Latin America General : Corona Carnaval

[Kilobugya]

In Chile where the first round of the presidential election will take place November 21 far right candidate J A Kast now leads Gabriel Boric in the polls.

There will be a second round, I really hope Boric will win in the second round. But the left should have nominated Daniel Jadue, not Gabriel Boric...

[San Lumen]

In Chile where the first round of the presidential election will take place November 21 far right candidate J A Kast now leads Gabriel Boric in the polls.

There will be a second round, I really hope Boric will win in the second round. But the left should have nominated Daniel Jadue, not Gabriel Boric...

Kast leads in the second round as well. I want Boric to win as well.

[Greater Cosmicium]

U.S. to announce new Nicaragua sanctions 'very soon,' official says

US goverment salty again they couldn't rig *ahem* "interfere" in Nicaragua's elections to get their preferred candidate elected

[Greater Miami Shores 3]

U.S. to announce new Nicaragua sanctions 'very soon,' official says

US goverment salty again they couldn't rig *ahem* "interfere" in Nicaragua's elections to get their preferred candidate elected

While Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua clearly jailed his main opposition candidates to elect himself and his wife President and Vice President.

[Kowani]

Brazilian Supreme Court suspends secret budget amendments (8-2)

[Kilobugya]

While Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua clearly jailed his main opposition candidates to elect himself and his wife President and Vice President.

The courts of Nicaragua jailed opposition candidates on the account of them being corrupt or of them receiving money from the US government, which is illegal in Nicaragua as it is in USA (for a political candidate to receive money from a foreign government). I don't know if they actually were guilty or not - but I've to see any evidence they were not.

On the other hand, Lula was jailed in Brazil by judge Moro for purely political reasons (that was proven), Jorge Glas was jailed in Ecuador over a completely shame trial and using an outdated penal code, and Rafael Correa was forced to exile by dozens of utterly frivolous lawsuits. But there are sanctions against Nicaragua, not against Brazil or Ecuador. It's that's not a complete double standards... (I personally oppose such sanctions in all cases, because they hurt the population much more than the government).

[Shrillland]

There will be a second round, I really hope Boric will win in the second round. But the left should have nominated Daniel Jadue, not Gabriel Boric...

Kast leads in the second round as well. I want Boric to win as well.

It has to do with the increased violence in some of the more recent protests, as well as nervousness over another potential early pension withdrawal and a resulting run on the Peso. Electoral silence has officially begun.

Meanwhile, president Sebastian Pinera was impeached by the Chamber 78-67 on a single count involving Pandora Papers accusations that he influenced the sale of the Dominga Project on Tuesday

He is expected to be acquitted by the Senate.

[San Lumen]

Kast leads in the second round as well. I want Boric to win as well.

It has to do with the increased violence in some of the more recent protests, as well as nervousness over another potential early pension withdrawal and a resulting run on the Peso.

Meanwhile, president Sebastian Pinera was impeached by the Chamber 78-67 on a single count involving Panama Papers accuatiosn that he influenced the sale of the Dominga Project on Tuesday

I hope the polls reverse but im not optimistic.

[Blargoblarg]

While Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua clearly jailed his main opposition candidates to elect himself and his wife President and Vice President.

The courts of Nicaragua jailed opposition candidates on the account of them being corrupt or of them receiving money from the US government, which is illegal in Nicaragua as it is in USA (for a political candidate to receive money from a foreign government). I don't know if they actually were guilty or not - but I've to see any evidence they were not.

On the other hand, Lula was jailed in Brazil by judge Moro for purely political reasons (that was proven), Jorge Glas was jailed in Ecuador over a completely shame trial and using an outdated penal code, and Rafael Correa was forced to exile by dozens of utterly frivolous lawsuits. But there are sanctions against Nicaragua, not against Brazil or Ecuador. It's that's not a complete double standards... (I personally oppose such sanctions in all cases, because they hurt the population much more than the government).

Of course the U.S. media refuses to talk about the fact that those Nicaraguan opposition candidates were jailed for being corrupt and taking money from the U.S. government.

[Fahran]

The courts of Nicaragua jailed opposition candidates on the account of them being corrupt or of them receiving money from the US government, which is illegal in Nicaragua as it is in USA (for a political candidate to receive money from a foreign government). I don't know if they actually were guilty or not - but I've to see any evidence they were not.

On the other hand, Lula was jailed in Brazil by judge Moro for purely political reasons (that was proven), Jorge Glas was jailed in Ecuador over a completely shame trial and using an outdated penal code, and Rafael Correa was forced to exile by dozens of utterly frivolous lawsuits. But there are sanctions against Nicaragua, not against Brazil or Ecuador. It's that's not a complete double standards... (I personally oppose such sanctions in all cases, because they hurt the population much more than the government).

Of course the U.S. media refuses to talk about the fact that those Nicaraguan opposition candidates were jailed for being corrupt and taking money from the U.S. government.

Yes. There was absolutely no broader crackdown on opponents and critics of Ortega's government. It's all capitalist lies designed to subvert a fair, functioning democracy.

Look, I know y'all like left-wing authoritarians of various stripes, but you could at least pretend to have some regard for the truth. Or drop the pretenses and just support whoever belongs to the loose political faction you support that has nebulous aims on a global scale.

[Dreria]

Of course the U.S. media refuses to talk about the fact that those Nicaraguan opposition candidates were jailed for being corrupt and taking money from the U.S. government.

Yes. There was absolutely no broader crackdown on opponents and critics of Ortega's government. It's all capitalist lies designed to subvert a fair, functioning democracy.

Look, I know y'all like left-wing authoritarians of various stripes, but you could at least pretend to have some regard for the truth. Or drop the pretenses and just support whoever belongs to the loose political faction you support that has nebulous aims on a global scale.

one of the “political prisoners” in Nicaragua stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death in 2020.
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/02/28/us-oas-nicaragua-political-prisoners-murder/

[Fahran]

one of the “political prisoners” in Nicaragua stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death in 2020.
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/02/28/us-oas-nicaragua-political-prisoners-murder/

Okay? Does the fact that one protestor arrested in 2018 went on to commit an unrelated crime following his release really detract from the fact that Ortega threw a bunch of politicians, writers, journalists, and others in prison in a show of suppression that would have made left-wingers howl if it had come from Bolsonaro?

Your article also mischaracterizes the demonstrations that occurred in 2018 as an attempted coup, presumably taking this information from government-backed journalists. It was actually a protest against a proposed reform of social security that would have increased taxes and decreased benefits. Yes, it was an anti-austerity protest. And the guy mentioned in my article? He's an old school Sandinista. Man's retired from politics even. He's just a writer and commentator.

And he was clearly a political prisoner at the time when this article was written. He's not the only one either. Dozens of politicians, journalists, and critics have or had been arrested on nebulous charges.

"If we had kept one man wrongfully arrested in prison, he wouldn't have committed an actual crime later on" is not the slam-dunk Ortega's backers thing it is. Especially when we're dealing with people like Sergio Ramirez. The charges against him are pretty weak and include "destabilizing the country."

At least with Lula the man actually did the crime.

[Dreria]

one of the “political prisoners” in Nicaragua stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to death in 2020.
[url]
And he was clearly a political prisoner at the time when this article was written. He's not the only one either. Dozens of politicians, journalists, and critics have or had been arrested on nebulous charges.

mostly peaceful protestors

[Fahran]

mostly peaceful protestors

The fact that riots occurred is not an excuse to arrest elderly writers and independent journalists not participating in said riots who happen to criticize your regime. Or the majority of your political opposition on the eve of elections. Again, folks have brought up Lula, who was actually tried and convicted of corruption in a verdict upheld by Brazil's Supreme Court, but are completely forgetting that a lot of the people arrested in 2018 and 2021 actually weren't charged with anything.

Never mind that some of the people he arrested were actually Sandinistas, not spooky right-wing saboteurs paid for by the CIA to reenact Operation Condor for some nebulous goal that we can never understand. Not surprising given the demonstrations between 2014-2018 and 2018-2021 received at least some support due to attempts to impose austerity on Nicaragua by Ortega's government.

Imagine if, as a result of the BLM riots, Trump had arrested Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden on charges of "destabilizing the country" because they used rhetoric supportive of the goals of people engaged in riots. That's literally what Ortega did.

It's getting really hard to take the opinions of left-wingers seriously when they claim to be demsocs and then support left-wing governments that are questionably democratic at best, but get upset when left-wing and right-wing governments do similar things to people they like. Lula? Yeah, that happened under Rousseff. She's not super right-wing. She actually tried to shield Lula by appointing him to office, but the court rightly blocked it - since nobody should be above justice.

EDIT: Ortega's also an interesting choice for Euro socialists given how illiberal he is on key social issues. He's not been especially sharp on the pandemic. He's pretty strongly pro-Catholic and pro-life. He's repeatedly violated the Nicaragua's constitution. And he's a staunch nepotist. He's also purged a lot of the old Sandinistas from government to consolidate his own political power.

[Kowani]

mostly peaceful protestors

The fact that riots occurred is not an excuse to arrest elderly writers and independent journalists not participating in said riots who happen to criticize your regime. Or the majority of your political opposition on the eve of elections. Again, folks have brought up Lula, who was actually tried and convicted of corruption in a verdict upheld by Brazil's Supreme Court, but are completely forgetting that a lot of the people arrested in 2018 and 2021 actually weren't charged with anything.

Never mind that some of the people he arrested were actually Sandinistas, not spooky right-wing saboteurs paid for by the CIA to reenact Operation Condor for some nebulous goal that we can never understand. Not surprising given the demonstrations between 2014-2018 and 2018-2021 received at least some support due to attempts to impose austerity on Nicaragua by Ortega's government.

Imagine if, as a result of the BLM riots, Trump had arrested Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden on charges of "destabilizing the country" because they used rhetoric supportive of the goals of people engaged in riots. That's literally what Ortega did.

It's getting really hard to take the opinions of left-wingers seriously when they claim to be demsocs and then support left-wing governments that are questionably democratic at best, but get upset when left-wing and right-wing governments do similar things to people they like. Lula? Yeah, that happened under Rousseff. She's not super right-wing. She actually tried to shield Lula by appointing him to office, but the court rightly blocked it - since nobody should be above justice.

EDIT: Ortega's also an interesting choice for Euro socialists given how illiberal he is on key social issues. He's not been especially sharp on the pandemic. He's pretty strongly pro-Catholic and pro-life. He's repeatedly violated the Nicaragua's constitution. And he's a staunch nepotist. He's also purged a lot of the old Sandinistas from government to consolidate his own political power.

not going to defend ortega here (i don't like him) but i feel saying lula's charges were upheld by the brazilian supreme court is a bit of an oversight without noting that the charges were annulled later on

[Kilobugya]

Yes. There was absolutely no broader crackdown on opponents and critics of Ortega's government. It's all capitalist lies designed to subvert a fair, functioning democracy.

Look, I know y'all like left-wing authoritarians of various stripes, but you could at least pretend to have some regard for the truth. Or drop the pretenses and just support whoever belongs to the loose political faction you support that has nebulous aims on a global scale.

I'm not doing an unconditional defense of Ortega. If you look at my posts I've always tried to be moderate and careful. What I'm saying is :

1. The "Ortega and Maduro are brutal dictators and that's it" spin in western media doesn't reflect reality and is totally dishonest. They can't even begin to admit that some of opposition might be truly corrupt, or illegally receive money from USA (which is pretty obvious at least some do, since the US itself admits spending millions to finance them). They can't even being to admit that some of the extreme-right protesters are very violent, lynching supporters of the president or those who appear to be, to a point that the Jan 6th insurrectionists look like gentle tourists in comparison. That right-wing coups and coup attempts are still frequent in latam in the 21st century (Venezuela, Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia all had some). That doesn't mean Ortega doesn't abuse of his power sometimes, that some of his jailed opponents might not be guilty, that the repression of protests might have been extended to non-violent ones, I'm not saying he's perfect, but it's a much more complicated and contrasted reality than the fairy tale painted by media.

2. Whatever wrong Ortega and Maduro might have done, the other countries in the region did the same, if not even worse. Judicial persecution against opponents in the norm in Ecuador in the Moreno/Lasso era, the case of Lula is emblematic, Christina Kirchner in Argentina has been victim of it too, ... And violent repression of protests too, Piñera in Chile or Moreno in Ecuador did worse in 2019 than what Ortega and Maduro ever did. And the worst of them all is likely Colombia, where regularly, every year, hundred of unionists or environmentalists are murdered either directly by the state or paramilitary forces with a complicity of the state. But it's only Ortega and Maduro who are the bad guys, the ones geopolitically allied with USA can do whatever they want in silence.

3. That the kind of broad sanctions imposed on Venezuela and Nicaragua only hurt the people of those countries, not their government (quite the opposite, it actually gives them cover and justification for their most authoritarian tendencies). So I oppose them in all cases, even against Brazil or Chile or Colombia or Ecuador. The only case where I can support them is when it's very short-term during a brutal violation of constitutional order (like in Bolivia in 2019) when the population is actively resisting the coup attempt and that strong, short-term sanctions, might destabilize the golpistas and make the coup fail. But never long-term sanctions against mostly stable countries.

[Fahran]

not going to defend ortega here (i don't like him) but i feel saying lula's charges were upheld by the brazilian supreme court is a bit of an oversight without noting that the charges were annulled later on

The charges were annulled on the grounds that the previous court lacked jursidiction and a retrial was ordered. I happen to find the evidence against Lula convincing. I also happen to believe that he'll win an election outright if he's able to run again. Man's pretty well-liked in Brazil last I checked.

And it's definitely possible to defend Ortega broadly. He's improved education and literacy, and the Nicaraguan economy reportedly remained strong up until 2018. If internal analyses and reports are to be trusted, his government is pretty competent in some respects, though the chronic nepotism and high rates of violence do still raise eyebrows. It's just not possible to argue that he isn't an authoritarian who imprisons his political opponents because he absolutely is an authoritarian who imprisons his political opponents.

[Fahran]

1. The "Ortega and Maduro are brutal dictators and that's it" spin in western media doesn't reflect reality and is totally dishonest.

It's really not as dishonest as asserting that they're champions of democracy and obfuscating the concerns human rights monitors and government critics bring up on a routine basis. Maduro is probably the least democratic leader in any Latin American country at present in almost every key respect, and Ortega is, more or less, sitting right next to him. They've both arrested journalists, political opponents, and intellectuals. They've both manipulated policy to de facto invalidate elections that would otherwise have been setbacks for them, violating constitutional rule in the process. They're not quite on the level of caudillos of yesteryear, but, personally, I would consider Chavez, Maduro, and Ortega to be inching incredibly close to that mark.

They can't even begin to admit that some of opposition might be truly corrupt, or illegally receive money from USA (which is pretty obvious at least some do, since the US itself admits spending millions to finance them).

You do realize that Ortega's family members own three of the largest news stations in Nicaragua, right? You'd have a pretty difficult time finding a Latin American politician who isn't corrupt on some level. But, in the case of Ortega's crackdown, we should call a spade a spade. He wasn't arresting people for corruption. He's was disrupting political opponents and throwing protestors in prison. It's fine if you support that, of course, but don't shy away from it by bringing up political corruption when the guy ordering the arrests may be the most corrupt man in Nicaragua. Not to say a replacement wouldn't be more corrupt, but he has the power to distribute rewards to supporters and family members at the moment. And he's using it.

They can't even being to admit that some of the extreme-right protesters are very violent, lynching supporters of the president or those who appear to be, to a point that the Jan 6th insurrectionists look like gentle tourists in comparison.

The thing that prompted a lot of the protests in 2018 was a proposed austerity measure. I don't think all of the protestors were right-wingers. As I mentioned, a lot of the notable people who got arrested were old school Sandinistas. As for Jan 6th, that was a riot, not an insurrection. Which, coincidentally, is what the violent protests in Nicaragua largely were - riots. There doesn't seem to have even been an attempted coup in Nicaragua, and the attempted coup in the US was largely a bunch of legal maneuvering that failed when Pence called them on their nonsense - as he should have.

That right-wing coups and coup attempts are still frequent in latam in the 21st century (Venezuela, Honduras, Ecuador, Bolivia all had some). That doesn't mean Ortega doesn't abuse of his power sometimes, that some of his jailed opponents might not be guilty, that the repression of protests might have been extended to non-violent ones, I'm not saying he's perfect, but it's a much more complicated and contrasted reality than the fairy tale painted by media.

No, the media portrayals are pretty accurate. They're actually much more accurate than what I've seen from commie rags who, for whatever reason, think Ortega is one of their guys. I honestly think some folks still live in the Cold War.

2. Whatever wrong Ortega and Maduro might have done, the other countries in the region did the same, if not even worse. Judicial persecution against opponents in the norm in Ecuador in the Moreno/Lasso era, the case of Lula is emblematic, Christina Kirchner in Argentina has been victim of it too, ... And violent repression of protests too, Piñera in Chile or Moreno in Ecuador did worse in 2019 than what Ortega and Maduro ever did. And the worst of them all is likely Colombia, where regularly, every year, hundred of unionists or environmentalists are murdered either directly by the state or paramilitary forces with a complicity of the state. But it's only Ortega and Maduro who are the bad guys, the ones geopolitically allied with USA can do whatever they want in silence.

The protests against Ortega saw over three hundred deaths. I'd also be careful about employing Colombia as a metric in discussions of most other Latin American countries. It's pretty notable for having extremely high rates of violence to the point that the population stopped reacting to it in statistically measurable ways at certain points. This extends as well to its left-wing political activity, as epitomized by FARC. Ortega and Maduro largely get a lot of bad press because they're the most dictatorial Latin American leaders to have remained a constant presence. Ortega is the longest serving leader in Latin America. Maduro is the hand-picked successor of Chavez, who served for over a decade despite constitutional limitations and who has presided over an increasingly insolvent Venezuela. Of these two, Ortega is actually more competent. But, yeah, there's a reason they get criticism from people who like democracy.

3. That the kind of broad sanctions imposed on Venezuela

Broad sanctions have never been imposed on Venezuela. All of the sanctions have been targeted towards specific government officials and cronies. Maduro's supporters have tried to spin a narrative that blames the United States for Venezuela's woes, but the truth of the matter is that Chavez sucked at running a planned economy and that Maduro also sucks at running a planned economy.

and Nicaragua only hurt the people of those countries, not their government (quite the opposite, it actually gives them cover and justification for their most authoritarian tendencies).

I'm not familiar with the sanctions that will be imposed against Nicaragua so I can't comment on them. But this is false when it comes to Venezuela.

So I oppose them in all cases, even against Brazil or Chile or Colombia or Ecuador. The only case where I can support them is when it's very short-term during a brutal violation of constitutional order (like in Bolivia in 2019) when the population is actively resisting the coup attempt and that strong, short-term sanctions, might destabilize the golpistas and make the coup fail. But never long-term sanctions against mostly stable countries.

I'll be honest. I only really like targeted sanctions.

[Shrillland]

Despite my lack of attention to Chile, I have been keeping an eye on my sphere of things. Argentina's Midterms are tomorrow, and it looks like the conservative JxC will be widening their lead in the Chamber, but I'm not convinced they'll take the Senate, they need a lot of seats with their provincial allies to do that.

[Kowani]

Peru's three congressmen elected under the Partido Morado (who became independents when the PM was delisted) have ended their alliance with the congressional bloc of Somos Peru over disagreements over support for ministers, will sit without alone

[Kowani]

Juntos por el Cambio flips Argentine Chamber of Deputies

[Kowani]

Nicaragua's National Assembly condemns alleged meddling by the Organization of American States, officially called for Nicaragua to withdraw (82-0)

[Kowani]

Impeachment of Chilean President Sebastian Piñera over business dealings revealed in the Pandora Papers fails (24-18)

[Shrillland]

Well, we can condemn both Ortega and the OAS, they certainly both have enough reason to be hated. As for Pinera...yeah, that's about what was expected.

[Kowani]

[url]https://nacla.org/guatemala-maya-resistance-el-estor]Guatemala cracks down on indigenous Q’eqchi’ resistance[/url]

On October 23, approximately 500 police officers and riot police descended on a road blockade in El Estor and fired tear gas at the peaceful demonstrations. For more than two weeks, Maya Q’eqchi’ communities had cut off access to the Fenix nickel mine and processing facility to protest the lack of consultation for the project they say has polluted their air and water.

As clouds of tear gas engulfed them, several people suffered the effects, including a minor who was admitted in a delicate condition to El Estor’s health clinic. “The tear gas made residents who lived [along the] roadside run away from their homes. I saw elderly women and children having trouble breathing as they attempted to escape the scene,” recalled Ana Margarita Chen Xol, who covered the violent incidents for the Mayan station Xyaab’ Tzuultaq’a Community Radio. “The riot police were indiscriminately shooting at people’s bodies.” Following the repression, the government imposed a state of siege that limits civil liberties for 30 days. Hundreds of soldiers and police officers have been deployed to patrol the area and enforce a curfew, threatening to further jeopardize residents’ lives. Indigenous leaders, journalists, and organizations like Xyaab’ Tzuultaq’a and the social justice association Defensoría Q’eqchi’ have faced arbitrary detentions and persecution after covering or participating in the anti-mining resistance.

“They are criminalizing our resistance, as they have done in the past,” said Macloni Sicaján Jacinto of the Defensoría Q’eqchi’. For years, Maya Q’eqchi’ communities in El Estor have demanded to be consulted over the foreign-owned, illegally operating nickel mine. "Now, under a state of siege,” Sicaján Jacinto continued, “the consultation seems impossible. Repression is always the means to crush Indigenous self-determination.”

The massive show of military force in El Estor to suppress Indigenous communities is reminiscent of the armed conflict that resulted in genocide. The crackdown is the latest manifestation of a backslide in democracy in Guatemala—amid the ravaging effects of the pandemic and the climate crisis—that builds on a violent legacy of dispossession of Indigenous peoples.

“What is happening in Guatemala is shameful yet unsurprising,” Sicaján Jacinto added. In February 2018, the artisanal fishermen’s union of El Estor filed a writ of amparo, a constitutional appeal, with the Supreme Court over the lack of consultation for the licenses granted to the Fenix ​​mine. Operated by Compañía Guatemalteca de Níquel (CGN), a subsidiary now owned by Switzerland-based Solway Investment Group, the mine went online in 2014 after years of repressive violence, controversy, and community resistance. The fishermen were especially alarmed about the contamination threatening their livelihoods.

“Lake Izabal turned red because of the mine’s toxic waste,” recalled Sicaján Jacinto. “Later studies showed the presence of heavy metals in the water. And yet, the authorities paid no mind and looked the other way.”

In July 2019, the Constitutional Court ordered a halt to the project’s operations for violating the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169, which outlines Indigenous populations’ rights to free prior and informed consent and the need for an environmental impact report. According to the court, the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ process of granting CGN an extraction license in 2006 failed at both.

Although the court ratified its decision in June 2020 and ordered stricter measures because of the Covid-19 pandemic, locals report that the company continues to operate as usual. “That’s why on October 4, we decided to unilaterally enforce the court ruling by blocking the mining trucks’ way since the mine should not be operating,” said Sicaján Jacinto.

According to Sicaján Jacinto, the Ministry of Energy and Mines repeatedly has refused to include the communities that oppose Fénix in consultations, alleging that they fall outside the area impacted by the mine. “Instead of selecting the Ancestral Q’eqchi’ Council, the legitimate authority,” he explained, “the government accredited individuals who are not representative of our interests and serve as lobbyists for the company.” On October 24, the same day President Alejandro Giammattei declared a state of siege in El Estor, state security forces violently raided the Defensoría Q’eqchi’s offices and Xyaab’ Tzuultaq’a Community Radio. Army troops have been deployed in neighborhoods and the town center, terrorizing the population with their presence. Chen Xol recounted the scene: “Trucks moved into El Estor, with police running next to them as human shields. In the meantime, I had to flee since police raided the radio.”