WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean

Nicaragua: A History of U.S. Intervention & Resistance

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Book Review: Nicaragua, A History of US Intervention & Resistance, by Daniel Kovalik

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team, CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action, Task Force on the Americas, and Venezuelanalysis

Sandinistas Speak, Nicaraguans Defend Their Revolution

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 00:15:00 +0000

EPISODE:

Sandinistas Speak. Nicaraguans Defend their Revolution

This episode is bi-lingual with subtitles.

PRODUCER and HOST: Ramiro Sebastian Funez

Friday, June 30, WTF returned to Managua, Nicaragua to do follow-up study of Caribbean Coast government funded infrastructure projects and to celebrate the 44th Anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19. While on assignment, each week we will share with you segments of the documentary Nicaragua Against Empire. The film journals our March 2021 Sanctions Kill / Friends of the ATC, Nicaragua delegation

In this episode, you hear directly from working-class Nicaraguans who support their socialist government. You also hear their thoughts about U.S. sanctions and regime change. These are perspectives rarely shared in mainstream media.

Nicaragua against Empire: Part II Managua against Empire

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 00:25:50 +0000

EPISODE: Nicaragua against Empire - Part II Managua Against Empire, an inside look at Managua, Nicaragua, from a revolutionary socialist perspective.

PRODUCER and HOST: Ramiro Sebastian Funez

Friday, June 30, WTF returned to Managua, Nicaragua to do follow-up study of Caribbean Coast government funded infrastructure projects and to celebrate the 44th Annivesrary of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19. While on assignment, each week we will share with you segments of the documentary Nicaragua Against Empire. The film journals our March 2021 Sanctions Kill / Friends of the ATC, Nicaragua delegation. From film producer and delegate Ramiro Sebastian Funez:

"In March of 2021, I traveled to Nicaragua as part of a 13-member delegation. The trip was organized by the Sanctions Kill coalition and the Friends of the Rural Workers’ Association, known as the ATC.

We traveled to Nicaragua to understand the effects of imperialist sanctions on ordinary Nicaraguans and how they're fighting back. We also witnessed the wide range of social advancements carried out by the Sandinista Revolution.

For eleven days, we traveled across diverse parts of Nicaragua. We visited the urban sprawls of Managua, the rural countryside of Estelí, and the tropical Caribbean coastline of Bilwi.

We met and spoke with locals and grassroots activists to see the reality of Nicaragua. What we saw was completely different from what we see on imperialist mainstream media."

This week we are excited to welcome Venezuelanalysis.com into our broadcast partner family!

Mexico: Expanding Democracy and Defending Sovereignty

Fri, 30 Jun 2023 19:05:00 +0000

EPISODE: Mexico: Expanding Democracy and Defending Sovereignty

GUEST: José Luis Granados Ceja, journalist with Venezuelanalysis and The Mexico Solidarity Project

BACKGROUND:

The international press is again bludgeoning Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, this time accusing him of attacking the country’s democratic institutions. It’s a baseless charge intended to undermine a government that refuses total obedience to US hegemony.

On February 23, an electoral reform bill received its final approval in the Mexican Senate en route to being signed into law

The National Electoral Institute (INE) is widely recognized to be riddled with excess expenditure and a top-heavy bureaucracy. The new law simply mandates similar cost-saving measures to those that the administration of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has applied to other governmental departments. It eliminates duplicate functions at the local and district level, and fuses certain higher-level job descriptions. It also reins in eye-catching top salaries.

The law also facilitates voting rights for the disabled, those held in pretrial detention, and the millions of migrants living abroad. It provides tougher sanctions for the endemic practice of vote-buying and enshrines in law the inclusion of minorities and members of vulnerable groups on candidate lists

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

No, AMLO Is Not Undermining Mexican Democracy

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Venezuelanalysis

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Alex Saab: Three Years as a Kidnapped Diplomat

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 00:15:00 +0000

EPISODE: Alex Saab, Three Years as a Kidnapped Diplomat

GUEST: Fiorella Isabel of The Convo Couch

BACKGROUND:

The case is a terrifying example of the US’s continuing commitment to illegal, unilateral intervention and ‘regime change,’ where no country is truly safe, writes FRANCISCO DOMINGUEZ (link to full article below)

From his article: “June 12, 2023 was the third anniversary of the illegal kidnapping and imprisonment by the US of Alex Saab.

Because the brutality and cruelty of the US blockade was wreaking havoc on the economy and millions of the most vulnerable in Venezuela were being deliberately denied their human rights to the most basic necessities of daily life, President Nicolas Maduro tasked Saab with traveling around the world procuring food, medicines and fuel for his country.

Breaking every treaty, protocol, law and norm of international diplomacy, the US plotted to have Saab arrested while in transit to Iran to fulfill his diplomatic mission, by pressing the Cape Verde government to illegally arrest him on June 12 2020.”

The plane Saab was traveling on was denied refueling in Morocco and Senegal thus being forced to land in Cape Verde. In his book, Never Give An Inch (2023), Donald Trump’s secretary of state Mike Pompeo admits as much: “No other nation has the global reach to interrupt an Iran-Venezuela plot in real time and convince a small island nation to hold a wanted man.”

FOLLOW OUR GUEST

Alex Saab, hostage of the hybrid war against Venezuela

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Alex Saab, Sanctions & the Extra-Judicial Reach of the U.S. (September 16, 2021)

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Film Screening + Discussion, Alex Saab A Kidnapped Diplomat (October 20, 2022)

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Saab Oral Argument Focuses on Legitimacy of Maduro Government (December 31, 2022)

Free Alex Saab Campaign

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Resigns to Run for President

Fri, 09 Jun 2023 00:25:00 +0000

EPISODE: Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs Resigns to Run for President

GUEST: Independent journalist Alina Duarte who joins us from Mexico City

BACKGROUND:

Mexican Secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard, one of the leading contenders to be the country's next leader, said on Tuesday he will resign to focus on winning the presidential nomination of the ruling MORENA party for the 2024 election.

Ebrard, a former mayor of Mexico City, wants to succeed President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as the standard-bearer of the left of center National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), which now dominates national politics.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Alina Duarte

En Re Podcast

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Una jugada maestra, Lopez Obrador resuelve la sucesión

Mexico’s Fourth Transformation and Why the U.S. Wants to Stop It

VI Cumbre de la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (CELAC), Desde Palacio Nacional (Septiembre 2021)

238 Aniversario del Natalicio de Simón Bolívar, desde el Castillo de Chapultepec (Julio 2021)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Isolationisam Ends; Maduro Visits Brazil

Fri, 02 Jun 2023 13:20:00 +0000

EPISODE: Isolationism Ends: Maduro Visits Brazil

GUEST: Ricardo Vaz, political analyst and editor at Venezuelanalysis.com

BACKGROUND: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro traveled to Brazil as part of an official visit to meet with his counterpart Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva where the pair discussed regional and international cooperation, including the potential entry of Venezuela into the BRICS bloc.

The high-level meeting comes as part of joint efforts to strengthen their bilateral ties following the restoration of diplomatic and economic relations after years of tension under Lula’s predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, who embraced Washington regime change plots against Maduro, backing the so-called “interim” government of opposition figure Juan Guaidó.

Monday’s bilateral meeting also focused on reactivating trade between the two countries, which fell precipitously after Bolsonaro’s recognition of Guaidó, severely impacting populations on both sides of the border. The pair also discussed efforts to advance regional integration.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Ricardo Vaz:

Venezuelanalysis:

Venezuela's Maduro Floats BRICS Entry in "Historic" Bilateral Meeting with Lula in Brazil

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Toward a new UNASUR: Pathways for the Reactivation of South America Integration

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance (Stop the Machine! Create a New World) broadcast in partnership with: Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team; CODEPINK: Women For Peace; Common Frontiers; Council on Hemispheric Affairs; Friends of Latin America; IRTF - The InterReligious Task Force on Central America; Massachusetts Peace Action; and Task Force on the Americas

Ecuador's President Dissolves National Assembly Triggering Early Elections

Fri, 26 May 2023 00:20:00 +0000

EPISODE: Ecuador’s President Dissolves National Assembly Triggering Early Elections

GUEST: Author and Journalist Joe Emersgerger. You can find his work published at CounterPunch, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), MintPressNews and more. Also, be sure to read his book Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela

BACKGROUND:

Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree on May 17 bringing forward legislative and presidential elections and heading off an attempt by opposition politicians to impeach him.

Opposition politicians wanted to impeach Lasso over accusations he disregarded warnings of embezzlement related to a contract at state-owned oil transportation company Flopec, charges the president denies.

A majority of lawmakers had backed a resolution accusing Lasso of allowing the corrupt contract to continue after taking office in 2021, although a congressional oversight committee, which heard testimony from opposition lawmakers, officials, and Lasso's lawyer, said in its report it did not recommend impeachment.

Lasso says the impeachment process - the first against an Ecuadorian president in decades - is politically motivated and has sparked a grave crisis that has threatened democracy. The dissolution was necessary, he said.

Citing the crisis and inability to govern, Lasso invoked the constitution's so-called "two-way death" (Muerte Cruzada) provision, which allows the president to call elections for both his post and the assembly under certain circumstances, including if actions by the legislature are blocking the functioning of government.

According to the constitution, he will now remain in office and rule by decree.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Ecuador’s “Democratic Backsliding” Has Been Ongoing Since 2017, With US Support

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Elections in Ecuador Unmask Western Media Dishonesty

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Ecuador Erupts against Neoliberalism

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: The Lasso Government Post-National Strike

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Whatever Happened to that Plane? U.S. Unilateral Sanctions & the Saga of Venezuela's Emtrasur Cargo 747

Fri, 19 May 2023 14:00:00 +0000

EPISODE: Whatever Happened to that Plane? U.S. Unilateral Sanctions and the Saga of Venezuela’s Emtrasur Cargo 747

GUEST: Orlenys Ortiz, citizen journalist joining us from Venezuela

TRANSLATION: Carmelo Valasquez, Velasquez Translations, Buenos Aires, Argentina

BACKGROUND:

On May 3, 2023, the Argentinian press reported a US prosecutor requested the US Justice Department to order the definitive execution of the seizure order of Emtrasur’s Boeing 747-300. (Empresa de Transporte Aerocargo del Sur). The plane arrived in Argentina in June 2022 in what was supposedly a routine cargo flight. Nonetheless, the aircraft, its cargo, and its crew quickly raised the alarms across Argentina, and it was seized by local authorities. Shortly after, US authorities got involved claiming the sale of the aircraft by the Iranian state carrier Mahan Air to Venezuela’s Conviasa was a clear violation of the US Export Control Laws. Conviasa deployed the 747 on its cargo subsidiary Emtrasur.

Almost a year has passed; the crew has been released, but the plane remains grounded in Buenos Aires. Venezuela’s government has repeatedly requested the return of Emtrasur’s Boeing 747. In the meantime, the US government has conducted a process to seize the aircraft. Argentina’s Ministry of Justice has received a letter sent by the US Justice Department requesting that the aircraft be handed over to it.

Argentina is now in a complex geopolitical spot. On the one hand, it can support the US’ claims and deliver the aircraft. On the other hand, it can choose not to pick a fight with Venezuela and Iran, which is said to be closely watching the development of the crisis.

Emtrasur acquired the aircraft in 2022. It operated a few cargo services across Latin America in 2022 before its grounding in Buenos Aires. According to the Department of Justice, Mahan Air violated the temporary Denial Order and US export control laws when it sold the aircraft to Emtrasur without the US Government's authorization. Other violations of US laws occurred between February and May 2022 when Emtrasur flew the aircraft between Caracas, Venezuela; Tehran, Iran; and Moscow, Russia, without US Government authorization.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Instagram:

Emtrasur’s 747 Detained in Buenos Aires: U.S. Attorney Requests Immediate Execution of Seizure

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

US Official Requests Seizure of Emtrasur’s Grounded Boeing 747

Diosdado Cabello

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

The Country is Not for Sale: Economic Development & Trade Zones (ZEDEs) vs National Sovereignty

Fri, 12 May 2023 00:20:00 +0000

EPISODE: The Country is Not for Sale-Economic Development & Employment Zones (ZEDEs) versus National Sovereignty

GUESTS: Beth Geglia, anthropology PhD, and Melinda St. Louis, Director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch

BACKGROUND:

On May 3, Democratic U.S. lawmakers urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company's nearly $11 billion claim against the country.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a "problematic corporate handout" that violates countries' sovereignty and democratic rights.

ISDS mechanisms enable multinational corporations to sue the governments of foreign trading partners for profits they claim have been forfeited as a result of domestic policies designed to protect workers, consumers, and ecosystems. Such lawsuits challenge meaningful labor, product safety, and environmental standards, and the mere threat of them can even preempt the enactment of robust regulations, placing ISDS at the heart of what critics have called neoliberal globalization's "race to the bottom."

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Senator Warren, Representative Doggett Call for Elimination of Investor-State Dispute Settlement System, Action on Behalf of Honduran Government

Warren Leads Call to End Dispute System “Weaponized” by Corporations Amid Honduras Case

Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR)

Honduras Solidarity Network

Institute for Policy Studies (IPS)

Latin America Working Group (LAWG)

Public Citizen/Global Trade Watch

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Guatemalan Political Crisis: June 25 Elections Set as Critics Slam Disqualifications

Thu, 27 Apr 2023 18:35:00 +0000

EPISODE: Guatemalan Political Crisis-June 25 Elections Set as Critics Slam Disqualifications

GUEST: Frank with The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISQUA)

BACKGROUND:

Campaigning began in earnest last month for Guatemala’s general elections, with political messaging filling the streets, local broadcasts and social media. But less than three months before the June 25 vote, concerns are mounting among national and international observers over the integrity of the process.

At least 30 political parties are set to contest the upcoming elections, with more than 22,000 candidates registered to run for the presidency, congress, regional parliament and councils across the country. But Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which governs elections, has blocked several opposition candidates from running on “dubious grounds."

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Facebook:

The Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Thelma Cabrera: “El sistema nos quiere sacar de la jugada, pero ya estamos en la cancha”

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Visits Brazil

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 14:59:36 +0000

EPISODE: Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Visits Brazil

GUEST: Camila Escalante, Kawsachun News-Brazil

BACKGROUND:

Russia’s minister of foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Brasília on Monday for talks with his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, in the latest of a series of bilateral encounters likely to ruffle the US.

Lavrov arrived just as Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, returned from a state visit to China, and both missions are part of a diplomatic reset Lula has pursued since returning to power this year, as he strives to recover Brazil’s international reputation after his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, dismantled Brazil’s established tradition of cooperation. For Brazil, that means rebuilding and maintaining ties with all partners, regardless of geopolitical tensions elsewhere.

Lavrov and Vieira said their talks had also focused on energy and trade. About a quarter of agricultural powerhouse Brazil's fertilizer imports come from Russia, while the two countries engaged in a record $9.8 billion in bilateral trade last year.

Brazil was Lavrov's first stop on a weeklong Latin American tour that will also include Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Lula Cozies Up to America’s Enemies

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Kawsachun News

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Burying 200 Years of the Monroe Doctrine

Fri, 14 Apr 2023 12:45:00 +0000

EPISODE: Burying 200 Years of The Monroe Doctrine

GUEST: Carlos Ron, Venezuela Vice Minister of Foreign Relations for North America

BACKGROUND:

The Monroe Doctrine, first articulated by U.S. President James Monroe on December 2, 1823, is a United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the United States. The doctrine was central to American foreign policy for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The doctrine remains in place today as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America & the Caribbean and no longer exclusively applies to European powers.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Latin America Policy Forum: Burying 200 Years of the U.S. Monroe Doctrine

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Simon Bolivar Institute

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Reject U.S. Imperialism! Make Our Americas a Zone of Peace

Fri, 07 Apr 2023 00:59:41 +0000

EPISODE: Reject U.S. Imperialism! Make Our Americas a Zone of Peace

GUESTS:

Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team

Margaret Flowers, Co-Founder and Director of Popular Resistance & Host of the podcast Clearing the Fog

BACKGROUND:

On Tuesday, April 4, The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP), along with key partner organizations, launched an effort to activate the popular movements in our region in support of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) 2014 call to make the Americas region a “Zone of Peace.” This campaign will be informed by the Black Radical Peace Tradition. With its focus on the structures and interests that generate war and state violence—colonialism, patriarchy, capitalism and all forms of imperialism—the fight for a Zone of Peace is an attempt to expel all of these nefarious forces from our region.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Ajamu Baraka: Facebook Twitter

Black Alliance for Peace: Website Facebook Twitter

Margaret Flowers: Facebook Twitter

Popular Resistance: Website Facebook Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Black Alliance for Peace Zone of Peace Campaign

Black Alliance for Peace Zone of Peace Press Conference and Campaign Launch

CELAC/Zone of Peace (2014)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Argentina Celebrates 40 Years of Democracy and Human Rights

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

EPISODE: Argentina Celebrates 40 Years of Democracy and Human Rights

GUEST: Franco Metaza, Director-General for Foreign Affairs of the Argentina National Senate.

BACKGROUND:

Last week, Argentina celebrated 40 years of democracy and human rights by hosting the Third World Forum of Human Rights (March 20-24) scheduled in tandem with its National Day of Remembrance for Truth & Justice. The Forum closed with a march and rally on March 24 which marked 47 years since the US-backed military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government on March 24, 1976, and installed the bloodiest dictatorship in the history of #Argentina remained in power until 1983.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Franco Metaza: Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

III Foro Mundial de Derechos Humanos

Day of Remembrance for Truth & Justice

Argentina commemorates victims of military dictatorship on the 47th anniversary of US-back Coup

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Mexico's Fourth Transformation and Why the U.S. Wants to Stop It

Fri, 17 Mar 2023 01:50:00 +0000

EPISODE: Mexico’s Fourth Transformation and Why the U.S. Wants to Stop It

We thank The Mexico Solidarity Project for participating in this episode as a special broadcast partner.

GUEST: Kurt Hackbarth, Writer, Journalist and Activist

BACKGROUND:

"Although the 4T has not fulfilled everyone’s expectations, it has, in four years, created a governing movement that is taking control of its energy resources (including the nationalization of lithium) and is adopting a role of regional leadership in Latin America: two sins the United States has not historically forgiven anywhere." No, AMLO Is Not Undermining Mexican Democracy by Kurt Hackbarth

You can find this article and many others on Mexico by Kurt at Jacobin.com

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Kurt Hackbarth

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

The Mexico Solidarity Project

Twitter:

Website

No, AMLO is Not Undermining Mexican Democracy

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Challenging the US Narrative on Mexico (April 13, 2022 with journalist Alina Duarte)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Colombia: Total Peace and the Fight to Free all Political Prisoners

Fri, 10 Mar 2023 02:05:00 +0000

EPISODE: Colombia-Total Peace and the Fight to Free All Political Prisoners

GUESTS:

Anthony Dest, Colombia Freedom Collective

Ajamu Baraka, Black Alliance for Peace National Organizer & BAP Haiti/Americas Team

BACKGROUND:

In April 2021, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Colombia to demand change. They rejected decades of state violence and deepening inequality. Over the course of three months, the largest protest in Colombian history spread to over 800 municipalities throughout the country. The months-long protests played a huge role in creating the conditions for the election of Gustavo Petro and Francia Marquez.

Changes are afoot in Colombia, and the inauguration of President Gustavo Petro and Vice President Francia Marquez on August 7, 2022 marked an important shift away from decades of political repression. However, more than 300 people accused of participating in the 2021 protests still remain incarcerated and/or are facing harsh sentences on trumped-up charges.

Political prisoners from the 2021 National Strike are currently on a hunger strike in four prisons around the country. Despite numerous promises from the Petro administration to address their situation, the prisoners continue to face dire conditions. The only demand that would bring an end to the hunger strike: a response from the national government regarding the December 2022 proposal emerging from political prisoners in Palmira for the creation of a “Table for Dialogue” (mesa de diálogo).

Last week, two hunger strikers in Jamundí sewed their mouths shut to refuse even water. As the strike enters its eighth day, various other hunger strikers are facing health complications.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Anthony Dest

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089157999945

https://twitter.com/AnthonyDest

Ajamu Baraka

https://www.facebook.com/ajamu.baraka

https://twitter.com/ajamubaraka

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Black Alliance for Peace

Colombia Freedom Collective

Colombian Peace Caravan: Bringing the Hope of “Total Peace” to Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Territories

Hunger Strike by Political Prisoners Enters Eighth Day

December 2022: Political Prisoners in Palmira Go On Hunger Strike

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Colombia Erupts Against Neoliberalism

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

The Devastating Effects of Militarization on Puerto Rico and Her People: How One Activist is Promoting Health Justice for Vieques and Culebra

Fri, 03 Mar 2023 02:25:56 +0000

EPISODE: The Devastating Effects of Militarization on Puerto Rico and Her People. How One Activist is Promoting Health Justice for Vieques & Culebra.

GUEST: Monisha Rios, Puerto Rican psychologist, social worker and disabled US veteran. Founder and director of Centro Solidario de Puerto Rico.

NOTE: Full visual presentation can be viewed here:

BACKGROUND:

The U.S. has been overtly and covertly intervening in Puerto Rico's internal affairs since 1898. Like the Spanish, British, Dutch, and the French, the U.S. understood the strategic value of the Puerto Rican archipelago, which would give their expanding empire a military advantage toward enforcing the Monroe Doctrine, thereby securing its established intent to dominate the Western Hemisphere.

A new wave of militarization began soon after the change of colonial ownership, the implications of which would devastate the island municipalities of Culebra and Vieques. Culebra was militarized in 1901 and expelled the Navy in 1975. Vieques was militarized in 1941 and expelled the Navy in 2003.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Monisha Rios - https://www.facebook.com/monishaamie

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Episode illustration by Indi Maverick

Centro Solidario de Puerto Rico is a fiscally sponsored project of Alliance for Global Justice Make a tax-deductible donation here:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Ending US Colonialism of Puerto Rico

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: The War Against Puerto Rico Continues

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Peru: More than Statistics

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 01:40:00 +0000

EPISODE: Peru - More than Statistics

In today’s episode, WTF host Teri Mattson shares some of the key findings of the Preliminary Report of the International Mission of Solidarity and Human Rights Delegation which arrived in Peru on February 7, 2023 and deployed its work in the country until the 13th of the same month. Teri was one of 19 human rights observers comprising the delegation.

Episode photo courtesy of Manuel Ortiz (@manuortize)

Links to the photo albums mentioned in the episode can be found below

FOLLOW:

Teri Mattson

https://www.facebook.com/teri.mattson.3/

https://www.instagram.com/terimattsontoo/

https://twitter.com/hey_ter

Derechos Humanos sin Fronteras-Cusco

https://www.facebook.com/derechossinfronteras.pe

https://www.instagram.com/derechossinfronteras/

https://twitter.com/dhsfcusco

Misión de Solidaridad Internacional y Derechos Humanos

https://www.facebook.com/MisionDdhh

https://www.instagram.com/misionddhh/

https://twitter.com/MisionDdhh

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Peru National Protest Advances to Lima

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Live from Peru-National Strike, Day 40

Plaza 2 de Mayo, Lima (February 9, 2023 - Marcos Sierras, Photographer)

Juliaca to Cusco - Manuel Ortiz, Photographer (@manuortiz and @globalexchange)

Short Delegation Synopsis (Lima & Cusco Visits)

Mision de Solidarida Internacional y Derechos Humanos

Preliminary Report: Peru February 2023 (Spanish)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

Live from Peru-National Strike, Day 40

Fri, 17 Feb 2023 01:20:00 +0000

EPISODE: National Strike, Day 40: A Conversation with Human Rights Activists in Peru

NOTE: This is a follow-up conversation to our February 2 Episode with Peruvian activists Anahi Durand and Eliana Carlin. I have since visited Peru on a human rights observation delegation with Mision de Solidaridad Internacional y Derechos Humanos

Interpretation provided by Jill Clark Gollub

GUESTS:

Clau O'Brien Moscoso. She is an organizer with the Black Alliance for Peace in the Haiti/Americas Team. Originally from Barrios Altos, Lima, she grew up in New Jersey and now lives between both countries.

Hiam Leyner Ayala Basilio: Leyner works in the legal area of the organization Human Rights without Borders, Cusco - Peru. It is a non-governmental organization that is part of the National Coordinator of Human Rights of Peru, which works in the defense, promotion and education of human rights in the region of Cusco, also, the organization is carrying out legal processes related to the criminalization of protesters by State repression.

BACKGROUND:

On December 7, 2022 a right-wing coup removed Perú’s President Pedro Castillo Terrones from power. The predominantly poor indigenous rural and Amazonian communities resoundingly and overwhelmingly voted for Castillo, rejecting outright the neoliberal regime installed by the previous governments. Violence not seen since the Alberto Fujimori dictatorship (1990-2000), has been led by the Peruvian Armed Forces, under orders of coup-leader Dina Boluarte, the Fujimorista Fuerza Popular Party, and other political factions.

It’s been over 67 days since the parliamentary coup led by the right-wing forces of Fuerza Popular with their puppet Dina Boluarte, now commonly referred to as “usurper assassin,” at the helm. (Black Agenda Report 15 February)

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Clau O’Brien Moscoso

https://twitter.com/PiolinSghost

Black Alliance for Peace

https://www.facebook.com/BlackAllianceforPeace

https://www.instagram.com/blackallianceforpeace/

https://twitter.com/Blacks4Peace

Derechos Humanos sin Fronteras-Cusco

https://www.facebook.com/derechossinfronteras.pe

https://www.instagram.com/derechossinfronteras/

https://twitter.com/dhsfcusco

Misión de Solidaridad Internacional y Derechos Humanos

https://www.facebook.com/MisionDdhh

https://www.instagram.com/misionddhh/

https://twitter.com/MisionDdhh

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Black Agenda Report: Report from Lima, Peru

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Peru National Protest Advances to Lima

Plaza 2 de Mayo, Lima (February 9, 2023 - Marcos Sierras, Photographer)

Juliaca to Cusco - Manuel Ortiz, Photographer

Short Delegation Synopsis (Lima & Cusco Visits)

Mision de Solidarida Internacional y Derechos Humanos

Preliminary Report: Peru February 2023 (Spanish)

OUR BROADCAST PARTNERS:

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team; CODEPINK: Women For Peace; Common Frontiers; Council on Hemispheric Affairs; Friends of Latin America; IRTF - The InterReligious Task Force on Central America; Massachusetts Peace Action; and Task Force on the America

"So They Can See Us", Peru's National Protest Advances on Lima

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 01:45:00 +0000

EPISODE: “So They Can See Us” Peru’s National Protest Advances to Lima

GUESTS:

Anahi Durand is a sociologist, former Minister of Women & Vulnerable Populations for the Castillo Presidency and founder of Mujers por Una Nueva Constitución (Women for a New Constitution); and,

Eliana Carlin is a Peruvian political scientist, lecturer and researcher. She is also Co-founder of Heroinas Peruanas and No a Keiko (Peruvian Heroines and No to Keiko)

Note: This episode is in Spanish with English translation. Interpretation provided by Carmelo Velasquez of Velasquez Translations, Buenos Aires

BACKGROUND:

Deadly protests have gripped Peru since Congress expelled the country's first working-class president, Pedro Castillo.

Timeline of events since December 7, 2022:

Dec 7, 2022: The surprise winner of the July 2021 presidential election, Castillo comes under immediate attack from the right. On December 7 he attempts to dissolve Congress before it can debate a third impeachment motion against him and says he will form an emergency government and rule by decree. Lawmakers vote overwhelmingly to remove him from office for "moral incapacity" to exercise power. He is arrested for "rebellion". Vice President Dina Boluarte becomes Peru's first woman president. She says she intends to serve out the rest of Castillo's term, until July 2026.The United States pledges to work with Boluarte.

Dec 10: Pro-Castillo protests spread, with demonstrators blocking roads and burning tires across the country.

Dec 11: Two people are killed in Andahuaylas in the south.

Dec 12: Hundreds of protestors temporarily block the airport runway in Peru's second biggest city, Arequipa.

Dec 14: Peru announces a 30-day nationwide state of emergency.

Dec 15: Castillo's pre-trial detention is prolonged for 18 months.

Dec 16: The pro-Castillo protests spread to the town of Cusco, the gateway to Peru's top tourist attraction, the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, with rail services, road and air links closed.

Dec 20: As the death toll rises, Congress votes to bring forward the general election from 2026 to April 2024.

Jan 9, 2023: Eighteen people are killed in clashes with security forces triggered when demonstrators try to storm an airport in the southeastern city of Juliaca. The prosecutor's office says it will investigate Boluarte for genocide over the protests. The next day Peru's government declares a state of emergency in Lima and three other regions.

Jan 19: Clashes with police punctuate a march by thousands through the capital for a large anti-government rally.

Jan 21: Peru closes Machu Picchu

Jan 24: Lima sees its most violent clashes since the start of the crisis.

Jan 26: The government says police and soldiers will dismantle roadblocks erected by protesters on the nation's highways.

Jan 28: Congress rejects a request by Boluarte to advance elections to December 2023.

Jan 31: The Peruvian Foreign Minister led, in Washington DC, a meeting between Peruvian businessmen and their counterparts from the US Chamber of Commerce. Representatives of multinational companies from mining, finance, technology, and health, among other sectors attended the event. .

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Anahi Durand: Twitter

Eliana Carlin: Twitter

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

House Democrat letter to President Joe Biden asking him to halt security assistance to the government of Peru

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Lawfare, the Case of Argentina and Peru

CELAC Summit 2023: Latin American Integration includes the Voices of the People

Fri, 27 Jan 2023 01:40:00 +0000

EPISODE: CELAC 2023-Latin American Integration includes the Voices of the People

GUEST: Alejandro Rusconi, Secretary of International Relations for Evita Movement

Spanish to English interpretation provided by Carmelo Velasquez of Velasquez Translations, Buenos Aires

BACKGROUND:

Founded in 2011,.CELAC, or the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, is a multilateral group of 33 countries from across the Western Hemisphere that excludes Canada and the United States It was created to be an alternative forum for Latin American countries. Inaugural leaders, such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, envisioned the group as a counterweight to the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS), which they viewed as dominated by the United States. CELAC, unlike the OAS, allows Cuba to be a member. Its stated goals are to promote regional integration and cooperation. CELAC represents 600 million people.

The Seventh Summit of CELAC leaders was held Tuesday, January 24 in Buenos Aires hosted by CELAC President Pro-Tempore Alberto Fernandez, current President of Argentina.

The seventh summit witnessed two firsts:

At the invitation of CELAC President Alberto Fernandez, the United States was invited and sent US Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas Christopher Dodd U.S. Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas
The Summit was preceded by a joint proposal of social and trade union organizations. The Social Summit took place Monday, January 23 in the city of Buenos Aires, at the former Naval Mechanics School, a former secret detention center during the military dictatorship, which today functions as a space resigned from the perspective of human rights. With the presence of about 300 leaders of social organizations, unions and popular movements from all over the region, the meeting was a forum to discuss the most relevant issues affecting the different countries in the context of the Conference of Heads of State and Government.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ale_rusconi

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

CELAC

Declaracion de Buenos Aires

Social and Union Organizations Meet the Day before the CELAC Summit in Argentina

Argentina Hosts 7the CELAC Summit amid New Presidential Landscape

Argentina and Brazil Relaunch their Strategic Alliance

Asylum for Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 03:56:21 +0000

EPISODE: Asylum for Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry

GUEST: Adrienne Pine, Author and Medical Anthropologist. For the past 17 years, she has worked in US federal asylum courts as a country conditions expert for Honduran asylum seekers in more than 100 asylum cases.

BACKGROUND:

On the heels of last week’s North America Trilateral Summit, from which not much changed within the migratory system, today’s episode will focus on migration as a for-profit industry which has turned migrating humans into commodities.

Our guest Adrienne Pine is co-editor of the book Asylum for Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry published by PM Press in November 2020. Here is brief description:

Through essays, artworks, photographs, infographics, and illustrations, Asylum for Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry regards the global asylum regime as an industry characterized by profit-making activity: brokers who facilitate border crossings for a fee; contractors and firms that erect walls, fences, and watchtowers while lobbying governments for bigger “security” budgets; corporations running private detention centers and “managing” deportations; private lawyers charging exorbitant fees; “expert” witnesses; and NGO staff establishing careers while placing asylum seekers into new regimes of monitored vulnerability. Humanity is not for sale, and no one is illegal.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drpine

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adriennepine

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Asylum for Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry

Open Letter to US Ambassador: Stop the Assault on Honduran’s Human Rights

Social Struggle in Neoliberal Central America

Climate Change, Displacement and the Border Industrial Complex

North America's Trilateral Talks in Mexico City

Sat, 14 Jan 2023 22:52:40 +0000

EPISODE: North America’s Trilateral Summit

GUESTS:

Marco Castillo, Co-Executive Director of Global Exchange

Jim Hodgson, Canadian Journalist

BACKGROUND:

The North American Leaders' Summit (NALS), sometimes called the Three Amigos Summit in the popular press,[1][2][3] is the trilateral summit between the prime minister of Canada, the president of Mexico, and the president of the United States.[4] The summits were initially held as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), a continent-level dialogue between the three countries established in 2005, and continued after SPP became inactive in 2009.[5][6]

The United States, Mexico and Canada on Tuesday, January 10 vowed to tighten economic ties, producing more goods regionally and boosting semiconductor output, even as integration is hampered by an ongoing dispute over Mexico's energy policies.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in Mexico City and pledged to beef up supply chains after weathering serious disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're working to a future to strengthen our cooperation on supply chains and critical minerals so we can continue to accelerate in our efforts to build the technologies of tomorrow - right here ion North America," Biden said in a joint news conference with his fellow leaders after their meeting.

Lopez Obrador said the region would promote economic development by creating a committee for import substitution to make North America less dependent on other parts of the world.

The White House said the three countries would improve legal pathways for migrants, and Lopez Obrador again urged Biden to press Congress to enact measures that would regularize the migration status of millions of Mexicans in the United States.

Trudeau portrayed Canada as an original architect and the principal guardian of free trade on the continent as he called for a new era of three-way growth. And, he called on would-be investors to take a leap of faith similar to the one the NAFTA pioneers did in the early 1990s.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Marco Castillo:

https://www.facebook.com/marco.castillo.188

https://twitter.com/MarcoAnCasMar

Jim Hodgson:

https://www.facebook.com/jim.hodgson1

Global Exchange:

https://www.facebook.com/GlobalExchange

https://twitter.com/globalexchange

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Solving Immigration Starts with Helping Families Feel Safe at Home

https://www.newsweek.com/solving-immigration-starts-helping-families-feel-safe-home-opinion-1771414

https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2023/01/10/declaration-north-america-dna

219 Years of Haitian Independence: the first

Fri, 06 Jan 2023 01:35:00 +0000

EPISODE: 219 Years of Haitian Independence, a history of the first revolution in The Americas

GUESTS: Pierre LaBossiere, Judith “Mirk” Mirkinson and Seth Donnelly of The Haiti Action Committee

BACKGROUND:

On January 1, 1804, Haiti became an independent republic, following the revolution which had begun 13 years earlier as a rebellion of enslaved people against slavery and French colonialism.

Previously known as Saint-Domingue, it was the most profitable colony in the world, generating greater revenue than all of the continental North American colonies combined. This immense wealth was generated by the sweat and blood of enslaved Africans who were being worked to death in their tens of thousands on coffee and sugar plantations.

Shortly after the French revolution, which supposedly espoused the ideals of "liberty, equality and fraternity," on August 22, 1791 enslaved people rose up, demanding those ideals be realized, and slavery and colonialism abolished. Over the coming years, the rebels successfully defeated the combined armies of the world's biggest colonial powers: France, Spain and Britain. The 1804 declaration of independence abolished the colony of Saint-Domingue and reinstated the Indigenous Taíno name of Hayti. Europe and the US then promptly ostracized the fledgling republic, causing severe economic hardship.

In 1825, France finally agreed to recognise Haiti's independence, provided it compensate former enslavers to the tune of 150 million gold francs ($21 billion today) - a ransom which deeply impoverished the government and was not fully repaid until 1947. The United States only recognised Haitian independence in 1862, but this did not prevent it from invading and occupying it in 1915.

FOLLOW HAITI ACTION COMMITTEE:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HaitiActionCommittee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaitiAction1

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Haiti Action Committee https://haitisolidarity.net

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund https://haitiemergencyrelief.org/

The Lasalin Massacre and the Human Rights Crisis in Haiti

https://haitiliberte.com/the-lasalin-massacre-and-the-human-rights-crisis-in-haiti/

Saab Oral Argument Focuses on Legitimacy of Maduro Government

Sat, 31 Dec 2022 01:25:00 +0000

TODAY’S EPISODE: Saab Oral Argument Focuses on Legitimacy of Maduro Government

GUEST: Author, labor attorney and human rights activist Dan Kovalik of Council on Hemispheric Affairs

BACKGROUND:

On December 20, in the U.S. District Court of Southern Florida, Judge Robert N. Scola heard oral arguments on Alex Saab’s motion to dismiss the case against him. The factual issue for the Court to decide was “whether Mr. Saab was a special envoy from Venezuela to Iran traveling on a mission when he was detained in Cape Verde and extradited to the U.S. and, therefore, entitled to diplomatic immunity.” Dan was present for the hearing and will discuss, in detail, the hearing results. WTF has been following The Case of Alex Saab since his detainment on Cape Verde 12 June 2020. Today is our third update.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dan.kovalik.9

Twitter: https://twitter.com/danielmkovalik

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Judge Scola Decision Denying Alex Saab’s Right to Diplomatic Immunity

Statement by the Venezuela Government on the US Ruling Against Alex Saab

Saab Oral Argument Focuses on Legitimacy of Maduro Government, Daniel Kovalik

Saab Hearing Proves He Deserves Diplomatic Immunity, Exposes Prosecution’s Duplicity, Daniel Kovalik

Alex Saab: A Kidnapped Diplomat. Film Screening followed by Q & A (WTF Episode 2)

Alex Saab, Sanctions and the Extra-Judicial Reach of the U.S (WTF Episode 1)

Deconstructing the Anatomy of "Forgetting"

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 01:50:00 +0000

EPISODE: Deconstructing the Anatomy of "Forgetting"

GUEST; Journalist, activist and educator Roberto Alvarenga Lovato

Roberto Lovato is the author of Unforgetting (Harper Collins), a “groundbreaking” memoir the New York Times picked as an “Editor’s Choice.” Newsweek listed Lovato’s memoir as a “must read” 2020 book which the Los Angeles Times listed as one of its 20 Best Books of 2020. Unforgetting was also shortlisted for the 2022 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. Lovato, a Visiting Assistant Professor of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is also a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, Guernica, Le Monde Diplomatique, La Opinion, Der Spiegel and other national and international media outlets. A recipient of a reporting grant from the Pulitzer Center, Lovato has reported on numerous issues-violence, terrorism, the drug war and the refugee crisis-from Mexico, Venezuela, El Salvador, Dominican Republic, Haiti, France and the United States, among other countries.

I am honored to call Roberto my friend and am certain you will enjoy this compelling, informative and deeply personal conversation from September 9, 2020.shortly after the launch of his book Unforgetting: a Memoir of Family, Migration, Gangs, and Revolution in the Americas

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roberto.lovato

Twitter: https://twitter.com/robvato

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Website: https://robertolovato.com/

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with Black Alliance for Peace Haiti/Americas Team CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

Lawfare: Judicial & Legislative Coups in Argentina and Peru

Fri, 16 Dec 2022 17:40:06 +0000

TODAY’S EPISODE: Lawfare: Judicial & Legislative Coups in Argentina and Peru

Joining me today is my friend and co-host Raul Burbano. Raul is the Program Director for Common Frontiers based in Toronto. Common Frontiers is a WTF broadcast partner

GUESTS: Aníbal Ibarra and Daniela Ortiz.

Anibal is the former Mayor of Buenos Aires and Federal Prosecutor. Anibal is currently a criminal defense lawyer and member of the Broad Front political party.

Daniela Ortiz is a peruvian artist and antiracist militant who lives in Urubamba, Peru. She was part of the Campaign against immigrant detention centers in Catalunya from 2009 until 2012, The Espacio del Inmigrante in Barcelona from 2012 until 2016, during the pandemic she was part of the Red de Cuidados Anti Racistas in Barcelona and was founder of the Madrecitas Colectiva against judicialization of motherhood and childhood of migrant families and the removal of custodies. She now is part of the Frente de Lucha Materna in Peru where she currently lives.

BACKGROUND:

Argentina:

On Tuesday, December 6, An Argentine court sentenced Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to six years in jail and disqualified her from holding public office in a high-profile corruption case.

The vice president, who has temporary immunity due to her current role, will not face immediate prison time and is expected to appeal the sentence, with the case likely to spend years winding through higher courts.

Technically, she could run for office while the appeals are pending, but she said on Tuesday that she "would not be a candidate for anything" in next year's general election.

Fernandez de Kirchner, who served as president for two terms between 2007 and 2015 and commands rock-star crowds of supporters, faced charges of alleged corruption in the awarding of public works during her presidency

The court acquitted her on another count of "illicit association".

Peru:

The crisis in Peru has reached the streets, after Congress dismissed former President Pedro Castillo on December 7 for wanting to dissolve Parliament and establish an emergency government.

The appointment of Vice President Dina Boluarte as President of the Republic, far from bringing calm, has led to a wave of protests in Lima and in the interior of the country.

Faced with this situation, Boluarte declared yesterday a 30-day state of emergency throughout the country and presented to Congress a proposal to advance the general elections to April 2024, two years ahead of schedule. Now possibly 2023.

Many defend the return of Castillo -now detained in preventive detention-, but there are at least three other claims on the streets.

The resignation of President Dina Boluarte
Closing of the Current Congress
A Constituent Assembly

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS

Raul Burbano

Anibal Ibarra

Daniela Ortiz

Frente de Lucha Materna

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Argentina's Vice President Faces a "Media-Judicial Firing Squad"

Peru Goes to the Polls: 2021 Presidential Elections

Pedro Castillo Assumes the Presidency of Peru

Decolonization, Multipolarity and the Demise of the Monroe Doctrine

Fri, 09 Dec 2022 02:45:00 +0000

EPISODE: Decolonization, Multipolarity & the Demise of the Monroe Doctrine

GUEST: Frederick Mills, professor of philosophy at Bowie State University and Deputy Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs. He researches and writes on ethics, philosophy, U.S. --Latin America relations and has recently published a book, Enrique Dussel's Ethics of Liberation: An Introduction.

BACKGROUND:

December 3, 2023 will mark the 200th anniversary of the Monroe Doctrine. It will also mark its obsolescence in the face of popular resistance and the Pink Tide of progressive governments in Latin America that have been elected over the past two and a half decades. The prevailing ideology of these left and left of center movements rejects the “Washington Consensus” and opts for a new consensus based on the decolonization of the political, economic, social and cultural spheres. This consensus is accompanied by encounters and conferences that advance liberatory traditions developed since the 1960’s as well as those deeply rooted in indigenous cultures. It is Washington’s failure to respect and adjust to this political and ideological process of transformation that precludes, at this time, a constructive and cooperative U.S. foreign policy towards the region.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Frederick B. Mills:

Council on Hemispheric Affairs:

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Decolonization, Multipolarity and the Demise of the Monroe Doctrine

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean is a Popular Resistance broadcast in partnership with CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas.

Save the Planet: Nicaragua & the Climate Crisis

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 01:30:00 +0000

EPISODE: Save the Planet: Nicaragua & the Climate Crisis

GUEST: Javier Gutierrez, Secretary of the Presidency of Nicaragua for Climate Change and Vice-Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

On the heels of COP27, we present an encore broadcast from August 2021 discussing climate change with guest Javier Gutierrez, Secretary of the Presidency of Nicaragua for Climate Change and Vice-Minister of Environment and Natural Resources.

This episode is a thorough presentation of the effects of climate change on food production, extreme weather conditions, insect borne illnesses, and migration, as well as, a scientific discussion as to what is happening to the planet as a whole.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Watch via YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y3txWsliCY

Bolivia's Right-Wing Orchestrates a Civic Strike

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 01:25:00 +0000

EPISODE: Bolivia’s Right-Wing Orchestrates a Civil Strike

GUESTS: Camila Escalante and Ollie Vargas of Kawsachun News and the podcast Latin America in Review

BACKGROUND:

In the last 21 days former coup leader and current governor of the Department of Santa Cruz, Luis Fernando Camacho, has been allowed “to carry out a coup d’état in the city of Santa Cruz,” in the words of Pedro Damián Dorado, vice president of the association of municipalities of the department by the same name. Constant media misinformation is the glue that holds together Camacho’s base, which can be counted in the nearly 230,000, mostly middle-class people who turned out for his latest political meeting. In late October, Camacho launched the shutdown of the city for the foreseeable future. It is Bolivia’s largest and most prosperous metropolis – and the economic motor of the country. Camacho is a very rich man and to preserve the wealth of the few, he is once again acting as a threat to Bolivian democracy.

But, the story from the grassroots has shifted radically since the de facto coup regime that came to power three years ago and lasted less than a year. When the far-right of Camacho declared a total strike and work stoppage in the city of Santa Cruz three weeks ago, the masses refused to comply.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Camila Escalante: https://twitter.com/PrensaCamila

Ollie Vargas: https://twitter.com/OVargas52

Kawsachun News:

https://twitter.com/KawsachunNews

https://kawsachunnews.com

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

What’s Happening in Bolivia: CEPR’s Recent Work

Colombia & Venezuela: Brother Nations Reunite

Fri, 11 Nov 2022 02:05:00 +0000

EPISODE: Colombia & Venezuela, Brother Nations Reunite

GUEST: Daniel Kovalik

Dan is an American lawyer and Human Rights advocate who currently teaches International Human Rights at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. From 1993 until 2019 he served as in-house counsel for the United Steelworkers, AFL-CIO. While with the USW, he worked on Alien Tort Claims Act cases against The Coca-Cola Company, Drummond and Occidental Petroleum – cases arising out of egregious human rights abuses in Colombia. Dan is the recipient of the David W. Mills Mentoring Fellowship from Stanford University School of Law as well as the Project Censored Award for his article exposing the unprecedented killing of trade unionists in Colombia,

He has written extensively on the issue of international human rights and U.S. foreign policy including several books of which is “The Plot To Overthrow Venezuela, How The US Is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil”

Dan is also a Senior Research Fellow with The Council on Hemispheric Affairs which is a broadcast partner of this program

BACKGROUND

Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met in Venezuela’s capital Caracas on Tuesday, November 1, two months after formally re-establishing diplomatic relations and a month after resuming trade between the two neighboring countries. (3 months after the inauguration)

This was the first time that Petro and Maduro met since the mending of bilateral relations in late August. It was a historic meeting as it marked the further strengthening of the diplomatic ties between Colombia and Venezuela, which got increasingly worse with the intensification of attacks against Venezuela by the US and the support this campaign received by then far-right Colombian president Iván Duque.

Colombia and Venezuela officially broke diplomatic relations in February 2019 after Duque recognized the US-backed self-proclaimed “president” Juan Guaidó as Venezuela’s legitimate leader.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

The Plot to Overthrow Venezuela, How the US is Orchestrating a Coup for Oil

ADDITIONAL LINKS

War and Human Rights Abuses: Colombia & the Corporate Support for Anti-Union Suppression

La Carga Historica y Politica del Ecuentro entre Petro y Maduro

Brazil's Lula da Silva: A Victory of an Immense Democratic Movement

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 01:32:39 +0000

EPISODE: Brazil’s Lula da Silva: A Victory of an Immense Democratic Movement

GUEST: Michael Fox who is an independent journalist and the podcast host of Brazil on Fire a NACLA and Real News production

BACKGROUND

Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva was elected the next president of Brazil, in a stunning comeback following a tight run-off race on Sunday, October 30. His victory is one of an Immense Movement returning democracy to Latin America’s largest country, after four years of Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right administration.

The 76-year-old politician’s win represents the return of the left into power in Brazil, and concludes a triumphant personal comeback for Lula, after a series of corruption allegations lead to his imprisonment for 580 days. The sentences were later annulled by the Supreme Court, clearing his path to run for reelection.

“They tried to bury me alive and I’m here,” he said in a jubilant speech last Sunday.

He will take the reins of a country plagued by gross inequality that is still struggling to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Approximately 9.6 million people fell under the poverty line between 2019 and 2021, and literacy and school attendance rates have fallen. He will also be faced with a deeply fractured nation and urgent environmental issues, including rampant deforestation in the Amazon.

This will be Lula’s third term, after previously governing Brazil for two consecutive terms between 2003 and 2010.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Latin America's Turbulent Transitions: The Future of Twenty-First Century Socialism

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Brazil on Fire

The Impending U.S. Invasion of Haiti

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 02:40:00 +0000

TODAY'S EPISODE: The Impending U.S. Invasion of Haiti

GUEST: Jemima Pierre of Black Alliance for Peace

Associate Professor, Department of African American Studies and Department of Anthropology, University of California Los Angeles

Jemima Pierre is a sociocultural anthropologist whose research and teaching interests are located in the overlaps between African Studies and African Diaspora Studies and engage three broad areas: race, racial formation theory, and political economy; culture and the history of anthropological theory; and transnationalism, globalization, and diaspora. She is the author of The Predicament of Blackness: Postcolonial Ghana and the Politics of Race.

BACKGROUND:

On Monday, October 17, Thousands of protesters across Haiti demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The protest started hours before the United Nations Security Council held a split vote over sending an international force to Haiti to help with deteriorating security and a surge in cholera after powerful gangs took over the main port and blocked fuel deliveries.

The government had been awaiting a response to Henry’s recent request for the international community to help set up a “specialized armed force” to quell the violence, which has worsened in the power vacuum created by the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

The United States and Mexico said on October 17 that they are preparing another UN resolution that would authorize “an international assistance mission” to help improve security in crisis-racked Haiti so that humanitarian aid desperately needed by millions of people can be delivered.

Petrol stations remain closed, hospitals have slashed services and businesses, including banks and supermarkets, have cut their hours as everyone across the country runs out of fuel.

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Jemima Pierre: https://twitter.com/grosmorne29

Black Alliance for Peace:

https://blackallianceforpeace.com/

https://twitter.com/Blacks4Peace

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

An Open Letter to His Excellency, Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO), President of Mexico, on the Renewal of the UN Occupation of Haiti

The Black Alliance for Peace Opposes Biden Administration’s Security Council Resolution on Haiti and Calls for its Veto

Frederick Douglas and America Empire in Haiti

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Another Shock for Haiti

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: Haiti Strikes! An Update on the Situation

In partnership with Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean broadcasts weekly on CODEPINK YouTube Live. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Telegram and RadIndieMedia.com

Alex Saab, A Kidnapped Diplomat

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 13:38:28 +0000

Note: this episode is bilingual (Spanish and English). For full English translation, please view at: https://youtu.be/AvzCWjqiRQE

Additional note: the first few minutes of this broadcast were disrupted by anti-government trolls. The disruption has been left in the recording so as to demonstrate some of the obstacles faced while reporting a non-US narrative from Venezuela.

TODAY'S EPISODE: Alex Saab: A Kidnapped Diplomat

This is a special episode featuring the screening of the documentary film by the same name followed by a discussion/Q&A session with our guests:

Camila Fabri Saab, wife of Alex Saab and

Carlos Ron, Venezuela’s Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs for North America

BACKGROUND:

Alex Saab is virtually unknown in the United States, where he is currently languishing in a Miami prison, but he has been vital to Venezuela’s ability to survive the brutal economic war being waged by the U.S. He is a political prisoner whose case has parallels to that of Julian Assange. Both have been subjected to extraterritorial reach by U.S. authorities, as neither are U.S. citizens, and their alleged crimes took place outside of the country. Assange is in jail for telling the truth. Saab is in jail for helping feed Venezuelans

The documentary Alex Saab, A Kidnapped Diplomat, directed by Venezuelan journalist and documentary filmmaker Karen Méndez, focuses on the illegal detention of Saab, first in Cape Verde and since October 2021 in the United States.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Camila Fabri Saab: https://twitter.com/CamillaFSaab

Carlos Ron, Venezuela Vice-Minister of Foreign Relations, North America

https://twitter.com/CarlosJRonVE

TAKE ACTION:

Sign the Free Alex Saab Petition

https://www.codepink.org/freealexsaab

Brazil's Presidential Election Goes to a Second Round

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 23:45:28 +0000

Guests:

Camila Escalante of Kawsachun News

Craig Jardula of the ConvoCouch

Both of our guests were on the ground in Brazil to observe the first round presidential elections held Sunday, October 2

Background:

Brazil's presidential election is headed for a run-off vote, electoral authorities said on Sunday, October 2, after President Jair Bolsonaro's surprising strength in the first round spoiled rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's hopes of winning outright.

With 99.7% of electronic votes counted, Lula was ahead with 48.4% of votes versus 43.3% for Bolsonaro, the national electoral authority reported. As neither got a majority of support, the race will go to a second-round vote on Oct. 30.

Several opinion surveys had shown Lula, who was president from 2003 to 2010, leading the far-right Bolsonaro by 10-15 percentage points ahead of the October 2nd vote. The much tighter result dashed hopes of a quick resolution to a deeply polarized election.

Follow our Guests:

Craig Jardula

https://www.facebook.com/craig.jardula

https://twitter.com/yopasta

Camila Escalante

https://www.facebook.com/aCamilaThreat

https://twitter.com/camilapress

https://twitter.com/PrensaCamila

The ConvoCouch:

https://twitter.com/theconvocouch

Kawsachun News:

https://twitter.com/KawsachunNews

Gustavo Petro at the United Nations: "It is time for PEACE"

Fri, 30 Sep 2022 03:03:50 +0000

In this episode, we are in conversation with three Colombians living in the North America diaspora about their impressions of Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s address to the United Nations on Tuesday, September 20

Guests:

Raul Burbano, Executive Director Common Frontiers, Toronto

Yhamir Chabur, Troika Kollectivo, Queens

Samantha Wherry, CODEPINK Latin America Coordinator, Wash DC

Background:

On Tuesday September 20, the first day of the United Nations General Assembly, Colombian President Gustavo Petro made his first address to the body. The speech sharply deviated from those of his conservative predecessors. Petro did not shy away from calling out global North countries for their role in the destruction of the environment and in the perpetuation of the War on Drugs, as a symptom of their capitalist greed. He accused “You are only interested in my country to spray poisons on our jungles, to take our men to jail and put our women in exclusion. You are not interested in the education of the child, but in killing the jungle and extracting coal and oil from its entrails. The sponge that absorbs the poison [the rainforest] is useless, they prefer to throw more poisons into the atmosphere.”

This is Petro’s first trip to the United States since he was inaugurated on August 7. He was received on Sunday night, September 18, by hundreds of supporters in Queens, NY who showed their support to his administration’s commitment to working for peace and ensuring the wellbeing of the Colombian people.

Follow our Guests:

Raul Burbano:

https://www.facebook.com/raul.burbano.1

Yhamir Chabur:

https://www.facebook.com/ychabur

https://www.instagram.com/yhamirchabur/

Samantha Wherry:

https://www.facebook.com/samantha.wherry.1

Additional Links:

General Assembly of the United Nations-General Debate (Colombia) H.E. Mr. Gustavo Petro Urrego, President

Deconstructing the September 4 Plebiscite in Chile

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 15:07:52 +0000

GUESTS:

Patricio Zamorano, Co-Director of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs which is also a WTF broadcast partner. Patricio is Chilean born and has been living in the US for 20 years. He voted at the Chilean Embassy in Washington DC on Sunday.

Alondra Carrillo Vidal, member of the Chilean Constitutional Convention and spokesperson for Coordinadora Feminista 8M

BACKGROUND:

On Sunday, September 4, Chileans overwhelmingly voted against a proposed new constitution rejecting what would have been one of the world's most progressive charters.

While nearly 80% of Chileans voted to draft a new constitution in 2020, nearly 62% of voters rejected the new text with 99.74 percent of ballot boxes counted.

Karol Cariola, spokeswoman for the approval campaign, conceded defeat late on Sunday night in downtown Santiago but said the mandate to draft a new text remains in force.

President Gabriel Boric, whose government is largely tied to the new text, said cabinet changes were coming and the government would work to draft another constitution.

The proposed text that voters rejected was a response to widespread violent protests that gripped the nation in late 2019 and focused on social rights, the environment, gender parity and indigenous rights, a sharp shift from its market-friendly constitution dating back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship.

FOLLOW OUR GUESTS:

Patricio Zamorano https://twitter.com/ZamoranoInfo

Javiera Mazi https://twitter.com/JavieraManzi

In partnership with Common Frontiers Council on Hemispheric Affairs Friends of Latin America Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean broadcasts weekly on CODEPINK YouTube Live. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Telegram and RadIndieMedia.com

Argentina's Vice President Faces a "Media-Judicial Firing Squad"

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 00:55:00 +0000

Guest: Franco Metaza,Director-General for Foreign Affairs of the Argentina National Senate.

Franco is a political activist of Argentina. He is involved in the Peronist-Kirchnerista movement of “La Campora”.

He has a degree in Government and International Relations. He did his degree thesis on the Mercosur Parliament.

He has held different positions related to international relations in the General Secretary of Argentina Presidency, Chamber of Representatives and the National Bank of Argentina.

He participated in several G20 summits leading the youth delegation from his country (Mexico 2012, Russia 2013, Australia 2014).

He is currently pursuing a PhD in Defense

Background:

On August 22, an Argentine federal prosecutor requested a 12-year prison sentence for Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the country's former president and current vice president, on corruption charges related to public works. He also requested a lifetime ban on Fernandez de Kirchner from holding public office.

Prosecutor Diego Luciani accused Fernandez de Kirchner of defrauding the state and involvement in a scheme to divert public funds while president between 2007 and 2015.

The sentence will be known in months, according to local media, although Fernandez de Kirchner could appeal it to higher courts, which would take years to reach a final verdict.

On Twitter, Fernandez de Kirchner, who testified in court in 2019, said she was facing a "media-judicial firing squad" and "not a constitutional court."

The former president added that she was not given an opportunity to testify on new elements of the case and would present her defense on social media on Tuesday.

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez condemned the decision on Twitter, describing the decision in a statement as a case of judicial persecution.

"None of the acts attributed to the former president have been proven," the statement said.

ADDITIONAL LINKS:

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner: Derecho de Defensa. Causa Vialidad.

https://youtu.be/aNtbi1tSiWo

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/FMetaza

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFKArgentina

Social Movements: Community Organizing, Political Formation & Electoral Wins

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 03:31:54 +0000

Join us for a powerful female panel conversation on the importance of movement building. We will explore how four Latin American nations changed, or hope to change, their governments and the future of their people. This is a bilingual episode (principally English)

This episode was inspired by a fantastic group of women throughout the Americas that I have had the privilege to work with regarding Colombia solidarity and the recent presidential elections.

Our discussion expands upon a recurring theme that has inevitably arisen in each program throughout the past year as we witnessed numerous elections resulting in Center Left to Revolutionary Left governmental changes across Latin America & the Caribbean

Today we will be speaking with four female movement leaders who each have helped organize, educate and change their governments through electoral politics.

Guests:

Brazil: Claudia Santana Tamsky, sociologist and member of the Partido dos Trabalhadores PT

Colombia: Elizabeth Castaneda, Activist at Colombia humana a political movement and party founded in 2011 and led by President Gustavo Petro.

Honduras: Lucy Pagoada-Quesada, NYC Department of Education teacher, Official Coordinator of the Partido Libre D19 USA-Canadá & Costa Rica. Producer of ‘Voices of Resistance' on WBAI 99.5 FM New York

Nicaragua: Lola Esquivel, Founder of the Gloria Quintanilla Women's Cooperative a member of Friends of the ATC, Nicaragua

Three Weeks of Anti-Neoliberal Protests in Panama

Fri, 29 Jul 2022 01:05:00 +0000

With guest Ronaldo Ortiz, National Coordinator for FRENADESO (El Frente Amplio por la Democracia, Panamá)

This episode is bilingual.

For English subtitles, please visit: https://youtu.be/s3MooQE9w_E

Background:

Earlier this week, The Panamanian government and protesters edged closer to an agreement to end a weeks-long cost-of-living revolt that has blocked roads, interrupted food supplies and damaged the economy. Authorities agreed in the early morning hours of July 25 to reduce the price of 72 basic consumer items by some 30 percent on average.

For three weeks, amid worsening economic woes for Panama, protesters demanding lower fuel, food and medicine prices have blockaded the crucial Pan-American Highway and other major roads with stalled trucks and burning tires. Some have clashed with police.

Despite its dollarized economy and impressive growth figures, the country of 4.4 million people has one of the world's highest rates of social inequality, with poor access to health services, education and clean drinking water in some areas.

The demonstrations have triggered food and fuel shortages in some parts of the country, and the business sector says some $500 million has been lost.

Even before the talks started, the government had lowered the price of 18 basic products and that of fuel from $5.20 per gallon to $3.25 in an unsuccessful bid to end the standoff.

Protesters had demanded a lowering of the price of 82 products and want a limit to be imposed on company profits, a measure the government has rejected.

Other demands include reducing the price of medicines and electricity, increasing investment in education and the public health system, and measures against government corruption.

Follow our Guest:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronaldo.ortiz.710667

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ronaldo_ortiz_1310/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sipu1310

Additional Links:

FRENADESO Panama: https://www.facebook.com/frenadeso.panama

FRENADESO: https://twitter.com/CELIOGUERRA

In partnership with Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA), Friends of Latin America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas, original broadcasts of WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean can be viewed every Wednesday at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on CODEPINK YouTube Live

AMLO Goes to Washington: The Mexico/US Bilateral Meeting in Review

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 02:09:02 +0000

Guest: Marco Castillo, Executive Director of Global Exchange and coordinator for Nuestra Red

Background:

On July 12 when Mexican president Lopez Obrador traveled to Washington DC his most exciting encounter for Mexicans (both in the U.S. and in Mexico) was not his meeting with President Biden, but his impromptu encounter with well wishers outside his hotel room at The Lombardy. A video of the encounter went viral. It showed the president (known by his initials AMLO) sticking his head out the window, blowing kisses, catching a bouquet of flowers thrown to him, and being serenaded by mariachis singing “Amigo” (You are my soul brother, a friend that in every way and day is always with me).

AMLO’s meeting with Biden included such agenda items as: prioritizing Mexico’s sovereignty, curbing migration by offering more visa options, and inflation.

López Obrador, who spoke for over 30 minutes in the Oval Office, reminded Biden of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor” policy, which avoided interference in domestic affairs in Latin America, while also engaging in reciprocal exchanges with that region, such as trade.

On Monday, the Mexican President revealed that during his DC visit he gave a letter to President Biden in which he defended Julian Assange's innocence and renewed a previous offer of asylum to the WikiLeaks founder.

Follow our Guest:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marco.castil...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/macocm/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarcoAnCasMar

Additional Links:

AMLO Is Trying to Free Mexico and Latin America From the US’s Imperial Grip: https://jacobin.com/2022/07/amlo-mexi...

Global Exchange: https://globalexchange.org/

NuestraRed: https://twitter.com/NuestraRedMx

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean: VP Harris Tells Guatemalans "Do Not Come": https://youtu.be/oZnFTUeYJT8

Tell the White House: Cuba is not a Sponsor of Terror

Fri, 15 Jul 2022 16:30:00 +0000

Today’s Episode: Tell the White House: Cuba is not a Sponsor of Terror

Guest: activist, author and co-founder of CODEPINK, Medea Benjamin.

Background

In the last days of the outgoing Trump administration, then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added Cuba back onto the list of state sponsors of terrorism, after it had been removed from the list in 2015 by the Obama-Biden administration. After a significant review, the Obama-Biden White House had certified that “(i) the Government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding 6-month period; and (ii) the Government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future.”

Trump’s re-designation of Cuba to the list was purely a political move to please conservative Cuban-Americans. The excuse was that Cuba was purportedly providing safe haven for Colombian insurgents, but these insurgents were in Cuba because of the island’s role in facilitating the historic Peace Accords between the Colombian government and a guerrilla group. Insurgent activities years ago during Colombia’s civil strife does not fit the definition of international terrorism, and the guerilla representatives were in Cuba as part of an internationally recognized process of peace negotiations supported by the United States, Norway, Colombia and other nations.

By being on this list, Cuba is subjected to a series of sanctions and international financial restrictions that limit the nation’s ability to carry out critical financial transactions, including those needed to advance its efforts to combat the pandemic and reboot its economy.

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Additional Links

https://www.codepink.org/cuba-no-terror

Ecuador: The Lasso Government Post-National Strike

Sat, 09 Jul 2022 00:53:34 +0000

Episode: Ecuador-The Lasso Government Post-National Strike

Which is a follow-up to our June 22 episode “Ecuador Erupts against Neoliberalism with guest Camila Escalante of Kawsachun News.

Guest: author and journalist Joe Emersberger. You can find his work published at FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) and be sure to read his book Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media and Twenty Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela

BACKGROUND:

Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso survived an impeachment vote on Tuesday, June 28 after a left opposition party failed to rally other smaller groups in congress to oust him as his government moved to make concessions to defuse the political crisis.

With only 80 of 137 lawmakers voting to remove Lasso, the impeachment attempt failed to clear the 92-vote hurdle needed to remove the president from office. Another 48 lawmakers rejected the motion, with nine abstaining after a session that lasted about 12 hours and included three voting attempts.

A week later on Tuesday, July 5, Lasso appointed Pablo Arosemena, governor of Ecuador's Guayas province, as the Andean country's new minister of economy and finances, following the resignation of Simon Cueva, while also naming new ministers for transport, and urban development and housing.

The appointments came hours after Lasso accepted Cueva's resignation, as well as those of former Health Minister Ximena Garzon and former Transport Minister Marcelo Cabrera.

The changes follow a deal signed between the government and indigenous leaders to end demonstrations across the country last week. read more

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