South America

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Fri Sep 02, 2022 3:36 pm

Argentina’s Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Miraculously Survives Assassination Attempt
SEPTEMBER 2, 2022

Image
Moment when Argentinian Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner is being pointed with a gun at point-blank range. Miraculously the firearm did not discharge. Photo: Merco Press.

Caracas, September 1, 2022 (OrinocoTribune.com)—Argentinian Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner survived an assassination attempt this Thursday, September 1, when a man pointed a gun in her face and made the gesture of pulling the trigger before a crowd of her supporters and security agents surrounded him.

The incident occurred late on Thursday evening when Fernández was getting down from her car in front of her home in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Recoleta and greeting supporters who have been on vigil there for almost two weeks, showing their support against the political-judicial persecution that is trying to disqualify her from the 2023 presidential race. In the crowd, a man approached the vice president and pointed a pistol in her face at point-black range and tried to pull the trigger. However, the gun did not fire, possibly due to some snag in the barrel.

In the confusion a group of Fernández supporters surrounded him, and some law enforcement agents captured the attacker who was later identified as 35 years-old Fernando André Sabag Montiel, a Brazilian citizen who had previously been arrested in 2021 for a minor incident. The weapon used by the attacker was an Argentinian-made BERSA semi-automatic gun of 0.32 caliber, fully loaded with five bullets, which could have killed or gravely injured Fernández had a shot been discharged.

A gunman just tried to kill Argentina's left-wing Vice President Cristina Kirchner

Meanwhile, Argentina's right wing uses bogus lawfare tactics to try to ban her from politics

And centrist President Alberto Fernández is a failure

The situation is awfulhttps://t.co/g3CmmURJmw

— Benjamin Norton (@BenjaminNorton) September 2, 2022

Initially, mainstream Argentine media described the incident like a person had been arrested for holding a gun while being in the vigil in front of Fernández’s home. However, within a little while videos began circulating on social media platforms showing the gravity of the incident that can only be described as an assassination attempt.


#Argentina: A close-up vídeo of the assassination attempt against Cristina Kirchner. The gun was waved within inches of her face. The would be assassin has been identified as Fernando Andrés Sabag, a 35 year old Brazilian. pic.twitter.com/4LEvUJc0Sn

— Denis Rogatyuk (@DenisRogatyuk) September 2, 2022

Kawsachun News tweeted reports from Argentine media channel C5N that showed a social media photo of the attacker, in which he is seen with the Sonnenrad/Black Sun Nazi symbol tattoo in his arm.

The man who attempted to assassinate Vice President Cristina has what looks to be a Sonnenrad/Black Sun symbol tattoo on his arm. @C5N pic.twitter.com/AnI4YTSzcw

— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) September 2, 2022

A few hours after the incident, Argentinian President Alberto Fernández, in a short televised address to the nation, repudiated the incident and explained that for some reason not yet understood the firearm did not discharge despite the trigger having been pulled. He declared national holiday for Friday September 2, to let the country deal with the criminal incident and also to let Argentinians mobilize to express their repudiation.

President Alberto Fernández to the nation: "@CFKArgentina remains alive because for a reason not yet technically confirmed, the gun which had five bullets did not fire despite the trigger being pulled." pic.twitter.com/bp61EockbA

— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) September 2, 2022

International condemnation
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was among the first heads of states to condemn the incident publicly. He wrote on his Twitter account: “We send our solidarity to Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner after the attempt on her life. We strongly repudiate this action that is trying to destabilize the peace of the Argentine people. The Great Homeland is with you compañera!”


Enviamos nuestra solidaridad a la Vicepresidenta @CFKArgentina, ante el atentado contra su vida. Repudiamos enérgicamente esta acción que busca desestabilizar la Paz del hermano pueblo argentino. ¡La Patria Grande está contigo compañera! #FuerzaArgentina #FuerzaCristina pic.twitter.com/BEqRsYIMjl

— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) September 2, 2022

President Luis Arce of Bolivia also wrote a tweet denouncing the incident. “We emphatically repudiate the attempt on the life of sister Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, vice president of Argentina.,” he wrote. “We, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, send all our support to her, her family, the Argentine government and people.”


Repudiamos enfáticamente el atentado contra la vida de la hermana @CFKArgentina, vicepresidenta de #Argentina. Desde el Estado Plurinacional de #Bolivia enviamos todo nuestro apoyo a ella, a su familia, al gobierno y pueblo argentino. #TodosConCristina pic.twitter.com/UmuK0jjqOa

— Luis Alberto Arce Catacora (Lucho Arce) (@LuchoXBolivia) September 2, 2022

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales said: “We condemn the cowardly assassination attempt against our sister Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. All our solidarity to the vice president. The Great Homeland is with you sister. The criminal right servile to imperialism will not pass. The free and dignified people of Argentina will defeat it.”


Condenamos el cobarde intento de magnicidio en contra de nuestra hermana @CFKArgentina. Toda nuestra solidaridad a la vicepresidenta. La Patria Grande está contigo hermana. La derecha criminal y servil al imperialismo no pasará. El pueblo libre y digno de #Argentina la derrotará. pic.twitter.com/oKQe5oI2BZ

— Evo Morales Ayma (@evoespueblo) September 2, 2022

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said, “From Cuba, dismayed by the attempted assassination against Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, we convey all our solidarity to the vice president, the government and the Argentine people.”

Desde #Cuba, consternados con el intento de asesinato de @CFKArgentina, trasladamos toda nuestra solidaridad a la vicepresidenta, al gobierno y al pueblo argentinos.#TodosConCristina #FuerzaCristinahttps://t.co/n7n2b8CyMR

— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) September 2, 2022

Chilean President Gabriel Boric condemned the incident in a Twitter post. “The assassination attempt on the vice president of Argentina, Cristina Fernández, deserves the repudiation and condemnation of the entire continent,” he wrote. “My solidarity with her, the government and the Argentine people. Debate of ideas and dialogue should always be the path, weapons or violence never.”

El intento de asesinato a la vicepresidenta de Argentina, Cristina Fernández, merece el repudio y condena de todo el continente. Mi solidaridad con ella, el Gobierno y el pueblo argentino. El camino siempre será el debate de ideas y el diálogo, nunca las armas ni la violencia.

— Gabriel Boric Font (@gabrielboric) September 2, 2022

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo also expressed his solidarity with the vice president of Argentina. “All my solidarity with Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and the Argentine people,” he wrote on Twitter. “The Peruvian government condemns the attack against her life that took place today. We repudiate any act of violence.”

Toda mi solidaridad con la vicepresidenta @CFKArgentina y el pueblo argentino. El Gobierno peruano condena el atentado ocurrido hoy contra su vida. Repudiamos todo acto de violencia.

— Pedro Castillo Terrones (@PedroCastilloTe) September 2, 2022

Even far-right Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso posted a tweet in the same vein as the rest of the presidents of the region. “I condemn the attack committed against Vice President Cristina Fernández and I send Ecuador’s solidarity to the Argentine government of Alberto Fernández. We believe in democracy and peace. We reject hate and violence,” he wrote in the post.

Condeno los hechos registrados contra la vicepresidenta Cristina Fernández y envío la solidaridad del Ecuador al Gobierno argentino de @alferdez. Creemos en la democracia y la paz. Rechazamos el odio y la violencia.

— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) September 2, 2022

Until the time of publishing this article, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador were yet to comment on the incident. However, the Foreign Affairs Secretariat of Mexico, through its official Twitter account, expressed the repudiation of the Mexican government against the attempt on Cristina Fernández’s life.

El Gobierno de México expresa su preocupación por los hechos ocurridos hoy en Buenos Aires, al tiempo que expresa su solidaridad con la vicepresidenta de Argentina, Cristina Fernández, y con el pueblo y Gobierno de esa nación.

— Relaciones Exteriores (@SRE_mx) September 2, 2022

Former president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, and former president of Brazil and presidential candidate for October’s election, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva also condemned the assassination attempt and expressed their solidarity for the Argentinian vice president and the people of Argentina.

Orinoco Tribune special by staff

https://orinocotribune.com/argentinas-c ... n-attempt/

********************

Man Who Pointed Gun at Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Arrested

Image
Identified as Fernando Sabak Montiel is arrested after pulling a pistol just inches from the vice president's head. Sep. 1, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@SATSAIDnacional

Published 1 September 2022 (9 hours 39 minutes ago)

On Thursday night, Argentina's Federal Police arrested a person with a gun in front of the house of Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires, local media report.

An individual pulled a gun just inches away from the vice-president's head while she was greeting the demonstrators who have been waiting for days to support her in the Vialidad case, according to sources from the National Security Ministry.

The Federal Police and the former president's bodyguards arrested the individual who, according to local media, is a 35-year-old man of Brazilian origin carrying a Bersa pistol.

The detainee's name is Fernando Sabak Montiel, the Security Ministry said noting that Montiel has a record for weapons possession.

"It is a person who is pointed out by those who were close to him, who show that he had a weapon and this person is detained by the custody personnel, he is taken away. Now the situation has to be analyzed by our scientific people to evaluate the disposition of this person," Security Minister Aníbal Fernández said.


"A reprehensible and unacceptable fact. They tried to assassinate Argentina's leader Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in front of her supporters. They will not be able to silence good people. Maximum support from Cuba."

The vice-president's lawyer, Gregorio Dalbon, said via Twitter: "An attempt was made against the vice-president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. We will not stop until we know who did it."

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Man ... -0022.html

Hmm, a Brazilian and apparently a fascist..Who do we know of in Brazil of such persuasion who worried in public about the 'pink wave'?
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Tue Sep 06, 2022 2:07 pm

Chileans Reject New Constitution or Boric Government? (Early Results)
SEPTEMBER 5, 2022

Image
Unpopular Chilean president, Gabriel Boric casting his vote for the constitutional referendum this Sunday, September 4, 2022. Photo: La Vanguardia.

Caracas, September 4, 2022 (OrinocoTribune.com)—This Sunday, Chileans were faced with the task of either approving or rejecting the new constitution drafted, after almost 80% of them demanded it in late 2020 with the popular rebellion that shook the South American nation, which some consider an island of prosperity. The early results reflect a wide victory for those against the new draft, with 61.9% rejecting it and 38.1% approving it, having 98.43% of the votes counted in the preliminary stage.

Telesur reported that electoral authorities indicated that 15,076,690 citizens were qualified to cast their vote in the Chilean territory, while 97,239 were summoned abroad. In detail, with 99.46% of the tables counted, the rejection option obtained 7,876,142 votes (61.87%) and the approval obtained 4,853,901 (38.13%). At the same time, the blank and null votes reached 77,231 and 200,567 respectively.


Approve and reject were the two options given at the polls in Chile to decide on the new constitution. Approving would have meant abandoning the 1980 constitution born under the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, and having a new political pact that reads in its first article: “Chile is a social and democratic constitutional state. It is multinational, intercultural, regional and ecological.” Rejecting it opens up a picture of uncertainty and is seen as a blow for both the uprising that began in 2019, and for Gabriel Boric’s government that many see as a fraud and thus have given him very low approval ratings.

This result brought an end to a democratic experiment that began as an attempt to unify a country in crisis. In 2019, Chile’s streets erupted in protest, powered by working and middle-class people struggling with high prices and low wages. In a society long held up as a symbol of prosperity in the region, thousands of Chileans poured out their anger on a government they felt had abandoned them. The ruling class accepted a solution to ease the unrest presented by the leaders of the uprising, including Boric: They pledged to write a new constitution, replacing the current version written under the brutal military regime of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The following year, Chileans overwhelmingly voted in favor of drafting a new Magna Carta, reported the Washington Post.

The proposal would have granted certain civil rights like: Gender equality, environmental protections, Indigenous and LGBTQ rights and legal access to abortion, as well as access to high-quality education, healthcare and water. It would have also granted rights to nature and animals and demanded government action to address climate change as well as requiring gender parity across government and public-private companies.

Voting centers reported long lines all over the country and high turnout as Chileans took part in the mandatory vote, which experts say adds uncertainty to polls, which have consistently showed a greater chance of rejection than support.

According to Argentinian journalist Marco Teruggi, the polls marked a victory for those rejecting the constitution. This negative forecast for the new text began in April, according to, for example, the Cadem pollster. From there, rejection was always above approval with a difference of nine points (46% to 37%) in data collected from August 17 to 19. In the case of Pulso Ciudadano, rejection prevails with 45.8% vs. 32.9%, and for Panel Ciudadano the difference is 49% vs. 39%. An average difference of ten points in what would be a significant defeat for the constitution written over a year ago by the Constitutional Convention.


The journalist wrote a tweet this Sunday stating that, “Pinochet’s constitution did not win. Far-right sectors do not defend it publicly, there is no consensus for it, that is why they are talking about drafting a new proposal. It is a loss for the Constituent Convention proposal indeed, and a blow to the government with low approval ratings.”

Sociologist Aníbal Garzón wrote something on the same vein on his Twitter account: “It seems that in Chile the rejection of approval will prevail. The next essential question is: “Is the rejection of the draft of the new constitution itself, or is it rather a rejection of the moderate and decaffeinated government of Boric?”

According to Reuters President Gabriel Boric’s office confirmed Sunday night that he had called a meeting with political parties on Monday. Boric vowed to govern with unity after he voted in the southern city of Punta Arenas early on Sunday. “In the difficult times we had as a country we took the path of resolving our differences and moving forward towards greater democracy,” Boric told reporters after voting.

No matter the outcome, Boric said the government will work with all sectors to “advance in justice, equality, growth and development for everyone.” The Chilean president will have to overcome the great divide he has built as president over the last few months, between his promises and alleged left leaning goals and the reality Chileans see on the street. For now many experts foresee a government readjustment and a change of ministers in the coming days.

Orinoco Tribune special by staff

https://orinocotribune.com/chileans-rej ... y-results/

*********************************

FRUSTRATED ASSASSINATION AGAINST CRISTINA FERNÁNDEZ: A PANORAMIC ANALYSIS
2 Sep 2022 , 4:19 pm .

Image
"Our vice president has been attacked and social peace has been disturbed," said Argentine President Alberto Fernández (Photo: Télam)

The assassination attempt against Cristina Fernández in Argentina puts a country on high alert at a critical political moment. The vice president, a leader with the greatest popularity in Argentine society in the last decade, has been the target of a political, judicial and media campaign for years, whose turning point is this assassination attempt.

Demonstrations of support for Vice President Fernández are unfolding with intensity in the streets of the River Plate country and in digital communication channels, in repudiation of political crime methods. In a context of lawfare , internal political confrontation, economic and social crisis, foreign interference (read the Emtrasur case ), infodemic, a commotion like this one would unleash scenarios where political physical violence takes hold.

*President Alberto Fernández repudiated the assassination attempt and gave due importance to the event: "We are facing an event that has extreme institutional and human gravity. Our vice president has been attacked and social peace has been altered."
*Argentine politicians (including those from the opposition, such as Mauricio Macri), from the region and other parts of the world have expressed solidarity and/or rejection of the event.

Similar scenarios have been experienced in other latitudes, such as Venezuela. Political violence leaves painful balances in societies, since it touches the structural degrees of the state and the population, imaginaries are instrumentalized according to agendas and tactics, systemic and daily violence becomes more acute. A walk through the recent history of the American continent gives an account of the immediate precedents. Argentina is being taken to these paths consistently since the rise of Kirchnerism as a government actor and political-social phenomenon.

Although there are sectors that dare to trivialize the event , there are factual data on the assassination attempt such as the identity of the aggressor and its ideological component, in addition to the audiovisuals where the triggering of the firearm is clearly shown pointing at Cristina Fernández.

THE FACTUAL AND WHAT IS UNDER SUSPICION

The man who pulled the trigger is Fernando Andres Sabag Montiel, a motor carrier by profession, who was carrying a Bersa .38-caliber pistol with five bullets. He fired just inches from Fernandez, but the bullets did not come out.

The subject was arrested on the spot.

The Argentine vice president was, around 9 pm on Thursday, September 1, in the vicinity of her home, between Juncal and Uruguay, in Recoleta (Buenos Aires), signing autographs and greeting supporters and militants. Among the pile of her, Sabaq Montiel unsuccessfully attacked her, in a maneuver that points to a non-individual work.

Page/12 states that Cristina Fernández's lawyer, Gregorio Dalbón, assured that "custody failed."

The same media quotes the Minister of Security, Aníbal Fernández, who stated that "all the actions were in official custody. After the analyzes there will be more information about it. Let's wait a bit to give details about the weapon."

The Federal Police, responsible for the custody of Cristina Kirchner, announced today, September 2, that an "interdisciplinary team" of that force was created for the investigation into the attack, which at the moment is in the stage of collecting "evidence for the cause."

The team is in charge of the National Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of First Instance 5, made up of the Public Ministry and all the Federal Police agencies.

*At the close of this note, the detainee's telephone number is being analyzed in the building of the Court of the Federal Capital of Argentina: it has already been entered and all his messages are being analyzed.

If the thesis that there was an "action" (a plot) by the Federal Police is confirmed, the plot would be complicated to new levels in the current Argentine scenario. In a previous analysis we recalled the connection between the justice system, the intelligence and security services, the anti-Kirchnerist political class and foreign political lobbies in Argentina, regarding the Emtrasur case, an arrangement that can be extended to the still unveiled threads behind the assassination attempt.

But there is more data that contradicts the unfortunate "lone wolf" theory, which uses the hypothesis that it was an individual work.

Sabaq Montiel had appeared just weeks and months before on Crónica TV , the Grupo Olmos information channel, characterized by its stridency and political sensationalism. At the time of the video, he and his girlfriend spoke against the social plans for the most impoverished sectors of the country, a cut that went viral a few weeks ago.


In this other, he appears as one more passerby, willing to contribute to the channel's report, to testify against the appointment of Sergio Massa as a member of President Fernández's cabinet.


Sabaq Montiel, in March 2021, "was intercepted by the Police aboard a black, license-free Chevrolet Prisma, which he claimed to be an employee of a telephone company. Upon opening the doors, the police found a 35-centimeter-long knife. For that episode, a misdemeanor act was drawn up and the Prosecutor's Office No. 8 intervened, although the file was archived some time later, " reports Página/12 .

*Also, he has esoteric symbolisms related to extreme right-wing ideologies, such as Nazism, tattooed on his skin.
*Among them, the black sun, Sonnenrad or wheel of the sun, is tattooed on his elbow. It is an esoteric symbol that the Nazi general Heinrich Himmler made fashionable and is very widespread in the current extreme right , seen hundreds of times in Ukraine and its surroundings.
*Payton S. Gendron himself, murderer of the massacre in Buffalo (United States) in recent May, wore the symbol on his bulletproof vest and members of the Azov Regiment had it tattooed.

In any case, what we can affirm is that the attack was not "an act of individual violence," as the opposition politician and former Homeland Security Minister Bullrich described it , coming from the Montoneros guerrilla organization and probably a political card of importance of the United States, but rather of a clear political crime. Whether it is a "lone wolf" or a plot, the accumulation of psychological, media, political and judicial operations against Fernández herself has created a social climate for a scene of shocking political violence like the current one.

THE IDEOLOGICAL APPARATUSES OF HATE

Since Kirchnerism took over the reins of the state, destitution campaigns of criminalization and propaganda are the daily bread in Argentina.

The figures of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner have been systematically attacked with a variety of maneuvers that range from the media to the judicial, going through political and now violent confrontations. In her two presidential terms, and now as vice president, Fernández has experienced the escalation of aggressions and attempts to nullify her political and militant exercise by the most reactionary national sectors, and even international ones.

*In 2009, on a flight of the presidential helicopter where President Cristina Fernández and her husband, then deputy Néstor Kirchner, were traveling to Buenos Aires, the radio communication was intercepted and voices were heard alluding to their crew members. "Kill the mare", "Kill the fish", "Kill her", were the phrases that appeared along with a fragment of "Avenida de las Camelias", a military march that accompanied the communiqués of the last dictatorship for years. The interference could have been enough to cause danger: "If they had given instructions to a plane -said the pilot Jorge Pérez Tamayo-, it could have collided in the air".

The current Argentine president is not the only important actor in the country who calls for the repudiation of this type of strategic campaign. Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Nobel Peace Prize winner, called for "preventing the mafia of hate from advancing." Nora Cortiñas, co-founder of Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, denounced :

"It is not possible to tolerate this hatred, nor this poison that the right spreads. They spread poison. This hatred was growing on the right in an unusual way, there is violence against Cristina as a result of manifest hatred that until now has not reached this level."

Thus, the violent instrumentalization of hate is a component that is recognized as being at the center of the political confrontation (remember the "Long live cancer" graffiti for the death of Eva Perón ), in the understanding that all discursive and symbolic action , well fed and extended to all spheres of society, is likely to have different responses in physical reality.

In this sense, the case can be understood from the point of view of "stochastic terrorism", which according to the Spanish academic Miguel Palomo is a "notion that comes to indicate acts of terrorism carried out by lone wolves that have been fed with informative elements that continually reinforce the radical ideology that they have gradually acquired thanks to misinformation, the functioning of networks and echo chambers ".

The attack was an act of terrorist assassination; the shock and social consternation in a context of political insecurity that opens in the Argentine scene is a forceful terrorist element. The social and political psyche constantly bombarded with ideological and misinformation toxicity is also a norm in media terrorism operations, with practical implications in the political and social field.

A sample:

Image

LAWFARE IN CONTEXT

Cristina Fernández was already the protagonist of many covers in the Argentine press, this time for the cause called Vialidad, in which they seek to condemn her for allegedly favoring the businessman Lázaro Báez in the concession of public works in Santa Cruz.

Prosecutors Diego Luciani and Sergio Mola requested 12 years in prison for the current vice president and perpetual disqualification from holding charges, after accusing her of leading an illicit association to defraud the state.

Faced with the rejection of the court in her request to speak, the Peronist leader denounced on social networks, on August 24, that she was facing a "media-judicial firing squad", and alleged that the sentence was already signed before the beginning of the cause. He described the corruption within the Judiciary as a feast for its agents, in this case the prosecutors, court presidents, judges and fundamental members of the Federal Chamber of Cassation, who have ties to the macrismo and other opposition power groups.

And he referred to the judicialization of his figure for political reasons, pointing to the judicial sewers of his country:

" Lawfare has a higher level. We Argentines have always gone a little further. When we experienced the tragedy of the genocidal dictatorship, it was the bloodiest of all (...) In this farce of today that is lawfare in Latin America, when there are no military parties, but there is a Judicial Party, they go one step further. Here it is not about stigmatizing or confusing popular governments with illicit associations, now they protect those who truly steal from the country."

With Vialidad, the vice president accumulates 10 judicial cases in which she was prosecuted, seven of them by federal judge Claudio Bonadio, who died in 2020. Five of those cases are awaiting an oral trial, that is, after her processing, the justice closed the stage of investigation and now another court will judge his guilt.

So we are in the presence of a persecution, in the search to erase Cristina Fernández from the political, national social and physical panorama, less than a year before the 2023 presidential elections. Instability is the new stability in Argentina ( and in much of the American continent for a few years), with lawfare as a central element in the institutional dynamics.

Now, the ingredient of political violence is added in a highly volatile scenario full of uncertainties in the southern country. An assassination attempt is proof that Argentina is crossing a threshold that it has not crossed since the years of the last military dictatorship, when state terrorism was in collusion with the judiciary and death was a politically accepted remedy.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/ma ... panoramico

*********************

President of Congress, Lady Camones, dismissed in Peru

Image
Camones was accused of usurpation of functions, illegal sponsorship, and influence peddling. | Photo: Peru 21
Published September 6, 2022 (6 hours 52 minutes ago)

The motion of censure against Camones was approved with 61 votes in favor, 47 against and 5 abstentions.

The Congress of Peru approved this Monday the motion of censure by which Lady Camones was removed as its president, after leaking a conversation between her and the leader of the Alianza Para el Progreso (APP) party, César Acuña, in which she would benefit him with the approval of a bill.

With 61 votes in favor, 47 against and 5 abstentions, the Peruvian Congress endorsed the motion of censure against Camones, and declared the vacancy; therefore, a new vote must be called to find his replacement.

Regarding the conversation, in the same Acuña, the APP candidate for the Regional Government of La Libertad, a Peruvian department where Trujillo is located, asked Camones to speed up the process of approving said bill. "The agreement is that the APP caucus is going to lead the creation of the district of Alto Trujillo," Acuña said on the subject.


Presented by various congressmen, including Guillermo Bermejo (PD), Katy Ugarte (BM), Ruth Luque (CD-JPP), and Kely Portalatino (PL), the motion of censure accused Camones of usurping functions, illegal sponsorship, and influence peddling.

"In her capacity as president of the Board of Directors, she is the one that leads the development of the agenda of the plenary sessions and decides which bills will go to debate and approval, all in accordance with the content of the broadcast audios where they are heard. the orders and demands of a person outside the Legislature," argued the congressmen who presented the motion.

Meanwhile, the APP legislator César Salhuana requested to reject the motion, arguing that “the leader proposes that some projects be prioritized, no document was moved, there was no management regarding the request, therefore, the illegal act is not configured, there is no submission of the president of Congress to the will of a candidate. I ask that the motion be denied."

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

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

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Sat Sep 24, 2022 2:33 pm

The Alignments of Latin America Reflected Through its Leaders in the UN
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on SEPTEMBER 22, 2022

Image
Colombian President Gustavo Petro

The 77th high-level segment of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) began on September 13 and so far 16 Latin America countries have spoken, and the differences in the tone and topics of the speeches reflects the complex political situation in the region.

The ultra-right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was the first one to address the Assembly. His highly politicized and electoral speech did not surprise anyone, except for the hypocrisy he showed when talking about climate change, since his government is responsible for the dramatic increase in deforestation and the massive neglect of the Amazon rainforest. However, his name made headlines after the New York City Empire State Building’s facade was lit with phrases of protest against him.

Bolsonaro did not miss the opportunity to criticize the Nicaraguan government while making some electoral propaganda. He talked about corruption in his country during the Worker’s Party (PT) mandates but completely ignored that both he and his son are under investigation due to corruption and influence peddling charges in the purchase of vaccines against COVID-19. Instead of focusing on the purpose of the multilateral meeting, Bolsonaro instead made the UNGA another stage for his electoral campaign, which has been widely criticized worldwide.

Paraguayan President Mario Abdo did not miss a chance to show his colors by criticizing his neighbors by saying his country would do everything possible to continue investigating alleged human rights violations in Venezuela. He also highlighted his administration’s economic achievements, which are based on the implementation of harsh neoliberal policies that have plunged thousands of Paraguayans into poverty.

Memory is not the strong suit of regional right-wing, and Abdo is an example of it since last year the Paraguayan people protested in the streets and demanded his resignation due to his chaotic management of the pandemic and the subsequent economic crisis.

However, these shameful actions have not been the rule but rather the exception. Most of the region’s leaders and Foreign Affairs Ministers have focused on the region’s main challenges and urging unity to overcome them. Among the most urgent ones are climate change, the increasing poverty, hunger and inequality, respect for the sovereignty of peoples, and while confronting all kinds of organized crime.

One of the boldest speeches was that of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who masterfully showed the world that humanity’s main problems are the result of an economic-social system based on irrational consumerism, unequal distribution of wealth, and rewards competition instead of cooperation. Until this reality is changed, any solution will be nothing more than a palliative one.

Petro stated the fight against drug trafficking in the region has failed. The strategies supported by the United States have only increased violence and destroyed the environment through the indiscriminate use of herbicides such as glyphosate. According to the president, it is not possible to solve the problem by blaming only the producers. It rather is mandatory to eradicate the reasons why people consume drugs. In this regard, he pointed out that the United States is one of the main consumers in the world, and it is doing little to change this.

This position was shared by Bolivian President Luis Arce, who rejected recent White House accusations against his country, which was included on a unilateral list of “major drug transit countries or producers of illicit drugs.”

Both Bolivia and Colombia raised the need to accelerate the global energy transition and reduce dependence on hydrocarbons, which are the main cause of global warming.

Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador’s presidents spoke for Central America. The three presidents agreed that the migratory waves that pass through their countries towards the United States will not be stopped by more discrimination against migrants or fences. Instead, it is necessary to foster cooperation and improve people’s living conditions. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele affirmed powerful states should respect the sovereignty of their small neighbors and stop obstructing their development, which is a clear reference to U.S. interference in the affairs of his country and the region.

Meanwhile, Honduras’ President Xiomara Castro stressed people cannot be judged for migrating to look for better living conditions. Reducing inequality, creating decent jobs, and improving social assistance are some of the initiatives her government has implemented for the welfare of its people. However, all efforts will be incomplete if developed countries do not commit to increasing cooperation and transforming the current world economic order.

Xiomara Castro also rejected the unilateral sanctions by countries such as the United States and made special mention of the blockade against Cuba. This position was echoed by other leaders such as Argentina and Bolivia’s heads of state. Meanwhile, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez denounced the effects of this genocidal policy, which violates international law, and causes countless suffering to Cuban families all around the world. He also stressed the need to stand as one to help the Haitian people, the poorest country in the region.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez also stood with the progressive block of the Latin American region. He reminded the body that all the IMF debt that his government inherited thanks to the Macri years must be mitigated to allow for social and human improvements in the lives of the vast majority. He urged England to return to the negotiating table to return the Malvinas Islands back to its rightful owners as well as calling for the end the blockades of Cuba and Venezuela. As the current president of CELAC Fernandez, like the others, struck a chord of mutual respect and cooperation by saying, “We must work together in solidarity. We must strengthen a cooperative multilateralism that ensures the strengthening of the rule of law, the rule of nonviolence and greater equity to reduce social gaps”.

The interventions of the Latin America leaders demonstrated that progressive governments have common positions regarding the main challenges of the region. They also agree on the fact that U.S meddling only hinders possible solutions and deepens the problems. The solutions to global problems will have no effect unless radical changes are implemented in the distribution of wealth worldwide and the recognition that the developed countries are the ones most responsible for the deteriorating condition of the planet . On the other hand, positions such as those of Bolsonaro and Abdo, clinging to the old imperial paradigm, make it clear that the regional right has little to offer our peoples.

Resumen Latinoamericano – US

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/09/ ... in-the-un/

*****************

GABRIEL BORIC AS THEY HAD NOT TOLD YOU

William Serafino

23 Sep 2022 , 9:20 am .

Image

Name of saint and surname of Croatian origin. 36 years. The youngest president of his country. An unprecedented government cabinet , with a female majority. He rules as a minority in the Chilean Congress, and in parallel a Constituent Convention meets, against the backdrop of a severe crisis of legitimacy of the traditional parties.

Gabriel Boric, the new president of Chile, assumes the government with a robe that gives him automatic ovations. His recent foreign policy statements, after his victory, point against Venezuela for various reasons, instrumental and ideological, framed in a more general movement that puts the phenomenon of the identity-based left back on the landscape.

Put in black and white, for a country victim of a bloody dictatorship, whose transition to democracy was supervised by an elite that rode on the psychological and cultural effects of State terrorism to constitutionalize the reproduction of its power and consolidate the neoliberal agenda promoted for Pinochet with The Brick , Boric is undoubtedly good news. The best among the worst?

The problems begin when the focus narrows and the accent is placed on the scale of nuances that every social phenomenon carries with it. Nobody would doubt that the schism of the Chilean right has brought a new stage for the country, but it would be risky to affirm, by way of definitive conclusion, that the new president was its natural result .

Recapitulating, the social outbreak of October 2019, whose main symbol was the Plaza de la Dignidad, catapulted Boric to the Palacio de La Moneda, amid a shift towards the "independents" and a high abstention, called "structural " by some, which marked both the election of the Constituent Assembly and the presidential dispute against José Antonio Kast.

The mention of the outbreak is not gratuitous because, indisputably, the projection of Boric, which began in 2011 as a student leader and later as a deputy, definitively matured in that severely repressed protest process, where Aunt Pikachu and Sensual Spiderman , two activists dressed as said characters, represented the cultural framework of the movement.

But the coincidence with the symbolic layer of the cycle of protests was not only intuitive or generational. Boric, when he jumped into institutional politics, had within his system of references the experience of Podemos in Spain, and particularly Íñigo Errejón, responsible for dividing the Spanish left in an attack of ego and narcissism , which was the previous step to found a green party, in line with the European environmental current.

That the ideological compass and the intellectual sources of the new president are in Europe allows Eugenio Tironi, professor at the Catholic University, to equate Boric with Daniel Cohn-Bendit, iconic leader of the French May. "Boric would be a corrected version of Daniel Cohn-Bendit, who does May '68 in 2011 and instead of going to a hippie community, creates a party," says Tironi.

In August 2019, a few weeks before Santiago de Chile was set on fire, Boric tweeted the following from his personal account:
Gabriel Boric Font
@gabrielboric
Greta Thunberg is the best thing that has happened to the public debate in a long time. Humanity will have much to thank him for. Let's take care of it by listening to it, respecting it, but above all acting in the face of the climate emergency. There is no time to lose.
Translate Tweet
5:21 PM · Aug 30, 2019
·Twitter for Android
The logical result of drinking from the debates, intellectual sources and political references that are fashionable in Europe, is that Boric understands politics and the left from their falsely universal coordinates. For this reason, his rhetoric against Venezuela has been limited to topics such as democracy and human rights, artificially presented from a perspective of fixed, immovable, unchangeable values ​​and, above all, not subject to manipulation.

With the prodigious record of punitive interventions and neocolonial wars in the name, precisely, of democracy and human rights, one should start from a place of minimal suspicion when addressing these terms. But, for Boric, they represent abstract values ​​of automatic, "universal" affiliation, with which he injects oxygen into the Western war machine, which finds in a more "modern" and "up-to-date" left an area of ​​new justifications to continue pressing to Venezuela, taking advantage of the "two-way consensus", on the right and on the left.

The United States Department of State rubs its hands listening and reading Boric.

The Errejón thing is not an accessory fact. Compared ad nauseam to Milhouse from The Simpsons , the founder of Podemos soaked up the Peronist debate when he was in Argentina and, in an intellectual fraud maneuver, reintroduced some of his codes in Spain. His lack of honesty led him to believe that it was possible to import political concepts and tactics without taking into account that Peronist theses, like Maradona's, are exclusively Argentine phenomena, therefore, irreproducible in a different context.

This intellectual mess has caused the left to take the path of conflicts of interest and recognition through identities, abandoning the class struggle and the dispute over the material base of societies, increasingly absorbed by the disintegrating dynamics of capitalism. late.

To hold Errejón responsible for this would be to give him too much credit, even though he is part of the president's intellectual edifice in a country of almost 20 million people.

Mark Lilla, a renowned American specialist in the study of identity politics, argues that the road began to go hopelessly crooked in the 1960s, when the progressive left stopped grouping together people from the working class and agricultural communities, to focus solely on the universities. Errejón and, by elevation, Boric, are part of this drift.

"Today's activists and leaders are educated almost exclusively in colleges and universities [...] especially at the elite level, they are largely separated socially and geographically from the rest of the country," says Lilla, situating her analysis in her area of ​​expertise. : USA.

Another piece of information of interest provided by Lilla is the ideological charge transmitted by the generation of the 1960s to which it would take over, which encouraged "young people to turn to themselves, instead of turning them towards the wider world they share with others".

Gradually, Lilla recounts, common causes lost vigor and appeal, and "the conviction took root that the most significant movements for oneself are […] about oneself," because "political activity must have some authentic meaning for oneself." the self", for the sake of fulfilling "the limited objective of understanding and affirming what one already is".

In this flight towards the self, in the words of Hannah Arendt, who traced the current drift of the left, the French May had a cardinal importance. Diego Sequera rightly calls it the first color revolution, due to its movement-oriented nature focused on cultural expressiveness and its disintegrating character under a cool umbrella of false libertinism. Beginning in the 1960s, as Gregory Leffel assertsinterpreting Lilla himself and the philosopher William Desmond, there was a "revolution of consciousness" that provoked a new look at politics and culture: the totality centered on material conflict, the great groupings of class and nation, the great demands of social transformation, justice and equity, lost ground in the face of an artificial concern around the self, where subjectivities and the recognition of minorities became the cards to play in the political arena.

This process would not have had the impact it had on the formation of our immediate present if it were not for the intellectual current led by Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Derrida, the Frankfurt School, among others, for whom the focus on individuality , in the peripheral oppressions and their "flight lines" were a way of resistance to capitalist totalization. They did not see, however, that the post-Fordist reformulation of neoliberal capitalism would take them at their word and restructure its operation on the basis of the most harmful individualized consumerism, where personal reaffirmations, in a controlled market of identities, strengthen the control of the system.

It was not gratuitous, an aside, that the CIA promoted Foucault's thought to create a negative opinion against communism.

From this moment we can understand the origin of the political vocabulary that marks our current situation. Intersectionality, fluidity, performativity, among others, are the marks of an era where the left has lost contact with reality, given that the abstract academic debate and the obsessive use of Big Data simulate a coherent mediation with society.

In his magisterial essay The Left and the Politics of Identity , the British historian Eric Hobsbawm warned of the risks that assuming identity politics as a strategic program and intellectual figurehead would bring to the Left. One of the problems that Hobsbawm detected is that "most collective identities are more like a shirt than skin, that is, they are, at least in theory, optional, not inescapable. And he also assumes, for Of course, you have to get rid of the others because they are incompatible with your true self.

The practical result of identity politics, in the light of this analysis, is the permanent competition for quotas of institutional or cultural representation, where the accumulation of status, prestige and recognition is mediated by the very mediations of the cultural sphere of capitalism. Division and fragmentation are encouraged, since the links of solidarity between struggle agendas would be rather portable, conjunctural, since what is really important is to meet the demands of each group. Once exhausted, the identity withdraws into the private sphere to become an object of consumption.

But the problems that arise from this are also tactical. As the historian points out:

"Since the 1970s, there has been a tendency, a growing tendency, to see the left as essentially a coalition of minority groups and interests: of race, gender, sexual preference, or other cultural preferences and lifestyles, and even of minorities. [...] A very understandable trend, but dangerous, and more so to the extent that conquering majorities is not equivalent to adding minorities".

Apparently we are in the presence of the climax of what Hobsbawm warned about with concern when he published his essay in 1996, where identity politics has paralleled the same globalizing dynamic of capitalism. The war for resources, the domination of corporations, but also the vocabulary and forms and methods of a Western left that betrayed humanity have been globalized.

It is not about falling into the reduction to absurdity of assuming that, in the Chilean context or another, the struggle of gender, indigenous, environmental, and others, carry in their nature a negative attribute. It is rather the opposite: the identity politics carried out by the current left reinforces the isolation of these causes, turns them into ends in themselves, reduces their political potential to maneuvers of recognition and creates growing tensions for quotas of protagonism in the institutional and media landscape.

In this setting, Boric's speech upon victory over Kast is an interesting map of coordinates. The Chilean professor Grínor Rojo tries to capture the essential end of it, and emphasizes attributes that distance it from Allende's discourse, such as the emphasis on the difference and diversity of Chile. Beyond the sea of ​​contradictions in the text and the cascade of theoretical references used, Rojo interprets a master line that foreshadows the path that Boric will take:

"In short: the task that the conceptual background of Boric's speech is announcing and that he will try to implement is clear and correct: unite the national community, but without putting it in a straitjacket. Not even in a shirt of far-left force (the one that puts the working class or the entire people at the center and affirms that any identity that is not that is inadmissible) much less one of the far-right, for which differences do not exist either".

Perhaps without knowing it, Rojo confesses that Boric is decidedly far from that supposedly old-fashioned vision that sees Chile as a whole people, so he will focus on the lines that separate it. For a Boric shaped by the identitarian left, the image of the diverse, with its emphasis on difference, became more interesting, cool and attractive than the ordinary.

The substitution of the material and class axis for spectacularity and symbolic artifice can be a winning bet given the level of normalization of the identity obsession. Without having even achieved a real transformation in the conditions of such extreme inequality that the country is experiencing , Boric has already received applause for the gender parity in his cabinet and for his weighted tone and openness to multiple sectors.

There is no question that these are significant advances. But what is causing concern is that decisions in this direction are trying to be imposed as the only method of validating a ruler within that broad field that is the left and progressivism.

Venezuela, with a hybrid war of a nuclear power in tow, enduring unprecedented and growing pressure for years, is now trying to be blurred by a Boric who has not seen death head-on with a drone, nor a reward of 15 million dollars for his capture and murder or the dissolution of the treasury of the Republic that you manage due to an economic blockade.

Boric bets on identity politics because there he can obtain media triumphs and gain audience, support and prestige, according to the current mediocre guidelines, without fighting on the ground of a real war, as has happened to Maduro, who has had lose the good publicity of representing a "modern and democratic left" in exchange for keeping an entire country afloat.

Returning to the above, Pamela Figueroa in an extensive article in the Nueva Sociedad magazine considers that the "diversity" of Chilean society can only be seen through an identity filter:

"This plurality [that of the cabinet] is notorious in the face of the predominant presence of male lawyers or engineers in previous governments. Sexual diversity is also present, with two representatives of the LGTBI community. It is a cabinet that is more like the diversity of Chilean society".

Under a criterion of superficiality, Figueroa's thesis would be correct. However, according to figures from the National Institute of Statistics, 70% of Chilean household income comes from wages and salaries, 89.1% of workers and workers work 40 hours or more a week and more 70% of the workforce with salaries ranging between 288,000 and 1 million pesos, well below the average family spending .

Other data shows that in 34% of the companies where there are established unions there is harassment for being a member, in addition to workplace harassment and obstacles to membership.

The material landscape refutes Figueroa's thesis. The data shows a country compacted between suffering and precariousness. The lines of separation that are drawn are purely ideological and the product of academic concerns.

In his first interview with a foreign media after winning the elections (the BBC), Boric revealed the reflections of what was previously mentioned regarding identitarianism. When asked about the skills and competencies that a president should have, Boric stated:

"I have been forming the conviction that a good president is not the one who is busiest, is not the one who has more papers around him. A good president is the one who has the ability to listen, to be open to new ideas, even if they don't come from your innermost circle".

It's hard to know if Boric took on the challenge of driving a country first to feel good about himself.

In the same interview, he stated that he would not wear a tie for the change of command because it would betray his essence. He indicated that it is difficult for him to assimilate that he directs a presidential institution (part of the fact that it is idealized), that he aspires to leave office with less power with which he arrived and reaffirmed his good harmony with Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron regarding climate change.

He affirmed that "first one makes cultural changes before having the opportunity to direct them", incurring the error that there can be a transformation in that plane without conquering a solid social majority and achieving verifiable achievements in the distribution of wealth.

It is the turn of the Chilean economic elite to rub their hands, knowing that they have a wide margin of concessions and stabilization without seeing their real power privileges disturbed. As Boric said, "I don't expect them to agree with me, but I do expect them to stop being afraid of us."

To finish, it is obvious that Boric plays the card of attacking Venezuela to argue with the most left wing of his government, whose support for the process has been maintained. In this way, he indirectly polemicizes, tries to limit the margin of action of those most committed to the change agenda, but avoids the trouble of doing so on programmatic issues.

However, Boric's intellectual framework and understanding of the world is inseparable from his position against Venezuela in his first statements as elected president.

In short, its proximity to Europe is the cause of its distance from the Venezuelan process, and its delirium over forms and identities collides with a country that fights for its future and immediate survival from the concepts of class, nation and homeland, whose heritage continues to be a source of preservation and adaptation.

The commitment to tradition continues to save us from the confusion of novelty, which corresponds to the world of merchandise and consumption.

And it is normal that this accumulation of values ​​makes noise to someone who, for now, and very unlike us, has very little to prove.

https://misionverdad.com/opinion/gabrie ... an-contado

Google Translator

'Red' added because I think Hobsbawm was spot on and this factor is the primary reason for the retardation of the Left in the West, particularly in the USA. I feel that too often 'identity politics' devolves into rampant anarchic individualism.

A very good article.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Thu Oct 13, 2022 2:32 pm

Ecuador: Closure of Dialogue Between Gov and Indigenous Sector

Image
The dialogue process between the Government and the indigenous sector is coming to an end after the 90-day period agreed at the end of June. Oct. 12, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@CancilleriaEc

Published 12 October 2022 (11 hours 4 minutes ago)

"We are going to surpass 150 agreements; there are still four tables to be closed," said Government Minister Francisco Jimenez.


On Wednesday, government authorities reported the closure of the dialogue tables that sought agreements between the Executive and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE).

The symbolic closing of the dialogue is scheduled for October 14. However, the country's Minister of the Interior, Francisco Jiménez, was quick to celebrate the results of the dialogue today.

The topics of the ten roundtables established in this dialogue addressed the demands of the indigenous movement presented in the national mobilization of June.

Six dialogue roundtables managed to seal signed agreements (87), namely: Public and private banking, Energy and natural resources, Productive development, Price control, Security and justice, and Collective rights.


"Currently, four tables are open that will be closed until this Friday with agreements and disagreements because that is part of the dialogue.

The numbers speak for themselves and we are going to exceed 150 agreements. Despite the complexities, the dialogue has been effective."

Regarding the four remaining tables currently in session: health, higher education, labor rights and fuel subsidies, Jiménez said he hopes they can reach a successful conclusion with their respective agreements.

In this scenario, there is discontent on the part of Conaie leaders because there are signed agreements that have not been executed and critical points that have not been answered.

Last June, the Ecuadorian government and the indigenous sector signed the Act for Peace, an agreement reached by both parties after an 18-day national strike. The indigenous people asked for a response from the Executive to their demands, which had been ignored for years.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ecu ... -0017.html

Venezuelan Indigenous People March Against “Criminal Blockade”

Image
Hundreds of people participate in a pro-government demonstration on the Day of Indigenous Resistance today, in Caracas | Photo: EFE / Miguel Gutierrez

Published 12 October 2022

On the occasion of commemorating the 530th anniversary of Indigenous Resistance, indigenous chiefs and authorities of the country marched in rejection of the economic blockade promoted by the United States and the European Union against Venezuela.


Shouting slogans in support of President Nicolás Maduro, the demonstrators walked a block to reach the building where the United Nations headquarters in Venezuela is located, where they signed a document denouncing "imperial actions" against the nation.

Representatives of at least 44 indigenous ethnic groups living in Venezuela participated in the demonstration.

Marli Sulbarán, belonging to the Wayú community, insisted that indigenous people continue in resistance and celebrated the gains that these populations have made since the beginning of the Bolivarian revolution in 1999.

"Today October 12, 2022 we remember that 20 years ago President (Hugo) Chávez changed the day of the race to the Day of Indigenous Resistance (...) Today after 20 years, we continue resisting before the empire that has wanted to run over us", he stressed.

After consigning the document before the UN offices in Venezuela, the indigenous march went to the presidential palace of Miraflores, in the center of Caracas, where they were received by President Maduro and other authorities of the national Executive.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Ven ... -0018.html

**************

President of Bolivia defends inclusion of native peoples

Image
"Never again excluded or exploited in their own land," said Bolivian President Luis Arce. | Photo: @LuchoXBolivia
Published October 12, 2022 (11 hours 53 minutes ago)

Bolivia evokes this date as Decolonization Day in compliance with Supreme Decree 1005 in force since 2011.

The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, affirmed this Wednesday that the indigenous peoples will never be excluded in that nation, with the purpose of commemorating this October 12 the Day of Indigenous Resistance and Decolonization.

READ ALSO:

Challenges in the rights of indigenous peoples in Latin America

“Never again excluded or exploited in their own land; today, our original peasant indigenous peoples are protagonists of our Democratic and Cultural Revolution”, said the Bolivian president.

Likewise, he pointed out that "united and united, we will build a society with more inclusion and social justice", the date on which Bolivia evokes Decolonization Day in compliance with Supreme Decree 1005, in force since 2011.


According to local platforms, before the birth of the Plurinational State, the date was known as the Day of the Race. This date was also reconfigured to do justice to the looting caused by the invasion of the Spanish, Portuguese, English and French, among others, to territories of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Other messages for the Day of Resistance
In this sense, organizations, movements, institutions, leaders and prominent figures of the continent issued messages to claim the date. The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, pointed out that "we commemorate the Day of Indigenous Resistance as a recognition of the value of the Original Peoples who defended these lands with dignity."

"We support them, and we reject the manipulated version of history with which colonial barbarism has been tried to cover up," said the Venezuelan head of state.

From Cuba, the president of Casa de las Américas, Abel Prieto, stressed that “on October 12, 1492, Columbus 'discovered' America. Thus began a large-scale genocidal looting operation. Colonialism celebrated the date as Día de la Raza and Día de la Hispanidad. Let's call it the Day of Indigenous Resistance and remember its terrible toll."

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie) specified that it is the day of resistance of indigenous peoples. “Nothing to celebrate, a lifetime of fighting! We were not discovered, we were looted," the organization said.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/presiden ... -0034.html

This October 12, Latin America again raised its voice for the vindication of the rights of indigenous communities.

Image
Thousands of people, including members of indigenous communities and students, demonstrated this Wednesday in Mexico against the militarization of indigenous territories and condemned the capitalist and patriarchal war against the original peoples of that nation and other parts of the world.
Photo: EFE

Image
In the context of the Third Summit of Indigenous Women of Abya Yala, indigenous women leaders from nine countries in the region gathered in the Plaza de la Constitución in Guatemala, from where they expelled veterans, soldiers and former civil patrollers who had participated in the conflict internal armed and tried to infiltrate the activity. Photo: EFE

Image
The Colombian region of Cúcuta, near the border with Venezuela, was the site of a set of cultural activities organized by three indigenous peoples with different mother tongues, to celebrate the Day of Ethnic Diversity or the Resistance of the Original Peoples, as it is called. in Colombia on October 12.Photo: EFE

Image
Representatives of more than 32 ethnic groups from all Venezuelan states marched to the headquarters of the United Nations Organization (UN) in the Venezuelan capital, in defense of their rights and in rejection of the blockade and sanctions that the United States and the European Union have imposed on the South American country. Photo: EFE

Image
Ecuadorian indigenous people, Afro-Ecuadorian organizations and environmentalists from at least 22 American nations, issued an anti-colonial, anti-racist message and in rejection of extractivism, in the vicinity of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment.Photo: EFE

Image
The defense of the preservation of indigenous languages ​​in Brazil is represented in the exhibition "Nhe'e Pora: Memory and Transformation", in which indigenous Awá-guajás participate, and marks the beginning of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages ​​of Brazil (2022-2032), an initiative promoted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). Photo: EFE

Image
In Asunción, the capital of Paraguay, hundreds of members of indigenous peoples from different communities marched under the slogan "Without territory there is no dignified life", demanding compliance with public policies that favor them and respect for their rights. Photo: EFE

Published October 12, 2022 (11 hours 27 minutes ago)

https://www.telesurtv.net/multimedia/pu ... -0036.html

Google Translator

************************************

President Arce in Vallegrande: “Che Guevara is Not Dead. He Continues to Be a Light for Many of Us”.
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on OCTOBER 9, 2022
Andrés Figueroa Cornejo

Image

55 years after the fall of the revolutionary humanist and communist Ernesto Guevara, the President of the Plurinational State, Luis Arce Catacora, participated in his homage in Vallegrande, department of Santa Cruz, on the date and site where the heroic guerrilla and part of his comrades of the National Liberation Army, ELN, were captured by army troops and U.S. advisors on October 8, 1967.

On the occasion, the representative of solidarity with Cuba, Zoia Coronado, expressed that “today we make a commitment of ratification and atonement to the Cuban doctors who were vilely kicked out during the dictatorship (of Jeanine Áñez)”.

On his part, the Cuban ambassador in Bolivia, Danilo Sánchez, pointed out that, “we confirm once again the love of the people of Cuba for the people of Bolivia, as well as we ratify our company in the Bolivian process of its democratic and cultural revolution”, and referred to the fact that, “Times are extremely difficult in the world. In Cuba we are also living through complex situations, when the economic, commercial and financial blockade of the United States Government against our country is increasing. We lived 60 years ago in a trench of combat and we managed to triumph and also to help other peoples, thanks to the solidarity, among others, of you Bolivian brothers. I want, on behalf of my government and my people, to reiterate our conviction to continue working together with you, together with the social organizations, together with the authorities, so that mutual solidarity may be eternal, as Comandante Ernesto Che Guevara and Comandante Fidel Castro wished”.


In his first visit as Head of State to the homage that takes place every year in Vallegrande, Luis Arce said that “we are 55 years after the presence of Commander Che Guevara in our country. A long time has passed and I believe that all of us who have had the opportunity to read Che’s Diary in Bolivia, his texts and, above all, his story, know that Che, besides being a great writer, is a great example for every revolutionary. And that example of life, dedication and perseverance must be present, especially in the minds of young people who seek a transformation and a more just country”, and added that, “It is very interesting to see how Che Guevara dedicated himself to writing even on the economic issue. He was a great scholar of political economy. And in this regard, he wrote many things that are still valid today and that we, as a national government, have not lost sight of. In several of his articles, Che Guevara mentioned industrialization, and we, here in Bolivia, have already started with industrialization”.


Likewise, President Arce stated that, “Che Guevara taught us that being a revolutionary means the greatest detachment of love that a person can make; and that the struggle for the most humble and to transform an unjust society, a capitalist society that only pursues profit, means even giving one’s life. One must give one’s life if necessary to build a better society”, and added that, “It is also necessary to pay tribute to that generation of young people who accompanied him. To remember Inti Coco Peredo, Benjamín Coronado, Lorgio Vaca; the heroic miners like Simeón Cuba, Moisés Guevara, on whose backs they carried their wounded brother in an indelible gesture of combative solidarity. Because we Bolivians also accompanied the heroic deed that Comandante Che Guevara did for these lands. How can we forget them?”.

“Che Guevara has not died. He continues to be the light for many of us, for many revolutionaries and fighters. All of us who are here are the living proof that the thought of Che Guevara has not died, Che lives, the struggle continues, until victory always,” the Bolivian president ended his speech.

Under the offensive and barbarism of a planetary capitalism in multidimensional crisis and whose productive forces have become criminal forces destructive of nature and humanity, in the Andean center of Latin America there is a people and its leaders who continue to cherish the definitive independence and to organize the material, spiritual and social conditions for freedom.

As if Guevara’s star were a compass and dignity were customary.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/10/ ... any-of-us/

***************

Constitutional Complaint Against Peruvian President

Image
President Pedro Castillo is being charged by Attorney General Patricia Benavides for the alleged crimes of criminal organization, influence peddling and collusion. Oct. 11, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@SneiderLuz

Published 11 October 2022

The constitutional complaint was filed by the Peruvian Public Prosecutor's Office before the National Congress for alleged corruption.

The President of Peru, Pedro Castillo could now be impeached, disqualified from public office or suspended from office, depending on the decision of Congress.

Attorney General Patricia Benavides is charging Castillo for the alleged crimes of a criminal organization, influence peddling and conspiracy.

Former ministers Juan Silva (Transport and Communications) and Geiner Alvarado (Housing, Construction and Sanitation) are also in the crosshairs of the complaint.

Congress is the competent body to indict the President for violations of the Constitution, since a judicial resolution only allowed Benavides to conduct an investigation but not to accuse the President.


The National Prosecutor, Patricia Benavides, presented the constitutional complaint against the President of the Republic, Pedro Castillo, using a document submitted this afternoon to the table of parties of the Congress of the Republic.

The Attorney General opened four investigations against the President for alleged acts of corruption related to an alleged mafia within the Government.

The alleged mafia is accused of using public works to grant concessions in exchange for economic benefits.

Earlier today, the Public Prosecutor's Office raided the offices and homes of members of Congress and officials in Lima and other provinces, including the home of the President's sister.

This was part of a simultaneous search operation in connection with an alleged crime of criminal organization. Castillo denounced it as an abusive act.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Con ... -0019.html

Peru's President Denounces Raid on Sister's Home

Image
"This abusive act has affected her health. I hold the Attorney General's Office responsible for my mother's health," said Peru's President Pedro Castillo about today's raid on his sister's home. Oct. 11, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@larepublica_pe

Published 11 October 2022

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo denounced the raid as an abusive act that had affected his mother's health.

On Tuesday, the Public Prosecutor's Office raided the offices and homes of six members of Congress of Popular Action in connection with an alleged crime of criminal organization.

"The Prosecutor's Office has entered my sister's house. My mother is there. This abusive act has affected her health. I hold the National Prosecutor's Office responsible for my mother's health," Castillo said on Twitter.

On Tuesday morning, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Peruvian National Police (PNP) conducted a simultaneous search of the offices and homes of six Congress of Popular Action political party members in Lima and other provinces.

This was part of the investigations of the Public Prosecutor's Office for the alleged crime of criminal organization.


The President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, described this Tuesday as an abusive act the raid carried out at his sister's residence by the Public Ministry.

According to Castillo's lawyer, Benji Espinoza, what is sought is "to generate a halo of criminality to anyone who dares to have the surname Castillo or who is linked to the president."

Referring to the President's mother, who recently underwent an appendectomy, Espinoza said that "they have intervened the property where the President's mother is and have generated a commotion, and she has been in poor health."

The senior deputy prosecutor Marco Huamán, in charge of the proceedings, has proposed and given all the permits for the transfer of the President's mother to a health center, said the Public Prosecutor's Office.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0017.html

Winning elections ain't enough if ya don't seize the mechanisms of coercion they will be used against you.
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Fri Oct 21, 2022 1:50 pm

President Castillo calls for dialogue to stabilize democracy in Peru

Image
Last week, Pedro Castillo denounced that he is the victim of political persecution by the Prosecutor's Office and sectors of the Peruvian right. | Photo: @presidenciaperu
Published October 21, 2022 (7 hours 26 minutes ago)

The Peruvian president expressed that Peruvians “cannot stand any more political confrontations. Nor the politicization of justice. Nor the judicialization of politics.

Peruvian President Pedro Castillo on Thursday reiterated his call to political forces, representatives of public powers and social sectors of the country to a broad dialogue in favor of a commitment to stabilize democracy in the South American country.

After learning of the decision of the Organization of American States (OAS) to activate the Inter-American Democratic Charter, the head of state expressed that Peruvians “cannot stand any more political confrontations. Nor the politicization of justice. Nor the judicialization of politics.

Pedro Castillo affirmed that all sectors of the country must initiate a dialogue for a national, democratic and social commitment that stabilizes democracy and makes it impossible to alter it.


The president indicated that it is about ensuring the independence and autonomy of the powers of the State. "That the dream of the middle classes and the poor of living better be recovered, as well as respect for the legitimate exercise of power and the government elected by the people," he asserted.

Last week, Pedro Castillo denounced that he is the victim of political persecution by the Prosecutor's Office and sectors of the Peruvian right that control the country's Congress.

Given the situation of political uncertainty in Peru generated after the complaint by the country's Attorney General against President Castillo, presented to Congress for alleged accusations of leading a criminal organization, Pedro Castillo requested the OAS the day before to activate the Charter Inter-American Democratic.

The Peruvian president's request was analyzed this Thursday in an extraordinary session of the OAS Permanent Council.


After this meeting, the entity presented a resolution in "support for the preservation of democratic institutions and representative democracy in Peru."


They also specified that a high-level group, made up of representatives of member states, was designated "to visit Peru in order to analyze the situation, which it will report to this Council."


The OAS resolution, however, was downplayed by the president of the Peruvian Congress, José Williams, who indicated that whatever decision the regional body makes "in no way will it affect" the processes that are still under way in the Parliament, the Public Ministry and the Judiciary against President Castillo.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-ped ... -0001.html

They denounce the threat of a coup against the Peruvian Government

Image
"The only thing that has been done since the President of the Republic assumes the mandate, is to implement vacancy requests," the minister asserted. | Photo: Andean
Published 20 October 2022

Félix Chero asserted that this threat is evident given the various actions carried out against Pedro Castillo to remove him from the Presidency.

The Minister of Justice and Human Rights of Peru, Félix Chero, denounced this Thursday that there is a threat of a coup by the opposition against the government of President Pedro Castillo.

In statements to a local media outlet, Chero asserted that this threat is evident given the various actions carried out against Castillo to remove him from the Presidency, such as requests for vacancy and censorship.

"It is a series of acts and events that have been taking place, that threaten democratic institutions, that threaten the figure of the president, that threaten the acts of the Executive because the only thing that has been done since the President of the Republic assumed the mandate , is to instrumentalize vacancy requests, interpellation requests to ministers, censorship requests," he asserted.

In addition, he recalled that they have presented a roadmap to the current president of the Peruvian Congress to work together, but they have only received "a position of vacancy, questioning, censorship."


"Now, the nation's prosecutor, knowing that the supreme judge has set a parameter for action, has formulated a constitutional complaint so that the Legislative Power does something that goes beyond what the Constitution says," he said.

The official explained that, given this scenario, the Government made the decision to request the Organization of American States (OAS) to activate the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

The day before, President Castillo made a speech to report on the request for activation and application of the Charter, for which a special session of the OAS Permanent Council was convened.


After this meeting, the entity presented a resolution in "support for the preservation of democratic institutions and representative democracy in Peru."

They also specified that a high-level group, made up of representatives of member states, was designated "to visit Peru in order to analyze the situation, which it will report to this Council."

President Castillo had previously denounced a political persecution against him, after the Prosecutor's Office accused him of allegedly leading a criminal organization.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-den ... -0029.html

Google Translator

************

Police Brutality Returns to the Streets of Santiago de Chile

Image
Chilean students flee from the militarized police, Santiago, Chile, Oct. 18, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @diariolaruy

Published 19 October 2022

"The third anniversary of the 2019 social protests in Chile and the Carabineros are out here brutalizing protesters," tweeted journalist Erik Thurman.

On Tuesday, the militarized police (Carabineros) harshly repressed the citizens who marched in Santiago during the third anniversary of the start of the 2019 social uprising.

"The repression is still intact. This should not be and is incomprehensible. Nothing changed in the end!," Recoleta Mayor Daniel Jadue said, condemning police violence allowed by President Gustavo Boric, who himself suffered police brutality when he was a student leader.

The Corporation for the Promotion and Defense of People's Rights (CODEPU) confirmed that at least 195 people were detained and transferred to police stations. It also denounced that the police used tear gas and water with chemical agents against the demonstrators.

The Chilean mainstream media also resorted to their old disinformation tactics. Instead of making visible what was happening in their own country, private television channels reported extensively on the protests in Europe, presenting harsh images of police violence in France.


Similar to previous right-wing governments, the militarized police also attacked the journalists who were covering the protests. One of the most alarming events was the arrest of reporter Carolina Trejo, who has not yet appeared at any police station, as reported by teleSUR correspondent Paola Dragnic.

"The third anniversary of the 2019 social protests in Chile and the Carabineros are out here brutalizing protesters. Complete impunity for the human rights abuses they committed during the past three years," tweeted journalist Erik Thurman.

On Oct. 18, 2019, Chileans took to the streets to "protest the rise in the price of public transport, initiating mobilizations that remained constant for several months and that channeled the discontent of society due to the overwhelming inequality," Uruguayan outlet Grupo R recalled.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Pol ... -0001.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Tue Oct 25, 2022 1:58 pm

DOES LATIN AMERICAN PROGRESSIVISM MUTATE? BETWEEN CYCLES, WAVES AND AGENDAS
Oct 24, 2022 , 10:23 a.m.

Image
Can Latin America configure a geopolitical pole with its own identity that is decisive in the new global reality? (Photo: AP Photo)

After the neoliberal onslaught focused on privatization of state enterprises and austericides at the end of the 20th century, a confluence of actors from the traditional left emerged, ranging from popular-based parties and coalitions with the participation of the historical communist and socialist parties, to the leading role of new national and local political parties, and consolidated social movements in the crucible of social struggles at the end of the 20th century. This led to progressive, left-wing or national-popular governments (1999-2005) in Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Ecuador and Bolivia.

That "first wave" of the Progressive Cycle (1999-2014) had the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela, led by Commander Hugo Chávez, as the first step. His link to the Cuban government, then headed by Fidel Castro, established common lines in different areas that were accompanied by Lula da Silva and Néstor Kirchner first, and by Evo Morales and Rafael Correa later, among others.

They also came to power as outsiders who did not fully respond to the traditional political blocs of their countries, but instead developed leadership marked by revolutionary ideas. Some early achievements were the constituent assemblies and the defeat of the Free Trade Agreement for Latin America (FTAA).

There is also talk of a "counter-wave" that revolved around the arrival of Mauricio Macri to the Argentine government in December 2015, the victory of the "No" in the Constitutional Referendum in Bolivia in February 2016 and the parliamentary coup against Dilma Rousseff in August of that year, and the victory of the "No" in the plebiscite for the Peace Accords in Colombia in October of that same year. Also key to this regression were both Lenín Moreno's betrayal of the promised government program in Ecuador in May 2017 and the coup in Bolivia in November 2019.

Within the framework of that hasty "neoliberal restoration", the dogmatic measures of those governments unleashed intense mobilizations from Haiti to Chile, passing through Ecuador and Colombia and full of repressive attacks with executions, disappearances and a curious tendency to cause eye mutilations .

The arrival of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) to the presidency of Mexico in December 2018, the victory of the Frente de Todos in Argentina in October 2019 and the electoral victory of the Movement to Socialism-Political Instrument for the Sovereignty of the Peoples ( MAS-IPSP) in Bolivia in October 2020, would be the great milestones that inaugurate the beginning of a "second wave" of the Progressive Cycle. Added to this are the recent victories of Pedro Castillo in Peru (2021), Xiomara Castro de Zelaya in Honduras (2021) and Gustavo Petro in Colombia (2022).

There are differences and similarities between both waves, depending on the angles from which they are analyzed.

FROM OUTSIDERS AND PARTIES TO MOVEMENTS AND NETWORKS

Between the first and the second wave, the most notorious similarity is the continuity of the political configurations and characters that have brought together the "national-popular" proposals. Although in the first progressive wave the ascent and access to power was determined by partisan organizations and charismatic personal leadership, in the second wave there has been continuity in some postulates and leaders such as Lula in Brazil and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, or in successors such as Miguel Díaz-Canel in Cuba and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

Image
Daniel Ortega, Nicolás Maduro and Miguel Díaz-Canel, leaders of revolutionary governments that are besieged by Western elites with interventionist measures (Photo: Ramón Espinosa / Reuters)

In other countries, continuity has led to broad fronts or coalitions between left and center-left parties, together with NGOs, social movements, and other organizational expressions that, in some cases, respond to agendas incubated in the Global North, such as environmental, multicultural, or of genre.

The electoral machines that were formed, particularly with the Workers' Party (PT) in Brazil, the Front for Victory (FPV) in Argentina, and the Broad Front (FA) in Uruguay, have required expanding to factors of territorialized mobilization and struggle organization emptied of the word "revolution", also resorting to nostalgia regarding good times.

In fact, to regain power in Brazil, Lula resorted to reiterating the phrase "No meu governo..." ("In my government...", in Portuguese) in the campaign for the first round and, like Pedro Castillo in Peru, to build an alliance that would polarize positions between democracy and tyranny, which has transcended the conventional polarization between left and right.

These alliances have played against the possibility of carrying out profound political shifts that go beyond mere reforms, due to the danger of losing power in the face of coup attacks such as the one experienced in Brazil, Paraguay and Honduras or entering the "axis of evil" that make up Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, countries that have been affected by unilateral coercive measures (MCU) of the Euro-Atlantic axis.

Such measures serve as a warning against the political alignments of other countries in the region to avoid repeating similar experiences of profound transformation and to disintegrate the geopolitical polarity that could arise.

A part of the vote from popular sectors, which during the first wave was concentrated in the progressive, left-wing or national-popular leaderships, has migrated to right-wing or extreme-right candidates in a differential manner. In this, the impact of evangelical churches and social networks has been fundamental, which are called by Aram Aharonian as "formers of the collective imagination and mobilizer of the masses and the crisis that strengthened the extreme right in the face of a center-left that was left without a message".

Meanwhile, the right-wing formations have carried out campaigns without purposeful content but rather using the ghost of "we will be like Venezuela", referring to the economic decline of the Bolivarian Republic caused by the continuous sabotage and subsequent multidimensional attack in which the MCUs have played a driving role. .

RETROFITTING IS CHEAP TOO

The greatest aspiration of the progressive postulates, such as political stability, economic growth, notable advances in social inclusion, both material and symbolic, were marked in the first wave, when millions of people overcame poverty to enter the new class. average during these governments. Upon reaching such socioeconomic status, voters were captured by the discourse of corporate fascism.

Another of the most notorious variations between the progressive experiences are the different conceptions about politics, the economy and development, while in Bolivia and Ecuador the tax regimes on hydrocarbons were modified, something that did not happen in Brazil; in Argentina, taxes were applied to grain exports, but not in Uruguay.

There are even programmatic differences between waves within the same countries; this is the case between Alberto Fernández and Néstor Kirchner, or between Luis Arce and Evo Morales.

In the new wave, aspirations are more moderate and they opt more for pragmatic approaches than for ideological affinity, dialogue with the great powers and class consensus are prioritized more. Faced with the structural economic crisis and less legislative hegemony, profound changes have been replaced by reforms under the rules of the so-called "democratic game."

Image
Index of Evolution of Distrust in Congress in Latin American countries between 2000-2015 (%). Taken from 'The long cycle of Latin American progressivism and its brake' by Moreira, C. (2015) (Photo: Archive)

The change in international conditions in 2015-2016, with the fall in the price of commodities , served the hegemonic press, via social networks, that the left was a failure. This was strengthened by the absence of communication strategies. A certain neoliberal right used non-democratic methods as in Brazil and Bolivia, but also used the betrayal of leaders such as Lenín Moreno in Ecuador, democratic fraud such as the one exercised in Honduras in 2017 and the application of lawfare to persecute progressive leaders such as Cristina Fernández de Kichner (CFK), Lula and Rafael Correa-Jorge Glas.

Government programs support greater openness to the international market and are less protectionist with the marketing of raw materials; likewise, China's influence in Latin America in terms of investment, trade, and regional cooperation continues to grow rapidly amid global realignment. The Asian country is acquiring a greater role in said rearrangement and advocates multilateralism and a new type of international relations based on mutual respect, equity and justice, and cooperation in which everyone wins, instead of war. or intervention.

This influence has had as milestones the BRICS summits (where Brazil is a member and Argentina aspires to be), which began in 2008; the China-CELAC Forum, which began in 2014; and the Belt and Road Initiative, which has attracted wide interest .

Another interesting fact is the economic performance of Bolivia, a country in which the left defeated a coup in elections in one year. It was saved from the adverse effects of the pandemic and projects economic growth for this 2022 of 5%, above the 4% forecast for China, with only 3.3% inflation.

Even though the first wave did not dismantle the dependency or the lack of economic diversification in the region, the realignment underway could change the rules of the game. This rearrangement is nothing more than the emergence of a new phase of global capitalism and is centered on the geopolitical and geoeconomic dispute between the United States and China (and Russia), in which Latin America is another battlefield.

NEW CODES FOR THE GLOBAL NORTH

Progressive governments returned prominence to the notion of the State in Latin America through the development of national and regional projects that transcended the fact of being an orbital region of the United States. Regional integration was based on this, with a determined push for Mercosur, and new initiatives such as the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the Bank of the South.

This becomes critical at a time when neoliberalism, as a form of capitalist accumulation and political-cultural domination, will cease to be known in its conventional way, as will US military hegemony, and a much more violent and dangerous.

The emergence of new geopolitical poles, articulated in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) or in its very probable expansion BRICS+ that would have very important economies such as Argentina, Nigeria or Saudi Arabia, among others, it is foreseen that the The relationship with the United States will change from direct confrontation to the realignment required by the ongoing global realignment process.

Last July , a meeting was held in Tehran between Iran, Russia and Turkey, key countries in the US defeat in Syria, for which they maintain a permanent threat to its political stability. In Latin America, the equivalent expression, more modest due to its military technological potential, is the Alianza Bolivariana para los Pueblos de Nuestra América-Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos (ALBA-TCP).

Image
CELAC, founded by Hugo Chávez, has been weakened at a time when US global hegemony is also weakening (Photo: Carlos García Rawlins / Reuters)

However, the hostility towards the United States on the part of Latin American progressivism has changed: from condemning free trade agreements, humanitarian aid and the activity of multilateral organizations such as the IMF or the World Bank, they have mutated to a lesser interest in a geopolitical confrontation. Some signs:

*The free trade agreement between AMLO and Donald Trump, and the actions to control the migratory flow.
*The contacts announced by Gabriel Boric with Joe Biden .
*The pragmatic relationship with Washington announced by Xiomara Castro during the visit of the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, at her inauguration.
*Lula da Silva has spoken of having a friendship with the United States .

BETWEEN AGENDAS YOU SEE YOURSELF

The second wave is also crossed by the alliances and interests that configure forms of power beyond the governmental ones. In addition to expressing the global dispute between powers, the internal tensions of Euro-Atlantic politics are also superimposed, so much so that, in some progressive governments, the absence of categories such as participatory democracy or the empowerment of the poor as historical subjects of the struggle is appreciated. politics and the presence of diverse agendas issued by the Atlanticist axis.

This is how the agendas linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by the UN have been embedded in the different plans of progressive governments and maintain sponsorship in the region through NGO megacorporations such as the Open Society Foundation, which finances formations left and right politics.

Nancy Fraser refers to progressive neoliberalism as an alliance of mainstream new social movements (feminism, anti-racism, multiculturalism, and LGBTQI rights) with "token" high-end business and service sectors (Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood).

In the second wave, the struggles against violations of human rights, protection of the environment and ecology, civil liberties, women's rights, the rights of discriminated ethnic and sexual minorities, etc., have been distorted and redirected towards spaces of cooptation with the globalized power directed by financial sectors to be functional.

These agendas remain embedded in national-popular projects and affect the political dynamics of countries like Argentina, where the lawfare exposed in the upcoming CFK trial has shown how the Judiciary has been infiltrated by hegemonic interests disguised as "cooperation programs." .

The agreement of the government of Alberto Fernández with the IMF and the leading role of Sergio Massa, whose depoliticized claim has been accused of "neoliberal reimplantation", put at risk the permanence of progressivism in power for the next presidential term. In addition, there is talk of a growing interference by the intelligence services of the United States and Israel in Argentine internal politics that opens up possibilities for the victory of the opposition in 2023.

There are other latent threats in some governments, as in the case of Peru: from the Congress and the economic elites of Lima and its media, there is an absolute blockade that slows down or stops the advance of Pedro Castillo's electoral proposals. On the other hand, the constitutional process of Chile was challenged in a recent plebiscite, which harms the center-left government of Gabriel Boric, which already shows a clear connection to the political establishment of Chilean social democracy and its neoliberal dogmatism.

Governments such as those of Honduras, Mexico and Colombia, which still maintain "pragmatic" relations with the United States, generate interesting expectations regarding how these links and the work of the national elites, usually sponsored by Washington, will evolve in the face of their programmatic steps.

https://misionverdad.com/globalistan/mu ... -y-agendas

Google Translator

**************

President of Peru dismisses Minister of Health

Image
López, who had assumed his position last April, was the third minister appointed in the Health portfolio by President Castillo. | Photo: EFE
Published 24 October 2022

"In the interest of demonstrating absolute transparency in my government, I have decided to terminate his functions," Castillo said of López's dismissal.

The president of Peru, Pedro Castillo, announced this Sunday night that he dismissed the Minister of Health, Jorge López, for an alleged case of corruption.

"Given the facts spread by a media outlet that would involve the current Minister of Health, and in order to demonstrate absolute transparency in my government, I have decided to terminate his functions," said the Peruvian president in a message posted on his Twitter account. Twitter.

"I reiterate my commitment to continue working for the country," he mentioned.

According to a report published this Sunday on the Punto Final television program, Dervy Apaza Meza, ex-partner and mother of López's daughter, would have acquired a property with money that could belong to public funds.


According to the information, six workers from the Health portfolio would have received several envelopes with money at the end of last August with instructions to deposit it in a bank account that Minister López indicated.

In total, some 25,000 dollars would have been deposited in an account, whose owner was Apaza Meza, who 24 hours later gave 20,674 dollars to a company dedicated to selling houses to buy a home in the Jesús María district, in Lima, the Peruvian capital.

The dismissed minister denied that the money is from State funds and affirmed that it was his.

"What I must clarify (...) is that the money I gave is my property and I have the due support to prove that," adding that due to his "heavy schedule as minister," he asked several people to carry out the Bank deposit.

López, who had assumed his position last April, was the third minister appointed in the Health portfolio by President Castillo, who came to power in July 2021.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-pre ... -0003.html

Revocation of preventive detention for the sister-in-law of the Peruvian president

Image
Paredes had been in prison since last August 31 at the request of the Prosecutor's Office for alleged cases of corruption. | Photo: Latin Press
Published October 25, 2022 (2 hours 16 minutes ago)

President Castillo's sister-in-law, Yenifer Paredes, will be under appearance with restrictions for the duration of the investigation of her case.

An appeals court in Peru ruled on Monday to revoke the 30-month preventive detention imposed against Yenifer Paredes, sister-in-law of President Pedro Castillo and accused of an alleged case of corruption.

According to the reversal sentence, Paredes must be released from jail and will be subject to a restricted appearance.

The sister of the first lady of Peru must remain in her place of residence and to modify it must be authorized in writing by the Preparatory Investigation Court in charge of the case, prior notification to the Public Ministry.


You will also be required to appear on the first business day of each month at the biometric registration and control office to register your fingerprint and report it to the corresponding Court.


In addition, you must compulsorily go before the authorities of the Judiciary or the Prosecutor's Office when required, under penalty of revoking the recently proposed measure and re-entering the prison.

Paredes was under preventive arrest in a women's prison since last August 31, due to the decision of a judge who agreed to the request of the Prosecutor's Office, who considers her an active member of an illicit organization within the presidential family.

The Prosecutor's Office argues that Paredes is guilty of the crimes of aggravated collusion, money laundering and criminal conspiracy to take over public works with fixed bids.

Another of those accused in this case, the former mayor of Anguía, José Nenil Medina, did not have the same fate as Paredes because the same court denied him the privilege of waiting for the investigative period at his residence and he will remain in prison.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-rev ... -0006.html
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Wed Nov 09, 2022 4:13 pm

The Lima Group Comes to an End
NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Image
Meeting of the now defunct Lima Group. File photo.

During an October 31 press conference, vice president of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) Diosdado Cabello declared that the self-proclaimed Lima Group has disappeared with the defeat of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil.

“The Lima Group has disappeared because the last president left in office was Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil. Macri, Piñera, and Lenin Moreno are gone; and guess what, Nicolás Maduro is still standing,” said the Cabello.


He also highlighted that the Lima Group was an extension of the Organization of American States (OAS) from where sanctions and aggressions against Venezuela were orchestrated.

Similarly, he noted that peak relations between Venezuela and Brazil occurred while Lula da Silva and President Hugo Chávez were in power.

“They used all mechanisms: blockades and sanctions against leaders of the revolution to persecute us and invent things,” said Cabello. “They have attacked us from all sides, and [our] people are resisting.”

Latin American Presidents Congratulate Brazil’s Lula After Victory


The end of the Lima Group

Lula’s victory in Brazil closes the last chapter of the so-called “Lima Cartel,” as the departure of Jair Bolsonaro as president was made official this Sunday, October 30.

Bolsonaro was the only member of the Lima Group remaining in power, since its former members, the Argentinian Mauricio Macri, the Chilean Sebastián Piñera, and the Colombian Iván Duque withdrew from the game by the democratic decision of their peoples.

The “Lima Cartel” was a group that emerged when the majority of governments in the region were right-wing. As the name indicates, it originated in Lima under the government of Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in 2017.

Image

The group aligned itself with the government of former US President Donald Trump to support opponents in Venezuela in the promotion of sanctions, blockades, and even attempts for a coup d’état.

Maduro and Lula Agree to Resume Cooperation


Despite the maneuvers and actions to isolate the Venezuelan government, the group’s plans did not succeed. On the contrary, the only thing they achieved was to be defeated in every election they took part in.

At the present, the region has turned to the left, with new leaders in power in Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and now Brazil.

https://orinocotribune.com/the-lima-gro ... to-an-end/

**************

Image

“Lithium triangle” seeks OPEC-style cartel as Lithium demand increases
Originally published: Al Mayadeen on November 7, 2022 by Al Mayadeen English (more by Al Mayadeen) | (Posted Nov 08, 2022)

Demand for lithium is increasing globally, a Quartz report noted, adding that the cost of lithium is skyrocketing.

The report argues that the potential to exert more control over the world’s supply of this mineral and other battery metals like nickel and cobalt will be a profitable opportunity for nations with abundant supplies of these materials.

S&P Global noted, as cited by the report, that “the battery will be the defining technological and supply chain battleground for the industry in the next decade, and access to their constituent raw materials will be crucial.”

Establishing a cartel like the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the report reads, whose choices to raise or decrease oil output have worldwide repercussions on crude prices, foreign policy, and the global economy, is one method for mineral-rich countries to gain more leverage through pricing power.

From Southeast Asia to South America, interests have grown among the battery mineral-producing nations to establish organizations like OPEC.

Indonesia calls for an OPEC-style Lithium organization
This week, Indonesia’s Investment Minister, Bahlil Lahadalia, told the Financial Times that the nation was thinking about establishing OPEC-style structures to have more control over the supply and pricing of minerals and metals that are crucial for the worldwide switch from fossil fuels to clean energy.

According to Quartz, Lahadalia explained that “Indonesia is studying the possibility to form a similar governance structure [to OPEC] with regard to the minerals we have, including nickel, cobalt, and manganese.”

He continued by saying that Indonesia is preparing a proposal to promote the cartel initiative to other notable nickel producers.

The “Lithium triangle” is on board

The Quartz report stated that momentum is developing in South America for the creation of a “lithium OPEC”.

The state news agency of Argentina, Telam, claimed last month that the foreign ministers of Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina are engaged in “advanced talks” to develop a system that would allow them to regulate lithium pricing “at a global level.”

Alongside Indonesia, the three nations, together referred to as the “lithium triangle” since they account for 58% of the world’s identified lithium resources, are attempting to entice more significant producers to join them.

The three aforementioned foreign ministers, according to Quartz, want Australia, the top producer of lithium in the world, to be a part of the proposed lithium cartel, according to Brazil’s Rio Times.

China has sway when it comes to Lithium
Even though it only has 6% of the world’s recognized lithium deposits, China is the world’s top manufacturer of EVs and currently controls 58% of the world’s lithium processing capacity, the Quartz report noted.

In order to convert the raw material into a usable form or to acquire the finished lithium carbonate or hydroxide for use in batteries, the lithium manufacturers would therefore continue to be dependent on China.


China would continue to have some influence in any deal, the Quartz report read, since any cartel “would still be pretty dependent on China being its main customer.”

In the long run, it’s more difficult to predict China’s sway since different regions will create their own battery-production hubs, thus shifting demand away from Beijing.

https://mronline.org/2022/11/08/lithium ... increases/

**********

RUNASUR Declares Anti-Imperialist Stance at Assembly in Argentina
NOVEMBER 8, 2022

Image
Evo Morales at the RUNASUR assembly. Photo: Últimas Noticias.

At the event, participants signed the Buenos Aires Declaration on the current situation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This weekend, under the slogan of a plurinational, anti-imperialist, and anti-capitalist America, trade unions, peasant organizations, and social movements participated in the Plurinational Constitutive Assembly of RUNASUR, held in Argentina.

The event was attended by delegates from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, and special guests such as former Bolivian President Evo Morales, a promoter of RUNASUR.

Morales, on his Twitter account, wrote: “from the awareness and experience, from the depths of South America, RUNASUR is born as a new political movement to strengthen the integration of our peoples based on a plurinationality that builds unity with diversity to face adversity.”


The former Bolivian president explained to journalists that the name RUNASUR, adopted in April 2021, arises from the conjunction of the Quechua word “runa” (person or people) and UNASUR (Union of South American Nations), with the aim of specifying a UNASUR of the peoples.

In another tweet, the former head of state of Bolivia (2006-2019) pointed out that RUNASUR promotes “an anti-capitalist, anti-patriarchal, anti-neoliberal, and anti-imperialist ideological position.”

“Our great wish is that we have a plurinational America of the peoples, for the peoples, with tolerance, solidarity and universal citizenship,” Morales stated.

The assembly, which began on Saturday at the headquarters of the Banco Nación Club located on the northern outskirts of the Argentine capital, concluded this Sunday with the signing of the Buenos Aires Declaration on the situation in Latin America and the Caribbean.

https://orinocotribune.com/runasur-decl ... argentina/

***********.

Health workers demand better salaries in Buenos Aires

Image
The unions announced that they will maintain the slogans calling for an urgent increase in wages and the immediate incorporation of new professionals. | Photo: Telam
Published November 9, 2022 (2 hours 14 minutes ago)

The 24-hour strike had a high adherence in hospitals and health centers, which guaranteed the guards.

Health workers from the City of Buenos Aires staged a massive mobilization this Tuesday at the headquarters of the local Ministry of Health, which included a 24-hour strike in hospitals and health centers with the demand for better salaries.

The protest was called in unity by the majority unions in the sector and allowed for a joint review to raise the salary floor above inflation levels.

Residents and other workers also marched on the second consecutive week of strike, while the nursing sector demanded recognition of the race.


Some of the demands and slogans included the slogan "you can no longer work with poverty wages."

According to the union leader of the State Workers Association (ATE-Salud) in two hospitals in the capital, Héctor Ortiz, commented that "unfortunately they are totally intransigent, arrogant, that's why it continues [this Wednesday]".

In fact, after finalizing the call and holding an assembly, they decided to continue with the strike and ratified that this Wednesday, accompanied by the Hospital Association of the City of Buenos Aires in the morning, they will lead a new march from the Obelisk.

In this sense, the unions announced that the slogans demanding an urgent increase in wages and the immediate incorporation of new professionals will be maintained.


Meanwhile, the press secretary of the Federation of Professionals, Carolina Cáceres, stressed that "many years ago there was no forceful measure for all health in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and it is as necessary as it is logical."


For this reason, he added that they demand "a salary recomposition for the entire health team that at the initial level is equal to the basic family basket. You can no longer work with poverty wages, and in the case of the nursing group, in addition, with a directly illegal postponement such as the exclusion of the Professional Career".

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/argentin ... -0011.html

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

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Fri Nov 11, 2022 3:14 pm

Puebla Group promotes new progressive agenda in the region

Image
At the meeting, the development solidarity model was evoked to move towards a more progressive tax structure. | Photo: Twitter @LeonelFernandez
Published November 10, 2022 (10 hours 54 minutes ago)

Under the slogan "The United Region for Change" the meeting was attended by some 100 Ibero-American leaders from more than ten countries.

The VIII meeting of the Puebla Group was installed this Thursday in the city of Santa Marta, Colombia, to address the importance of building a progressive political integration agenda in Latin America.

Under the slogan "The United Region for Change", this meeting was attended by some 100 Ibero-American leaders from more than ten countries.

According to its web portal, the meeting was conducive to discussing the need to include more sectors and "treat the gender issue as one of the main elements of identity for the left."

"The solidarity model of development was evoked to move towards a more progressive fiscal structure, social protection schemes, and the re-launch of integration spaces", such as the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the Union of South American Nations (Unasur). ), among others.


In addition, they talked about how legal wars or lawfare are "a reality and a constant to intimidate and limit progressive leadership." Given this, the Latin American Council for Justice and Democracy continues to advance in the denunciation and dissemination of the cases that have been presented.

For his part, former Dominican President Leonel Fernández highlighted, through his account on the social network Twitter, that at the meeting they also reflected on the main challenges of Latin America and the Ibero-American integration agenda, reviewing the new progressive cycle in the region.

Similarly, former Colombian President Ernesto Samper commented that the activity paves the way for a new Latin American vision of China based on friendship, mutual respect, shared prosperity and "the rejection of the use of international relations as an instrument of intervention, of blockade or subjugation of peoples".


The former head of state of Bolivia, Evo Morales, celebrated the electoral victories of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brazil, affirming that this revives "the hope of dignity and sovereignty in the great homeland." .

The meeting was also attended by the former president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff; as well as the former President of the Government of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, among others.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/grupo-pu ... -0020.html

They reject coup attempts promoted by Congress in Peru

Image
The demonstrators opposed the presidential vacancy attempts promoted by opposition sectors in Congress. | Photo: EFE
Published 11 November 2022

The main concentration took place in Plaza San Martín, in the capital Lima, where the social organizations that supported the administration of President Castillo gathered.

Peruvian social organizations mobilized this Thursday against the coup attempts promoted by Congress, in addition to demanding reforms from the Government that improve the quality of life of the majority.

Collectives, associations and citizens took to the streets of various cities in the country in order to express their rejection of the presidential vacancy attempts promoted by opposition sectors in Congress.

Citizens also called for a constituent assembly to develop a new Magna Carta, and respect for democracy.



The days of protests also ratified the support for President Pedro Castillo, who has saved several impeachment attempts by opposition legislators, while raising a series of demands to deal with rising prices in the country.

The main concentration took place in Plaza San Martín, in the capital Lima, where the social organizations that supported the administration of President Castillo gathered.


The mobilization happens after the Prime Minister of Peru, Aníbal Torres, requested last Tuesday to participate in the plenary session of the legislature, "in order to raise a question of trust."

Given this, the president of the Legislative power, José Williams, rejected that request made by the head of the Council of Ministers, considering that what he intends is to close Congress.

This Thursday, in the Legislative power, the subcommittee on Constitutional Accusations was convened to promote a debate on the possible disqualification of the president for the alleged crime of treason, deepening the political crisis in the South American country.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-rec ... -0001.html

Google Translator

***********

Peru: Supporters of President Castillo March Against Congress

Image
The "Seizure of Lima" march, Nov. 10, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/ @HMarianoRL

The citizens also called for the drafting of a new constitution and the resignation of Attorney General Patricia Benavides.


On Thursday, thousands of Peruvians took to the streets of Lima to protest against Congress, which has been sabotaging and plotting against the administration of President Pedro Castillo.

Carrying national flags and posters with phrases in support of the leftist president, citizens from all over the country converged on the capital city to demand governability in the midst of a political situation marked by tensions between the Executive and Legislative branches.

"We've come a long way to support our president because they don't let him work. The lawmakers don't know how to respect him," said Maritza Aguilar, a woman who was at the "Seizure of Lima" march.

"Idle rats, go home," "We demand that Congress be closed," "This force supports Castillo," and "Always stand up, never on your knees," were some of the phrases that citizens intoned as they advanced with address to Congress.

The tweet reads, "Marino Flores, the spokesperson of the National Central of Peruvian Peasant Patrols (Cunarc-P), arrived at the 'Seizure of Lima' march after meeting with President Castillo at the Palace on Monday. In a previous meeting, he asked for the closure of Congress."

The march started at the San Martin square and headed towards Congress, which was surrounded by bars and a large police deployment.

The citizens also called for the drafting of a new constitution and the resignation of Attorney General Patricia Benavides, who is investigating Castillo in a case of alleged corruption.

The social organizations supporting the Peruvian President denounced that the far-right opposition is attempting a "soft coup" through a plot involving journalists and judges, who seek to remove Castillo from office.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0001.html

**************

Colombia’s Ambassador in Caracas: Everything Done With Venezuela Goes ‘Hand in Hand’ With Biden’s Administration
NOVEMBER 8, 2022

Image
Colombian President Gustavo Petro and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken posing for a photo during Blinken's visit to Colombia in October 2022. Photo: AFP.

In an interview with Colombian news outlet El Tiempo, Colombian Ambassador to Venezuela Armando Benedetti spoke in depth about the progress made in the process of resuming bilateral relations between Venezuela and Colombia.

Benedetti stressed that the meeting between Presidents Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro and the other steps Colombia has taken with Venezuela go hand in hand with the United States, meaning Joe Biden’s administration.

Below is the full interview with Ambassador Benedetti:

How are relations with Venezuela?

Relations with Venezuela have always been a roller coaster. We have had a diplomatic relationship with them for 191 years as of this November. Today it can be said that the restoration of relations has begun and it can be said that they are fine.

And what does this restoration foresee?

Several things: appointing an ambassador; that there be judicial cooperation, which already exists; law enforcement cooperation, which already exists; reopening the border, which we have already done; and air transport, which will begin next week.

What’s going on with Monómeros?

Monómeros [a Venezuelan company that produces chemical fertilizers in Colombia] is fundamental. Since we returned it to its real owner, that gave us the advantage of having the best urea price in the world. They are selling it to us for $600 a ton, and to give you an idea, they are selling it to Cubans for $750, and the regular price is between $750 and $950 per ton.

Colombia’s New President Reverses US Coup, Visits Venezuela, Pledges Unity in ‘Spirit of Bolívar’


What can you highlight from that encounter?

There are two important issues there. One is to tear the borders away from the mafias. Currently, they say there are 200 [illegal border crossing] trails, 10 of which tractor-trailers pass through. So we have to take this away from the mafias, and that requires collaboration because those involved always end up being high officials on both sides.

What are the results so far?

So far, compared to what was done last year, we have already passed $600 million, which is 115% more, and I think we can reach $2 billion this year.

Are we talking about trade?

No sir, only [Colombian] exports. And to use a popular term, we can say that we have it “papaya” [very easy] because, with the price of the dollar [the devaluation of the Colombian Peso] and the fact that they are about to pay us in dollars, that is an opportunity that businessmen cannot miss.

And how are they paying?

They are paying everything in dollars, in cash and in advance.

What else was agreed upon in the meeting between the two presidents?

There is a very important point, and it is that Petro goes to Caracas and tells Maduro to return to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. To our surprise, he replies that he will review and study it. This shows that Petro is taking leadership in the region, and that is why we must seek for the region to be united to confront and negotiate with international banks, to end the drug policy imposed on us by the United States through a catalog, and for us [Latin America] to be a monolithic body.

On border security, what did they talk about?

That was the second most important issue of the meeting with Maduro. Petro is very concerned that the border has been opened and that the mafias continue to control many of the crossings.

And what has been thought of?

At least change the officials who are there. I don’t want to accuse anyone, but on both sides, there are officials who have collaborated in smuggling. It is necessary to make some personnel changes.

But in the United States, it seems that they are not very happy with the meeting of Petro and Maduro…

Not that I know of. They don’t get involved in that. Everything that has been done with Venezuela goes hand in hand with the United States, here we are never going to take the United States by surprise.

Hand in hand with the United States?

It goes hand in hand with the United States. I have a fluid relationship with James Story, who is in charge of the United States for Venezuela. I try to tell him what can be said and inform him of what is going to be said.

Washington knew about that meeting?

Of course, of everything.

Speaking of the consular issue, when are the consulates to be reopened?

I hope that the Foreign Ministry appoints the consuls as soon as possible. Those that the Foreign Ministry wants.

And how is the issue of commercial flights going?

Next week two airlines begin regular commercial flight operations. Turpial airline starts on Monday. Satena begins to fly from Colombia and Turpial from Venezuela. Currently, a Colombian who wants to get to Caracas has to go to Panama and wait five hours for a transfer to be able to travel to Caracas. And the ticket can cost up to $1000.

https://orinocotribune.com/colombias-am ... istration/

**************

Bolivia: The Insurrection of the Oligarchy Step by Step
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 10, 2022
José Galindo

Image

This is the third week of the conflict over the Census, which reveals that the Government is no longer facing a partisan political opposition, but an insurrectionary counterrevolutionary movement seeking to seize State power beyond what can be allowed in a democratic context, having as its main instrument the use of force, including armed force. The oligarchy knows that it will never be able to win an election and that the only thing left for them is a coup d’état.

What began as an apparently technical problem is now on the verge of becoming an open dispute for power. It is no longer a question of whether the Census takes place in 2023 or 2024, but of who has effective control over the lives of the citizens. One conclusion can be drawn at a glance: beyond the legitimacy granted by the October 2020 elections, in which the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) managed to win with more than half of the votes, the Santa Cruz oligarchy is committed to a project based on the undisguised deployment of force, both through paramilitary shock groups and the coercion that allows them to own one of the most profitable businesses in national history: land. However, while the leaderships of the disputing sides strive to steer the crisis towards their own objectives, the popular masses seem to have gone further, demanding not only the removal of the main leader of the civic opposition, but the expropriation of his companies, making clear the intensity of the class struggle that is being waged in the heart of Latin America.

The extreme positions adopted by the Santa Cruz elites demonstrated from the beginning that their interests went beyond the distribution of spaces for political representation and income from the exploitation of hydrocarbons based on the data produced by a National Population and Housing Census, being in reality an attempt to take by force what could not be achieved by democratic methods: the control of the State. The resources deployed in this campaign of the eastern oligarchy against the Government are designed not to demonstrate empirically the importance of the department of Santa Cruz in the national economic scenario, but to reactivate the political cleavages in order to strengthen a class project that cannot coexist with the presence of a Government that represents the popular sectors, and which is based on the ownership of a fundamental means of production in non-industrialized countries: land.

A new stage

In this political struggle, the agribusiness elites no longer resort to the interpellation of subnational actors, much less to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly (ALP) or any institutional space to settle conflicts between sectors of society, but to the mechanisms at their disposal based on their control over the main businesses in the East, which is based on the current agrarian regime in Bolivia. This non-formal but effective prerogative is taken advantage of by these actors organized in the Santa Cruz government and the civic committee of this department and wielded to paralyze the economic movement in Bolivia, as well as to create the conditions for food price speculation at the national level, while mobilizing their repressive paramilitary forces, constituting a real challenge to the legitimacy of the legally established Government. The message is impossible to misinterpret: “It does not matter that they have won elections, we are the owners of the means of production”.

Their open challenge to the Government initially achieved the manifestation of discontent and sectorial opportunism, which was opportunely deactivated by the Executive through negotiations with one of the best organized sectors for the conflict: the mining cooperatives. The civic strike demanding the abrogation of DS 4.760, which postponed the National Census from 2022 to 2024, began on Saturday, October 22 and by Monday, October 24, the gold cooperatives took advantage of the situation to extract concessions from a Government that was evidently in trouble, initiating mobilizations in downtown La Paz demanding a lower tax rate than the one established according to fiscal requirements. Minority sectors radically opposed to the government, joined their mobilization, paralyzing the streets and causing anxiety in the authorities, who had to deal simultaneously with a violently forced civic strike in the East. The Executive was forced to give in, although less than the opposition would have liked, going from a tax of 5% per ounce of gold to 4.8%.

The weakness of the middle classes

But the miners’ retreat did not prevent the mayor’s office of the city of La Paz, controlled by Iván Arias, from initiating its own mobilizations on Wednesday 26, although with very little notice, which was easily counteracted by the militancy of the ruling party, but not without provoking clearly racist expressions by the mayor, who described his opponents as “orcs”, a term used in the coup d’état to designate the supporters of the “masismo”, stigmatized by their indigenous composition, denigrated by the national elites. In any case, without the presence of the miners in the streets, and without the accompaniment of other popular sectors circumstantially confronted with the Government, such as the Association of Coca Leaf Producers of the Department of La Paz (Adepcoca), the urban middle classes of the West could do little to destabilize Arce. The middle and upper classes are clearly weak without the support of the majority popular sectors, whom, on the other hand, they despise every day.

Simultaneously, the victory of the ruling party allowed the implementation of more decisive pressure measures against the Santa Cruz agro-industrial elites, decreeing a ban on exports as long as a strike that threatened to generate shortages of essential products for the family basket, such as meat and grains, was maintained. The oligarchy, in turn, mobilized the international transportation sectors through which they market their products, which began a strike that lasted barely a day, when the Government lifted its measure while trying to deactivate the Santa Cruz civic strike. And although the transportation sectors also withdrew, the insistence of the civic sectors in maintaining the strike led the social organizations that form the base of the MAS to execute a siege around the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, raising the stakes in this dispute for power masked as a conflict over technical issues.

A fourth intermission seemed possible with the realization of a Summit for the Census in Cochabamba on Friday 28, with the participation of the sub-national governments, with the exception of the Governor’s Office of Santa Cruz, but also with the participation of social sectors that proposed themselves as a counterweight to the civic sectors. The summit, in spite of this, ended up being a failure in relation to the strike, although it was a success in demonstrating the Government’s predisposition to understanding. The strike continued, however, and with increasing virulence.

The popular response to the coup challenge

It is here where history takes an unexpected turn. The encirclement of the popular classes against the oligarchy was answered with the usual violence of the wealthy classes against the indigenous population, including racist acts in the municipality of La Concepción, where the deputy governor of the province physically attacked indigenous women while shouting racist slogans and his paramilitary forces set fire to their homes. The event was reminiscent of the racist overtones of the 2019 coup d’état. Such acts of hatred remain to be judicially judged. But the response did not take long to come from the peasant sectors that maintained the siege against the oligarchy, which broke the final straw by demanding that, despite their strike against the Government, the latter should guarantee the supply of gas and energy to the companies controlled by the insurgent businessmen, evidencing the class character of the alleged civic strike, which forced the popular sectors to make sacrifices when the upper classes continued to generate profits.

The peasant and popular sectors thus went from encircling the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra to demanding the resignation of Governor Luis Fernando Camacho, known for his gangster-style threats and arrogance, but also, and this is central, to considering the seizure of the oligarchy’s companies related to the strike, which in fact was a proposal for the socialization of the oligarchy’s means of production. Such a possibility goes beyond the traditional nationalizations of progressive governments and is certainly not even in the calculations of the leftist government of Luis Arce. The popular masses are radicalized beyond the expectations of their leaders, and remain ahead of them, although without a leadership that would make their aspirations possible. Thus, although the idea of expropriating the oligarchy of its main enterprises is not far-fetched, it remains a slogan as long as its realization is not contemplated by the Government, which is increasingly pushed to assume its role of vanguard of the popular classes with greater firmness.

The desperation of the elites manifested itself in the form of ruptures and resignations within their ranks, with part of the civic committee and the Interinstitutional Committee led by the rector of the conservative Universidad Mayor Gabriel René Moreno, Vicente Cuéllar, opening up to dialogue, while the until recently radical sector led by Rómulo Calvo also opened up to negotiation, leaving Governor Camacho in solitude, unable to do anything but cling even tighter to his extreme position of not reaching a consensus with the Government. Nevertheless, the paramilitary arm of the civic committee, the Unión Juvenil Cruceñista, continued in the streets beyond the position of its leader Calvo, going to the extreme of assaulting a police station in the municipality of La Guardia, going from protest to sedition and terrorism. Extremes that may seem unlikely if one takes into account that the general elections are only three years away, but which make sense when one considers that the strategy of the opposition, led by the agro-industrial elites through the civic committees, is no longer that of political struggle, but that of the deployment of force and coercion, both with their paramilitary bands and their control over the economic opportunities that their ownership of the means of production affords them, land being the principal means of production.

The 17 days of the civic strike confronted not only the Government and the social organizations related to the ruling party, but also their own excessive actions, which play a more harmful role for them than for their opponents. In the absence of support from other sectors opposed to the Government in the rest of the country, and with increasingly indefensible positions, a part of the civic committee agreed to participate in a second attempt at negotiation with the Government, this time in the eastern city of Trinidad, while the governor of Santa Cruz refuses to yield, risking further isolation, to the point of losing the social support that sustains him as an elected authority. In Trinidad, the Technical Table has been installed, which should lead to the lifting of the indefinite civic strike. If this does not happen, it will be proven that Camacho’s plan is a new coup d’état by means of a counterrevolutionary insurrection.

Thus we reach the third week of the conflict over the Census, which reveals that the Government is no longer facing a partisan political opposition, but an insurrectional movement seeking to seize the power of the State beyond what is possible in a democratic context, having as its main instrument the use of force, including armed force.

This poses a challenge to the popular sectors and the Government, to organize themselves to face higher and higher levels in the class struggle, which will not be overcome solely through the measurement of strength and power of mobilization, essential in the following days, but in the generation of a program adequate to the circumstances, which must be, it seems, revolutionary.

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/11/ ... p-by-step/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Sat Nov 12, 2022 2:57 pm

Chilean President: Plan to Restitute Lands Claimed by Mapuche

Image
Photograph provided by the Chilean Presidency of the president, Gabriel Boric (c), upon his arrival in Araucanía, the epicenter of the conflict between the Mapuche people and the Chilean State | Photo: Presidency of Chile

Published 11 November 2022 (12 hours 25 minutes ago)

Chile's President, Gabriel Boric, announced this Friday the creation of a special commission whose mandate will be to propose mechanisms to return to the Mapuche people the lands they have historically demanded.


"I come to make an invitation; I invite all the actors of the Araucanía region (south) to form a commission for peace and understanding, whose mandate will be to determine the land demand of the Mapuche communities clearly and to propose to the country concrete mechanisms, with concrete deadlines, to settle and repair this debt," Boric said at a press conference.

On a two-day tour of the different cities of La Araucanía, the President emphasized that this commission "will not be to make diagnoses because enough have already been done."

"This commission will take the recommendations that national and international organizations have made to seek a solution to the conflict in the region and once and for all, we will make them a reality; it will be a commission with an open agenda, where everyone will be able to put forward their points of view," he said.

Boric explained that a land registry would be carried out that would consider all the lands that were usurped by the Chilean State from the 19th century onwards. However, he clarified that it would not be possible to return them all, nor would it be possible to complete the work before his term ends in 2026.

The plan's objective is to end the constant arson attacks and acts of violence that have been taking place in the area for decades, the authorship of which is attributed to indigenous groups demanding the restitution of Mapuche lands.

Although during his candidacy, President Boric said that he would not resort to militarization to solve the conflict, on May 17, he opted to apply the measure. Since then, he has continuously requested permission from Congress to extend it.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Chi ... -0019.html

Talk is cheap. Given previous action and proven untrustworthiness I suspect this entirely to placate 'his' electorate, which realizes it's bought a pig in a poke.'

Peru: PM Asks Citizens To Defend President’s Permanence

Image
Peruvian Prime Minister Anibal Torres called on the people to act, as there is an interest to remove President Pedro Castillo "at any cost." Nov. 11, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@presidenciaperu

Published 11 November 2022

Peruvian Prime Minister Anibal Torres said those who elected Pedro Castillo as President must "defend the will of the people, defend our vote, defend sovereign power."


His comments came during a meeting wit with elected authorities and he said there is an interest in removing Castillo "at any cost."

"Understand it well, they want to remove the President of the Republic at any cost, through constitutional accusation, suspension of the presidency or presidential vacancy due to permanent moral incapacity or demanding his resignation," Torres said.

In this context, the Prime Minister said it is an obligation for "all Peruvians or at least for the majority of Peruvians who elected Pedro Castillo as President: to defend the will of the people, to defend our vote, to defend the sovereign power and this must be defended at any cost, at any price and even with our own life."

Torres called on Peruvians to act in the face of the interests of "a small and very powerful sector that has control of the press" and wants "to put an end to the rule of law in Peru."

They want to remove the president at all costs, but it must be understood that the people elected President Castillo. So they do not want to remove only the president, but the people, because they do not tolerate that the people are exercising power. Our obligation is to defend the will of the people, to defend our vote at any cost, even with our own lives.

Speaking about National Prosecutor Patricia Benavides, the Prime Minister said, "What is happening is that the justice system has been taken over by the White Collars that she protects, by the drug traffickers that she protects."

"Any institution, any person can review the curriculum of the prosecutor of the Nation and the curriculum of the one who speaks to determine who should be prosecuted, and not only that, but who should be in jail and should not be free."

An appeal filed by President Pedro Castillo seeking to annul all the proceedings initiated against him was admitted yesterday by the Judiciary. The hearing to evaluate it was scheduled for March 6, 2023.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0016.html

Bolivian Minister: Indefinite Strike in Santa Cruz Should End

Image
Bolivia's Minister of Economy and Public Finance, Marcelo Montenegro. Nov. 11, 2022. | Photo: Twitter/@latitudbolivia

Published 11 November 2022

According to the Minister of Economy and Public Finance, Marcelo Montenegro, the strike has so far resulted in the loss of more than 700 million dollars.


Twenty-one days of the indefinite strike have been promoted by the Interinstitutional Committee that demands the Census in 2023. The Minister called on the civic authorities to end the strike, damaging the country's economic reconstruction.

"People want to work; they have the right to do so; we cannot prevent them from doing so, that is why we continue to urge the civic authorities of Santa Cruz to stop the strike once and for all," said Montenegro referring to those who do not abide by the measure and want to work.

According to the Minister, the Census was scheduled to be carried out in 2024 by the national government's decision together with more than 30 delegations made up of authorities and technicians from the country.

Noting that the 21-day strike has meant a loss of more than 700 million dollars, Montenegro said, "Bolivia has to produce," and urged not to attempt against the reconstruction of the Bolivian economy. "Let's give the economy the security that the national government has given it."

security that the national government has given it."

The Minister of Economy, Marcelo Montenegro, calls for an end to violence in Santa Cruz against the productive sector and the forced closure of businesses to "stop damaging" the economy. "Bolivia needs to produce," he says.

In this regard, the Minister said that amid an adverse scenario in the world, Bolivia is in the process of reconstruction. "We have already seen some normality and we have to make an effort to preserve that economic stability, democratic stability."

The Minister said the country's unemployment rate had declined by 4.2 percent through the third quarter, with a year-on-year inflation rate of 2.9 percent through October this year, while economic growth stands at around 4.1 percent.

The strike in Santa Cruz has been promoted by the Interinstitutional Committee, which includes the governor, Fernando Camacho; the rector of the Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno, Vicente Cuellar; the civic Rómulo Calvo and other sectors.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Bol ... -0018.html

*************

Bolivia in the crosshairs of Yankee hegemonism
November 12, 2022 Raúl Antonio Capote

Image
No to the coup d’etat in Bolivia, Photo: Perez del Carpio, picture-alliance

Once again, the oligarchy allied with the U.S. government and the Yankee transnationals are waving in Bolivia the banner of division, rupture and regression to the past of exclusion, inequality and oblivion.

Camouflaged under the cloak of “rights,” the narrative of the soft coup seeks to destabilize the country, tear down the pillars that support the plurinational State and bring about chaos leading to a new coup d’état.

It is not surprising that, recently, the governor of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, took up again his proposal for a “federal Bolivia,” a project that aims “to confront the plurinational State model” established in the Constitution.

The plurinational State was consecrated by the 2009 Constitution, Magna Carta promulgated by President Evo Morales (2006-2019), which proclaims a “decentralized and autonomous” Bolivia.

The conservative sectors of Santa Cruz defend the idea of federalism, even with a proposal for autonomy that did not prosper in the Constituent Assembly of 2007-2008.

The national strike called in the department of Santa Cruz (east) to demand a census in 2023 is going on without its organizers listening to reason, despite the government’s constant commitment to dialogue and understanding.

The President of Bolivia, Luis Arce, presented, this past Friday night, the work of the technical table that will have the purpose of defining the date of the new national census.

At the opening ceremony, held in the city of Trinidad, capital of the department of Beni, the Bolivian president denounced the attempts of the ultra-right to overthrow him.

“This view of the census, unfortunately, generated a political approach, since it was not only used as an instrument of destabilization of the government, but also seeks to overthrow it,” said the Bolivian Head of State.

The Population and Housing Census, established in the Bolivian Constitution to be carried out every ten years, was announced for November 16, 2022, but was postponed for technical reasons to 2024.

The results from the population registry are used for the reallocation of parliamentary seats in each region and the redistribution of public resources, which is based on data from the last census in 2012.

Recently, President Arce exposed the true coup intentions of the opposition, which are hidden behind destabilizing actions, such as the indefinite departmental strike called by Governor Luis Fernando Camacho in Santa Cruz on October 22.

According to Bolivian political analyst and sociologist Eduardo Paz Rada, this is an action that seeks to bring about the fall of the government. “For the great majority of the people of Santa Cruz, this is an action of the oligarchic elites of Santa Cruz, who want to generate a political conflict,” said the analyst to Telescopio.

Meanwhile, the leader of the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) and former Bolivian president, Evo Morales, asked the militancy of that organization to avoid the provocations of those who want to generate violence in the country.

Who pulls the strings that rocks the cradle

The social researcher and writer Marcelo Colussi, born in Argentina, wrote: “we must never forget that the enemy is not the master’s bodyguard: he is still the master.”

The United States is losing ground, and its projected dream of an American 21st century is fading. It is no secret to anyone today that the People’s Republic of China, with its booming economy, is on its way to becoming the world’s number one power by 2030 at the latest, and Russia is not far behind.

The confluence of international interests of these two powerful nations and their allies make them an influential alternative front to U.S. power, with increasing weight south of the Rio Grande.

In these circumstances, the United States believes it is more necessary than ever to control its “backyard” to subdue the restless nations of the continent in any way possible. In the U.S. geopolitical map, Bolivia plays an extremely important role due to its geographic location and the enormous wealth of its minerals in the soil.

These are the reasons this nation is in the crosshairs of the main actions of unconventional warfare to bring about a regime change that favors the interests of the empire. If we follow, step by step, what is happening today in the South American sister nation, we will see that the tactic used in 2019 is being repeated.

It is not surprising then that, in the recent U.S. report presented by the Government of Joe Biden, the farce that, in October 2019, the then-candidate and also president, Evo Morales (2006-2019), committed electoral fraud to stay in power, a version sustained by the Organization of American States (OAS), is reaffirmed.

This document constitutes an endorsement of the de facto government that the U.S. financed, supported, and defended, as well as a significant encouragement to the opposition to Luis Arce’s government.

Source: Granma, translation Resumen Latinoamericano – US

https://www.struggle-la-lucha.org/2022/ ... egemonism/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

User avatar
blindpig
Posts: 10592
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:44 pm
Location: Turtle Island
Contact:

Re: South America

Post by blindpig » Mon Nov 14, 2022 3:07 pm

US Wants to Build Military Bases in Uruguay
NOVEMBER 12, 2022

Image
The U.S.’s Charge d’Affaires in Uruguay, Ms. Jennifer Savage, hosting a meeting at the US Chief of Mission's residence. Joined by Uruguayan Minister of Defense, Dr. Javier Garcia, military leaders, and more civilian members that support the military. Photo: US Embassy in Uruguay.

A draft defense cooperation agreement between Washington and Montevideo, which could allow the installation of US military bases in Uruguay, is once again being considered in the Uruguayan Parliament. Allowing US military bases would effectively damage the sovereignty of Uruguay, a country which currently maintains good relations with both Russia and China.

Senator Gustavo Penadés, from Uruguay’s ruling center-right National Party, claimed that the project only involves “some type of investment in construction” and not the permanent presence of US forces in Uruguayan territory. For his part, the president of the Uruguayan Defense Commission and of the opposition center-left Broad Front, León Lev, admitted that the project is “ambiguous” and will instigate “profound discussion” in Parliament.

The project is defined as “a complementary agreement” for “reciprocal provision” of “logistical support, supplies and services.” It says that Uruguay and the US express their “desire to improve the interoperability, preparation and efficiency of their respective military forces through greater logistical cooperation.” In addition, the purpose of the agreement is to “facilitate logistical support” between the two countries during “combined exercises, training, displacements, stopovers, operations or other cooperative activities.”

Effectively, it is very clear that the bilateral agreement will in fact enable US actions more than anything else. For example, the supply of services that can be provided to each other, in reality, only benefits the US. Uruguay does not have the capacity to do military missions or operations in North America like the US does in South America. It cannot be overlooked that the initiative is from the US and is drafted in the terms that it proposed.

The project was first discussed in 2012, during the government of José Pepe Mujica, but it did not have the support of parliament. Today, just like in 2012, if the parliament authorizes it, it would mean a loss of Uruguayan sovereignty over a part of its territory.

According to Senator Penadés, there is no possibility of US bases in Uruguay and he believes that this interpretation of the agreement is incorrect. The legislator claimed that it is a “standard agreement” like the ones that have been signed between the US and other countries on defense cooperation. When asked what the project refers to when it says “operations in bases [and the construction corresponding to that support],” Penadés said it is about the “infrastructure” that is built in “cooperation,” such as, according to him, hospitals.

For his part, Lev affirmed that the project is “ambiguous” and will provoke “very deep discussion” in parliament.

“As it is ambiguous, it is going to give rise to at least a very deep discussion, I have no doubt. This is not going to be voted on tables and this discussion is going to take many months, if not years. But one can never anticipate,” he said, adding: “There are two main laws for the Government, such as the organic law of the Armed Forces and the retirement law. Parliament is not in a position to quickly study this project.”

Lev pointed out that, in general, agreements with foreign countries take months or years to approve.

“An issue of this nature, with the ambiguities, especially with this potential base, is going to generate a deep debate. The Uruguayan government does not propose the agreement, it makes a scheme with the US and proposes what Washington aspires to. But in politics one should never rush. One has to carefully analyze and see the actions of the political system,” Lev said.

The underlying issue is that the Uruguayan military’s limited defense budget means that it is reliant on the generosity of donor nations. In one example, the US State Department GPOI funds contributed $36 million since 2008 in equipment, training, and construction for the Uruguayan Armed Forces. This is evidently a paltry amount, but in the context of the Uruguayan military, which has a total budget of $1.16 billion, it is significant.

It is recalled that Daniel Castillos, Uruguay’s Ambassador to Moscow, announced in April that his country does not support the economic sanctions on Russia.

“Despite the current situation and criticism regarding [Russia’s] special military operation [in Ukraine], Uruguay has not imposed and does not support any economic and financial sanctions against Russia… and maintains an interest in strengthening trade and maintaining good relations,” he said, adding that it was “necessary” to cooperate with Russia.

For the US, it is important that initiatives like the defense cooperation agreement are signed with Uruguay so that the country can be brought under its sphere of influence. Uruguay currently has friendly relations with the US, Russia and China, but Washington hopes to upset this balance by slowly influencing the country, beginning with military bases. For now, although the US undoubtedly has ambitions for military bases in Uruguay, it appears unlikely to happen in the short and medium term.

(Info Brics)

https://orinocotribune.com/us-wants-to- ... n-uruguay/

**************

Chilean President insists on advancing in the constitutional process

Image
President Boric invited the political sectors that opted for the Rejection option not to get drunk with triumphalism. | Photo: EFE
Published November 14, 2022 (9 hours 54 minutes ago)

Gabriel Boric reiterated that the reform of the constitution is a priority issue to avoid the increase of social conflict in Chile.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric insisted on Sunday on the importance of moving towards a change in the Constitution, to avoid a new social outbreak, referring to the slow progress of negotiations on the matter in Congress.

During an interview for the Chilean media Channel 13, the Chilean president acknowledged that the rejection of the constitutional change in the September 4 plebiscite has been one of the most complex moments of his Government.

"We made a mistake by getting drunk, in some way, with the result of the entry plebiscite and the result of the election of conventionals," said the head of state, whose government said before the referendum that constitutional change was key to promoting his program .


Gabriel Boric reiterated that the reform of the constitution that has been in force since the last Chilean dictatorship is a priority issue to prevent social conflict from continuing to accumulate in the country.

President Boric invited the political sectors that opted for the Rejection option not to get drunk with triumphalism, amid criticism for the slow progress of negotiations in Congress for a new constituent process.

The parties with parliamentary representation have been participating for weeks in a fruitless dialogue to date to shape the drafting of a new Constitution.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/presiden ... -0024.html

Google Translator

***************

Bolivia: Indigenous Movements Call for Fascists to be Punished
Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360° on NOVEMBER 13, 2022

Image

The leadership of the Federation of Campesino Workers of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, has today described the burning of their headquarters by far-right protesters as an “act of terrorism”. On Friday, pro-fascist groups set fire to the building of the region’s indigenous campesino union (Federación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Santa Cruz). They also attacked the departmental workers federation (Central Obrera Departamental – COD) building and various government offices. Campesinos are now calling for strict punishments for those responsible.

“We are making the corresponding complaints, investigators have come to see everything they have done, but what are they going to see if everything is burned and looted?” said the executive secretary of the Federation, Franklin Vargas, today in a press conference.

“We ask the Prosecutor’s Office to find the intellectual authors of this, we know who is financing them, there are videos where you can see who has paid,” he explained.


The violent right-wing protests began weeks ago demanding that the national census be brought forward by six months. However, the ruling Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) says this is just an excuse used by Santa Cruz governor, Fernado Camacho, to try and destabilize the country and launch a second coup d’etat.

After the wave of fascist violence on Friday, the government confirmed that there were 15 people detained for carrying out the arson attacks at the headquarters of the Campesino Federation and the COD.

“The violence is not going to win, the violence unleashed today only tries to satisfy the personal appetites of Mr. Luis Fernando Camacho and those responsible for the burning of private property and the attacks on Santa Cruz citizens and the Bolivian police. They will face justice,” said the Interior Minister Eduardo del Castillo.

Kawsachun News

[youtube]https://youtu.be/GIk889VsOo0[/youtube]

https://libya360.wordpress.com/2022/11/ ... -punished/

**********

Bolivia: Santa Cruz Peasants Describe Attack on Facilities as Terrorism, Camacho Coup in the Making
NOVEMBER 14, 2022

Image
Camacho's terrorist gangs while burning the Peasants' Union headquarters during the Santa Cruz civic lock-down, Friday November 11, 2022. Photo: APG.

This Sunday, November 13, the leadership of the Single Trade Union Federation of Peasant Workers of Santa Cruz described the burning down of its headquarters in the capital of Santa Cruz, which occurred on Friday, as an act of terrorism. It was denounced at a national and international level, in order for those responsible to be punished.

“It was a criminal attack that they launched on our federation, we denounced this act of terrorism at the national and international level,” said Franklin Vargas, the organization’s top leader, in an interview with Bolivian state media.

Vargas recalled how the violent events occurred at the headquarters when 60 to 70 people were inside.

According to the Bolivian Information Agency, he reported that: “For about five hours we were attacked by paid bandits, who we suppose were brought by governor Luis Fernando Camacho and the Civic Committee. Then the police came to protect us, although I think they could not withstand the attacks; there were about 2,000 people who attacked with dynamites and firecrackers.”

Luis Fernando Camacho was an active promoter of the coup d’etat against Evo Morales in 2019 and a key figure in Jeanine Anez’s dictatorship, but for some reason the Bolivian judicial system has not put him in prison and has let him run rogue, destabilizing the country and trying to replicate the 2019 coup d’etat now in 2022.

Among the people who were inside the headquarters were children and older adults who were lucky to be evacuated, Vargas said, and later the violent groups entered, looted and burned the facilities.

He also warned that: “Our bases are extremely upset by these acts. We are the victims, but we have not yet responded. From now on, anything that happens in Santa Cruz will be the responsibility of the governor and the Civic Committee; if they take action we can also mobilize ourselves.”

He added that the federation is attentive to the resolutions coming from other social organizations and they are ready to join in on any measures taken in the face of the persistent violence promoted by Luis Fernando Camacho. In the meantime, it is expected that local authorities will carry out the necessary investigations so that justice is served for the terrorist attacks.

“There is a lot of evidence for those responsible to be punished,” Vargas said.

He argued that, since they have a date for the census, it is time for activities in Santa Cruz to be normalized and for the civic lock-down to be lifted, so that the humble and poor sectors of society are allowed to work.

The burning of the peasants’ headquarters was reported after a union march against the civic lock-down took place, due to the damage it represents to them, and the presence of members from the far-right Cruceñista Youth Union (UCJ) was denounced. With the participation of the police, they unleashed violence and confused confrontations.

Violence returns to Santa Cruz, clashes recorded in Plan 3000
In the La Campana sector of Plan 3000, in the early hours of this past Sunday, on the 23rd day of the civic lock-down, harsh clashes were reported again between those who reject the lock-down, those who support it and the police.

According to reports from the right-wing television station Red Gigavisión, the events began around 1:00AM and lasted until about 5:00AM.

In the videos on the television network, there is an indiscriminate use of fireworks and firecrackers very close to homes, many of them even reaching the interior of some houses. The atmosphere is made even more chaotic with the police firing tear gas.

In other videos, the movement of police officers, patrol cars and motorcycles of the police institution is observed. Police were trying to prevent the two groups from clashing by using chemical agents, one of the reports said.

According to other reports, some clashes began on Saturday night when two town halls were scheduled to take place, one on La Campana Avenue with residents of Plan 3000 who reject the civic lock-down and the other just a few blocks away, by the sector supporting the lock-down.

In the first brawls, the destruction of a police station and an injured officer were reported. Bolivia TV informed on Sunday morning that commercial movement and vehicular traffic in Plan 3000 had been fully normalized.

Camacho supporters destroy a police station and leave an officer injured
In another night of confrontations in the city of Santa Cruz, the avenues Tres Pasos al Frente and Tercer Anillo, and the Estación Argentina neighborhood were converted into scenes of violence by groups of Camacho’s militas, Unión Juvenil Cruceñista (UJC), against the Bolivian police, who tried to protect both places.

As a result of the clashes, an officer was hit in the face by a stone and a police station was completely destroyed.

In an act of provocation, the violent groups moved in vans and motorcycles, armed with sticks and stones, towards Plan 3000, to hold a town hall, after which violence broke out since that area is inhabited by people who do not agree with the lock-down.

The police guard had been reinforced after threats from violent groups connected to Governor Fernando Camacho. They threatened to “take over” the Andrés Ibáñez citadel.

(Últimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content

https://orinocotribune.com/bolivia-sant ... he-making/
"There is great chaos under heaven; the situation is excellent."

Post Reply