News Summaries in May 2023

“Orcas Have Been Battering Boats in Southern Europe, Puzzled Scientists Say,” New York Times, May 25, 2023

 

Maybe they’re just playing but orcas in the much-traveled waters near Morocco, Portugal and Spain have taken to battering boats – a lot of boats – and sinking some of them. Even so, scientists say they show no signs of wanting to harm humans. Nevertheless, the captain of one Portugal-bound sailing vessel felt helpless while orcas slammed into the side of the boat and chewed at its rudder. “It’s a reminder of where we are in the food chain and the natural world,” the captain told the Times regarding the apex predators. Orcas sank a sailboat off the coast of Spain in the early morning hours of May 5; the four people on board were rescued. Orcas have caused two other boats to sink since last summer off the west coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The behavior appeared to begin with a group of 15 or so orcas, only two of them adults, near Spain in 2020. Since then orcas have been documented reacting to or approaching vessels an estimated 500 times, inflicting damage in about 20 percent of those cases.  Some researchers wonder if it could have started because of an entanglement in a fishing line off a boat while others speculate it’s a form of play. One scientist expressed doubt that the behavior would pass to orcas in other parts of the world. The orca is the largest animal in the dolphin family. 

 

“Mexico’s President Says He Told Official Not to Worry about being Spied On,” New York Times, May 24, 2023

 

Mexico’s president said he told a top human rights official not to worry about the fact that he had been spied on with the powerful spyware tool Pegasus. The official needn’t worry because there was no intention of spying on anyone, said President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Mexican military is the only agency in the country that has access to the tool, sources say. The official, Alejandro Encinas (see next story) is Mexico’s under secretary for human rights and is described as close to López Obrador. The Mexican president said he would not order an investigation of the surveillance because “we do not spy.” Centro Prodh, a civil rights group, said “we regret that the president minimizes the espionage his Administration carries out.” Encinas is said to be he most senior official to be surveilled using Pegasus. He leads a government commission investigating the 2014 disapperance of 43 students on their way to a protest. Encinas has said the military played a role in the abduction.

“Spying Scandal In Mexico Goes Right to the Top,” New York Times, May 23, 2023

 

A top Mexican official close to the country’s president Andrés Manuel López Obrador was the target of surveillance using the extremely powerful spyware called Pegasus, according to sources cited by the Times. The official, Alejandro Encinas, is Mexico’s under secretary for human rights. He was targeted for surveillance while investigating abuses by Mexico’s military, the sources aid. The military is the only entity in Mexico to have access to Pegasus, which is licensed by the Israeli government. Encinas has accused the military of involvement in the disappearance of 43 students, described by the Times as one of the worst human rights violations in recent Mexican history.  The military’s power has grown enormously under López Obrador, acquiring much control over policing. “If someone as close to the president as Alejandro Encinas is targeted, it’s clear there’s no democratic control over the spy tool,” said an anti-corruption activist. Pegasus can infect a phone and take everything in it without detection.  It can watch through the camera and listen through the microphone even if the phone is off. (See also April 19, 2023 Pegasus story in post of April summaries.)

"Child’s Death Puts Spotlight on Care at Border Facilities," Washington Post, May 23, 2023

 

The U.S. Custom and Border Protection’s handling of migrants who are extremely ill is under fire following the death of an eight-year-old girl from Honduras under its custody.  Her death May 17^th followed the death May 10^th of a 17-year-old Honduran boy at a shelter in Florida for unaccompanied teens and migrants.  The agency has ordered a review of health care practices at its facilities. Detainees aren’t supposed to be in custody more than 72 hours, but the girl and her family had been held eight days at the time of her death, according to a government. timeline. During an intake procedure the family provided agents with records showing her medical history included heart disease and sickle cell anemia. She was diagnosed with the flu after four days in custody and then the family was transferred to another facility for migrants requiring medical isolation. Three days later her condition appeared to worsen, and on May 17 she went with her mother three times to a medical unit complaining of vomiting and stomachache. Her mother returned to the unit again carrying her daughter’s body and paramedics arrived 12 minutes later to rush her to the hospital. But she died less than an hour later, the timeline said. The mother said the girl “cried and begged for her life” but staff “didn’t do anything for her.” The family entered custody on a day when border agents made a record number of arrests totaling more than 10,000, placing the agency’s facilities under great strain. 

“NAACP Issues Florida Travel Advisory, Joining Latino and LGBTQ Groups,” New York Times, May 22, 2023

 

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has joined Latino and gay rights groups in cautioning members about travel to Florida. It said that under Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis the state has become “openly hostile toward African-Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.” DeSantis has built his political profile on accusations that education is tilting too far toward the considerations of liberals about gay rights and racial discrimination issues, and on a crackdown on illegal immigration. But the NAACP said DeSantis is trying to erase from education a truthful historical accounting of the horrific treatment of Blacks. Last week a civil rights group called United Latin American Citizens also issued a travel advisory citing concern about a new law championed by DeSantis. The measure requires employers to confirm an employee’s eligibility to work in the U.S., invalidates ID cards issued to undocumented immigrants in states such as New York, and requires hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask patients if they are in the U.S. lawfully. The group said its advisory was either a warning not to travel to Florida or to be cautious while there. 

 

"Soccer Stadium Crush Kills 12, Injures Dozens," Washington Post, May 22, 2023

 

A crush of fans at a soccer game in San Salvador  on May 20 killed at least 12 people and injured about 90 others , El Salvadoran officials said. The deaths, at a tournament match between Alianza F.C. and FAS, occurred after fans stormed a gate inside the stadium. “Whoever the culprits are, they will not go unpunished,’ said Nayib Ukele,, El Salvador’s president  “Everyone will be investigated: teams, managers, stadium, ticket office, league, federation, etc.” Ukele is wildly popular in El Salvador because of his crackdown on gangs in the country but human rights advocates decry his tactics. 

“Haitians Take Vengeance Against Gangs Into Their Own Hands,” Washington Post, May 22, 2023

 

Lashing out against unchecked gang violence in their country, Haitians are resorting to vigilante violence to protect themselves. Fed up when bandits shot and dismembered a relative, one man has joined with neighbors to establish shifts to patrol their streets with machetes. The man said neighborhood vigilantes have killed at least 27 people in recent weeks.  They are part of what’s known as the “Bwa Kale” movement that has organized against the gangs. More than 1,600 people were wounded, kidnapped or killed in gang violence in the first quarter of 2023, according to United Nations figures. That’s up 28 percent over the prior quarter.  Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry urged Haitians not to take matters into their own hands and called for an international force to come and restore order in Haiti. But that hasn’t happened, and the government is too weak to counter gang violence. Police said last month a mob pulled more than a dozen suspected gang members from their custody, and burned them to death after putting gasoline-soaked tires around their necks. 

“How a Dying Glacier in Peru Became a Tourist Attraction,” Washington Post, May 21, 2023

 

A Peruvian glacier that once was a magnet for winter sports enthusiasts is shrinking fast, forcing the local economy to chase the dwindling tourist dollars by pitching it as a destination for “last-chance” tourists. The park in which the Pastoruri Glacier is found now portrays it as a lesson on the impact of climate change. Found some 15,000 feet above sea level in the Huascarán National Park, the glacier “is one of more than 100,000 glaciers around the world that are destined to vanish this century, even if humanity does its utmost to halt climate change,” writes Sarah Kaplan. “For countless communities, the melting ice signals the loss of drinking water, the demise of ecosystems and the end of the ecotourism trade that had long sustained them.” Between 1980 and 2013 the ice of the Peruvian glacier shrank 1,800 feet. Some worry that those who take their last chance to see the glacier add stress to an already fragile environment. Others hope that seeing the glacier will inspire action.  Observes Kaplan: “It asks us to honor the loss of places we once treasured by rededicating ourselves to everything we can still save.” 

"Ecuador’s Chief, After Dissolving Assembly, Says He’s Leaving, Too," Washington Post, May 20, 2023

 

The day after dissolving Ecuador’s National Assembly the country’s president Guillermo Lasso told the Washington Post he’s on his way out too. The constitutionally protected move lets Lasso rule by decree for six months after which elections must be held. But he says he has no plans to run in them. His invoking of this maneuver known as a “muerte cruzada” – roughly translated as mutual death – effectively cuts his four-year term in half.  Presidential and legislative elections could be held as soon as August 20, with a possible presidential runoff in October.  It’s been reported that Lasso took the step to avoid impeachment proceedings (see next paragraph) but he has denied that. Lawmakers have completely bottled up his legislative agenda and Lasso says his goal is to end the country’s political gridlock. He said he’ll issue an order next week making it easier for law enforcement personnel to use their weapons. The murder rate in Ecuador is soaring amid bloody battles between drug dealers.

"Facing Impeachment Proceedings, Ecuador’s President Dissolves Congress," New York Times, May 18, 2023

The president of Ecuador dissolved the country’s legislative branch after it began impeachment proceedings against him last week. Guillermo Lasso is now permitted under Ecuador’s constitution to rule by decree until new elections can be held. His first act using his new powers was to cut taxes for businesses and the middle class. Lasso has abysmal approval ratings in a country long regarded as relative haven. It is now torn by drug violence as narcotraffickers vie for supremacy, however. The National Assembly began impeachment of the right-leaning leader on grounds he was ignoring embezzlement in a contract between a state-run shipping company and an oil-tanker company that wasn’t fulfilling its promises. “Even though he is very unpopular now, I could see six months of rule by decree actually boosting his popularity if he can do something quickly about the twin crises of crime, and hunger and poverty,” said Will Freeman of the Council on Foreign Relations. “Although, given his track record, that’s a big if.”

"Border Crossings Down 50 Percent Since Title 42 Expired, U.S. Officials Say," Washington Post, May 16, 2023

 

New curbs on entry of migrants into the United States are reducing border crossings more than expected but court challenges by conservatives and complaints by immigration advocates on the left could force changes in the Biden administration’s new approach. As of May 11, Biden dropped the pandemic expulsion policy known as Title 42, which made easy to deny asylum hearings. Instead, the new measures allow large scale deportations of non-Mexicans to Mexico and a five-year ban on returning to the U.S. border to seek entry, as well as possible criminal charges. U.S. officials have deported thousands of people to more than 10 countries since May 11. Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans are among the hundreds of migrants that have been sent back across the Mexican border. A Republican-led lawsuit challenges a new “parole” program to let some migrants enter legally from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti. Meanwhile, immigration advocates express concern that migrants are being sent back to countries that lack the capacity to provide refuge. “After campaigning on a promise to restore our asylum system, the Biden administration has instead doubled down on its predecessor’s cruel asylum restrictions,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union. 

"Mexico’s Lavish Presidential Jet Now Belongs to Tajikistan," New York Times, May 16, 2023

 

“AMLO” has made good on a 2018 campaign promise to sell off a presidential jet he deemed much too lavish for the needs of the president of Mexico. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has termed the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner used by his predecessor Enrique Peña Nieto, an “insult to the people,” saying it’s designed for travel to distant places not the short hops involved in domestic travel in Mexico. The nation of Tajikistan has now taken delivery of the jet after shelling out $92 million for it. It’s one of the poorest countries in Central Asia. López Obrador is likened by some to Donald Trump because of his autocratic impulses but apparently not so in the matter of travel; he flies commercial. He says some of the money will be used to build a hospital in the state of Guerrero and another hospital in the state of Oaxaca.

"Chicken, Noodles and Cash: Paying for Votes in Paraguay," New York Times, May 16, 2023

 

Concerns of late about the health of democracy have focused on such things as false statements that election results are fraudulent, alleged computer hacks, gerrymandering, limiting polling places, and complicating the registration process.  But a more old-fashioned threat – vote buying – is alive and well in Paraguay. The country’s long dominant Colorado party bought votes in the country’s recent election, according to a New York Times investigation. It’s nothing new, actually – in a practice known as “herding”, Indigenous people are rounded up, taken to “corrals” where they are given food and drink, then instructed how to vote in return for a cash payment later. In one recent case, a Colorado candidate for governor handed out $30 apiece to more than one hundred Indigenous voters outside of one polling place. There are roughly 120,000 Indigenous people among Paraguay’s population of 7.4 million. That’s not enough to swing national elections but can do so locally. The right-wing Colorado party has controlled Paraguay for 71 of the past 76 years.

"Island Nation Strives to Go Green, But Oil and Gas Come First," Washington Post, May 15, 2023

 

Its oil and gas resources no longer robust, the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago recently celebrated the start of its first big solar farm project. But like other developing nations blessed with fossil fuel resources, the twin-island country seven miles off the coast of northeastern Venezuela can’t afford to go all green. It lacks capital to do that and its poor residents depend on cheap power and oil revenues for social programs. Thanks to liquified natural gas – it’s the second biggest exporter in the Western Hemisphere behind the United States, -- the country has one of the highest per capita incomes in the Caribbean. Analysts say Trinidad and Tobago needs to move fast to increase gas production in new offshore fields or risk losing customers to other producers like the United States and Qatar that are developing more efficient liquified natural gas terminals.  “I don’t know where things are headed,” said one gas field executive. “Sometimes I think the country has a backup plan, and sometimes I don’t.”

 

"Trinidad Faces Warmer, Wetter Weather, Spurring Debate Over Its Fossil Fuel Use," Washington Post, May 15, 2023

 

Climate change is taking a heavy economic toll on the twin-island nation of Trinidad and Tobago, with the relatively light summer rains of yore replaced by heavy downpours. Regular flooding now carries heavy sediment into the bay, washing away mangrove nurseries and forcing a decline in clams, oysters, mussels, and many species of fish. “The fish go where there is more food and where they can reproduce,” said Imtiaz Kahn, head of the Carli Bay Fishing Association.  “That’s not here anymore.”  So fishermen must sail farther and farther out to get their catch. But the warmer weather associated with climate change does not mean Kahn is ready to abandon fossil fuels. “You can’t stop the oil and gas, but we need a better balance,” he told the Post. Climate change is leaving its economic mark in other ways. Watermelon farmers say dry seasons are drier so they must water more. And the heavy rains of the rainy season damage plants. Warmer sea waters cause the rotting seaweed known as sargassum to thrive and to coat beaches. It also tangles fishing nets and interferes with the nesting of turtles.

 "Title 42 is Gone, But Not the Conditions Driving Migrants to the U.S.,"  New York Times, May 15, 2023

 

The end of Title 42 and its quick-expulsion powers hasn’t set off an expected stampede of migrants into the U.S. from Mexico but that could change. Apprehensions on some days leading up to Title 42’s May 11 expiration reached about 11,000, among the highest totals ever recorded. But the following day they fell to 6,300 and to 4,200 the day after that. A new Biden administration policy requires that migrants prove they were first denied asylum in a country they passed through en route to the U.S. They also could face criminal prosecution, prolonged detention, and a five-year ban on re-entering. Title 42 had no such ban. But the factors fueling emigration – political instability, gang violence, and climate change, along with the allure of plentiful jobs in the U.S. – haven’t faded. Parts of the new Biden strategy also may not survive court challenges. They include the requirement that migrants first be denied asylum in transit and the release from custody of migrants without immigration hearing dates to relieve dangerous overcrowding at Customs processing facilities. The public will blame Biden if overcrowding recurs, said Stuart Anderson of the National Foundation for American Policy. 

"Title 42 is Over. Here’s How it Works at the Border Now," Washington Post, May 15, 2023

 

With the end of the pandemic expulsion policy called Title 42, migrants can no longer be quickly denied asylum hearings at the Mexican border and sent on their way.  More than 2.6 million people were expelled under the policy. With many more migrants now seeking asylum, the Biden administration is relying on new measures to control border crossings. A  “parole” program offers two-year permits for up to 30,000 Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans a month to enter the U.S. Officials also can send deportees from these four nations to Mexico, skirting the difficulties of sending them back to their home countries. Migrants can use a new mobile phone app to make appointments to enter the U.S. legally to seek asylum. Authorities also launched a temporary policy penalizing migrants who enter illegally and don’t first seek asylum in a country en route to the U.S.

 

 

"A Costly Predicament for D.C. Amid an Expected Border Surge," Washington Post, May 15, 2023

 

As busloads of migrants from Texas and Arizona that began more than a year ago continue to arrive in the District of Columbia, the city government’s officials are bracing for an upsurge following the May 11 expiration of the restrictive Title 42 asylum policy at the southern border.  Expenses for migrant care that have soared are only expected to get worse.  Lodging, food, and other expenses are expected to climb to $52 million by October, with many migrants already here unable to find employment them. “You can push them out, but they’ll just end up back in the government system, whether that’s the shelters or any of the other resources the city has for the unhoused or the poor,” said one activist. Mayor Muriel Bowser closed the hotels to new arrivals last month with expenses totaling more than $10 million. Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs of Arizona both say they’ll keep sending buses to the District. “We will continue to provide this critical support to overwhelmed Texas border towns until Biden secures the border,” Abbott said. 

“Mexico Faces Crisis at the Border as U.S. Migration Policy Tightens,” Washington Post, May 14, 2023

 

Under pressure from President Biden, Mexico has promised to continue a crackdown on migrants heading to the U.S. that began during the Trump administration.  But on May 11 Mexican officials went farther, suspending permits that let undocumented migrants travel across Mexico. They made the change after temporarily closing 33 facilities that held migrants as part of an investigation following a fatal fire at a facility in Ciudad Juárez. That left fewer places to house the migrants. Mexico has played a big role in addressing the flow of migrants, apprehending nearly 450,000 in 2022, three times the number in 2018. Even so, migrants in record numbers were apprehended by U.S. border agents last year. It’s hard for Mexico to make a bigger dent because of the impact of smugglers who often work with corrupt local officials, said José Maria Ramos Garcia, a political scientist at Colegio de la Frontera Norte. 

"Record Migrant Surge At Border, " Washington Post, May 12, 2023

 

Illegal border crossings into the United States from Mexico topped 10,000 per day this week, the highest number ever. With facilities and processing centers operating at capacity, officials released migrants without court dates at overcrowded facilities. A new Biden administration policy eases deportations of asylum seekers who cross the border illegally. At the same time, it expands opportunities for migrants to apply to enter the U.S. legally.  A federal judge who ordered a halt to the release of the migrants said that “aliens are being released into the country on an expedited basis without being placed in removal proceedings and with little to no vetting and no monitoring.” No international agencies are on hand to help the newcomers. A shelter director said many migrants are misinformed about the meaning of the end of the Title 42 policy this week .They believe “the doors to the United States will be opened, and they can cross. But that is far from the truth. It will be far worse for them.” 

 

"Senators Make Push to Extend Quick Expulsion of Migrants," New York Times, May 5, 2023

 

A bipartisan group of senators is making a long shot bid to extend the so-called Title 42 policy whose scheduled end May 11 is expected to result in a surge of migrants seeking entry into the U.S. The bill would extend Title 42 for two years and so continue its mandate that officials immediately send migrants back to Mexico or their country of origin.  It would exempt migrants seeking asylum on grounds that if sent back they would be tortured or lose their lives or freedom. The bill’s authors are Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) also back it. Opponents say it wouldn’t stem the expected influx because of the asylum exemption. Democrats view as “anathema” the extension on its own of Title 42 and in the Senate they favor pairing new border enforcement measures with processes to expand and streamline legal immigration.

 

"Venezuela’s Guaidó Felt U.S. ‘Pressure’ to Fly to Miami," Washington Post, May 4, 2023

 

U.S. officials appear to have been part of an effort to keep a Venezuelan opposition leader from participating uninvited in a conference in Columbia. Juan Guaidó quietly traveled to the conference from Venezuela, where his effort to oust president Nicolás Maduro after a corrupt election recently failed. But his participation was blocked and Guaidó said Columbian authorities threatened to deport him and a U.S. official pressured him to leave Columbia, which he ultimately did, flying to Miami. He planned to meet with U.S. lawmakers. The conference aimed to restart talks between Maduro and the Venezuelan opposition, but apparently without Guaidó’s involvement.  Other opposition leaders are jockeying to challenge Maduro in the next presidential election. An unnamed observer said Guaido’s party has been critical of efforts to negotiate directly with Maduro and favors international pressure and sanctions to replace him. 

 

 

"Bolsonaro Home Raided in Vaccine Cards Case," New York Times, May 4, 2023

 

Brazilian police entered the home of the country’s former president Jair Bolsonaro and seized his cell phone to learn whether he forged Covid 19 vaccination records. Authorities said false records may have allowed him, his 12-year-old daughter, and top officials of his administration to enter the United States after he lost the presidential election last year. Bolsonaro replied that he had never been vaccinated -- a “personal decision,” he said -- and countered that U.S. authorities did not ask him for vaccination records. Bolsonaro drew fire as president for delaying the purchase of Covid vaccines and spreading misinformation about them. A Brazilian congressional probe said he should be charged with crimes against humanity for his handling of the pandemic, which took the lives of 700,000 Brazilians. Those charges haven’t been filed but he also faces investigations for spreading election misinformation and inspiring the Jan. 8 invasion of the Congress, Supreme Court and presidential offices. He could be ruled ineligible to run for president again depending on the outcome of the investigations.

 

"A Good Way to Fix What Ails the U.S.? Immigration," Washington Post, May 3, 2023.  Op-Ed piece by Catherine Rampell. 

 

Rather than fearmongering about the expected influx into the U.S. of migrants, politicians should welcome their arrival through expanded legal immigration. The increase would help stem inflation by reducing worker shortages that have disrupted supply chains and so driven up prices. As part of that strategy the Biden administration needs to end backlogs of work permit applications for asylum seekers. Enhanced immigration also could help implement the Chips Act passed to create semiconductor factories, as well as build new battery plants and other infrastructure projects harmed by a shortage of construction workers.  And more immigrants would add to the population of working age adults needed to fund old age programs such as Social Security and Medicare. “Look, I’m not going to promise that more immigration will cure all of the nation’s ills. But it would help resolve a lot of the big ones,” wrote Rampell.

 

"Justice Department Probe of Online Fentanyl Sales Yields Nearly 300 Arrests," Washington Post, May 3, 2023

 

 

A Justice Department investigation targeting online drug dealers, including those selling drugs laced with fentanyl, has tallied 288 arrests. The cases involve nine countries in North America, South America and Europe. They’ve led to the seizures of 117 firearms and 850 kilograms of drugs, including 64 kilograms of drugs of fentanyl or containing fentanyl, officials said. Seizures of fentanyl on the border with Mexico have jumped more than 400 percent since 2019, according to federal data. Officials said they are doing more to warn the public about the rise in drug deaths resulting from fentanyl, among them teenagers who thought they were getting less dangerous prescription drugs.

 

 

"Biden to Send 1,500 Troops to the Border," New York Times, May 3, 2023

 

Days before what is expected to be a big upsurge in migrants trying to cross from Mexico  into the U.S. President Biden is sending 1,500 active duty troops to the. border with that country.  They’ll assist with warehouse support, transportation, narcotics detection and data entry and will be armed for self defense but won’t carry out law enforcement, the White House says. The move is seen as a response to growing anxiety within the White House about a political backlash to the surge, expected with the end May 11 of Title 42, a policy making it easier to deny migrants political asylum because of the public health threat posed by Covid 19. 

 

"Migrant Influx Poses Test for Adams," New York Times, May 3, 2023

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is warning that resources consumed to respond to the influx of Latin American migrants into the city will force cuts in funding for a wide array of social services. “Cuts are coming, and they’re going to blame the newcomers and say that they’re draining resources,” said one community activist. Adams has sought to project a welcoming attitude to the migrants but said during a recent trip to Washington, D.C. that his city was being “destroyed by the migrant crisis,” which he expects to worsen with the May 11 expiration of the restrictive Title 42 policy denying asylum because of the Covid 19 threat. Adams faults the Biden administration for not doing more to grant the migrants work authorization and wants more federal aid. Work authorizations would help speed the departure of migrants from some 100 emergency shelters in the city. 

 

"Lula Isn’t Trying to Make Brazil a Pariah. He’s Just Being Pragmatic," New York Times, May 3, 2023. Opinion piece by Vanessa Barber.

 

Hope that the defeat of right-wing extremist president Jair Bolsonaro would move Brazil back to the international mainstream has met with frustration. The new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has irritated Western leaders by implying Ukraine also was to blame for the bloody conflict with Russia, visiting China and declaring Taiwan is not an independent state, and criticizing the supremacy of the U.S. dollar. But Lula aims less to thwart the West than to chart an independent path furthering its national interest and to alleviate poverty and hunger in the global South.  China is Brazil’s top trade partner. It is not “unreasonable” to ask as Lula does why all countries are forced to do their trade backed by the U.S. dollar. “To many leaders of developing countries, the global financial system – overseen by the I.M.F. and the World Bank and administered in U.S. dollars – serves to squeeze poorer nations, locking them into debt repayment programs and forestalling investment in infrastructure and welfare.” 

 

 

"Fuel Shortage Batters Cuba: May Day Fest Is Canceled," New York Times, May 1, 2023

 

Its economy already staggering, Cuba now faces a fuel shortage that forced it to cancel its widely celebrated International Workers’ Day parade. The country  has fewer than 400 tons of fuel per day to consume, compared to its usual 500 to 600 tons, according to President Miguel Diaz-Canel. He blamed shortfalls in fuel delivery from Venezuela and other sources. Over the past month traffic has ground to a halt, mile-long lines have formed at gas stations, taxis charge exorbitant fares, and restaurants and bars have been losing business. More than 330,000 Cubans have migrated to the United States since the start of 2022, most of them arriving at the southern border of the U.S., according to U.S. government statistics. 

 

 

"Paraguay Keeps a Right-Wing Party in Power," New York Times, May 1, 2023

 

Resisting the recent leftward shift in Latin America, Paraguay has elected a 44-year-old conservative economist as president. He is Santiago Peña, a member of the right-wing Colorado party, which has run Paraguay for all but five of the past 76 years. Peña promised to add jobs, lower energy prices and remove drug addicts from the street of Paraguay, one of South America’s poorest countries. He won 43 percent of the vote, beating two rivals who split the opposition vote. Peña is a protégé of Horacio Cartes, head of the Colorado party and one of Paraguay’s richest men. Cartes is the subject of U.S. sanctions for paying out millions in bribes to acquire power. Aiming to appease the U.S., Paraguay has pledged to remain among the club of 13 countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan rather than China.

 

"Can Venezuela Be Negotiated With?" Washington Post Editorial, May 1, 2023

 

President Biden is pursuing a strategy of trying to cajole the Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro into agreeing on a free and fair presidential election in 2024 by offering to lift sanctions and renouncing regime change as a U.S. policy objective. Talks last November produced an agreement to put $3 billion in frozen Venezuelan assets into a United Nations-run fund for humanitarian relief. That negotiation also produced an understanding that there would be more talks about political matters such as the 2024 election. One issue is a European Union recommendation that Venezuela adopt electoral reforms. Biden sweetened the pot by letting Chevron resume business in Venezuelan oil fields on a limited basis. It’s urgent that Biden apply much more pressure for democratic elections given the great strain mass migration out of Venezuela is placing on nearby countries. But Maduro’s cooperation is uncertain because the rise of other leftist governments in the region lessens the diplomatic pressure he is facing.