro government eventually announced its withdrawal from the OAS later in 2017.

Canada and the US continue to be in contempt of the OAS Charter as well as of the UN Charter, which in its Article 2(5) states, “All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state”. The “Lima Group” has been appropriately dubbed as a gang of “International Outlaws”. The US based on its exceptionalism doctrine; Canada based on its rapidly increasing imperialist role.

Canada-US alignment of foreign policies on Venezuela were formalised on September 5, 2017 in order to fulfil Canada’s administrative requirement for joint action in their effort and coordination to overthrow Maduro’s government. In the process they intended to pillage Venezuela like a modern day El Dorado; “the US gets Venezuela’s oil and Canada gets Venezuela’s minerals, especially the rich gold mines.” In fact, Canada’s determination for unconstitutional regime change in Venezuela has been described as to satisfy its own interests: “the growth of Canadian mining, banking and other sectors in Latin America has pushed Ottawa towards a more aggressive posture in the region. So, while it is true that Canada often does the bidding of its US puppet master, capitalists in the Great White North are also independent actors seeking to fill their own pockets and thwart the will of the Venezuelan people.”

Why is important to celebrate Lima’s withdrawal from the “Lima Group”?
After the withdrawal of Mexico in 2019, Argentina in early 2021, and Bolivia from the “Lima Group”, the group has been declining in numbers but also in relevance according to governments with some regional influence. Peru’s recent withdrawal has a symbolic relevance having been the birthplace of the group and also because it brings it closer to its demise leaving Canada as the non-Latin American or Caribbean bully in the collective.

Among the smaller Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia Minister for external affairs Alva Baptiste has also announced, “We are going to get out of the Lima Group arrangement – that morally bankrupt, mongoose gang, we are going to get out of it because this group has imposed needless hardship on the children, men and women of Venezuela”. In addition, “The prime minister [of Saint Lucia] further confirmed that his government’s position on Venezuela will be consistent with the official position of [the Caribbean Community] CARICOM of non-interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state”.

However, the most important significance of Lima’s withdrawal from the “Lima Group” is about the political environment of corruption. The “Lima Group” was formalised by Peru’s former President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018). After a series of scandals and facing a second impeachment vote, Kuczynski resigned the presidency on March 21, 2018 following the release of videos showing alleged acts of vote buying. The “righteous” Canadian government had no qualms being associated with a corrupt Peruvian government.

Like in the case of Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia with the election of progressive presidents Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Alberto Fernandez and Luis Arce, respectively, the election of progressive Pedro Castillo as president of Peru suggests a political trend towards a Latin America that aspires to self-determination with no interference from other regional or European political actors who maintain an obsolete imperialistic and colonial hegemonic practice.

Canada and US in the regional context
It is worth noting that US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Peruvian President-Elect Pedro Castillo in July and was reported that “he thanked Peru for its support in addressing the Venezuela crisis and expressed his hope that Peru would continue to play a constructive role in addressing the deteriorating situations in Cuba and Nicaragua.” The reference to the corrupt Kuczynski’s Peru is quite obvious. There is no sense of shame. And it is nothing less than a bullish threatening warning for Mr. Castillo to continue his alignment with US foreign policy.

A rebuttal to that call may have come a few days later. In a press release issued on August 9, Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Héctor Béjar stated, “We are in favor of any action aimed at contributing to the necessary dialogue between the government of Venezuela and the opposition, so that an agreement can be reached for the convening of free, fair and democratic elections. We believe that this dialogue should also serve to create the conditions for the lifting of economic sanctions that only affect the living conditions of the Venezuelan people.” This is not a statement of unconditional embracing of Chavismo, but it is a reaffirmation of abiding to the legality of international charters that the US and Canada choose to blatantly violate.

In the same press release Mr. Béjar also gave Peru’s support to the proposed dialogue between the Venezuelan government and the opposition, “As part of this new orientation, it is good news that the dialogue process between the opposition and the government is reactivated with the Norwegian mediation, in Mexico City.”

During the first few days of the inauguration of Pedro Castillo as president, a few more assertive statements were made by the new government in relation to Venezuela that define a drastically different political position compared to his predecessors, “the policy of the new government will be opposition to blockades and ‘sanctions’.” Clearly opposition to US, Canada and EU policies.

In yet another significant statement, Mr. Béjar revealed a more socialist goal that is the constant demand of many nations, “Our concern is that the rights of marginalised people are respected, not only in Venezuela, but in Perú and many other countries, and that the level of social welfare improves.”

This political position is quite a turnaround from the previous Kuczynski government. It is one that is welcome by the Venezuelan government.

In the larger regional context, the disintegration of the “Lima Group” is directly related to a re-birth of the Latin America anti-imperialist left, and implies a strengthening of integration and cooperation of Latin American and Caribbean countries, based on unity, respect and solidarity. This is a process that cannot be delayed. Following the inauguration of the new government of Luis Arce, Bolivian Foreign Affairs Minister Rogelio Mayta stated it quite clearly, “A united Latin America is not only possible, it is urgent”.

Such integrationist bodies do exist like the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), among others. Canada and the US are not members of these organisations and they should not be because their imperial aim is the antithesis of cooperation and solidarity.

However, Canada has a representative to the CARICOM who was largely praised for Canada’s “financial contributions” to the region. This runs opposite Canada’s nefarious military “contributions” in the CARICOM member State, Haiti. Canada’s presence in the region can only be interpreted as a Trojan horse in the internal affairs of the member States. The US, on the other hand, has just donated 5.5 million doses of Pfizer vaccines to the CARICOM as a “humanitarian” gesture.

Venezuela is not a member of CARICOM but has received the important regional reaffirmation of “non-interference and non-intervention in the affairs of states” as established in the OAS Charter. On the contrary, Venezuela is a strong member of CELAC and UNASUR. That might explain why Canada and the US aim to wipe out any vestige of the Bolivarian Revolution and all those organisations that were inspired by Hugo Chavez’s anti-imperialist vision of Socialism of the 21st Century. Venezuelans stand tall and resist because they are on the right side of history.

https://orinocotribune.com/the-death-of ... list-left/

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Argentina, the US Will Come for You Next
August 14, 2021
By Lois Pérez Leira – Aug 10, 2021

After a series of successive defeats in Nuestra América [Our America], the Empire is trying to focus its artillery on Nicaragua. The objective is to prevent the presidential elections to be held in November: by creating all kinds of fake news and encouraging social discontent, etc.

For this purpose, imperialism relies on the Nicaraguan parasitic oligarchy, manifested by right-wing parties, some of them coming from Sandinistas who have capitulated to the Empire, and, as usual, on the OAS, despite the latter being in terminal decline.

Nicaragua is not a minor issue, it affects all of Central America and the Caribbean. The country has a geopolitical importance of the first order. From the political point of view, Sandinismo‘s certain triumph in November’s election in Nicaragua and a possible historic triumph of the leftist candidate Xiomara Castro in Honduras may turn into another Yankee defeat.

This is why the Empire is so worried. We must not forget the that the Nicaraguan government, together with the Chinese, is building a second interoceanic canal in the continent.

In Argentina, Alberto Fernández has had a vacillating position towards Nicaragua. Perhaps he has not understood Brecht’s advice when the poet and playwright wrote: “First they came for the communists and I did not say anything because I was not…” It is clear that the Empire is also coming for Alberto Fernández and the democratic government of Argentina.

Both Alberto Fernández and Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) called back their ambassadors in Nicaragua for consultation, in repudiation of the alleged human rights violations committed by the government of Nicaragua.

Alberto Fernández ordered Foreign Affairs Minister Felipe Solá to summon Daniel Capitanich, who represents Argentina’s diplomatic interests in Managua.

The decision to call Ambassador Capitanich for consultation is the epilogue of a succession of diplomatic positions ordered by Alberto Fernández and repudiated by Daniel Ortega. Fernández instructed Capitanich to visit Nicaraguan “political prisoners” and Felipe Solá also requested the immediate release of said “prisoners.”

As a consequence, the Nicaraguan government has also recently called its ambassador to Argentina, Orlando José Gómez, for consultation.

The attitude of the government of Argentina is nothing like that other style of diplomacy that the Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Héctor Béjar recently pointed out in his inauguration speech.

It seems unethical and even immoral for Argentina to request the release of Nicaraguan “political prisoners,” when Argentina still has political prisoners who fought in the anti-neoliberal struggles against macrismo.

It would not look bad if Daniel Ortega had instructed the Nicaraguan diplomatic representative in Buenos Aires to visit Milagro Sala, Luis D’Elia and the rest of the political prisoners of Argentina.


Featured image: The Nicaraguan government, led by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, is under multifaceted attacks from the United States, to which, unfortunately, the government of Argentina has joined. Photo: Telesur.

(Telesur)

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

https://orinocotribune.com/argentina-th ... -you-next/
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Wed Aug 18, 2021 1:09 pm

Latin American Socialists Unite with the West Asian Axis of Resistance
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on AUGUST 17, 2021
Ben Norton

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The leftist governments of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia have found a key strategic ally in Iran, the heart of the Axis of Resistance.

Revolutionary socialist movements in Latin America are developing closer relations with anti-imperialist resistance forces in West Asia, building a united front against Western aggression and exploitation.

This budding alliance is an extremely important development in the struggle against an authoritarian international political and economic system that is essentially a global dictatorship, ruled by the United States and its junior imperialist partners in the European Union, NATO, apartheid “Israel”, and the Gulf monarchies.

As this Washington-led, trans-Atlantic hegemonic order was constructed over the past century, through a long series of wars, military occupations, foreign interventions, coups, regime-change operations, assassinations, and grossly unequal trade arrangements, two regions of the world have been especially targeted: Latin America and the Middle East, or more accurately West Asia.

Both regions have plentiful natural resources and are very geostrategically located. Latin America has vast mineral reserves and agricultural products. West Asia has a plurality of the planet’s hydrocarbon reserves, and connects Europe to Asia, sitting right in the middle of what geopolitical analysts have long called the “World Island.”

Given their status as principal targets of Western imperialism, it only makes sense for resistance forces in these regions to unite. Attempts at forming such an alliance had been made in the past – revolutionary Palestinian militants trained in Cuba and with Nicaragua’s Sandinistas, for instance, and Muammar al-Qaddafi’s Libya supported leftist Latin American guerrillas – but this collaboration was historically limited in scope.

That is, until recently. As the United States accelerated its hybrid warfare to try to re-colonize Latin America and West Asia in the 2000s, indigenous anti-imperialist movements in both regions joined forces, forging not only close political ties, but economic relations as well.

The leftist governments of Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia have found a key strategic ally in Iran, the heart of the Axis of Resistance.

Revolutionary ALBA member states unite with Iran

The director of the main instrument of Latin American economic integration, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, known simply as the ALBA, took a historic trip to Tehran this August to meet with the new Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi.

“Iran and the ALBA have a lot in common, and both seek to defend the independence and sovereignty of nations and confront the outrageousness of the United States,” remarked the ALBA’s executive secretary, the Bolivian diplomat Sacha Llorenti.
I had the privilege and honor to hold a meeting with HE Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We extended the congratulations of @ALBATCP for his possession, we talked about our coincidences and the common agenda. pic.twitter.com/atFubJwErM

— Sacha Llorenti (@SachaLlorenti) August 4, 2021
Google Translator

For his part, Raisi kicked off his new administration calling for strengthening relations with Latin America, stressing that it is one of Tehran’s top foreign-policy priorities.

“Iran is determined to develop its political and economic relations with the member states of the ALBA-TCP,” Raisi said, highlighting “the shared values and positions of both parties.”

“There is no doubt that a greater development of the relations between Iran and Latin American countries can halt the North Americans and other arrogant countries,” Raisi added.

Joining Llorenti in Tehran were top officials from Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia – all member states of the ALBA.

In a meeting with Venezuela’s vice president of planning, Ricardo Menéndez, Raisi stated that “Iran and Venezuela alike have common interests and enemies. We have always shown that with resistance and wisdom, we can thwart the plots of the United States and world imperialism.”
#MoreEarly || VP Planning of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, @rmenendezp held a meeting with the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, at the White Palace, in order to strengthen relations between both nations. #LaClaveEsVacunar pic.twitter.com/dYbItJBGW6

— MinPlanificación (@MPPPlanifica) August 4, 2021
Google Translator

Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister Denis Moncada met with Raisi as well, and called for strengthening relations with Tehran. The Iranian president praised the Central American nation’s Sandinista government as a model of resistance against US aggression, and said, “The people of Iran have always wished for success and victory for the revolutionary nation of Nicaragua.”

Likewise, in his meeting with Raisi, Bolivian Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta pledged to work more closely with Iran, stating, “Despite sabotage by the United States, we are determined to increase the level of relations with Tehran in all areas.”

Iran and Venezuela resist illegal US blockades

Iran’s support for revolutionary governments in Latin America goes beyond mere words. While many liberal and center-left political forces in the region have opportunistically turned their back on Venezuela, betraying their neighbor on behalf of Washington, Tehran has shown real, tangible support for Caracas.

Both Venezuela and Iran are suffering from illegal US blockades, and these murderous sanctions have led to a shortage of food, medicine, and gasoline. (Venezuela has massive oil reserves, but it is some of the heaviest crude petrol on the planet, which cannot be used or exported without first being refined, so Caracas needs to import lighter crude or other materials that are blocked by Washington.)

To help meet the needs of the Venezuelan people, Iran has repeatedly defied the criminal US blockade and delivered supplies to Caracas, sending huge tankers full of food, medicine, and fuel.

In these altruistic acts, Tehran has valiantly risked US military aggression, putting its money where its mouth is to support the revolutionary government and people of Venezuela.

Iran has also opened a supermarket chain in Venezuela, called Megasis, to help support an ally that is heavily reliant on food imports. It is part of a larger strategy to boost bilateral trade and economic cooperation between both nations.

The brotherhood between Venezuela and Iran was most poignantly illustrated at the 2013 funeral of President Hugo Chávez, who initiated the Bolivarian Revolution. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was photographed hugging and consoling the Venezuelan Comandante’s crying mother.
In the last 400 years the world powers have either slandered or assassinated the character of the champions of freedom, and independence. Chavez is alive until freedom, justice, and humanity is alive. God bless Him. pic.twitter.com/x08q2HH58K

— Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (@Ahmadinejad1956) March 8, 2020
Solidarity between Latin America and West Asian Resistance Axis

Revolutionary Latin American governments have also sought to collaborate more closely with other forces in the West Asian Axis of Resistance.

Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia vociferously opposed and condemned the US-led imperialist proxy wars against Libya and Syria, which expressly sought the collapse of the nations’ central governments, and succeeded in the former while failing in the latter.

Similarly, these ALBA member states have all shown unflinching solidarity with Palestine. In response to apartheid “Israel’s” 2008-2009 massacre in Gaza, Venezuelan President Chávez officially broke ties with the Zionist regime, denouncing it as a “genocidal state” and “the murderous arm of the US government.”

Then in 2010, in a daring challenge to Washington’s declaration that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea constituted a supposed “Axis of Evil,” Comandante Chávez announced an alliance with Syria, which he dubbed the “Axis of the Brave”.

The Axis of the Brave was a “strategic alliance” against US imperialism, Chávez explained. “A new world is being built,” and “we seek a strategic relationship with that continent,” the Venezuelan president said, referring to West Asia.

Less than a year after Chávez’s announcement, the United States and its proxies launched a devastating decade-long regime-change war on Syria – one that continues today, with more than one-third of Syria’s sovereign territory, seizing most of its oil and wheat reserves, illegally militarily occupied by the United States in the northeast and NATO member Turkey in the northwest.

Chávez’s defense of and alliance with Syria against Western aggression led to the inauguration this March of a monument at the University of Damascus.
# 8M2021 #DiaInternacionalDeLaMujer What better day than today to commemorate, at the University of Damascus #Siria , the 8th anniversary of the sowing of that great feminist who was our Commander Chávez. He always vindicated the fundamental role of women in society. pic.twitter.com/slfIS2AyaY

— José Gregorio Biomorgi Muzattiz (@Jose_Biomorgi) March 8, 2021
Google Translator


Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, the leader of the revolutionary Sandinista Liberation Front, has likewise steadfastly defended Syria and “condemned all forms of aggression by foreign powers that attack the sovereignty and self-determination of the [Syrian] people, in clear and flagrant violation of international law.”

During the 2011 NATO regime-change war that intentionally collapsed the state of Libya and unleashed open-air slave markets, Nicaragua’s Sandinista government staunchly opposed Western imperial aggression.

As NATO bombed Libya, the US government refused to give a visa to the North African nation’s United Nations delegate. So in response, Nicaragua’s former foreign minister, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, announced he would represent Libya at the UN. (Washington then tried to block D’Escoto’s representation too.)

Axis of Resistance forces in Yemen has returned the solidarity. The de facto government in northern Yemen, ruled by the revolutionary Houthi movement, known officially as Ansarallah, has staunchly defended Venezuela against US aggression.

In a 2015 interview, a senior Ansarallah member declared, “We support Chávez in Venezuela.” When Washington initiated another coup attempt in Venezuela in February 2019, Ansarallah and leftist parties in Yemen held a protest condemning US interference.
The Houthi movement that governs northern Yemen, known officially as Ansar Allah, joined leftist parties in expressing solidarity with Venezuela against a US coup attempt.

Demonstrations like these dispel misleading corporate media narratives about Yemenhttps://t.co/0KGgM2ZHcX

— The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) September 13, 2020

Global vanguard in building a new multipolar world
Latin American socialist governments and the Axis of Resistance in West Asia are the vanguards in the struggle to build a new, truly multipolar world based on national sovereignty and self-determination.

Together, they are helping to construct a truly multilateral order that challenges the authoritarian, unilateral, and brutally violent system created and controlled by the United States and its junior partners in imperialism.

This was further illustrated in July, when these nations launched an anti-imperialist alliance inside the United Nations, called the Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter. Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Bolivia were joined by Iran, Syria, and Palestine, as well as the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, Algeria, the DPRK, Cambodia, Laos, Angola, Belarus, Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The anti-imperialist Group of Friends in Defense of the UN Charter launched yesterday, featuring:
Algeria
Angola
Belarus
Bolivia
Cambodia
China
Cuba
DPRK
Equi. Guinea
Eritrea
Iran
Laos
Nicaragua
Palestine
Russia
Saint Vincent and Grenadines
Syria
Venezuela
https://t.co/4vc9sbpOlR pic.twitter.com/ErFDIed7cW

— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) July 7, 2021

The economic partnership between member states of the Bolivarian Alliance and Iran likewise serves as a model for South-South integration that not only weakens Western imperial hegemony, but also helps to develop these countries in their mutual interests.

The ALBA was itself created to remove the middleman of the United States, so that Latin American nations could trade with each other and strengthen their own domestic economies, cutting out the North American corporations that want them to be dependent on imports.

The historic, 25-year, $400 billion agreement Iran signed with China this March was another crucially important step in building alternative economic structures to weaken Washington’s dominance.

Similarly, the announcement that Cuba and Iran will work together to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines exemplifies how this South-South partnership can help overcome the global pandemic.

If Latin America and West Asia can create a coherent formal alliance with China and Russia, it could pose a serious challenge to the imperialist US-EU-NATO axis.

As the United States accelerates its new cold war on China and Russia, such a coalition will only become more urgent.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/08/ ... esistance/

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Peru: A Coup Brewing
August 17, 2021
By Ángel Guerra Cabrera – Aug 12, 2021

The onslaught of the Peruvian right wing against the government of President Pedro Castillo Terrones began long before he was proclaimed president after many delays—it began when his passage to the second round of the elections was confirmed—and has been intensifying for days with virulence and a frankly coup-like character. It includes, among other maneuvers, demands for the president’s resignation in small but very widespread demonstrations of Fujimorism, and requests from deputies for the replacement of Prime Minister Guido Bellido and Foreign Minister Héctor Béjar. The latter, by the way, has laid the basis for an independent and sovereign foreign policy, a defender of non-intervention, a promoter of unity and regional integration through UNASUR and CELAC, which is a distinct departure from the moribund Lima Group: “we condemn blockades, embargoes and unilateral sanctions that only affect the peoples,” he has said.

For imperialism and the ultra-racist local and international economic power groups, it is inadmissible to accept that the first cholo, schoolteacher and Andean peasant in Peruvian history should become president, in such a strategically important country, at a time of revival of popular struggles and the rise of leftist governments in the region. Ever since the overthrow by a right-wing coup of General and President Juan Velasco Alvarado (1975)—also of humble, cholo and northern Andean origin—imperialism took Peru for granted as its docile dependency.

In effect, all the occupants of the Pizarro Palace since then have been lackeys of the United States and the oligarchy, robbers of the public treasury in collusion with the Legislative and Judicial powers. In this context, the dictatorship of Alberto Fujimori played a fundamental role in the application of neoliberalism and the repression of social protest, and today Fujimorismo is the most important shock force of the extreme right. The political decomposition and institutional crisis led to the extreme: the country has had four presidents in its five-year constitutional period since 2016.

For his part, Pedro Castillo, a man of deep Peru, who at the head of his high office will continue, by his own decision, with his modest salary as a teacher, and whose government program seeks to benefit the majority and defend the national interest—unlike neoliberal presidents—has not been granted a minute of peace since he assumed the presidency just 15 days ago. He has been subjected to, along with several of his collaborators, a rain of lies, slander, insults and half-truths by the local and international hegemonic media, which furiously oppose him. These media, by exception, tell some truth, such as the categorical refusal of Castillo and his collaborators to attack Cuba and Venezuela. Over the years they have created such a mendacious and distorted narrative about those two countries—dictatorships that kill and disappear, according to them, when in truth they are the most democratic in our region—that their mere mention frightens many honest people. This is a topic to be debated relentlessly with solid arguments in the battle of ideas between the popular forces and the world media dictatorship and the handful of corporations that control them, in one of the most polarizing and damaging facts even for the procedural democracy existing today. In this climate, despite serious setbacks, a participatory democracy and a new constitutional order such as the one promised by Pedro Castillo in his campaign could unfold.

Castillo has solid social support in the areas that voted for him and is viewed with sympathy in many others, but he only has 37 seats in Parliament plus five from his ally Juntos por el Perú, out of a total of 130, and could be deposed—vacancy as they call it—if the right wing manages to gather a majority of votes, something not improbable. Eventually they could attempt a coup d’état. The small margin of victory that he gained over his rival does not favor him because Fujimorism has led many people to eat up its claims of fraud.

However, it is clear that the moral symbolism of Pedro Castillo’s presidency is of extraordinary historical importance. Rarely has the left succeeded in raising to the presidency such a representative person, coming directly from the teaching and agricultural work, an expression of the Peru of “all bloods,” of the ayllu—a man whose project awakens great hope in Peru, teaming up with the other revolutionary and progressive leaders of the region. The progressive governments, the leftist and popular forces of our America must remain very alert and ready to prevent any right-wing maneuver that seeks to overthrow our beloved Andean master and president.

https://orinocotribune.com/peru-a-coup-brewing/

*********************************
Peru's Foreign Minister Resigns

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Béjar's resignation originated after a media outlet revealed statements he gave, when he was not yet chancellor, exposing the participation of the CIA and Peruvian intelligence to divide the left. | Photo: El Comercio

Published 17 August 2021

According to presidential media, Béjar's resignation was accepted by the head of state, Pedro Castillo.

The Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Héctor Béjar, presented this Tuesday his irrevocable resignation after an intense campaign of defamation in which statements he made years ago to local media were manipulated.

According to a press release from the Secretariat of Strategic Communication and Press of the Presidential Office, after the resignation letter presented by Béjar (who only lasted 18 days as Chancellor), the Head of State Pedro Castillo accepted it. It is estimated that the new Minister of Foreign Affairs will be known in the next few days.

Béjar's resignation originated after a media outlet revealed some declarations he gave when he was not yet Foreign Minister, where he exposed the participation of the CIA and Peruvian intelligence to divide the left and the alleged involvement of the Navy in terrorism in Peru.

"I am convinced, I cannot prove it, of two things: one, that Sendero Luminoso has been in great part the work of the CIA and the intelligence services; and two, a great part of the operations to divide the left have something to do with the enemy intelligence services (...) terrorism in Peru was initiated by the Navy, that can be historically demonstrated", revealed a local media of Béjar's alleged statements.

After the publication of the statements and the call of opposition sectors in Congress to call for a motion of censure, the Foreign Ministry made a statement last Monday, stating that this is due to a campaign of manipulation and discredit against Héctor Béjar.

"The same that has been manipulated, edited, cut, and taken out of context to discredit him and obtain the censure of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (...) This systematic campaign of editing old statements and taking them out of context has the purpose of confusing the public opinion and presenting the Chancellor as offending the Armed Forces and the Peruvian Navy", stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry recalled that Béjar was promoting an international agenda based on respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of the peoples, "the Minister expresses his full willingness to work with all institutions on a foreign policy agenda for the country's benefit," they conclude.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0023.html
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Wed Aug 25, 2021 1:55 pm

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Héctor Béjar’s Resignation: Peru’s Government Held Hostage by the Military
August 24, 2021

The government of Pedro Castillo has suffered its first defeat by yielding to the pressures of the right-wing coup and the most reactionary sectors of the Armed Forces. The imposition of the resignation of Foreign Minister Héctor Béjar is, without a doubt, an enormous show of weakness and will have consequences in the future. To discuss this issue we spoke with Ricardo Jiménez, sociologist and activist of ALBA Movimientos del Perú (ALBA Movements of Peru), and a regular contributor to Resumen Latinoamericano.

Q: What are your impressions of what happened?

Ricardo Jiménez: Héctor Béjar’s resignation is undoubtedly the first and hardest blow against the current government of President Castillo and the process of change that the President is trying to promote. It is the hardest because Béjar is the most important, the most educated and I would say the most capable, without any doubt and by far, of the entire cabinet. On the other hand, demonstrating these capabilities, he had the luck, the ability and the capacity to act quickly. I have no doubt that he saw this possibility and acted quickly, with incredible serenity, to evict the infamous Lima group and restored relations with Venezuela, which are two hard nuts for the Peruvian right wing to crack. He left in place a policy that will not be easy to reverse. I think the possibility is remote. It would be a serious step backwards, on the verge of treason on the part of Castillo, if he were to reverse the Foreign Minister’s policy.

Q: As you rightly say, he acted with speed, knowing that pressures would increase, and he also left a legacy.

Ricardo Jiménez: Even though Bejar only served a few days he left us this tremendous legacy, a turn of the screw in foreign policy towards sovereignty and respect for peace among peoples. It seems unbelievable that the right-wing would strike this blow so quickly, just weeks into the new government, in the most important part of the cabinet, if we look at the capacities and potentialities. What is behind this is the subversion and the attack of the right wing, that are not new, but were in place before. We are facing what I metaphorically call the “third round.” In few countries of the world does what is happening here take place, where this third round of coups has been imposed on us and has not ceased, before, during and after this elected government.

Q: Héctor Béjar says that the Navy accused him of having insulted them. However, what he said is based on very clear evidence. He pointed out that members of the Navy had been involved in terrorist acts, even before the Shining Path was active in Peru.

Ricardo Jiménez: Of course, as the great Spanish singer Joan Manuel Serrat used to say: “the truth is never sad, that which has no remedy.” The same thing happens here, history cannot be changed, the facts cannot be changed, you can google it, the evidence is overwhelming. The US CIA provides official reports on the Peruvian state and they refer to a time in the 70s, when Operation Condor was in place, where there are even open trials in Peruvian courts of former Navy officials, where the attacks are clarified. As Héctor Béjar affirmed, before taking office as Chancellor, in a statement that was also manipulated, edited, and wildly distorted by the media, the Navy undoubtedly participated in terrorist attacks.

Q: Héctor Béjar also said in an interview that I was able to see that the dangerous thing about this is that Pedro Castillo is now practically forced to ask permission from the armed forces if he can continue or not to continue with this or that minister that has been proposed. This presents a scenario where conditions could be imposed by the military and the right wing, and that is dangerous in the immediate future.

Ricardo Jiménez: Of course, it is very serious, we cannot underestimate the risk that this brings, because the president and the government have put themselves in a position of being hostages of the military. They have given in very quickly, it is undoubtedly a mistake, the most serious that has been made, which will have consequences which have not yet been experienced. They should have waited longer and should have negotiated better with the pro-coup sectors within the Navy.

Q: How was the operation carried out that ended up removing Béjar from his post?

Ricardo Jiménez: The operation was more or less like this: in Peru it is called cargamontones—an incessant, cruel and merciless avalanche—in all the media, on all the front pages of the newspapers, the front pages of the newspapers, in the prime time of the news programs, fake news, all against the Foreign Minister. Then, a communiqué from the Navy, an official communiqué from the high command of the Navy in office, questioning the Foreign Minister and the famous declarations, and finally Hector is forced to resign. This successful strategy in this situation, without any doubt, will be rehearsed again and again by the right-wing coup plotters. From the beginning they have complained that this government, for the first time in 200 years of the country, chose ministers without consulting the powers that be. Now what they have achieved is a type of veto power by managing to expel the most emblematic figure, the most qualified. I was very hurt by the lack of vision of the government, of the premier, of the president, at least they should have waited, because this move was to call Hector to Congress to ask for explanations. That would have been a really good opportunity because Hector would have given a lesson not only of history, of laws, and international legality, but also shown how to stand up to the right wing in Congress, and it would have done the country a lot of good if we had all witnessed this. In this sense and in my opinion the premier and the president have made a mistake. There are strong ties between the Navy and the military coup, they are at the forefront of the coup. Former admiral Montoya is in the congress, and without any doubt he has coordinated all this, with the fake news of the media and the high command of the navy. What should be done now is that the state prosecutor’s office prosecute the admirals who made this statement, because it is unconstitutional. A flagrant act before the law, it is a crime of the armed forces, and this gesture should have been made before taking any decision, in order not to set a precedent of impunity, because it is extremely dangerous.

Q: Béjar said “I did not resign, Guido Bellido told me that I had to leave.” Why did Guido Bellido make such a forceful decision?

Ricardo Jiménez: I do not know Bellido or the president personally, I have no way of knowing the exact reasons. My analysis is that the right wing has managed to attack on several fronts, let’s remember that the most attacked, besides Hector, was Guido Bellido, also accused of terrorism, a ridiculous and absurd accusation. And they did it with the same maneuvers. There was also talk of questioning him. In these days, the congress has to decide whether or not to give a vote of confidence to the cabinet headed by Bellido. I think Bellido has made the mistake of saving himself by “burning Hector’s gun.” The right wing has succeeded. I think, although I may be wrong, that he was on the chopping block and thought “I will save myself by putting Hector on the chopping block,” and that that’s what set the fuse. On the other hand, it is natural, it is a coalition government, Hector is not part of Peru Libre, he is not part of the Magisterio, which are the two primary forces in the government. He is a reference cadre, the most important, by far, of the Peruvian left, who was invited to be part of the government because of his qualities and capacities, which are extraordinary, so there was no trust built amongst these forces. They joined in this process of change—which is good, but at the same time the lack of trust was their weakness. Two months ago nobody thought about the possibility of this government and this process of change. We have to retain the perspective that this has just begun, struggles and processes of change are like that, they are given and taken. We must also remember that within the first 15 days, the government has achieved what was not achieved in the 40 years of neoliberalism: that the large mining consortiums pay the taxes they owe. They have paid close to 2,000 million soles, a significant amount just when the country needs it most. For the government it has been a public success, and there is still a lot to be done in this area, they have paid 10 years worth, but they owe 12 years more, or something like that. But neither can we underestimate the fact that for 40 years they felt like not paying taxes and they did not pay them. I do not know the reasons for the privileges which these mining businesses, which have profits of multimillions, had. To top it off, now with the rise of the dollar, they have super-profits, and they have never felt like paying for their profits, while the rest of us citizens have to pay punctually. The government has achieved this, it has been an important blow. Now there is a struggle in Congress. I will also venture the analysis that it may have been a negotiation for the vote of confidence, that maybe they have said “look, this fuse is burning, but the cabinet receives the vote of confidence and they show they can govern.” It may be, I hope so. Because it will be worse if even that does not happen.

Q: Let’s see what happens in the coming days. There may also be false promises and deceptions. I do not believe that the right wing can control the pack that is in the congress, they are uncontrollable. The same thing happens to them as to us. There is a coalition where there is Fujimorism and four or five other right-wing forces that are with the coup and nobody controls them. Nor do they have the confidence and discipline that someone can speak in the name of all.

Ricardo Jiménez: The logical reflection that comes out of this after listening to you is that progressive governments are weak, no matter how many votes of the people they received. Héctor Béjar was saying that the people should be in the streets consolidating the support of this government, the problem is that they have not been summoned. In this sense, an important piece has now fallen, but another and another can fall, and so at some point you end up in a situation where you leave or live enslaved to the conditions. Let’s hope that, as you said, this will be a fuse to save the whole, but it hurts, it hurts because of the value that Héctor Béjar has for the patria grande, not only for Peru.

Q: I do not know if you saw the words of Vladimir Cerrón, in a public tweet that has been circulating. He said it succinctly: never before and never after, will Peru have a Foreign Minister of Héctor Béjar’s stature. The pain is deep, the blow is very strong.


Featured image: Héctor Béjar

(Resumen Latinoamericano-English) by Carlos Aznárez

https://orinocotribune.com/hector-bejar ... -military/
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Mon Sep 13, 2021 1:11 pm

The Other 9/11: Salvador Allende and Chile
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 11, 2021
Bharat Dogra

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On September 11 the world rightly pays homage to the nearly 3000 victims of the horrible 9/11 attack in the USA. However on this day we should in addition also remember the perhaps even higher number of victims of the US-assisted military coup in Chile on September 11 1973 which also resulted in the highly tragic and widely mourned death of one of the most sincere and democratic leaders of Latin America—President Salvador Allende.

Before this coup , Chile had enjoyed a well-deserved reputation as a country of strong democratic traditions with regular elections and stability for decades. Democracy had survived here in the middle of several coups in Latin America. This was further strenghthened with the election of Allende as President in September 1970 with a socialist pro-people agenda.

Allende was earlier a public health physician who emerged as leader of the Socialist Party. He joined hands with other left oriented groups to form the Popular Unity Government. Determined to use natural resources of the country to help the poorer people, this government nationalized copper mines and went ahead with land reforms.

This agenda was strongly disliked by the Nixon –Kissinger regime in the USA known for its very aggressive foreign policy. Earlier strong efforts had been made by the USA and its local allies to somehow prevent Allende’s election, using legal as well as illegal methods.

Unfortunately these forces refused even to accept the democratic verdict and inleashed a series of actions aimed at subverting the Allende government. An undeclared economic blockade of sorts was declared towards Allende-led Chile. A CIA telegram to its local station uncovered later stated—it is “firm and continuing” policy that Allende must be overthrown while ensuring that “ American hand be hidden.”

Chilean military officers regularly visiting the USA for training proved to be important contact points. Heavy weapons including missiles were arranged to be available to military units likely to join the coup. Several efforts were made to disrupt economy and then channelize the resulting discontent into opposition to the Allende government . Several strikes were instigated and added to the chaos.

In 1971 Fidel Castro made a long, 4 week visit to Chile in the course of which he is believed to have advised a lot of caution . The next year Allende returned the visit by spending time with Castro in Cuba. This and the refusal of Allende to oblige powerful US corporate interests led to more hostility against him and his government.

In June 1973 several rebel tanks advanced towards the Presidential palace but this coup attempt was foiled. The second attempt starting on September 11 was planned more extensively and Allende found himself cornered in the Presidential palace. Still he strongly refused to accept an offer of escaping to exile and decided to fight on till the end.

With US help the rebels had managed to assemble great military strength. This was one of the few coups where even the Air Force was used to bombard the President’s residence.

With both the Presidential Palace and the radio station being bombarded, President Allende made his famous farewell speech. He started by saying that this would be his last address to his people, conveying immediately the seriousness of the situation. He then announced—I am not going to resign! Placed in a historic transition, I will pay for the loyalty to the people with my life. And I say to them I am certain that the seeds we have planted in the good conscience of thousands and thousands will not be shriveled.”

He continued, “ They have force and will be able to dominate us,but such processes can be suppressed by neither crime nor force. History is ours, and people make history.”

President Allende was keen in this hour of crisis to warn his people of its roots—“ foreign capital, imperialism, together with the reaction, created the conditions in which the armed forces broke the tradition.”

With bombs and bullets roaring around him, Allende declared—“Long live Chile! Long live the people! Long live the workers! These are my last words, and I am certain my sacrifice will not be in vain.”

Allende died soon after. Some accounts say he died fighting, while others say that to avoid capture he took his own life in the last stage of the battle.

Given the enormity of the attack including bombing by Air Force, the relatively much smaller force guarding the President fought extremely bravely, but the unequal battle was over before the evening.

This was followed by military rule . Several thousand were killed, ‘disappeared’, and even more were tortured in the most cruel way. In Nazi type tortures, doctors were employed to somehow keep torture victims alive until torture could start all over again. The number of the imprisoned crossed the hundred thousand mark within 2 or 3 years. Those known to have leftist inclinations were most marked for imprisonment, torture or death. Special caravans of death went around the country hunting for targets. Augusto Pinochet who took over Chile after some time ( he was one of the key players in the coup) emerged as one of the most cruel dictators of all times who also threw upon the doors for foreign capital and plunder.

Historian Peter Winn has called this one of the most violent episodes in the history of Chile and pointed to the extensive evidence of US complicity. A US intelligence report in 2000 prepared at the diection of the National Intelligence Council also admitted that the CIA was aware in advance of coup plotting and plotters, had intelligence collection relations them, was involved in an earlier coup effort in 1970 and actively assisted the military junta which took over after the death of Allende.

Hence it was that the pleasant and peaceful land of Chile was transformed soon into a land from where the most frequent reporting was increasingly in the context of disappearances and tortures and death squads.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/09/ ... and-chile/

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Chileans Pay Homage to Allende on 48th Anniversary of the Coup

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A man holds a portrait of former President Salvador Allende, Santiago, Chile, Sept. 11, 2021. | Photo: EFE

Published 11 September 2021

It is estimated that over 35,000 people were victims of human rights violations, political and sexual violence during the dictatorship (1973-1990).


On Saturday, human rights activists took to the streets in Chile to recall ex-President Salvador Allende and victims of forced disappearances on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the coup that began a civil-military dictatorship (1973-1990).

Activists walk to the General Cemetery to leave floral offerings and pay homage to the fallen during the dictatorship led by coup leader Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006).

Representatives from the Communist Party (PC), the Socialist Party (PS) and the Party for Democracy (PPD) held acts of commemoration for Allende at Morande 80 and at Constitution Square in front of the presidential palace "La Moneda."

"This is a date in which Chileans from the heart demand all truth, all justice because we believe that these situations should not be repeated in the country....there must be memory, reparation, all truth and all justice for that not to happen again," Communist Party member Samuel Navarro said.

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The meme reads, “{Social processes are not stopped either with crimes or with force. History is ours and the peoples make it.}...Last words of Salvador Allende, 48 years ago, when a coup attacked democracy and ended his life. The Chilean people remember."

While these acts of remembrance for September 11 were taking place, Carabineros reported different clashes with demonstrators who were repressed with tear gas and water cannons.

"It is a painful September 11, because we are once again experiencing human rights violations, but also hopeful because Chile and the world are plagued with commemorations so that these violations will never happen again," the Chilean Association of the Detained and Disappeared President Lorena Pizarro stressed.

It is estimated that over 35,000 people were victims of human rights violations, political and sexual violence during the dictatorship. At least 2,095 people were executed and the location of around 1,102 disappeared detainees has not been established.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Chi ... -0009.html
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Mon Oct 04, 2021 1:55 pm

Pandora Files Link 14 Latam Presidents to Offshore Activities

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The Pandora files revealed 956 companies in offshore havens tied to 336 high-level politicians and public officials all over the world. | Photo: EFE

Published 3 October 2021

Chile's President Sebastian Piñera, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, and Dominican Republic's President Luis Abinader are the active top politician implicated in the leak.


The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) declassified over 11.9 million confidential files implicating 35 current and former world leaders and more than 330 politicians in 91 countries in acts of corruption linked to offshore activities.

ICIJ highlighted that the leaked records came from 14 offshore services firms worldwide that run shell and offshore companies for clients who wanted to keep their financial activities behind the scene.

The Pandora files revealed 956 companies in offshore havens tied to 336 high-level politicians and public officials, including presidents, cabinet ministers, ambassadors, artists, and others.

The files especially linked the Panamanian company Alcogal which created offshore structures on behalf of over 15,000 clients, mostly since 1996.

At least two-thirds of those companies were set up in the British Virgin Islands, and 14 out of 35 presidents or former presidents listed in the documents belong to the Latin America region.


Chile's President Sebastian Piñera, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso, and Dominica Republic's President Luis Abinader are the active top politician implicated in the leak. There are also 11 former presidents, among them, Colombia's ex Presients Cesar Gaviria (1990-1994), Andres Pastrana (1998-2002), and Panama's former Presidents Ernesto Perez (1994-1999), Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) and Juan Carlos Varela (2014-2019).

In Brazil, the Pandora Papers targeted two right-hand men to President Jair Bolsonaro, the Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, and the Central Bank President Roberto Campos.

Likewise, Mauricio Macri's political consultant Jaime Duran Barba and Zulema Menem, daughter of former president Carlos Menem (1989-1999), are some of the Argentinean figures who allegedly receive kickbacks paid by contractors in offshore dealings.

The investigation is more extensive in Mexico, where 3,000 people are implicated in offshore corrupted deals, such as the mining magnate German Larrea and the Modelo beer group's owners Maria Aramburuzabala, and Olegario Vazquez.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Pan ... -0004.html

Hmm, every one of these named characters a comprador or functionary of such tools of the US. Not one of them from the 'Enemies Of Democracy', ie, socialist or states trying to become socialists. Do we have a pattern here? It seems that without such thieving scum and religious fanatics the USA wouldn't have much of a functioning foreign policy... It is inevitable, greed and patriarchy are what binds them.

Meanwhile...

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President Castillo Launches New Land Reform in Peru

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President Pedro Castillo, Cusco, Peru, Oct. 3, 2021. | Photo: Twitter/ @PeruNews

Published 4 October 2021 (1 hours 28 minutes ago)

His administration will establish the "Agrarian Civil Service," a program through which thousands of young university students will technically support the farmers.


On Sunday, Peru’s President Pedro Castillo launched the "second agrarian reform", which is a national policy for the development of agriculture through the incorporation of technology, the provision of technical advice, and the construction of productive infrastructure.

"I want to make it very clear: this second agrarian reform does not seek to expropriate land or take away property rights from anyone," Castillo emphasized, adding that the Peruvian State will be at the service of farmers who have been relegated for decades.

The announcement of this development policy occurred on Oct. 3, when Peruvians remember the nationalist government of Juan Velasco Alvarado (1968-1973), who implemented the first land reform in this Andean country. This progressive general put an end to the abuses suffered by peasants and laborers in the countryside. The Peruvian ruling classes, however, remember him as the promoter of the expropriation of properties from large landowners.

Before the ceremony to launch the new agrarian reform, Castillo held a meeting with farmers on the esplanade of the Inca's Sacsayhuaman construction near Cusco City, where hundreds of farmers were waiting for him.


The tweet reads, "The first agrarian reform dignified the farmer and redistributed unfair land tenure. The second agrarian reform that President Pedro Castillo will present tomorrow in Cusco will boost family production and agriculture and give women a leading role."

"Today we are going to promote the farmers' rights and development... At last, Peru stands up to end exploitation and inequality in agriculture," the President said and announced that his new policy's first measure will be the creation of a "Cabinet of Agrarian and Rural Development," which will be made up of ministries related to production and subnational governments.

The Castillo administration will also carry out "corrections" in the price range of agricultural products, build a phosphate-based fertilizer plant, promote a program of public purchases of goods generated by family farming, build markets in all the provinces, create a water "sowing and harvesting program," and establish an agrarian development bank "with loans under favorable conditions."

To promote structural change in Peruvian agriculture, he will promote tax benefits for farmers and Indigenous producers, improve road and electrical infrastructure, and establish the "Agrarian Civil Service" program through which thousands of young university students will technically support the farmers.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Pre ... -0003.html
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Sun Oct 10, 2021 10:12 pm

Ecuador: Pandora Papers Could Take Lasso Down – Arauz Calls for New Election
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on OCTOBER 9, 2021
HispanTV

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President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, claimed that he has no hidden property in tax havens.

Former presidential candidate for correismo, Andrés Arauz, has opined that Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso has lost legitimacy, and has urged for new elections take place.

In an interview with Spanish news agency EFE, Arauz called for the resignation of President Guillermo Lasso due to his involvement in the Pandora Papers scandal.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in its Pandora Papers investigation, reported that Lasso had transferred shares and assets from Panamanian companies to two trusts based in South Dakota, USA.

Alluding to the fact that elected officials in Ecuador are prohibited from owning properties in tax havens, Arauz stated, “We believe that he [Lasso] should resign or be dismissed for this, because he has breached the Ethical Pact Law that was approved by popular consultation in 2017.”

Arauz said that this scandal leaves the Lasso without “internal and external legitimacy,” and therefore he cannot continue to lead the government of Ecuador. “He [Lasso] has no political capital left to propose his labor, tax or privatization reforms,” emphasized Arauz.

After ICIJ’s disclosure, Lasso issued a statement asserting that he did not own properties in tax havens, and defended himself by stating that his assets are derived from his position at Banco de Guayaquil, where he has structured investments through a local trust.

To the Ecuadorians, in relation to Pandora Papers.

I comply with the provisions of the law, all my income has been declared and I have paid the corresponding taxes in Ecuador. Always with transparency and frontality before the Ecuadorian people. pic.twitter.com/1oN5nuXNpj

- Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) October 4, 2021


Moreover, on Wednesday, October 6, President Lasso offered to answer any questions coming from the Audit Committee of the Ecuadorian Legislative Assembly, an offer that the opposition labeled as “insufficient” since Lasso has not offered answers regarding the period prior to 2017. The president confirmed that he had assets in Panama, which was not illegal before the 2017 law.

Arauz also criticized Lasso’s offer of explanation for it did not cover his properties abroad. “It is a useless exercise, basically a distraction,” Arauz emphasized, and urged the president to disclose the names, companies, relationships, the status of his trusts, buyers, assets, and how he supposedly disposed of said assets.

Additionally, due to the extraterritorial aspect of the scandal, Arauz demanded an independent investigation by several high-level national institutions, including the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE), the Superintendency of Banks, the Superintendency of Corporations, and the Prosecutor’s Office, the latter assessing any crime Lasso may have committed.

In the last presidential elections in Ecuador, held in April 2021, Arauz ran as candidate for the Unión por la Esperanza (UNES) coalition and lost to Lasso in the second round.

Translation by Orinoco Tribune

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2021/10/ ... -election/

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The New Bolivian Regime Change Attempt, & its Terror Tactics
October 9, 2021
By Rainer Shea – Oct 8, 2021

Two years ago, I underestimated the power of U.S. imperialism, to the consequence of having a nasty shock when I found out that Bolivia’s president had been forced to resign in a U.S.-orchestrated military coup. I had anticipated that Washington would carry out a regime change attempt in Bolivia for months prior to that day, but up until the coup actually happened, I remained under the illusion that Bolivia’s democracy would withstand the onslaught of white supremacist terrorism that Washington’s running dogs were unleashing upon the country after the 2019 election. U.S. hegemony was in decline; even the Pentagon had admitted this two years prior. For the imperialists to have victory at that moment felt counterintuitive, especially to my younger and more naive mind.

But they did succeed, exposing the miscalculations in dialectics from overly optimistic anti-imperialists like myself. Even Morales hadn’t been able to anticipate the ferocity of the campaign that would be set against him, though he and other Movement for Socialism (MAS) Party officials tried to. Morales had put together an anti-imperialist military school, in alternative to the route Venezuela’s Maduro had taken of creating a mass citizens’ militia in preparation for future imperialist coups. His measure proved insufficient when some of the key officials within the governmental and military structure, along with law enforcement officers who participated in coup-adjacent protests following the election, turned against Morales. Faced with mounting physical threats against himself and his family, along with violence against his supporters and fellow MAS politicians, he stepped down and fled the country.

In the coming year of horrors within Bolivia, where the new ruling junta massacred indigenous protesters, created death squads to hunt down MAS supporters with impunity, tortured or disappeared journalists, and delayed elections for as long as possible, Morales learned from this revelation about the true strength of the reactionaries in Bolivia. By the end of spring 2020, he was calling for MAS supporters to gather into armed militias, in addition to the indigenous militias that had naturally formed in response to the coup. In this statement, he clarified his source of inspiration by saying these militias should be “as in Venezuela.” He had embraced Maduro’s tried and tested approach for defending against imperialism.

Since the socialists retook power last year with the election of President Luis Arce, Morales has been continuing to try to prepare his movement for future backlash from his position as MAS leader; this summer, amid the revelation that coup regime officials had been secretly plotting to carry out a second coup to undo Arce’s election, Morales warnedabout the imperialists that “They do not forgive us.” He’s learned a jarring and painful lesson about the true conditions anti-imperialists face, and he doesn’t want other anti-imperialists to proceed without learning that lesson beforehand.

Now the fortitude and hindsight that the anti-imperialists have gained since the coup two years ago is being put to the test, both in regards to Bolivia and to the other places Washington threatens. This week, the Bolivian strategic communications expert known on social media as Camila Press reported that “Far-right sectors are not only reactivating their coup strategies, they’re financing minority indigenous and rural sectors who are willing to oppose the MAS. We’re witnessing a major throwback to 2019 and it will require far more reporting….The conditions and approaches we are seeing now in Bolivia are becoming more and more similar to the pre-coup conditions of 2019. La Paz / Santa Cruz / Cochabamba and the so-called indigenous march, financed by the far-right.”

Camila then described how the reactionaries within Bolivia are increasingly campaigning towards a new wave of violent insurrection, and the propaganda tactics that the imperialist media is going to use to manufacture consent for the new coup attempt:

At the rally in support of corrupt right-wing Mayor of Cochabamba, Manfred Reyes Villa, which has brought out a larger crowd than all Añez rallies combined. They say they’re defending their vote from a central government which wants to turn Bolivia into Cuba or Venezuela…The foreign media will soon be intent on uplifting the voices of Bolivians who reject state exploitation of natural resources: the coupists demand that Bolivian resources be placed in the hands of foreign capital/multinational corporations. They’re using small indigenous groups to argue that the government is ransacking nature by nationalizing resources. Who gets to exploit & profit from resources should be decided in a complete free for all, favoring the traditional large landowning elites and their offshore pals. Privatize all the things!! Signed, CIA land defenders.

Already, more pro-coup violence has appeared. During the process of writing this, a group of armed coup supporters have seized a coca market in La Paz, taking away the area’s indigenous wiphala flag. As photos show cars and buildings burning in the aftermath of this terrorist attack, coca growers have been displaced by the violence and destruction. “The majority of them are people who’ve always been opposed to the MAS,” reports Elena Flores, former president of the coca market, regarding the perpetrators. “But we fought hard last year to prove that we are the majority and in the 2020 elections the MAS won by a huge majority in the Yungas region. They lost the elections, but they didn’t give up, they began a misinformation campaign with the aim of seizing ADEPCOCA [the coca market] for a small handful of individuals. They think they can get ahead by trampling on others.”

This unrest follows a less successful recent bid from the coupists to destabilize Bolivia, one where they called for a march to release the jailed former coup president and then Arce responded by calling for pro-MAS counter-demonstrations. Lacking majority support, and under intense scrutiny from an MAS government that rightly accused the anti-MAS march organizers of trying to carry out another coup, Washington’s running dogs in Bolivia are now resorting to more extreme tactics. As Camila has assessed regarding how the imperialists have reacted to the failures of their coup attempts throughout Latin America, this is predictable: “Not saying their strategies and campaigns of subversion and counterrevolution are no longer a threat-on the contrary. With these failures, they’ll adopt a more dangerous and extreme approach, like increasing reliance on their transnational crime and mercenary network operations.”

After studying how Washington has destabilized the horn of Africa throughout the last decade, with U.S. meddling creating terrorism, slave trades, civil wars, and starvation crises in the region, Camila’s observation gives me an extremely ominous feeling. The imperialists want to destabilize Latin America the same way they’ve done to Africa. And do so not just to the anti-imperialist countries Nicaragua, Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia, but to the countries that are undergoing a rise in class struggle; in Haiti, Washington has used its Colombian mercenary proxies to assassinate President Moise, manufacturing a political crisis that amounts to a preemptive counterrevolution against the country’s growing rebel networks. They’ll employ these kinds of tactics to more and more of their Latin American neo-colonies as time goes on, ultimately hoping this chaos will spill over into the anti-imperialist countries. They want to burn the entire region down to sabotage its development towards socialism.

As the imperialists get their Bolivian proxies to destroy, steal, and slaughter in the same ways Washington’s TPLF terrorist proxies have done in Ethiopia, they’re exporting this chaos to all their other regional targets. The Cuban reactionaries who’ve been orchestrating this year’s mass vandalism campaigns within the country (which are facilitated by U.S.-financed mercenaries) have planned new “pro-democracy demonstrations” for this next week. Washington has gotten its imperialist partner Canada to start planning increased sanctions against Nicaragua, and potentially even a direct intervention in the country, despite how unpopular Latin American interventionism has become within Canada since the Bolivia coup’s atrocities got revealed. The Venezuela-Colombia border war that’s fueled by U.S.-backed narco-criminal groups is creating a humanitarian crisis for the most vulnerable groups, one where sexual abuse and human trafficking are rampant. This is the only recourse of an empire in decline: deal out as much damage as possible.

Featured image: Cover illustration for the handbook of the School of the Americas, Washington’s Latin American coup training center

https://orinocotribune.com/the-new-boli ... r-tactics/
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Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:03 pm

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Luis Arce: An anti-imperialist climate agenda
Originally published: The Red Nation by Red Nation Editorial Council (October 13, 2021 ) | - Posted Oct 21, 2021

Luis Arce Catacora: President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia Speech

Thank you very much brothers and sisters, hugs to the city of La Paz, Bolivia and to everyone that follows us via social media around the world. I want to salute: to the jilata David Choquehuanca, Vice President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, our brother Rogelio Mayta Minister of Foreign Affairs, brother Magin Herrera, Vice-Minister of Environment Biodiversity Climate Change and Forest Development. Our sister Angelica Ponce Executive director of the Plurinational Authority for Mother Earth, our brother Juan Carlos Huarachi, Executive Director of our Bolivian Central Labor Syndicate, and to all of our members of our executive committee COM, to our sister Executive Segundina Flores leading our Bartolinas big hug to our sister, to our brother Omar Ramirez Secretary of International Relations, our brother Fabio Mamani Secretary of Environment of the Confederation of Intercultural Communities of Bolivia, to all our special guests, vice ministers, our brother Omar Quiroga director of ABT present here, I also salute Adolfo León Executive Director of Fonabosque, our brother Javier Gasso Ambassador of Spain, our brother Alexander Yañez Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, our brother Japanese Ambassador Kida Osmu, our brother Alejandro Lopez representative of the World Food Program, to our brother Martin Chaqolla Jilliri Apu Mallku of CONAMAQ, our sister LIdia Mamani Jilliri Mama T’alla of our CONAMAQ, our brother Justo Molina President of our CIDOB, our sisters and brothers of the women’s confederation Bartolina Sisa Justo Molina and Juana Azurduy de Pailla, to all our intercultural women, to the districts in La Paz, our organic social movements, our Indigenous representatives of North America and The Red Nation who join us today, to our confederation of women Silvia Lazarte our brothers and sisters of the 20 districts who are here today, and sending a salute to our militants to our Movement Towards Socialism Party who always follow us, to the youth who are also present in these acts, to the Bolivian people through online networks and social media.

Before I begin, as a just recognition in this very important encounter of October 11th, 2021, I want to mention an affectionate salute to all the Bolivian women that everyday, as well as today, are working with strength and dedication for their families. I congratulate the Mother, Daughter, Sister, Comrade and Lifelong Partner, to the Bolivian Women who wrote, and still write, pages of heroism and greatness to our homeland who, like today, are the vanguards in the construction of our Plurinational State of Bolivia. Bolivian Women are the heart of our homeland which is why I ratify our compromise to work everyday for a more secure and just society and with more opportunities for all women. Congratulations on your national day to all our Bolivian women. In addition, it is for me a great honor to share this encounter of the peoples’ struggle, because another world is possible.

Bolivia, like every other country in the world, is living under the climate crisis caused by the capitalistic greed that, following the Industrial Revolution & the culture of consumerism, has provoked uncontrollable greenhouse gas emissions resulting in the increase of global temperatures.The climate crisis is the manifestation of a irrationality, not of humankind, but of a capitalist system that prioritizes and makes exclusive rapid gains thus losing our connection with Mother Earth. The capitalist rationale is the irrationality that endangers the two main generators of wealth in the earth; nature and humanity. It is a crisis that places a heavier burden on so-called developing countries that are no more than peripheral capitalism. Where the most poor are the most vulnerable is the impact of the global crisis creating more sorrow and pain in our families and in our communities.

The light of our Mother Earth, our Pachamama can defeat the darkness of consumerist society that enslaves so many beings as well as nature. In Bolivia we have converted to ash the forces of neoliberalism, as well as constructed a country free of the dispossession and theft of natural resources, free of inhumane exploitation of our people and free from imperial servitude of the North. Like Bolivia, we have to stand firm and attentive with our common struggles to find a definitive solution to the global climate crisis through a people’s perspective. This means, brothers and sisters, that we must follow at least ten actions within our national and international milieu;

The first: a frontal fight against capitalism, as it is the main source of the environmental crisis, through empowering people in the struggle for freedom because the power is of the people and for the people. In this fight we will liberate all the living beings of the Mother Earth living under mercantilist and capitalist exploitation. Second, we must continue to fortify the role of the state and it’s control over strategic natural resources promoting the distribution and redistribution of incomes to benefit, not just humans, but all of Mother Earth. Third, we must develop and fortify the communitarian economies in order to generate wealth for the people while promulgating what we like to call, the Economy of Mother Earth. Fourth, advancing energetic transitions that respect the principles of equity and common responsibilities, however, differentiated among countries. Capitalistic centered countries should contribute and compensate more than peripheral countries. Fifth, boost, in all aspects and levels, harmonious relations calibrated towards complementarism between humans and nature without the mercantilization of nature. Sixth, to reduce every form of inequity and exploitation of human beings and advance equitable relations between men and women while revitalizing the same complementary relationships with every living being of our Mother Earth. Seventh, to amplify the decolonization of our peoples and of our cultures to broaden our relationship with the Pachamama, our Mother Earth. Eight, to promote universal citizenship and break territorial walls and boundaries between free citizens of the world so we may define, in all the corners of the world, the culture of life. Ninth, to promote technology as a public good for all peoples to be utilized to benefit humanity and Mother Earth. Tenth, to continue with our anti-colonial, anti-imperial, anti-capitalistic fight and in this path we will march towards a civilized horizon of living well. Nevertheless, our work to reactivate our economy, resolving societal problems, and constructing harmonious relationships with nature continues in our country. In Bolivia, we are implementing our social communitarian economic model, working to fortify strategic sectors of our economy in order to generate an economic surplus to revitalize the income and employment sectors and distribute the wealth to all Bolivians, emphasizing historically excluded sectors. This way, we reduce inequity and poverty.

In a plural economy, the state is a key player in regulating, promoting and producing its economy in every form. Bolivia compromises to put in corresponding efforts to halt climate change while executing necessary actions to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses from polluting our atmosphere. We must also implement adaptive processes and confront damages as well as losses that further produce the climate crisis effects on our populations, infrastructures and ecosystems. Regardless, we are not able to confront subjects on mitigation, adaptation, and damage to loss methods on a macro scale. This scale requires intervening. As our Chancery Minister once said, “If an effective compromise from capitalist centered countries to finance and feasibly transfer technologies does not exist, we are unable to confront the climate crisis by ourselves”. Northern countries that have caused the climate crisis carry a climate debt and must pay to countries like ours. Countries that have benefitted from unequal business relations and interchanges are not exempt from the historical responsibility they hold with the ongoing climate crisis. Within our international compromises regarding climate crisis management we clearly state our requirements in order to accomplish our goals which includes the importance of international cooperation. Until today, Bolivia has received very little international support to fight against the climate crisis. In this decade, we hope this financial and technological support multiplies in significant form. We have incorporated four sectors within the nationally determined Bolivian Contribution Adjustments for our next presentation to the United Nations convention regarding climate change. These sectors involve: energy, water, forests, and agriculture. In relation to the energy sector, Bolivia is committed to improving generational conditions and access to energies while implementing methods of efficiency with a large contribution of renewable and alternative energies thus displacing the use of fossil fuels. In relation to water resources, Bolivia is working to reach self-sustainability, equitability and inclusivity regarding the use of hydratic resources in all of its multifaceted utilities including: managing the most resilient basins against climate change, promoting and protecting public access to wells all while implementing better agricultural technologies to better preserve water usage. In relation to our forests, we must reduce deforestation in order to reduce carbon emissions as well as improve our management of forest fires while advancing integral, sustainable, and communitarian forest management. We must look to further improve our efforts to protect and preserve our forests. In relation to our agricultural sector, Bolivia looks to revitalize diverse systems of food production with security and sovereignty along with greater conductive efficiency thus fortifying adaptive agricultural systems capacities and better agricultural risk assessments.

Furthermore, it is vital to generate a global consciousness concerning the prices of agroecological and organic products that today sell for a high market price in northern countries. In addition, we must benefit productive and exporting countries of said types of foods in order to incentivize their production thus, preserving nutrients that our Mother Earth gives us. Within our vision we see our economic growth increase at the same time we look to abide by our social goals like reducing extreme poverty. However, we must also meet the additional challenge of reducing carbon emissions in order to improve the management of the global crisis. In our efforts we seek to work together in the rural and urban areas with our youth, with our women, with our local leaders and with our Municipal and Regional authorities. In Bolivia we have an advanced legacy recognizing the rights and preservation of Mother Earth that complies with our legislation. We have to realize what we have codified into law under code 300 titled “Mother Earth and Integral Developments Towards Living Well”. It is imperative to transition to living well in harmony and equilibrium with Mother Earth. However, all our actions and efforts that we realize in our country run the risk of being paralyzed and diluted for the economic interest of the most privileged. After last year’s national elections, the anti-democratic conspiracy has not been definitively expunged. Such conspiracy continues to rise its head promoting disturbances and division among Bolivians creating conditions for another coup d’etat that instead of prosperity would do away all our struggles and accomplishments in order to implement actions that we have uttered. We call upon the people of the world whose genuine representatives are present in this meeting to be on alert since the struggle of a single group of people is the common struggle of all peoples around the world; in the same way that defending the rights to Mother Earth is defending the lives of all peoples.

Long Live Our Mother Earth, Long Live All The Peoples of the World, Long Live Our Plurinational State of Bolivia!

Thank you very much Brothers and Sisters.

https://mronline.org/2021/10/21/luis-ar ... te-agenda/

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Bolivian unions announce that they will not comply with the call for a strike

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Published October 21, 2021 (5 hours 25 minutes ago)

In the opinion of union leaders, the strike called by the Bolivian right has political and destabilizing purposes.

Bolivian union sectors and transport companies decided on Wednesday not to comply with the call for a strike called for this October 21 by sectors of the opposition to President Luis Arce.

In the opinion of union leaders, the measure of force has political and destabilizing purposes.

Meeting in the city of Santa Cruz, the union representatives assured that Law 1386 does not affect their interests since the regulations are intended to combat illicit businesses linked to drug trafficking and human trafficking.

"Law 1386 does not affect unions, Law 1386 does not affect transporters," said the union leader of Santa Cruz, Édgar Álvarez, who represents seven union organizations and some 500 merchants' associations.

Along the same lines, Juan Carlos García, executive of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Bolivia, ruled out joining the strike and announced that they will maintain their activities within normalcy in the nine departments of the country.

"We want to communicate to the Bolivian people that as unions we are not going to close any sales positions, we are not going to march, we are not going to block, on the contrary, we are going to open the markets normally," Garcia declared.

Law 1386 called the National Strategy to Fight the Legitimization of Illicit Profits and the Financing of Terrorism has been attacked by right-wing sectors and legislators to repeal this regulation.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/bolivia- ... -0002.html

Google Translator

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Peruvian Opposition, Business Groups Plot Against Castillo

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Peruvian opposition lawmakers passed a law limiting President Pedro Castillo's powers to dissolve Congress. | Photo: Twitter @dcastellin9

Published 20 October 2021

The conspiracy was discovered by the journalistic portal El Foco, which published Internet dialogues of the business group which coordinates actions of a strategy to destabilize the executive until his fall.


An unveiled business and a controversial law approved by the parliamentary opposition are part of an ongoing campaign to remove the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo.

The conspiracy was discovered by the journalistic portal El Foco, which published Internet dialogues of the business group which coordinates actions of a strategy to destabilize the executive until his fall.

The conspiracy was made public almost when the opposition majority in Congress ratified a law that limits the constitutional possibility of the President to dissolve the legislative body as a defensive action.

The report added that the conspirators pretend to "get communism out of the government" to finance a strike of the transport unions, which they claim will begin on November 8 and paralyze the country.


Among the participants in the conspiracy, El Foco identified the President of the National Society of Industries (SNI), Ricardo Marquez; Jose Luis Silva, former minister of Alan Garcia's neoliberal government (2006-11); Magali Simon and Bruno Alecchi, head of the SIN's Transport Commission.

Márquez has had several meetings with the President and traveled last month in a business mission simultaneously with President Castillo's visit to the United States, and commented that the President sent a positive message to attract foreign investments.

In response to the revelation, the SIN issued a communiqué, in which it stated that the personal statements of its members "do not compromise the institution." The statement also denied involvement in destabilizing political actions and, asserted they maintain a frank dialogue with the executive.

The newspaper report stated that the businessman Silva, leader of the gastronomic union, proposed on the Internet dialogues "to save democracy" and "to get rid of communism." And he tried to disqualify the accusation, alleging that it is absurd and groundless.

On the other hand, the leader of the transport union, Geovani Diez, coordinator of the November 8 strike, acknowledged contacts with business people but maintained they were not financing the strike.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0023.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

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