Latin America Breaking News

Argentina's Senate approves law over taxes on large wealth owners in order to cope with higher pandemic expenditures:
https://br.sputniknews.com/americas/2020120516561473-senado-argentino-sanciona-imposto-sobre-grandes-fortunas-para-cobrir-gastos-com-pandemia-da/

An oncologist himself, former Uruguayan President and leftist leader Tabaré Vázquez dies of lung cancer.

Chile: Sebastián Piñera, two times president thanks to the stupidity of voters. Who pays the bill (scapegoat)?
https://www.elclarin.cl/2020/12/10/pinera-dos-veces-presidente-gracias-a-la-estupidez-de-los-electores-quien-paga-el-pato/

https://thegrayzone.com/2021/02/15/us-oas-colombia-steal-ecuador-election/


Ben Norton@BenjaminNorton

18h
The US/OAS is overseeing two coups right now, in Ecuador and Haiti, at the same time.

Unfortunately most of the US "left" is silent, yet alone trying to organize actions to meaningfully challenge imperialism.

The Professional Media Left is too busy still heroizing Pope Bernie

Brazilian Supreme Court just invalidated the criminal convictions of ex-President Lula da Silva, restoring his political rights and rendering him eligible to run against Bolsonaro in 2022. He was leading all polls when convicted in 2018. Glenn Greenwald@ggreenwald

https://theintercept.com/2019/06/09/brazil-lula-operation-car-wash-sergio-moro/

Raul Castro resigned as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba

Regime change in Cuba may put Russia in fierce competition for influence, expert says. 13.07.2021

There is a trio of countries - Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua - where Russia’s positions are really firm, and are in a way connected with the specifics of the government currently in office there, Russian International Affairs Council CEO Andrei Kortunov noted.

MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. A change of political regime in Cuba may threaten Russia’s current position in the republic and create conditions for a harsh competition between Moscow and the Western states, Russian International Affairs Council CEO Andrei Kortunov told TASS Tuesday.

The expert believes that the modern Russian foreign policy, unlike the Soviet one, is pragmatic and is not based on a strong ideological basis. The Soviet leadership "supported Cuba as its model Socialist project," while modern Moscow has no such ideological ambitions. Still, in recent years, Russia noticeably "emphasizes cooperation with left-wing Latin American countries and governments."

"In particular, there is a trio of countries - Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua - where Russia’s positions are really firm, and are in a way connected with the specifics of the government currently in office there," Kortunov noted. "Therefore, if any regime change or change of political priorities and so on takes place in Cuba, Russia, of course, will have to build its relations with this country differently."

According to the specialists, a rebuilding of the political system in Cuba may primarily harm bilateral projects, connected to major Russian companies, because, currently, Western competitors cannot ramp up their presence in Cuba only because of the sanctions.

"It is easy to imagine that a new Cuba will show more interest in working with the US, for example, and the European countries. And then Russia will face much stronger competition than it does today," Kortunov said.

Still, it is unlikely that the protests in Cuba will develop in this way, and the sustainability of the current regime "should not be underestimated."

"The protests are, of course, a serious business; this is, effectively, a new phenomenon in the island’s life, but it is too early to say that a regime change in Havana is unavoidable. There have been talks about it for the last 30 years, and all of them have been wrong," he added.

A qualitative change

According to the expert, the current protest agenda is primarily social and economic, a kind of a "march of the empty pots, which does not necessarily result in systemic shifts and regime changes."

"It is rather difficult to draw a line here," Kortunov said. "But many things will depend on the government’s ability to keep the situation under control, to respond to the economic demands, preserve its power base and prevent these protests from becoming a political movement, aimed against the social system of Cuba."

Kortunov noted that a harsh confrontational reaction of the Cuban leadership to the street protests may cause additional US sanctions.

"Attempts would be made to make these sanctions universal: to make the EU and other partners of the US support these sanctions," the expert noted. "Then Russia will have a rather difficult choice: either de-facto comply with these sanctions without recognizing them de-jure, or violate them and provide support to the Cuban leadership in significant volumes and different formats."

A Cuban rift

Should Moscow decide to commit a demarche, this may create a new "factor of irritation" between Russia and the US.

"But there are already many such factors. Venezuela, for example," he continued.

Meanwhile, in his opinion, the stronger Washington would pressure both countries with sanctions, the more stimuli they will gain to become closer to each other.

"Look how active the cooperation between Russia and China on the sanctions issue is. It is clear that, if Beijing were not under sanctions, it would have had far less desire to coordinate its policy with Moscow. But, since these sanctions also covered China, we see an increase in cooperation," Kortunov said. "Should there be stronger pressure on Cuba, then Havana will, of course, have objectively more interest in working with Moscow; Russia will try to expand the circle of opponents of unilateral sanctions. The more sanctions there are, the more stimuli there are of cooperation."

On July 11, Cuban state television reported that riots engulfed several Cuban cities, with several stores being destroyed. Earlier, mass manifestations broke out in the city of San Antonio de los Banos. President of Cuba Miguel Dias-Canel went there and urged the defenders of the Cuban Revolution to take to the streets in order to thwart provocations against the authorities.

https://tass.com/world/1313631

Cuba and Venezuela will have to work harder in cooperation. The two working together could be huge beneficial to each other and find more allies as well.

miketheterrible wrote:Cuba and Venezuela will have to work harder in cooperation. The two working together could be huge beneficial to each other and find more allies as well.

What can Cuba or Venezuela do if US sends warships to their shores , to block all trade with those countries and prohibit all nations of sending food , medicine and supplies?

You obviously speak from an ignorance point of view , that don't understand that the problems
those nations face , is that commit the tragic mistake , to trust that Russia was strong enough , to provide them protection from their anglo imperial system. Venezuela oil and gasoline was under sanctions and the only way ,they could continue running their nation if when Russia once in a while sends them humanitarian aid ,and oil to their countries , to lift the blockade.

This is why nobody respect Russia, is a extremely weak nation , that can't even properly defend any of its allies ,from misery . If Russia was not being run by idiots , they will stay the hell away of any country they are not prepared to defend and properly help in case is under attacked by US or Europe sanctions. If Russia keep its nose away from cuba and venezuela and also syria ,they will not be facing war ,under attack or under sanctions by the west and will be nations at peace and not living in the misery ,consequence of trusting that Russia was a reliable ally , they could count , in case they under siege by the west.

Venezuela should be looking to replace its Type 209 SSK with Project 636s maybe... and Cuba should be looking to do the same...

They should not be looking for Russia to fix their problems, but allow Russian products to solve their problems with the biggest bully on the planet.

Elections in Honduras: "There is the possibility of removing a drug dictatorship rotten in corruption", 25/11/2021.

Former presidential candidate Carlos Eduardo Reina, a member of the LIBRE Party Commission, told 'Telescopio' that a possible electoral victory for Xiomara Castro in the elections would allow the country to "close the wounds" opened in 2009 and "recover the legitimacy of the government."

This Sunday, November 28, Honduras elects its new president and opens the possibility of changing a political scenario tainted by accusations of corruption and drug trafficking.

The latest opinion polls show that the leading candidates of the contest are Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, of the opposition Freedom and Refoundation Party (LIBRE), and Nasry Asfura of the ruling National Party of President Juan Orlando Hernández.

Castro is the wife of former president Manuel Zelaya who, after suffering a coup in 2009, founded the FREE party. In the event of winning the elections, it is proposed to convene a Constituent Assembly to draft a new Constitution and restore legitimacy to the Government of the Central American country.

Speaking to Telescopio, former presidential candidate Carlos Eduardo Reina, a member of the LIBRE Party Commission, said Castro's victory would "close the open wounds of 2009 and return to Honduras with a government that enjoys legitimacy."

According to the interviewee, such legitimacy "is absent in the current authorities who shamelessly stole the 2017 elections and where the president was illegally re-elected."

"In this environment in which the current authorities move, you can see how the regime that governs the country is composed, with drug trafficking, with bribes from characters as obscure as Joaquín" El Chapo" Guzmán Loera, in exchange for favors and security, " Reina said.

The leader of LIBRE said that"all this situation has caused crisis and to that is added the pandemic, which worsened everything because it showed how health and education were neglected for years."

According to Reina, in case of winning the elections, Xiomara Castro's priorities will be "to restore legitimacy in power, national reconciliation and forgiveness and to call on the people to define a Constituent Assembly. This is in order to build a country where we can all prosper and that does not happen like today, where about 75% of the population is excluded from the market."

According to the interviewee, the 2009 coup "created the conditions for the left, which was divided, to unite in a national front against the coup that led to the creation of LIBRE."

To this he added that there was " the need to remove a drug dictatorship that is rotten in corruption, which led other sectors of the center-right to be part of the unity of the opposition," he concluded.

Yandex Translate from Spanish

https://mundo.sputniknews.com/20211125/elecciones-en-honduras-existe-la-posibilidad-de-sacar-a-una-narcodictadura-podrida-en-corrupcion-1118664506.html

Preliminary results in Honduras give advantage to progressive candidate Xiomara Castro, 29/11/2021.

The president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Honduras, Kelvin Aguirre, offered this Sunday the first preliminary results Bulletin, where he points out that with 28,07% of computerized Presidential Records, candidate Xiomara Castro leads the dispute, reports Telesur.

After knowing the first election results, the virtual winner of the elections in Honduras, Xiomara Castro, of the Libertad y Refundación (Libre) Party, thanked the people and all the political sectors that allowed her to conquer victory.

In his statements, Castro announced that he will form a government of reconciliation, peace and justice and added that he will work to build a true participatory democracy in the Central American country.

The socialist stated that her victory will put an end to authoritarianism and continuity in Honduras “there will never be any more abuses of power in this country, because from now on the people will be the Eternal Current in Honduras”.

Yandex Translate from Portuguese

https://www.brasil247.com/mundo/resultados-preliminares-em-honduras-dao-vantagem-a-candidata-progressista-xiomara-castro?amp

Leftist opposition candidate Xiomara Castro held a commanding lead early Monday as Hondurans appeared poised to remove the conservative National Party from power after 12 years of continuous rule.

https://apnews.com/article/elections-honduras-tegucigalpa-ece5365f95420871e5fdf4986d0e1e83

Honduran ruling party admits defeat in Sunday's presidential election, 01/12/2021.

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters)-the ruling National Party of Honduras (PNH) admitted on Tuesday defeat in Sunday's presidential elections, which show a significant advantage in the preliminary count to leftist Xiomara Castro.

Speaking to Honduran broadcaster Radio America, PNH Executive Secretary Kilvett Bertrand said the ruling coalition recognized the victory of 62-year-old Xiomara Castro, who will return the country's left to power after the coup that deposed her husband, Manuel Zelaya, in 2009.

"We wish great success to those who won the elections," Bertrand told Radio America.

According to the vote count, the candidate of the freedom and Refoundation Party (Libre), supported by a coalition of groups, had 53,49% of the votes with 52,07% of the votes counted by noon on Tuesday. The ruling party candidate, Nasry Asfura, had 33.98% support.

On Monday, the publication of the results was interrupted since the morning, leaving Hondurans impatient who recalled what happened in the 2017 presidential elections, when the trend suddenly changed after the count stopped for hours, sparking protests and accusations of fraud against then-President Juan Orlando Hernández.

Yandex Translate from Portuguese

https://www.brasil247.com/mundo/partido-governista-hondurenho-admite-derrota-nas-eleicoes-presidenciais-de-domingo?amp

Honduras and the triumph of Xiomara Castro, by Rafael Luis Gumucio Rivas, for Chilean outlet El Clarín, 09.12.2021.

In 2009, the oligarchy, allied with the military, carried out a coup against the constitutional government, led by Manuel Zelaya. He was accused of collusion with the Venezuelan government (then Hugo Chávez in power). Zelaya was accused of attempting to add a ballot box, in the presidential elections, in which citizens were consulted on the change of the Constitution, a non-binding vote for that purpose.

Manuel Zelaya was taken from his home overnight in his pajamas and sent on a plane to Costa Rica as an exile. The oligarchic coup was condemned by most Latin American governments. Soon after, the United States, during the Obama administration, recognized the coup as legitimate.

Since Zelaya's overthrow, power in Honduras has been in the hands of the reactionary Nationalist Party, whose two presidents, Porfirio Lobos and Juan Orlando Hernández, have been accused of belonging to drug-trafficking mafias (Hernández's brother, Antonio, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States). Once the current President, Juan Orlando Hernández, leaves power in that nation, it is very likely that he will keep his brother company, in the dungeons of the empire.

In the elections of 2017 won by the opposition candidate, Salvador Nasralla, a famous television presenter, and barely got to know the results of that election, suspiciously there was a blackout and, to be restored electric power, the results had changed in favor of the incumbent President, Juan Orlando Hernandez, whom the Supreme Court had allowed him to stand for re-election, although the Constitution prohibited.

The Caribbean Sea is the "mare nostrum" of the North American paradise: the power of this empire is based on the military bases of Colombia, Honduras and, in part, Guatemala and, recently, El Salvador.

Honduras is located in a strategic position that allows it the expeditious and economic route of the drug trafficking route to the United States, which allows it to drive the drug from Colombia to the buying power of the United States.

The three countries of Northern Central America, which suffer from the fear of the criminal power of the drug-trafficking mafias, as well as the extreme misery in which they find themselves, are emptying their inhabitants of their countries, who flee in caravans towards the southern border of the United States. Hondurans are at the head of the Central American colonies in the northern country.

Honduras, after Haiti, tops the list of the poorest countries in Latin America. The new government of Joe Biden is trying to change migration policy towards northern Central America by supporting these countries, in order to prevent citizens from being forced to flee because of fear, corruption and extreme poverty.

The recent elections of President of the Republic, Vice President, Congress and Mayorships, achieved several records in the electoral history of this country: first, in an unprecedented way, more than 68% of the citizens voted; second, a progressive woman (wife of former President Zelaya), Xiomara Castro, was elected to the first magistracy; third, the new Freedom and Refoundation Party, became the first force in the unicameral Congress, obtaining 49 seats; 45 seats won the National Party, 22 from the National Liberal, 10 el Partido Salvador, 1 de la Democracia Cristiana y 1 del Partido Anticorruption. The President-elect, Xiomara Castro, obtained one of the highest votes in recent decades, with 50.63% of the votes, leading by almost 20% the ruling National Party, represented by Nasray Astura, who only obtained 38.63% of the votes; the third place was obtained by the Liberal Party, with its candidate Yani Rosenthal, with 9.46% of the votes, (previously he had been in U.S. prisons for money laundering).

The government of the Party of Freedom and Refoundation will not be easy for the President-elect of Honduras: in the first place, it must address the conditions of poverty, social decay and terror engulfing the country; in the second place, in any way you will need to seek agreements with the countries of the North of the Continent (united States and Mexico), in order to stop the wave of migration of people towards the border of Mexico-united States; in the third place, you should look for ways of closeness and partnerships with the countries of northern Central america, (in the case of el Salvador, under the government of Nayib Bukele, who won in the presidential election to the duopoly of traditional parties, Sand, on the right, and the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, left, duopoly, which dominated politics in el salvador, with governments famous for corruption; the last two Presidents, Sanchez, and Funes, belonging to the Frente Farabundo Martí para la Liberación Nacional, have had to flee the country to avoid jail, accused of corruption).

In the recent parliamentary elections in El Salvador, the New Ideas Party obtained an absolute majority of Congress, which allows Bukele to expel the constitutional judges and, in this way, dominate the three branches of government and from now on, the Constitutional Court has authorized the immediate re-election, in this case, of President Bukele.
The United States looks with suspicion at President Bukele, whom the Western press defines as “the tyrant of the millennial generation.” Bukele, 35 years old, son of a Muslim father and Catholic mother, has managed to relegate to the background the powerful Parties Arena and Farabundo Martí Front for National Liberation and turn these Parties into a tiny political minority in the country. At the same time, he is accused of having agreed with the “maras”, in order to show that, together with the military, he is achieving the reduction of crime, which dominated the capital of the country.

The Democrat government of Joe Biden finds it very difficult to maintain control of the Caribbean Sea as an axis, both Honduras and El Salvador, and despite its differences with Trump's policies in Latin America, it has not managed to influence largely so far in regulating migration to the Northern country.

The war latent between the united States and China over the dispute in the Latin american market (it is favorable to China in some South American countries), is moving to Central america, with only the empire almost exclusively the domain of Colombia since, even, Brazil, under the government of Jair Bolsonaro, (faithful servant of Donald Trump, and “dilecto friend” of the candidate for the chilean presidency, José Antonio Kast), is willing to increase the Commercial Treaties with China.

Yandex Translate from Spanish

https://www.elclarin.cl/2021/12/09/honduras-y-el-triunfo-de-xiomara-castro/

Xiomara Castro is officially declared President-elect of Honduras, 21.12.2021.

The National Electoral Council (CNE) of Honduras officially declared leftist Xiomara Castro as president-elect of the elections held on November 28. Castro is part of the Honduran nationalist political wing and is married to Manuel Zelaya, who presided over the country from 2006 until 2009, when it suffered a U.S.-backed coup.

"The plenary of councillors of the National Electoral Council declares elected president (...) of Honduras for a period of four years, which begins on January 27, 2022 and ends on January 27, 2026, citizen Iris Xiomara Castro Sarmiento", announced on radio and television the president of the CNE, Kelvin Aguirre.

The election of the nationalist left broke with the political regime established by the 2009 coup-a precursor to the other coups that took place in Latin America, such as Brazil (2016) and Paraguay (2012) — defeating a sector of the right that imposed a disguised didature supported by the military.

The victory of Castro, of the leftist Libertad y Refundación (Libre) party that achieved 1,716,793 valid votes and who is the first woman elected president in Honduras, was the result of an intense popular mobilization in the country against the Government of Juan Orlando Hernández, in power since 2014 — and re-elected in 2017 after a vote considered fraudulent by the opposition and international observers. JOH carried out neoliberal policies that put the country in a considerable political crisis.

Castro accumulated 51.12% of the votes against 36.93% of the votes of the main opponent, the rightist Nasry Asfura, candidate of the National Party (PN), of JOH. 3,580,527 citizens participated in the elections, about 68.58% of the electorate.

The transition between governments looks to be smooth, for now. Two days after the elections, Asfura visited Castro at her home, acknowledging his defeat and congratulating her on the victory. The president-elect was also congratulated by U.S. vice President Kamala Harris, as well as U.S. undersecretary of State for Civil Security, Democracy and Human Rights Urza Zeya, who offered Washington's support to the future president.

Castro takes over on January 27.

Yandex Translate from Portuguese

https://www.brasil247.com/americalatinaglobal/xiomara-castro-e-declarada-oficialmente-presidente-eleita-de-honduras?amp

Leftist Gustavo Petro comes first, but will contest second round with populist in Colombia, 29.05.2022.

The dispute goes to the second round and will be decided on June 19.

 The progressive candidate Gustavo Petro, former mayor of Bogota, won 40.4% of the vote in Colombia and will face, in the second round, the populist Rodolfo Hernandez, who won 28% of the vote and presents himself as the anti-corruption candidate in the country. Being supported by Nazi politicians such as Alvaro Uribe and current President Ivan Duque, as well as by NATO and Joe Biden, the official candidate, Federico Gutierrez, with 23.9% of the vote, did not pass to the second round. Hernandez, who has overcome him, has a misogynistic and xenophobic speech.

Colombian presidential candidate Gustavo Petro wrote a letter of hope this election Sunday. The leader of the historic pact emerges as the favorite to get to the House of Nariño and, according to opinion polls conducted in recent weeks, it is he who commands the voting intention with a wide margin over the other candidates.

Yandex Translate from Portuguese

https://www.brasil247.com/americalatina/esquerdista-gustavo-petro-lidera-apuracao-na-colombia-com-boa-vantagem?amp

Gustavo Petro takes the lead over Rodolfo Hernández for the Presidency of Colombia, according to electoral precount, 19.06.2022.

The preliminary results of the electoral precount of the National Registry of Colombia reveal that the candidate for the Presidency Gustavo Petro, of the Historic Pact, has the lead over his opponent Rodolfo Hernández, of the League of Rulers against Corruption.

In this way, with 34.43% of the tables informed, the leftist politician, with 50.29%, is obtaining the advantage over Hernández, who accumulates more than 47.48% partially. 

At 16:00 (local time) this Sunday, the 102,152 tables set up at polling stations in Colombia and abroad were closed. From that moment, the pre-counting or table counting began. In the same way, the general counting began, which is taking place in a public hearing at the National Electoral Council and whose final result will be known in the coming hours.

The pre-count is informative and has no binding legal value, while the general count, which takes place in a public hearing at the National Electoral Council (CNE), will yield the official result that may be known in the coming days.

The progressive Petro, 62 years old and former mayor of Bogotá, is accompanied by Francia Márquez, as a candidate for the vice presidency. In the first round, which was held on May 29, this duo was the most voted, getting 40.32% of the votes (8,527,768 votes).

For his part, the independent Hernández, 77 years old and former mayor of Bucaramanga, has Marelen Castillo as his vice presidential candidate. In the first round, the formula reached 28.15% of the votes (5,953,209 votes).

Yandex Translate from Spanish

https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/433173-preconteo-electoral-colombia

Former two-term President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva beat incumbent Jair Bolsonaro by two million votes in Sunday's closely-watched runoff election

Have you guys recently heard that President Bolsonaro of Brazil to give orders to arrest a judge that let Luna out of prison. Brazil is such a right wing reactionary country.



https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/11/brazilian-military-just-waiting-bolsonaro-give-order-arrest-corrupt-communist-judge/

I know some of the left wing types are more old school in south america but damn the commie lula just elected president in brazil sounds a lot worse than what brazil previously bad.

@TMA1 This is were the Trumpista-Putinista love affair ends.

Russia wants Lula, and by extension the drones on this board want him too. Doesn't matter if he's an open Satanist, fully on board with the LGBT agenda, a proven crook, convicted of corruption - the scale of which shook even the leftoid subhumans in the country, is a result of clear obstruction, has been the obvious CIA's guy in Brazil and is a proponent of bizarre social policies that will suck in the Brazilian economy back into shitter.

Anyway, Russia has a long track record of betting on the wrong horse, even on its borders. This Lula guy will do an immediate 'Petro' - that's the man who was heralded on this board as Colombia's route out of its alliance with the US..

.. But who invited NATO forces into the Amazon within 2 months of taking office due to 'concerns about the biological diversity of the region'

https://www.pressenza.com/2022/10/nato-in-the-amazon-petro-plays-with-fire/