Re: South America
Posted: Sat Feb 04, 2023 3:20 pm
USA Pipe Dreams: a Response
FEBRUARY 4, 2023
US Southern Command Chief, Laura Richardson, smiling profusely. Photo: US Army/File photo.
By Maria Paez Victor and Nino Pagliccia – Feb 1, 2023
“A melon-cup that no longer resembles a melon-cup and people still say, “A melon-cup! A melon-cup!”
– Confucius
We read with stupefaction the recent declarations of the head of the Southern Command of the USA Armed Forces, General Laura Richardson to the Atlantic Council think tank about the Latin American region. In language devoid of any obfuscation, she quite openly said what is well known, that Washington’s foreign policy in the region is exclusively based on its interest in its resources, not its people. As Orinoco Tribune reported, she stated:
“We have a lot to do. This region matters. It has a lot to do with national security, and we have to step up our game,” Richardson said, referring to the “rich resources and rare earth elements” located throughout Latin America. “But why is this region important? You have the lithium triangle, which is necessary for today’s technology. 60% of the world’s lithium is in the lithium triangle: Argentina, Bolivia and Chile…the largest oil reserves, light and sweet crude discovered in Guyana more than a year ago. You also have the resources of Venezuela with oil, copper, gold…this region also features the “lungs of the world,” the Amazon, and 31% of the world’s fresh water.”1
No word about establishing friendly relationships, about facing together shared problems of poverty, about encouraging social development, fighting environmental degradation, or drug trafficking. No “good neighbour” niceties. It is almost funny, if it wasn’t so ominous. Let us not forget that according to a UN study, more than 40% of armed conflicts of the last 60 years were linked to natural resources.[2] And with looming environmental disasters, increasing scarcity and competition, the pillage of natural resources and ensuing environmental deterioration can only get worse.
This top USA army spokesperson even forgoes notions of courtesy and diplomatic language. She used the sheer language of domination, the ugly head of the Monroe Doctrine that basically says that the region belongs to the USA. Let us remember that the mandate of the USA Southern Command based in Florida is the watchful eye over any “transgression” against the USA “national security”. And they will intervene if necessary.
An exaggeration? Not really. Just recently the US Treasury Department gave a “license” for the exploitation of a gas field to companies belonging to Venezuela and Trinidad.[3] As if it were the lord and owner of those waters and gas deposit. What it means really is that Washington -in a staged act of generosity- will turn a blind eye to its own illegal and criminal unilateral coercive measures (ill named sanctions) and, in this instance, will not penalize those involved in the exploitation of this recourse. However, the real reason is quite obvious: they and especially their ‘allies’ in Europe need the gas of which there is a shortage, due to their undeclared war on Russia. That managing their own resources is an inalienable right of both Trinidad and Venezuela to start with is ignored. The fact that at this particular time this pseudo “license” is beneficial to both countries is not the point. What is clear is that cynically, the USA empowers itself as a biased (and corrupt), self-appointed policeman of the world acting as accuser, judge, and executioner whenever it suits them, enforcing extraterritorially their own laws to other sovereign nations and shamelessly breaks international laws in order to serve its own interests.
A recent article by USA historian Alfred W. McCoy in COUNTERPUNCH, while recognising the setbacks that the USA has encountered in its dreams of empire, still advocates more of the same failed foreign policy recipes. [4] McCoy proposes a remedy for “the US fading hegemony” which is to maintain it with the help of institutions like NATO, NORAD, NAFTA and countries like Canada, the USA’s trusted friend. Is this new or just more of the same?
McCoy’s attitude is representative of many who believe they are aware and open minded about policy mistakes that Washington has made, such the ones he mentions: the wall along the southern border with Mexico, the mistreatment of Haiti migrants, reference to one failed US-led coup d’etat in Venezuela, repeated military interventions in the region (Puerto Rico, Panama, Haiti), and the CIA’s covert wars with death squads and criminal gangs in Central America.
It is unfortunate that these events are listed almost as if they were independent of one another, anomalies, almost accidents or errors, certainly not central to the main tenet of the ideology of exceptionalism that pervades all of Washington’s foreign policy, past and present. The author, and indeed many who consider themselves progressive, friendly, and well meaning, put forth the idea that if they could just overlook these lamentable “mistakes” of the past, the USA could go forward politically unscathed and maintain its hegemony in the region. Alas, this is like putting old wine in new bottles.
That is not to be. The recent declarations of the head of the Southern Command of the USA Armed Forces, put an end to this pipe dream.
To be clear, McCoy speaks mostly of the USA “home region” which includes only Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the island nations of the Caribbean, with little reference to South America. Quite arbitrarily drawing up convenient lines and divisions. To McCoy’s credit in his article, he recognises “the fading hegemony” in his apparent concern about the “rise of regional powers”, which he does not view favourably. However, what he proposes as a remedy is not for the benefit of the region but rather for the self-interest of the USA.
He suggests two models for the resurgence of US hegemony: (1) The US-Canada relationship and (2) A regional union like the one with European Union. Ultimately, his dream is: “To create a successor to the long-moribund Organization of American States (OAS), Ottawa and Washington [which] could lead North America’s 23 sovereign nations in forming a permanent secretariat, akin to the European Commission.” [5] He is correct about the “moribund” OAS, (which the USA did much to undermine) but seems unaware that the Latin American and Caribbean nations have already, in 2011, formed a regional alliance in CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) which most emphatically excludes the USA and its junior partner, Canada. The foxes were not invited into the hen coop.
Let us put aside the idea that the “ideal” relationship is the one Washington has with Canada. First of all, there is a shared political, economic, military, and cultural foundation between the two nations, that does not exist with the rest of the continent.
Second, there is a marked asymmetry in economic power which Canadian politicians and elites have meekly accepted to the point that the idea of “sovereignty” is to all effects and purposes an invisible issue politically (with the exception of the Province of Quebec and the Indigenous peoples). On a positive side there is a plethora of bi-national initiatives at lower levels of governance on specific issues (such as commerce, border security, the Great Lakes). However, as USA political adventures of regime change, full scale sanctioning of nations, and even war, have been steadily increasing, the unenviable role of being a “branch plant” of USA capitalism is starting to arise in the Canadian political consciousness.[6] So much so that for a country that once took the lead in establishing the United Nations, it has now twice been denied a seat at the Security Council since many nations see Canada as the Washington’s errand boy without an independent voice. It is starting to be an awkward role.
The other “ideal” relationship mentioned by McCoy is that between the US and the European Union. Again, there is a shared political, economic, military, and cultural background. But despite this, as of late the stark differences in the economic and political interests between the USA and Europe are daily rearing their heads and causing unheard of stress in the relationship.
One of these stresses on the EU is the Ukraine proxy war against Russia which has caused scarcity of oil and gas in Europe. The USA is a nation that is geared to war. As former US president Jimmy Carter has stated, “The US is the most warlike nation in the history of the world…the US has been at peace for only 16 of its 242 years as a nation”. [7]Its economy necessitates perpetual war to sustain its industrial military complex – as President Dwight D. Eisenhower so clearly warned about half a century ago. Today, the Europeans, with the conflict with Russia and Ukraine that the USA and NATO have clearly provoked, know perfectly well that any war in Europe will involve risking their land, their nations, and their people, not Washington’s which is protected an ocean away. So again, the issue of “sovereignty” – i.e. who’s political will prevails? – is the elephant in the room in this relationship also.
So, what would it take for the USA to engage in a truly constructive way with the rest of the region? If the USA wants to signal a new relationship with its continental neighbors here’s what it needs to do.
The first step the USA could take for a new relationship potentially with the whole of Latin America, would be the repudiation, in law, of the Monroe Doctrine, recognizing the self-determination of the nation states to the south of it.
The second step would be the affirmation of its adherence to the Charter of the United Nations in terms of respecting the sovereignty of those independent nations; in particular, adherence to Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the UN Charter.[8] In practice, this would mean the re-formulation in law of the mission and aims of the US’s foreign policy, including the role of the State Department and the intelligence agencies with respect to said nations.
The third step, mutatis mutandis, would need to be the immediate dismantling of the Guantanamo prison, and the returning the naval base occupied territory to Cuba. This would also include dropping the blockade against “communist Cuba” as McCoy disparagingly calls the country.
The fourth step would be the re-establishment of full diplomatic relations with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and the cessation of all economic and financial sanctions against them. It would mean the return of all Venezuelan assets and accounts that have been seized by USA and European banks. It would also mean the release of the Venezuelan Special Envoy Alex Saab whom the USA kidnapped and incarcerated despite his rights to diplomatic immunity based on the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The fifth step would involve a veritable economic restructuring within the USA, by re-directing its economy away from arms manufacturing to construction and rebuilding of their sorely needed infrastructure and housing, strengthening social programs such health and education, increasing development aid, and accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy as part of a comprehensive environmental program. Only then could the USA present itself to the rest of the hemisphere and the world as a nation of peace and respect.
The key question is: how is this to be done? That is in the hands of the people of the USA, who exercising their own sovereignty, should use all the measures open to them to bring about well-being, justice, and prosperity for all. Instead of ‘stepping up its game’ as General Richardson put it, the USA should recognise that the game is changing, with new players and new rules. The melon-cup is no more. Only when the USA gives up its pipe dreams of empire, recognizing the new multipolar world, will their people and the world be able to look forward to a brighter and more secure future.
Notes.
[1] Orinoco Tribune, “US Vows to “Step Up Its Game” in Latin America “ https://orinocotribune.com, 23 January 2023
[2] Xicotencatle, “Ciudad de México- San Petersburgo, dos fragmentos del mismo texto bélico”, rebellion, 26 January 2023
[3] Orinoco Tribune, “Washington Grants License to Trinidad and Tobago to Resume Gas Projects with PDVSA”, 26 January 2023
[4] Alfred W. McCoy, “The Fading of Washington’s Global Dreams and the Coming of a New world”, CONTERPUNCH, 12 January 2023
[5] Op. cit “US Vows to Step Up Its Game….”
[6] See, George Grant, “Lament for a Nation”, Carleton University Press, 1989
[7] Jimmy Carter, quoted in Brett Wilkins, “Jimmy Carter: US Most Warlike Nation in the History of the World”,Common Dreams, 18 April 2019,
[8] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-1
(Counter Punch)
https://orinocotribune.com/usa-pipe-dreams-a-response/
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7th Celac Summit - between evasion and reality
Enviado por tortilla el Lun, 30/01/2023 - 19:04
Stephen Sefton, 29 de enero 2023
Perhaps it was inevitable that the main achievement of the seventh summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Argentina is to have been able to happen at all, thus keeping alive the vision of a Greater Nation for all the peoples of the region. Compared to the tremendous dynamism and forthrightness of CELAC's founders, the summit's Final Statement exhibits a bland, mediocre agenda of evasion and hollow aspirations. On a positive note, the Declaration confirms the commitment of the member States to integration, unity and political, economic, social and cultural diversity as a community of sovereign nations and it also reaffirms the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
But the experiences of the last ten years show that in many respects the region's reality runs contrary to most of the statements in the Declaration's 111 points of the Declaration. Examples of this are the extensive presence of US military bases throughout the continent, the constant interventions of Western powers and interests in the region, the harassment and contempt towards indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, the application of “lawfare” against prominent political figures in several countries and the routine political manipulation of human rights institutions. More than anything, it has been electoral fortunes that have allowed the region to overcome initiatives aimed at sabotaging Latin American and Caribbean unity, such as the nefarious Lima Group.
Still, the underlying interventionist threat persists and the CELAC summit gave space to lamentable elements of what remains of the cruel interventions to damage Venezuela. The presidents of Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay attacked the government of Venezuela with the usual false accusations of lack of democracy and it is worth recalling that the Lima Group was supported or endorsed at one time or another by the following countries: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia under the coup regime, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia. Self-evidently, the power of manipulation and coercion in the region of the United States, and its allies among the NATO countries, persists and they simply wait for favorable conditions to be able to use it.
In the end, President Nicolás Maduro Moros decided not to participate in the summit because the Argentine authorities could not guarantee his protection against possible legal provocations based on the illegal coercive measures of the US government against Venezuela. The Final Declaration of the summit calls for the lifting of the illegal blockade of Cuba but not of the illegal unilateral measures against Venezuela, which now even the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has had to condemn as an abuse of the human rights of the Venezuelan people. Nor does the Final Declaration mention the theft in broad daylight of the patrimony of the Venezuelan people, the company CITGO, the gold stored in London and billions of dollars in the European financial system, by the United States and the governments of the European Union.
The ambivalence inherent in the Final Declaration is also reflected in its support for decolonization and human rights without calling for the closure and withdrawal of the US military base at Guantanamo or condemning the permanent abuse of human rights the base represents as a center for illegal detention and torture. That omission indicates the level of the capture by the United States and its Western allies of the consciences of many leaders in the region. This was also seen unexpectedly in an outburst by President Lula da Silva at the margins of the summit. Lula made an absurd comparison between the illegal US aggression against Venezuela and the legitimate military operation of the Russian Federation in defense of Russian-speaking populations attacked by the government of Ukraine in alliance with NATO countries for eight years and counting.
Lula's grossly foolish remark could be simply an attempt on his part to signal his ideological virtue to the elites controlling the US Democratic Party and its allies in the Brazilian elite who supported Lula in the presidential elections last October. On the other hand, the just recently announced decision of leaders such as Lula, Gustavo Petro and Alberto Fernández not to send weapons in support of Ukraine does honor the declaration of the region as a zone of Peace. Although it undoubtedly also has to do with the aspirations of Brazil and, especially, Argentina in relation to a future expansion of the BRICS group of countries.
In this global context, the eagerness of the ruling classes of the most powerful countries in Latin America to appease the US and European elites conflicts with the imperative of taking advantage of the economic benefits offered by the People's Republic of China and the development of a multipolar world. In fact, President Xi Jinping greeted the summit via an online link and stressed that China is working to push relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean towards a new era based on respect, equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and well-being for all peoples.
While China demonstrates good faith with its extensive investment, cooperation and trade with the region, the regional policy of the United States has not changed since President Monroe's declaration of December 2nd 1823. The recent frank comments of the head of the US Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, confirm that the United States continues to regard Latin America and the Caribbean as a subaltern zone, a source and supplier of fabulous natural resources. In addition, General Richardson said in her remarks to the Atlantic Council, a NATO-funded think tank, that Latin America and the Caribbean “has a lot to do with our national security and we have to start our play”, as if the peoples of the region will not remember the brutal history of intervention and destabilization by the United States over two centuries.
In relation to the tension between the encouraging message of President Xi Jinping and the permanent interventionist position of the United States, the presidents of Brazil and Argentina announced the day before the summit in Buenos Aires a project for a common currency between the two countries. They claim the initiative will boost regional trade and reduce dependence on the US dollar, perhaps in the style of the European Currency Unit (ECU), introduced in 1979 as an accounting unit for cross-border financial transactions. The ECU was associated with the European Exchange Rate Mechanism that sought to stabilize sharp variations between the different currencies of European countries. In 1999 the ECU was replaced by the single European currency, the Euro.
One has only to look at the economic history of Europe of the last 20 years to understand the futility of the idea that such a common currency will reduce regional dependence on the US dollar. Quite simply, all the corresponding independent financial architecture is lacking, for example a robust payments system, independent insurance institutions and other key financial services, a regional system of rating agencies or a banking system capable of resisting aggressive speculation in international financial and commodity markets. The idea looks like another example of the superficiality and ideological dependence on the West of the region's social democratic political classes. They seem to hope they can evade facing the implications of the fundamental truth they themselves recognize in relation to environmental issues and other issues, for example, volatile commodity prices or foreign debt, that Western capitalism harms the peoples of the region and the whole world.
The capitalist model of the mythical invisible hand of the free market and its neoliberal fictional corollaries is collapsing. Even so, most governments of the CELAC countries seem to want to apply that same economic model to promote their countries'development. This reality makes especially unconvincing point six of the Final Declaration, which affirms “the importance of prioritizing sustainable economic recovery with a cooperative, inclusive, equitable and solidarity-based approach." But that economic model already exists in a well advanced form, thanks to the same revolutionary countries of the Bolivarian Alliance of our Americas (ALBA) that so many of the region's governments attack and disparage without justification. This is the fundamental contradiction of CELAC and the biggest challenge facing Ralph Gonsalves, who now holds the pro tempore presidency of CELAC on behalf of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a member country of ALBA.
As President Comandante Daniel and our Vice President Compañera Rosario said in Nicaragua's message to the summit:
“The world urgently needs justice and peace... Respectful and Supportive Cooperation. The world needs understanding, empathy and affection. The Better World that we all want to create, urgently needs Respect, Peace, Solidarity and the Ability to Live Together, sharing the Scientific and Technological Development that has cost us all so much...We sing and move in Life and Hope, striving, We Go Forward... Always Further On!”
https://www.tortillaconsal.com/bitacora ... a522e56a3a
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Call for a large march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo. | Photo: EFE
Posted 4 February 2023 (2 hours 44 minutes ago)
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo,
Social organizations and indigenous peoples called for a large march in the Peruvian capital this Saturday as part of the demonstrations and protests against the designated president Dina Boluarte.
As in previous days, the mobilization in Lima will be replicated in various regions of the South American country.
In addition to the march on February 4, mobilizations have been called in the Peruvian capital for next February 9 and strikes in the Ayacucho and Arequipa regions for next week.
From the Collegiate Committee of National Struggle of the Regions they called for an indefinite national strike starting this Saturday to demand the resignation of the designated president Dina Boluarte.
The participants in the protests in a large part of the Peruvian territory demand the closure of Congress and demand the creation of a Constituent Assembly.
The day before, Congress blocked until August any attempt to debate again a proposal on the advancement of the general elections.
The protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo and swore in Boluarte.
As a consequence of the strong police and military repression against the demonstrations, more than 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries have been reported.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-con ... -0007.html
Peruvian Congress blocks debate on early elections
The decision of the Congress was made after the Constitutional Commission of the legislative body refused to debate an initiative presented by Dina Boluarte. | Photo: EFE
Published 4 February 2023
Legislators who did not support the project argued that this constitutional reform violates the rule of law.
The Congress of Peru postponed until August any type of discussion or debate to advance the general elections, neglecting one of the main demands of the participants in the demonstrations and mobilizations against the designated president Dina Boluarte.
The decision of the plenary session of Congress was made after the Constitutional Commission of the legislative body refused to debate an initiative presented by Dina Boluarte, which proposes to advance the presidential elections to next October.
At least 11 deputies from the congressional commission voted in favor of the proposal, ten voted against it and one abstained. As it is a constitutional reform, it must go to the plenary session and for this it needed to obtain 14 supports.
Legislators who did not support the project argued that they had to defend democratic institutions and that this constitutional reform violates the rule of law.
The regulations of the Congress establish that a "same proposal" may not be presented "until the next annual period of sessions", which begins at the end of July of each year.
In addition to the advance of the general elections, the demonstrators demand the dissolution of Congress and the holding of a constituent assembly.
Amid the demonstrations and protests in Peru, mobilizations are expected for Saturday in the capital, Lima, and in other parts of the country, while around 80 roadblocks remain active in seven regions of the country.
Protests have been going on in Peru since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo and swore Boluarte in office. The police and military repression against the demonstrations has left more than 60 dead and hundreds injured.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-con ... -0005.html
Google Translator
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Peru: ANP Reports 153 Attacks Against Journalists During Protests
So far, some 66 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Feb. 3, 2023. | Photo: Twitter/@jmkarg
Published 3 February 2023
Most attacks "have been concentrated in Lima, and the most frequent aggressors have been police officers."
The National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP) denounced that 153 attacks against journalists have been registered since December 7, when the national protests against the government of President-designate Dina Boluarte began following the dismissal of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
The data were collected by the ANP's Journalists' Human Rights Office (OFIP) and indicate that most of the aggression "has been concentrated in Lima and the most frequent aggressors have been police officers."
During the protests in January this year, 94 such incidents were recorded, the ANP office reported in a press release, in which it added that the highest number of attacks (19 in a single day) was recorded on January 19 in the framework of the so-called "taking of Lima."
The association said, "This figure surpasses the record of 16 attacks that occurred on November 10, 2020, in the framework of protests in defense of democracy."
Alert: during January, we have registered 94 attacks on journalists during the coverage of social protests. This, added to last month's record, gives a total of 153 attacks since December 7, when the nationwide mobilizations began.
The ANP added that, through the Journalists' Human Rights Office, it "remains vigilant in registering aggression against press professionals and in activating, with public and civil society entities, measures for prevention, defense and action in the face of attacks they may face during their reporting activity."
The dismissal of former President Pedro Castillo last December 7 triggered fierce nationwide protests. Some 66 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
The popular demand focuses on the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the closure of Congress, early elections for 2023 and the convening of a constituent assembly.
The Peruvian Congress today rejected an opinion proposing early general elections and a referendum to convene a Constituent Assembly in the middle of this year. In short, it rejected a possible solution to the current crisis.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0014.html
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Commander Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo preside over the act of delivery of 150 Russian buses to Nicaraguan carriers.
Solidarity with Peruvians from President Daniel Ortega
February 1, 2023Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua, Peru
President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega expressed solidarity with the people of Peru and Pedro Castillo amid the working class uprising across Peru that has been met by brutal repression, carried out by the US-backed Dina Boluarte regime. Below is a transcription of the President’s remarks made at an event on Tuesday night.
A brother people, Peru, there they have sown terror, death, simply because the people decided to elect a President of peasant origin, a teacher of peasant origin, who wears a small sombrero, a small sombrero is what Pedro wears. A humble man was elected!
Then the Congress began to look for ways to overthrow him, and he tried to seek agreements, even doing away with comrades from the movement, from the party that had brought him to the presidency, because Congress was ordering them to be fired.
That is simply class hatred, they refuse to see a peasant, a worker, a humble teacher occupying the presidency. For them that is unacceptable and they began to make war and war and war, until they carried out a coup. President Pedro Castillo, a rural teacher from the countryside, you may have seen his photo, he is a ordinary, humble person, they have him in jail. They have him in jail!
But the People have risen up and have been fighting every day, the peasants, the workers, the teachers, all fighting. More than 60 people have already been murdered in the streets, and what do the Yankees say? What do the Europeans say? Nothing, as if nothing is happening, there is no condemnation of the crimes being committed against these people, there is no condemnation! There are no human rights groups that speak in favor of that People that are being assassinated.
But in spite of the bullets raining down on them, they continue to fight and are demanding the disappearance of the Congress, because it was the Congress that carried out the coup, together with the military, against President Pedro Castillo, the legitimate President of the sister Republic of Peru.
And from Nicaragua we express our Solidarity to the Peruvian People who are defending his return to the Presidency, because he was elected, and the Congress decided to remove him from office with the complicity of the military, and that is why they managed to put him in prison. He is in prison there.
So, our solidarity with the Peruvian People, our solidarity with the legitimate President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, and from this Latin America and the Caribbean that today seeks more and more understanding, more rapprochement, more unity, we cry out:
Freedom for Pedro Castillo!
Presidency for Pedro Castillo!
Long Live the Unity of the Peruvian People!
https://kawsachunnews.com/solidarity-wi ... a522e56a3a
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Call for a large march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo. | Photo: EFE
Posted 4 February 2023 (2 hours 44 minutes ago)
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo,
Social organizations and indigenous peoples called for a large march in the Peruvian capital this Saturday as part of the demonstrations and protests against the designated president Dina Boluarte.
READ ALSO :
They carry out new mobilizations to demand the resignation of the Peruvian president
As in previous days, the mobilization in Lima will be replicated in various regions of the South American country.
In addition to the march on February 4, mobilizations have been called in the Peruvian capital for next February 9 and strikes in the Ayacucho and Arequipa regions for next week.
From the Collegiate Committee of National Struggle of the Regions they called for an indefinite national strike starting this Saturday to demand the resignation of the designated president Dina Boluarte.
The participants in the protests in a large part of the Peruvian territory demand the closure of Congress and demand the creation of a Constituent Assembly.
The day before, Congress blocked until August any attempt to debate again a proposal on the advancement of the general elections.
The protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo and swore in Boluarte.
As a consequence of the strong police and military repression against the demonstrations, more than 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries have been reported.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-con ... -0007.html
Google Translator
FEBRUARY 4, 2023
US Southern Command Chief, Laura Richardson, smiling profusely. Photo: US Army/File photo.
By Maria Paez Victor and Nino Pagliccia – Feb 1, 2023
“A melon-cup that no longer resembles a melon-cup and people still say, “A melon-cup! A melon-cup!”
– Confucius
We read with stupefaction the recent declarations of the head of the Southern Command of the USA Armed Forces, General Laura Richardson to the Atlantic Council think tank about the Latin American region. In language devoid of any obfuscation, she quite openly said what is well known, that Washington’s foreign policy in the region is exclusively based on its interest in its resources, not its people. As Orinoco Tribune reported, she stated:
“We have a lot to do. This region matters. It has a lot to do with national security, and we have to step up our game,” Richardson said, referring to the “rich resources and rare earth elements” located throughout Latin America. “But why is this region important? You have the lithium triangle, which is necessary for today’s technology. 60% of the world’s lithium is in the lithium triangle: Argentina, Bolivia and Chile…the largest oil reserves, light and sweet crude discovered in Guyana more than a year ago. You also have the resources of Venezuela with oil, copper, gold…this region also features the “lungs of the world,” the Amazon, and 31% of the world’s fresh water.”1
No word about establishing friendly relationships, about facing together shared problems of poverty, about encouraging social development, fighting environmental degradation, or drug trafficking. No “good neighbour” niceties. It is almost funny, if it wasn’t so ominous. Let us not forget that according to a UN study, more than 40% of armed conflicts of the last 60 years were linked to natural resources.[2] And with looming environmental disasters, increasing scarcity and competition, the pillage of natural resources and ensuing environmental deterioration can only get worse.
This top USA army spokesperson even forgoes notions of courtesy and diplomatic language. She used the sheer language of domination, the ugly head of the Monroe Doctrine that basically says that the region belongs to the USA. Let us remember that the mandate of the USA Southern Command based in Florida is the watchful eye over any “transgression” against the USA “national security”. And they will intervene if necessary.
An exaggeration? Not really. Just recently the US Treasury Department gave a “license” for the exploitation of a gas field to companies belonging to Venezuela and Trinidad.[3] As if it were the lord and owner of those waters and gas deposit. What it means really is that Washington -in a staged act of generosity- will turn a blind eye to its own illegal and criminal unilateral coercive measures (ill named sanctions) and, in this instance, will not penalize those involved in the exploitation of this recourse. However, the real reason is quite obvious: they and especially their ‘allies’ in Europe need the gas of which there is a shortage, due to their undeclared war on Russia. That managing their own resources is an inalienable right of both Trinidad and Venezuela to start with is ignored. The fact that at this particular time this pseudo “license” is beneficial to both countries is not the point. What is clear is that cynically, the USA empowers itself as a biased (and corrupt), self-appointed policeman of the world acting as accuser, judge, and executioner whenever it suits them, enforcing extraterritorially their own laws to other sovereign nations and shamelessly breaks international laws in order to serve its own interests.
A recent article by USA historian Alfred W. McCoy in COUNTERPUNCH, while recognising the setbacks that the USA has encountered in its dreams of empire, still advocates more of the same failed foreign policy recipes. [4] McCoy proposes a remedy for “the US fading hegemony” which is to maintain it with the help of institutions like NATO, NORAD, NAFTA and countries like Canada, the USA’s trusted friend. Is this new or just more of the same?
McCoy’s attitude is representative of many who believe they are aware and open minded about policy mistakes that Washington has made, such the ones he mentions: the wall along the southern border with Mexico, the mistreatment of Haiti migrants, reference to one failed US-led coup d’etat in Venezuela, repeated military interventions in the region (Puerto Rico, Panama, Haiti), and the CIA’s covert wars with death squads and criminal gangs in Central America.
It is unfortunate that these events are listed almost as if they were independent of one another, anomalies, almost accidents or errors, certainly not central to the main tenet of the ideology of exceptionalism that pervades all of Washington’s foreign policy, past and present. The author, and indeed many who consider themselves progressive, friendly, and well meaning, put forth the idea that if they could just overlook these lamentable “mistakes” of the past, the USA could go forward politically unscathed and maintain its hegemony in the region. Alas, this is like putting old wine in new bottles.
That is not to be. The recent declarations of the head of the Southern Command of the USA Armed Forces, put an end to this pipe dream.
To be clear, McCoy speaks mostly of the USA “home region” which includes only Canada, Mexico, Central America, and the island nations of the Caribbean, with little reference to South America. Quite arbitrarily drawing up convenient lines and divisions. To McCoy’s credit in his article, he recognises “the fading hegemony” in his apparent concern about the “rise of regional powers”, which he does not view favourably. However, what he proposes as a remedy is not for the benefit of the region but rather for the self-interest of the USA.
He suggests two models for the resurgence of US hegemony: (1) The US-Canada relationship and (2) A regional union like the one with European Union. Ultimately, his dream is: “To create a successor to the long-moribund Organization of American States (OAS), Ottawa and Washington [which] could lead North America’s 23 sovereign nations in forming a permanent secretariat, akin to the European Commission.” [5] He is correct about the “moribund” OAS, (which the USA did much to undermine) but seems unaware that the Latin American and Caribbean nations have already, in 2011, formed a regional alliance in CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) which most emphatically excludes the USA and its junior partner, Canada. The foxes were not invited into the hen coop.
Let us put aside the idea that the “ideal” relationship is the one Washington has with Canada. First of all, there is a shared political, economic, military, and cultural foundation between the two nations, that does not exist with the rest of the continent.
Second, there is a marked asymmetry in economic power which Canadian politicians and elites have meekly accepted to the point that the idea of “sovereignty” is to all effects and purposes an invisible issue politically (with the exception of the Province of Quebec and the Indigenous peoples). On a positive side there is a plethora of bi-national initiatives at lower levels of governance on specific issues (such as commerce, border security, the Great Lakes). However, as USA political adventures of regime change, full scale sanctioning of nations, and even war, have been steadily increasing, the unenviable role of being a “branch plant” of USA capitalism is starting to arise in the Canadian political consciousness.[6] So much so that for a country that once took the lead in establishing the United Nations, it has now twice been denied a seat at the Security Council since many nations see Canada as the Washington’s errand boy without an independent voice. It is starting to be an awkward role.
The other “ideal” relationship mentioned by McCoy is that between the US and the European Union. Again, there is a shared political, economic, military, and cultural background. But despite this, as of late the stark differences in the economic and political interests between the USA and Europe are daily rearing their heads and causing unheard of stress in the relationship.
One of these stresses on the EU is the Ukraine proxy war against Russia which has caused scarcity of oil and gas in Europe. The USA is a nation that is geared to war. As former US president Jimmy Carter has stated, “The US is the most warlike nation in the history of the world…the US has been at peace for only 16 of its 242 years as a nation”. [7]Its economy necessitates perpetual war to sustain its industrial military complex – as President Dwight D. Eisenhower so clearly warned about half a century ago. Today, the Europeans, with the conflict with Russia and Ukraine that the USA and NATO have clearly provoked, know perfectly well that any war in Europe will involve risking their land, their nations, and their people, not Washington’s which is protected an ocean away. So again, the issue of “sovereignty” – i.e. who’s political will prevails? – is the elephant in the room in this relationship also.
So, what would it take for the USA to engage in a truly constructive way with the rest of the region? If the USA wants to signal a new relationship with its continental neighbors here’s what it needs to do.
The first step the USA could take for a new relationship potentially with the whole of Latin America, would be the repudiation, in law, of the Monroe Doctrine, recognizing the self-determination of the nation states to the south of it.
The second step would be the affirmation of its adherence to the Charter of the United Nations in terms of respecting the sovereignty of those independent nations; in particular, adherence to Paragraph 1 of Article 1 of the UN Charter.[8] In practice, this would mean the re-formulation in law of the mission and aims of the US’s foreign policy, including the role of the State Department and the intelligence agencies with respect to said nations.
The third step, mutatis mutandis, would need to be the immediate dismantling of the Guantanamo prison, and the returning the naval base occupied territory to Cuba. This would also include dropping the blockade against “communist Cuba” as McCoy disparagingly calls the country.
The fourth step would be the re-establishment of full diplomatic relations with Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, and the cessation of all economic and financial sanctions against them. It would mean the return of all Venezuelan assets and accounts that have been seized by USA and European banks. It would also mean the release of the Venezuelan Special Envoy Alex Saab whom the USA kidnapped and incarcerated despite his rights to diplomatic immunity based on the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The fifth step would involve a veritable economic restructuring within the USA, by re-directing its economy away from arms manufacturing to construction and rebuilding of their sorely needed infrastructure and housing, strengthening social programs such health and education, increasing development aid, and accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy as part of a comprehensive environmental program. Only then could the USA present itself to the rest of the hemisphere and the world as a nation of peace and respect.
The key question is: how is this to be done? That is in the hands of the people of the USA, who exercising their own sovereignty, should use all the measures open to them to bring about well-being, justice, and prosperity for all. Instead of ‘stepping up its game’ as General Richardson put it, the USA should recognise that the game is changing, with new players and new rules. The melon-cup is no more. Only when the USA gives up its pipe dreams of empire, recognizing the new multipolar world, will their people and the world be able to look forward to a brighter and more secure future.
Notes.
[1] Orinoco Tribune, “US Vows to “Step Up Its Game” in Latin America “ https://orinocotribune.com, 23 January 2023
[2] Xicotencatle, “Ciudad de México- San Petersburgo, dos fragmentos del mismo texto bélico”, rebellion, 26 January 2023
[3] Orinoco Tribune, “Washington Grants License to Trinidad and Tobago to Resume Gas Projects with PDVSA”, 26 January 2023
[4] Alfred W. McCoy, “The Fading of Washington’s Global Dreams and the Coming of a New world”, CONTERPUNCH, 12 January 2023
[5] Op. cit “US Vows to Step Up Its Game….”
[6] See, George Grant, “Lament for a Nation”, Carleton University Press, 1989
[7] Jimmy Carter, quoted in Brett Wilkins, “Jimmy Carter: US Most Warlike Nation in the History of the World”,Common Dreams, 18 April 2019,
[8] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/chapter-1
(Counter Punch)
https://orinocotribune.com/usa-pipe-dreams-a-response/
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7th Celac Summit - between evasion and reality
Enviado por tortilla el Lun, 30/01/2023 - 19:04
Stephen Sefton, 29 de enero 2023
Perhaps it was inevitable that the main achievement of the seventh summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Argentina is to have been able to happen at all, thus keeping alive the vision of a Greater Nation for all the peoples of the region. Compared to the tremendous dynamism and forthrightness of CELAC's founders, the summit's Final Statement exhibits a bland, mediocre agenda of evasion and hollow aspirations. On a positive note, the Declaration confirms the commitment of the member States to integration, unity and political, economic, social and cultural diversity as a community of sovereign nations and it also reaffirms the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.
But the experiences of the last ten years show that in many respects the region's reality runs contrary to most of the statements in the Declaration's 111 points of the Declaration. Examples of this are the extensive presence of US military bases throughout the continent, the constant interventions of Western powers and interests in the region, the harassment and contempt towards indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, the application of “lawfare” against prominent political figures in several countries and the routine political manipulation of human rights institutions. More than anything, it has been electoral fortunes that have allowed the region to overcome initiatives aimed at sabotaging Latin American and Caribbean unity, such as the nefarious Lima Group.
Still, the underlying interventionist threat persists and the CELAC summit gave space to lamentable elements of what remains of the cruel interventions to damage Venezuela. The presidents of Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay attacked the government of Venezuela with the usual false accusations of lack of democracy and it is worth recalling that the Lima Group was supported or endorsed at one time or another by the following countries: Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia under the coup regime, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia. Self-evidently, the power of manipulation and coercion in the region of the United States, and its allies among the NATO countries, persists and they simply wait for favorable conditions to be able to use it.
In the end, President Nicolás Maduro Moros decided not to participate in the summit because the Argentine authorities could not guarantee his protection against possible legal provocations based on the illegal coercive measures of the US government against Venezuela. The Final Declaration of the summit calls for the lifting of the illegal blockade of Cuba but not of the illegal unilateral measures against Venezuela, which now even the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has had to condemn as an abuse of the human rights of the Venezuelan people. Nor does the Final Declaration mention the theft in broad daylight of the patrimony of the Venezuelan people, the company CITGO, the gold stored in London and billions of dollars in the European financial system, by the United States and the governments of the European Union.
The ambivalence inherent in the Final Declaration is also reflected in its support for decolonization and human rights without calling for the closure and withdrawal of the US military base at Guantanamo or condemning the permanent abuse of human rights the base represents as a center for illegal detention and torture. That omission indicates the level of the capture by the United States and its Western allies of the consciences of many leaders in the region. This was also seen unexpectedly in an outburst by President Lula da Silva at the margins of the summit. Lula made an absurd comparison between the illegal US aggression against Venezuela and the legitimate military operation of the Russian Federation in defense of Russian-speaking populations attacked by the government of Ukraine in alliance with NATO countries for eight years and counting.
Lula's grossly foolish remark could be simply an attempt on his part to signal his ideological virtue to the elites controlling the US Democratic Party and its allies in the Brazilian elite who supported Lula in the presidential elections last October. On the other hand, the just recently announced decision of leaders such as Lula, Gustavo Petro and Alberto Fernández not to send weapons in support of Ukraine does honor the declaration of the region as a zone of Peace. Although it undoubtedly also has to do with the aspirations of Brazil and, especially, Argentina in relation to a future expansion of the BRICS group of countries.
In this global context, the eagerness of the ruling classes of the most powerful countries in Latin America to appease the US and European elites conflicts with the imperative of taking advantage of the economic benefits offered by the People's Republic of China and the development of a multipolar world. In fact, President Xi Jinping greeted the summit via an online link and stressed that China is working to push relations between China and Latin America and the Caribbean towards a new era based on respect, equality, mutual benefit, innovation, openness and well-being for all peoples.
While China demonstrates good faith with its extensive investment, cooperation and trade with the region, the regional policy of the United States has not changed since President Monroe's declaration of December 2nd 1823. The recent frank comments of the head of the US Southern Command, General Laura Richardson, confirm that the United States continues to regard Latin America and the Caribbean as a subaltern zone, a source and supplier of fabulous natural resources. In addition, General Richardson said in her remarks to the Atlantic Council, a NATO-funded think tank, that Latin America and the Caribbean “has a lot to do with our national security and we have to start our play”, as if the peoples of the region will not remember the brutal history of intervention and destabilization by the United States over two centuries.
In relation to the tension between the encouraging message of President Xi Jinping and the permanent interventionist position of the United States, the presidents of Brazil and Argentina announced the day before the summit in Buenos Aires a project for a common currency between the two countries. They claim the initiative will boost regional trade and reduce dependence on the US dollar, perhaps in the style of the European Currency Unit (ECU), introduced in 1979 as an accounting unit for cross-border financial transactions. The ECU was associated with the European Exchange Rate Mechanism that sought to stabilize sharp variations between the different currencies of European countries. In 1999 the ECU was replaced by the single European currency, the Euro.
One has only to look at the economic history of Europe of the last 20 years to understand the futility of the idea that such a common currency will reduce regional dependence on the US dollar. Quite simply, all the corresponding independent financial architecture is lacking, for example a robust payments system, independent insurance institutions and other key financial services, a regional system of rating agencies or a banking system capable of resisting aggressive speculation in international financial and commodity markets. The idea looks like another example of the superficiality and ideological dependence on the West of the region's social democratic political classes. They seem to hope they can evade facing the implications of the fundamental truth they themselves recognize in relation to environmental issues and other issues, for example, volatile commodity prices or foreign debt, that Western capitalism harms the peoples of the region and the whole world.
The capitalist model of the mythical invisible hand of the free market and its neoliberal fictional corollaries is collapsing. Even so, most governments of the CELAC countries seem to want to apply that same economic model to promote their countries'development. This reality makes especially unconvincing point six of the Final Declaration, which affirms “the importance of prioritizing sustainable economic recovery with a cooperative, inclusive, equitable and solidarity-based approach." But that economic model already exists in a well advanced form, thanks to the same revolutionary countries of the Bolivarian Alliance of our Americas (ALBA) that so many of the region's governments attack and disparage without justification. This is the fundamental contradiction of CELAC and the biggest challenge facing Ralph Gonsalves, who now holds the pro tempore presidency of CELAC on behalf of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a member country of ALBA.
As President Comandante Daniel and our Vice President Compañera Rosario said in Nicaragua's message to the summit:
“The world urgently needs justice and peace... Respectful and Supportive Cooperation. The world needs understanding, empathy and affection. The Better World that we all want to create, urgently needs Respect, Peace, Solidarity and the Ability to Live Together, sharing the Scientific and Technological Development that has cost us all so much...We sing and move in Life and Hope, striving, We Go Forward... Always Further On!”
https://www.tortillaconsal.com/bitacora ... a522e56a3a
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Call for a large march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo. | Photo: EFE
Posted 4 February 2023 (2 hours 44 minutes ago)
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo,
Social organizations and indigenous peoples called for a large march in the Peruvian capital this Saturday as part of the demonstrations and protests against the designated president Dina Boluarte.
As in previous days, the mobilization in Lima will be replicated in various regions of the South American country.
In addition to the march on February 4, mobilizations have been called in the Peruvian capital for next February 9 and strikes in the Ayacucho and Arequipa regions for next week.
From the Collegiate Committee of National Struggle of the Regions they called for an indefinite national strike starting this Saturday to demand the resignation of the designated president Dina Boluarte.
The participants in the protests in a large part of the Peruvian territory demand the closure of Congress and demand the creation of a Constituent Assembly.
The day before, Congress blocked until August any attempt to debate again a proposal on the advancement of the general elections.
The protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo and swore in Boluarte.
As a consequence of the strong police and military repression against the demonstrations, more than 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries have been reported.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-con ... -0007.html
Peruvian Congress blocks debate on early elections
The decision of the Congress was made after the Constitutional Commission of the legislative body refused to debate an initiative presented by Dina Boluarte. | Photo: EFE
Published 4 February 2023
Legislators who did not support the project argued that this constitutional reform violates the rule of law.
The Congress of Peru postponed until August any type of discussion or debate to advance the general elections, neglecting one of the main demands of the participants in the demonstrations and mobilizations against the designated president Dina Boluarte.
The decision of the plenary session of Congress was made after the Constitutional Commission of the legislative body refused to debate an initiative presented by Dina Boluarte, which proposes to advance the presidential elections to next October.
At least 11 deputies from the congressional commission voted in favor of the proposal, ten voted against it and one abstained. As it is a constitutional reform, it must go to the plenary session and for this it needed to obtain 14 supports.
Legislators who did not support the project argued that they had to defend democratic institutions and that this constitutional reform violates the rule of law.
The regulations of the Congress establish that a "same proposal" may not be presented "until the next annual period of sessions", which begins at the end of July of each year.
In addition to the advance of the general elections, the demonstrators demand the dissolution of Congress and the holding of a constituent assembly.
Amid the demonstrations and protests in Peru, mobilizations are expected for Saturday in the capital, Lima, and in other parts of the country, while around 80 roadblocks remain active in seven regions of the country.
Protests have been going on in Peru since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo and swore Boluarte in office. The police and military repression against the demonstrations has left more than 60 dead and hundreds injured.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-con ... -0005.html
Google Translator
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Peru: ANP Reports 153 Attacks Against Journalists During Protests
So far, some 66 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces. Feb. 3, 2023. | Photo: Twitter/@jmkarg
Published 3 February 2023
Most attacks "have been concentrated in Lima, and the most frequent aggressors have been police officers."
The National Association of Journalists of Peru (ANP) denounced that 153 attacks against journalists have been registered since December 7, when the national protests against the government of President-designate Dina Boluarte began following the dismissal of former Peruvian President Pedro Castillo.
The data were collected by the ANP's Journalists' Human Rights Office (OFIP) and indicate that most of the aggression "has been concentrated in Lima and the most frequent aggressors have been police officers."
During the protests in January this year, 94 such incidents were recorded, the ANP office reported in a press release, in which it added that the highest number of attacks (19 in a single day) was recorded on January 19 in the framework of the so-called "taking of Lima."
The association said, "This figure surpasses the record of 16 attacks that occurred on November 10, 2020, in the framework of protests in defense of democracy."
Alert: during January, we have registered 94 attacks on journalists during the coverage of social protests. This, added to last month's record, gives a total of 153 attacks since December 7, when the nationwide mobilizations began.
The ANP added that, through the Journalists' Human Rights Office, it "remains vigilant in registering aggression against press professionals and in activating, with public and civil society entities, measures for prevention, defense and action in the face of attacks they may face during their reporting activity."
The dismissal of former President Pedro Castillo last December 7 triggered fierce nationwide protests. Some 66 people have been killed in clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
The popular demand focuses on the resignation of President Dina Boluarte, the closure of Congress, early elections for 2023 and the convening of a constituent assembly.
The Peruvian Congress today rejected an opinion proposing early general elections and a referendum to convene a Constituent Assembly in the middle of this year. In short, it rejected a possible solution to the current crisis.
https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Per ... -0014.html
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Commander Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo preside over the act of delivery of 150 Russian buses to Nicaraguan carriers.
Solidarity with Peruvians from President Daniel Ortega
February 1, 2023Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua, Peru
President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega expressed solidarity with the people of Peru and Pedro Castillo amid the working class uprising across Peru that has been met by brutal repression, carried out by the US-backed Dina Boluarte regime. Below is a transcription of the President’s remarks made at an event on Tuesday night.
A brother people, Peru, there they have sown terror, death, simply because the people decided to elect a President of peasant origin, a teacher of peasant origin, who wears a small sombrero, a small sombrero is what Pedro wears. A humble man was elected!
Then the Congress began to look for ways to overthrow him, and he tried to seek agreements, even doing away with comrades from the movement, from the party that had brought him to the presidency, because Congress was ordering them to be fired.
That is simply class hatred, they refuse to see a peasant, a worker, a humble teacher occupying the presidency. For them that is unacceptable and they began to make war and war and war, until they carried out a coup. President Pedro Castillo, a rural teacher from the countryside, you may have seen his photo, he is a ordinary, humble person, they have him in jail. They have him in jail!
But the People have risen up and have been fighting every day, the peasants, the workers, the teachers, all fighting. More than 60 people have already been murdered in the streets, and what do the Yankees say? What do the Europeans say? Nothing, as if nothing is happening, there is no condemnation of the crimes being committed against these people, there is no condemnation! There are no human rights groups that speak in favor of that People that are being assassinated.
But in spite of the bullets raining down on them, they continue to fight and are demanding the disappearance of the Congress, because it was the Congress that carried out the coup, together with the military, against President Pedro Castillo, the legitimate President of the sister Republic of Peru.
And from Nicaragua we express our Solidarity to the Peruvian People who are defending his return to the Presidency, because he was elected, and the Congress decided to remove him from office with the complicity of the military, and that is why they managed to put him in prison. He is in prison there.
So, our solidarity with the Peruvian People, our solidarity with the legitimate President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, and from this Latin America and the Caribbean that today seeks more and more understanding, more rapprochement, more unity, we cry out:
Freedom for Pedro Castillo!
Presidency for Pedro Castillo!
Long Live the Unity of the Peruvian People!
https://kawsachunnews.com/solidarity-wi ... a522e56a3a
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Call for a large march against Peruvian President Dina Boluarte
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo. | Photo: EFE
Posted 4 February 2023 (2 hours 44 minutes ago)
Protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo,
Social organizations and indigenous peoples called for a large march in the Peruvian capital this Saturday as part of the demonstrations and protests against the designated president Dina Boluarte.
READ ALSO :
They carry out new mobilizations to demand the resignation of the Peruvian president
As in previous days, the mobilization in Lima will be replicated in various regions of the South American country.
In addition to the march on February 4, mobilizations have been called in the Peruvian capital for next February 9 and strikes in the Ayacucho and Arequipa regions for next week.
From the Collegiate Committee of National Struggle of the Regions they called for an indefinite national strike starting this Saturday to demand the resignation of the designated president Dina Boluarte.
The participants in the protests in a large part of the Peruvian territory demand the closure of Congress and demand the creation of a Constituent Assembly.
The day before, Congress blocked until August any attempt to debate again a proposal on the advancement of the general elections.
The protests in Peru have been going on since December 7, when Congress removed then-President Pedro Castillo and swore in Boluarte.
As a consequence of the strong police and military repression against the demonstrations, more than 60 deaths and hundreds of injuries have been reported.
https://www.telesurtv.net/news/peru-con ... -0007.html
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