News Summaries in December 2023

“Forget the 4-Day Week. Mexican Workers Are Fighting the 6-Day Week,” Washington Post, Dec. 31, 2023

 

Millions of Mexican workers are on the job six days a week. Now, however, newly strengthened unions are pushing for a constitutional amendment guaranteeing employees two days off per week, writes Post reporter Mary Beth Sheridan. Eight decades after FDR ushered in the five-day workweek in the U.S., the two-day weekend may become a reality in Mexico. Or not. “First, we have to develop economically and industrially in order to have these…these privileges,” said the president of the Hotel Association of Cancún, Jesús Almaguer. Labor lawyer Susana Prieto counts 17 prior failed attempts to enact the five-day week. But the governing pro-labor Morena party of which she is a part has had a majority in Congress and controls more than half of the state legislatures. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has tripled the minimum wage to $1.80 per hour and mandated vacation time to 12 days per year. As part of a free trade agreement that took effect in 2020 Mexico has reformed its system of weak, pro-business unions to give workers the right to choose labor leaders by secret ballot. Now those leaders are waging protests in favor of the five-day week. And laborers are using their smart phones to organize demonstrations. Mexican workers log 2,226 hours per year on the job, 415 more than in the U.S. and 540 more than in Canada. But Gross Domestic Product per worker grew only 0.1 percent per year from 1991 to 2020 in Mexico, compared to 1.1 percent across mainly wealthy North American and European countries. Employers warn that a five day a week standard will require them to hire more workers and make businesses like hotels more expensive and less competitivo. One business leader has two words for labor: Punta Cana. That Dominican resort will take away the tourists because of its lower costs, she said. But workers in Cancun aren’t discouraged and are determined to keep demonstrating, Sheridan says. “This is something we need,” said one worker. “Two days off.”

“14 Villagers Kidnapped After Clash with Cartel,” Washington Post, Dec. 29, 2023

 

The Familia Michoacana drug cartel in Mexico is demanding that the leaders of an uprising be turned over to it in exchange for 14 people it kidnapped. In the uprising, angry farmers killed 10 cartel gunmen, officials said. “Farmers in the village of Texcaltitlan and a neighboring hamlet, armed only with sickles and hunting rifles, chased down suspected gang members amid bursts of automatic gunfire on Dec. 8, hacking, shooting, and burning them,” according to the Associated Press report quoted by the Post. The cartel retaliated by abducting 14 people including four children and three policemen seized at a cartel roadblock, prosecutors said. “Farmers in the village of Texcaltitlán and a neighboring hamlet had apparently grown tired of cartel extortions,” said another account of the incident, a Dec. 28 AP report in The Guardian. Texcaltitlán is in southern central Mexico. 

“Uruguay’s Green Power Revolution; Rapid Shift to Wind Shows the World How It’s Done,” The Guardian, Dec. 27, 2023

 

Uruguay is a South American success story. A small country wedged between Brazil and Argentina, its Gross Domestic Product per capita was the highest on the continent in 2022. Only a very small percentage of its people live in poverty. “The country has a burgeoning middle class – accounting for about 60 percent of the population,” writes Sam Meadows of The Guardian. But in the early 2000s it was strapped with high and variable energy costs. It imported its oil and was forced to buy energy from neighboring countries at higher prices. President Tabaré Vazquez turned to Ramon Mendez Galain, a nuclear physicist who transformed the energy grid into one of the cleanest in the world without using nuclear energy. “Today, the country has almost phased out fossil fuels in electricity production,” Meadows writes. “Depending on the weather, anything from 90% and 95 % of its power comes from renewables.” Galain decided that the country should aggressively pursue wind power. Under his leadership, Uruguay installed 50 wind farms and strengthened hydropower. Bringing about that change required a strong narrative. Sustainable energy was surrounded by misconceptions such as it was too expensive. It was too intermittent. It would increase unemployment. “I told people that this was the best option even if they don’t believe climate changes doesn’t exist,” Galain told The Guardian. “It’s the cheapest and not dependent on crazy fluctuations [in oil prices].” The government emphasized a “just tradition” in which nobody would be left behind. Some workers were offered retraining. Beef farms, the country’s primary industry, added windfarms without affecting cattle. People complained that their energy bills weren’t dropping even though renewable energy is supposed to be free. But Galain says “in that same time period, we had 40 percent poverty; now it’s 10 percent and extreme poverty has almost disappeared. People now have air conditioning that they didn’t have before, using more and more energy.”

‘Top Biden Administration Officials Meet in Mexico for Migration Talks,” Washington Post, Dec. 27, 2023

 

The United States and Mexico have agreed to form a joint working group to address the unprecedented number of illegal immigrants arriving at the southern border of the U.S. No other new initiatives were announced at the meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The working group won’t convene until late January. López Obrador said, however that “important agreements were achieved,” wrote Post reporter Karen DeYoung. “We had a very good, very important meeting,” said Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena. López Obrador said he had asked for the meeting with President Biden “to deal directly with matters of economic cooperation, security and migration….” Railroad and road crossings have been closed in recent weeks to reduce the number of migrants entering the U.S. Reopening all of the crossings is a priority for both Mexicans and Americans, said Bárcena. Biden said last week that more enforcement actions to deter migrants are urgently needed to reopen key points of entry.  López Obrador has urged the U.S. to lift economic sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, the sources of many migrants heading for the southern U.S. border. 

“In Bid to Slow Migrant Surge, Adams Restricts Bus Arrivals Into New York,” New York Times, Dec. 27, 2023

 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order Dec. 27 requiring bus companies to provide 32 hours of advance notice of the arrival of a busload of migrants into the city and limited the times of the day migrants can be dropped off. The order came after 14 busloads of migrants arrived from Texas in a single night last week, dispatched by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott. “To be clear, this is not about stopping people from coming, but about ensuring the safety of migrants and making sure they can arrive in a coordinated and orderly way,” Adams said. The order provides for fines and jail sentences and the seizure of buses by the Police Department. Chicago recently adopted similar regulations and Texas dropped people off in the suburbs instead, said Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. He participated in a virtual press conference along with Adams and Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, who said his city has received more than 35,000 migrants and was housing 4,000, an influx consuming almost 10 percent of the Denver budget. Johnston called on federal officials to take such steps as approving more work permits for migrants and distributing asylum seekers more evenly across the country. New York City has recently processed more than 160,000 migrants, 70,000 of whom remain in the city’s care. To help pay the estimated$12 billion cost over three years, Adams has ordered cuts to city services critics say are draconian. “We really are saying to bus operators and companies, ‘Do not participate in Governor Abbott’s actions,’" Adams said. 

“’We Are Not Equipped to Deal with This.’ Migrant Surge Overwhelms U.S. Border,” The New York Times, Dec. 27, 2023

 

Migrants at the southern border of the U.S. are again hitting record levels, testing “the capacity of law enforcement to contain an explosion of illegal crossings,” wrote Times reporter Natalie Kitroeff. The crossings will have “far-reaching repercussions for the Biden administration,” she added. It’s “a humanitarian disaster,” said Scott Carmon, a Border Patrol watch commander. The number of migrants detained reached more than 10,000 per day last week, overwhelming small towns on both sides of the border. “In terms of migrants per day, December 2023 is bigger than any average we have ever seen,” Adam Isacson told the Times. He is a migration expert with the Washington Office on Latin America. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials traveled to Mexico Dec. 27 to discuss the crisis with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Meanwhile, a caravan of more than 2,000 migrants is moving north through Mexico toward the U.S. border. Mexican enforcement efforts, though “stalwart,” have diminished as funding dwindles at the end of the year. Theories about why the surge is occurring include larger numbers of Mexicans becoming migrants because of cartel violence; rumors about the end of a key legal pathway; “and smugglers who have pushed desperate people of all nationalities to try to enter at increasingly remote parts of the border.” Carmon, the Border Patrol commander, pleaded for assistance. “Give us more help, give us FEMA.” 

“Under Argentina’s New President, Fuel is Up 60 Percent, and Diaper Prices Have Doubled,” New York Times, Dec. 24, 2023

 

Argentina’s new president Javier Milei is making good on his promises to make dramatic and painful changes to the economy to end chronic inflation and growing poverty. In the short term, he is delivering more misery, a necessary step, he says, on the road to economic recovery. The price of beef is up 73 percent and zucchini 140 percent. Gas prices rose 60 percent from Dec. 7 to Dec. 13. Prices overall were expected to rise 25 percent to 30 percent in December and up to 80 percent in January. Labor unions negotiate big wage increases but they can’t keep up with chronic inflation. Informal workers such as nannies and street vendors, who make up almost half the economy do not get such increases. Currency devaluation “made imported products like coffee, electronic devices and gas immediately more expensive because they are priced in U.S. dollars,” wrote Times reporters Daniel Politi and Lucia Cholakian Herrera. “The previous leftist government had used complicated currency controls, consumer subsidies and other measures to inflate the peso’s official value and keep several key prices artificially low, including for gas, transportation and electricity. Mr. Milei vowed to undo all that, and he has wasted little time.” Argentines are trying to cope in various ways. A father of two daughters in diapers has switched to a cheaper brand and spends his Argentine pesos as quickly as possible before their value falls further. “As soon as I get my paycheck, I go buy everything I can,” he said. An empanada vendor said frequent customers often buy a dozen now instead of two.  Marisol del Valle Cardozo, who works for a police department outside Buenos Aires, says her family only goes out once a month now instead of four times and uses air conditioning less. But she says she remains a Milei supporter. “We were living under a fantasy. If these adjustments are necessary to thrive in the end, they’re worth it.”

"Cuban Government Defends Plans to Either Cut Rations or Increase Prices," Associated Press via National Public Radio, Dec. 23, 2023

 

The Cuban government announced Dec. 23 it will have to either increase prices for fuel and electricity or reduce rations for basic supplies. The government blamed deepening economic trouble including a downturn in tourism, the main source of income in the country, and a drop in sugar production. “The economic crisis in Cuba has already pushed hundreds of thousands of people to leave in a bid to reach the United States,” AP reported. Tourist visits are at 64 percent of the level in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic. The government is having to import food. “I emphatically deny that this is a neo-liberal plan against the people, nor a crusade against small businesses, nor an elimination of the basic market basket,” said Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel. But Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz said that if the government doesn’t raise prices for electricity and fuel it will have to reduce the food and other basics contained government ration books, AP said.  Another government official said the economy has contracted between  one percent and two percent this year and inflation is at 30 percent.

“Mixed Race People Become Brazil’s Biggest Population Group,” The Guardian, Dec. 22 2023

 

New data from the 2022 census released Dec. 22 show that mixed-race people are now the biggest population group in Brazil. The census previously “passed on the idea that the white population is predominant,” said Marco Pochmann, president of the IGBE, Brazil’s national statistics institute.  A total of 92.1 million Brazilians, 45.3 % of the population, identify as mixed race. Self-declared White Brazilians make up 43.5 %, down from 47.7 % 12 years earlier. Those identifying as Black now make up 10.2 %, up from 7.6 %.  Mixed-race Brazilians include descendants of Indigenous Brazilians as well as of Africans. Black and mixed-race people make up 55.5 % of the population. “This 2022 census has been hailed for giving a more accurate depiction of Brazil’s diverse population and reflecting the results of years of consciousness raising around the country’s African roots,” wrote Guardian reporter Constance Malleret. Black activists see a growing sense of pride among Brazilians descended from Africans. João Jorge, president of Fundação Palmares, a government institute for Afro-Brazilian culture, “said the new data will help authorities design more racially inclusive public policies in the deeply unequal country,” Malleret said. 

 

“’This River is Doomed’: Peru’s Gold Rush Threatens Waterways and the People Who Depend on Them,” The Guardian, Dec. 22, 2023

 

Illegal gold mining in Peru’s Loreto region has affected 11 large rivers covering three protected natural areas and 31 Indigenous territories, according to a project that monitors the Andean Amazon. The mining worsens water quality, polluting rivers and streams with high concentrations of mercury, which scientists fear will damage aquatic ecosystems and which contaminate fish, threatening the food security of Indigenous people who rely on the rivers. The Nanay river “forms part of our spirit and culture,” said José Manuyama Ahuite, president of the Water Defense Committee in the Peruvian port city of Iquitos, a gateway to the Indigenous people of the northern Amazon. “If the river dies, so does our human dignity,” he told The Guardian. “Now this river is doomed. The colour of the water is changing, and the same devastation in other mining areas is beginning to be reproduced here in the Nanay.” The Nanay basin supplies drinking water to almost half a million people in Iquitos. Illegal mining has spread quickly in the Loreto region “as miners have become emboldened by the absence of authorities and rising gold prices,” said Guardian reporter Aimee Gabay. Declining water quality threatens to bring pollution and disease to some 170,000 Indigenous inhabitants of the Peruvian Amazon. Authorities have failed to clear out hundreds of illegal miners, who issue threats and otherwise seek to intimidate those trying to protect the environment. The Loreto region is considered one of the world’s most biologically diverse areas. The leaders of Peru and Brazil and other nations earlier this year signed the so-called Belem Declaration which targets illegal mining among other things. But critics said the pact was weaker than expected. 

“Migrants Become Influencers on Grueling Trek,” The New York Times, Dec. 22, 2023

 

Cellphones and social media have become accelerants of the now massive migration of refugees through the treacherous Darién Gap, the stretch of jungle through which one must pass to make the overland trek from South America into North America en route to seeking asylum in the U.S. Cellphones have been used by refugees for several years to “research routes, find friends and loved ones, connect with smugglers and evade the authorities,” writes Times reporter Julie Turkewitz. “Now, cellphones and social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and TikTok are drastically changing the equation once again, fueling the next evolution of global movement.” Migrants are creating a huge “digital almanac of the trek to the United States,” detailing the route and its dangers in such detail that people are finding their way through certain stretches without the need for smugglers.  The posts, pictures and videos streamed by some migrants have made them celebrities, with millions back home following their journeys and becoming inspired to make the trip as well. Ankush Malik documented his journey from India to the U.S. in a multipart YouTube series viewed nearly seven million times. Another migrant from Venezuela who trekked to the U.S. decided to go back and make the trip again as sort of a perpetual migrant because of the money he was making on YouTube. “Migration sells,” he told The Times. Posts in Spanish with the tag #migracion have nearly two billion views on TikTok. Where once only a few thousand people per year crossed the Darién, more than half a million from more than 100 countries have crossed this year alone. A number of people disappear or die there, their faces flooding Facebook and TikTok. The Biden administration is trying to stem the flow with warnings on Facebook, X and Instagram that they’ll be deported and information on legal pathways into the U.S. But thousands per day continue to stream in (see next story). 

“Facing Another Record Surge at the Border, Biden Again Turns to Mexico,” Washington Post, Dec. 22, 2023

 

Illegal border crossings topping 10,000 people per day -- including families from South America, Asia and Africa  -- have prompted U.S. authorities to shut down two major railroad crossings and other points of entry. The moves, meant in part to keep migrants out who are riding the rails, are choking off commerce between the U.S. and Mexico, its top trading partner. Union Pacific said the two crossings account for 45 percent of all railroad commerce across the border and are causing the loss of more than $200 million per day in wages, goods and transportation costs, wrote Post reporter Nick Miroff. “In Eagle Pass, Tex., Border Patrol agents have had to set up a sprawling outdoor reception area to manage the thousands arriving daily by wading across the Rio Grande. Agents are facing spikes” in the number of migrants at other locations as well. President Biden is sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and his White House homeland security adviser Liz Sherwood-Randall to Mexico to meet with Mexican officials over the matter. Mexico’s military forces, which played a key role in countering previous surges, are now “rarely visible on the south side of the border,” Miroff said. Mexico’s immigration enforcement agency has lessened operations as its funding for the year has run low. “More enforcement actions are urgently needed to reopen key ports of entry across our shared border,” Biden said Dec. 20. “Everything revolves around getting the Mexican government to do targeted operations,” said a U.S. official. 

“Javier Milei’s Radical Economic Policies for Argentina Met with Protests,” The Guardian, Dec. 21, 2023

 

Thousands of protestors took to the streets of Buenos Aires Dec. 21 to express opposition to emergency economic measures announced by Argentina’s new president, Javier Milei. A decree issued by Milei the day before opens the way for privatization of state-owned companies. The decree “stripped away workers’ rights including maternity leave, ended limits on exports, and altered housing rental and land ownership laws to allow for foreign investment,” wrote Guardian reporters Tom Phillips and Facundo Iglesia. He also announced changes to Argentina’s satellite internet market that would allow the entry of rightwing billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink company. Opponents of the moves took to their balconies banging pots and pans and then spilled into the streets, blocking roads in different parts of the capital. Myriam Bregman, a leftist former presidential candidate, called the edict “a battle plan against working people” and urged a nationwide strike. She charged that Milei was using the emergency decree to bypass the Argentine congress. Hours before Milei announced his emergency decree “thousands of protestors had marched through Argentina’s capital in what was the first major mobilization against their new government. The demonstration was met with a massive show of force from police,” the Guardian said. Milei has promised to disperse protests conducted without a government permit and to impose financial penalties on protestors (see story below). Already high prices have been spiking since Milei announced a major devaluation of the peso shortly after taking office.  

“’Don’t Play With Me or I’ll Decapitate You’: The Recordings That Embittered the End of the Year for Costa Rica’s President,” El País, Dec. 20, 2023

 

The president of Costa Rica has seen his popularity drop as details have emerged concerning his attacks on the press. Audiotapes reveal Rodrigo Chaves warning civil servants “Don’t play games with me, or I’ll decapitate you.” He referred to certain members of his cabinet as “sons of bitches,” called a journalist who criticized him “a bitch,” and derided the president of the Journalists’ Association as an “idiot.”  Chaves charged that public disclosure of the contents of the audiotapes violated his privacy rights. They were given to the newspaper La Nación by Patrica Navarro, who was fired from her job as minister of communications almost a year ago. The tapes revealed “a plan to remove state advertising from media outlets considered to be adversaries, while preventing them from interviewing ministers,” said El País’s Alvaro Murillo. Another revelation was an alleged order by Chaves to agents of the Intelligence and Security Directorate to tap the phones of ministers who had had leaked information to the press. The “decapitation” warning related to a plan to remove state advertising from traditional media outlets and switch them to new, small, regional outlets. Meanwhile, Costa Rica’s economy is showing strength. Its Gross Domestic Product is above the international average, and inflation is below that of most countries. The fiscal deficit is down, government debt has shrunk, and Costa Rican currency, the colon, has strengthened against the dollar. But Costa Rica recorded 900 murders in 2023, the most in any year in its history. Chaves denied in April that there was a homicide crisis, saying that most of the deaths occurred in fights between drug-trafficking organizations. 

“El Paso County Sues Texas in Effort to Block New Migrant Arrest Law,” New York Times, Dec. 20, 2023

 

El Paso County and two immigrants’ rights groups have sued the state of Texas to block a new law empowering police in the state to arrest individuals they deemed to have entered the U.S illegally (see story below). The law also lets judges order their return to their home countries even if they came to the U.S. to request asylum. The suit says the law violates the Constitution, which gives federal not state officials the power to enforce immigration law. The law also invites racial profiling of Hispanic citizens in Texas, according to the suit. “It is likely that it will create a dragnet that ensnares not only undocumented immigrants, but also Americans and legal permanent residents,” said Joaquin Castro, a Democrat who represents San Antonio in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has asked the U.S. Justice Department to intervene to keep the law from taking effect. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has predicted the measure will sharply reduce the number of migrants crossing from Mexico into the U.S. Abbott is believed to be seeking a U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning a previous high court ruling blocking states from enforcing immigration law. 

 

“Texas Governor Signs Bill Allowing Police to Arrest Migrants Entering the U.S. Illegally,” The Guardian, Dec. 19, 2023

 

Texas Governor Gregg Abbott signed a bill Dec. 18 that brazenly challenges the federal government’s authority over immigration law. Guardian reporter Joanna Walters wrote that it’s a measure “giving all police in the state sweeping new powers to arrest migrants deemed to have entered the U.S. illegally as well as empowering local judges to order their expulsion back across the US-Mexico border.” The Biden administration is almost certain to challenge the law, which takes effect in March. The Mexican government said the law would lead to racial profiling and family separations. “Critics say that apart from racial profiling, the law could prompt the wrongful arrest of U.S. citizens and immigrants who are in the country legally,” Walters wrote. “Democrats have also said it would make immigrant crime victims afraid to contact police.” If a Texas cop suspects someone has entered the country illegally, he or she can arrest that person. Those arrested can either comply with a judge’s order to leave the country or be prosecuted on misdemeanor charges. Migrants who don’t comply could be arrested again and charged with a felony. Families in the country illegally would become separated if a member were arrested and ordered to leave. Abbott predicts the law will cut the number of migrants trying to enter Texas by half or more, according to other reports. Defenders of the law say it wouldn’t cause a statewide roundup of illegal immigrants because enforcement would largely be confined to border counties. The last time a state passed a law empowering its own police to arrest migrants for illegal entry it was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. That happened in 2012 in a case involving an Arizona law but the makeup of the Court was different then. 

 

“Biden’s Moves Show Seismic Shift on Immigration Politics,” New York Times, Dec. 18, 2023

 

President Biden is considering major changes in immigration policy in order to get Congress to pass aid to Ukraine and Israel. The changes would better align him with a public shift in support for tougher measures, including among his fellow Democrats, to reduce the large influx of migrants across the border into the United States. But Biden risks alienating progressives in his party, writes Times reporter Zolan Kanno-Youngs. Biden has said he’s willing to make significant compromises on border security to satisfy Republicans, who oppose more aid to Ukraine without a crackdown on migrant entry. The White House is willing to consider making it harder for migrants to get asylum. “The idea would be to raise the standard migrants must meet when they claim they need asylum in the United States because they fear persecution in their home countries,” said Kanno-Youngs. However, Republicans also want to curb “humanitarian parole,” under which thousands of Afghans, Ukrainians, and others fleeing war and violence gain entry to the U.S. Democrats haven’t agreed to that. But they are discussing with Republicans a policy that would turn away migrants at the border once the number of arrests there reach a certain level. Some Democrats fear the changes would turn away asylum seekers for years to come. Rep. Gabe Vazquez, a Democrat from New Mexico, said Democrats “need to be looking at more than the political moment of the day and what the polls say.” 

“Chileans Reject Conservative Constitution to Replace Dictatorship-Era Text,” Reuters, Dec. 17, 2023

 

Voters in Chile rejected a new conservative constitution Dec. 17 after rejecting a left-leaning constitution in 2022. The failure of the right-wing language in a 56-44 percent vote leaves in place a text that dates back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. The effort to put a new constitution in place began “after large-scale, passionate and sometimes violent protests against inequality gripped the nation in 2019,” wrote Reuters reporters Alexander Villegas and Natalia A. Ramos Miranda. The earlier draft “focused on social, indigenous, environmental and gender rights,” they said. The second draft emerged after voters swung right and elected a more conservative assembly. Its language was “more market-friendly than the 1980 constitution…. It placed private property rights and strict rules around immigration and abortion at its center.”  Its rejection is seen as a win for leftist President Gabriel Boric. Some Chileans say the country is too polarized to agree on a replacement constitution. “Our differences are so irreconcilable that we cannot find a middle ground from which to move forward, and that is very sad indeed,” said Claudio Fernandez, an architect in Santiago. 

 “Schumer Delays Senate Break to Push for Border Deal to Unlock Ukraine Aid,” New York Times, Dec. 15, 2023

 

Senate Democrats announced they would stay in Washington the week before Christmas to push for passage of a bill combining Ukraine aid with measures to limit the big influx of migrants into the United States. “Changes have to be made in our policy at the border,” said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois. “What we currently see is unsustainable.” Durbin indicated that toughened measures will inevitably involve weathering criticism from within his own party. Negotiators planned to work through the weekend of Dec. 16-17 on the measure. White House aides and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas joined the closed-door talks over stricter border policies, said Times reporter Karoun Demerjian. “Negotiators have been discussing increased detention of migrants at the border and a policy known as expedited removal, which allows migrants to be deported swiftly before they are able to make asylum claims,” Demerjian said. But even if the Senate does pass legislation, the House is likely to be a different story. “The House will not wait around to receive and debate a rushed product,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).  

“16,681 Once Said to Be Missing Are Found,” Washington Post, Dec. 15, 2023

 

Mexican officials announced Dec. 14 that they had turned up 16,681 people who had been listed as missing but who actually had returned to their homes without notifying the authorities. The number of “disappeared” people has soared during the presidency of Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, reaching a “politically embarrassing total” of 113,000. But the Mexican government has denied the accuracy of such figures, and dispatched 5,000 police and other officials to make more than 111,000 visits to homes “to look for people reported as missing whose names might have subsequently shown up on tax, hospital or bank records. “It wasn’t immediately clear whether authorities have considered the fact that kidnappers and other criminals often use missing people’s credit cards or make transactions under their names,” the Associated Press said. 

“Milei Moves to Limit Anti-Austerity Protests in Argentina,” Bloomberg, Dec. 14, 2023

 

Argentine President Javier Milei is moving preemptively to curb protests against austerity measures he has begun imposing in his country, says Bloomberg reporter Manuela Tobias. “Federal forces will intervene in any protests or street blockades conducted without a permit,” she wrote. The country’s Security Minister Patricia Bullrich said the government will use minimum force but increase it depending on the resistance they face, until the street is cleared. “The law is not obeyed in part. The law is obeyed in full,” Bullrich said. “Within the law, everything. Outside the law, nothing,” said a Milei spokesman. Bullrich said all those who organize, finance or participate in any unauthorized action would be sanctioned. “Social movements or other parties involved in planning protests would pay the costs required to maintain order, not the state,” Tobias wrote. Polo Obrero, a leftist labor group, called for “a massive concentration” on Dec. 20 in the historic Plaza del Mayo in front of the presidential palace in Buenos Aires. The union expects that Milei’s currency devaluation combined with spending cuts totaling 2.9 percent of gross domestic product will heat up inflation already in the triple dígito and cause layoffs and salary cuts. Milei seeks to lessen the economic hit on the most vulnerable “by boosting certain social welfare programs by as much as 100%,” Tobias wrote.

“Guyana and Venezuela Promise Not to Use Force in Bitter Dispute Over Oil Rich Region,” The Guardian, Dec. 14, 2023

 

The presidents of Venezuela and Guyana agreed in tense talks that they would not use threats or force against each other to resolve a dispute over the Essequibo, a territory now in Guyana with vast oil reserves.  They did not reach agreement over how to resolve the dispute, however. They agreed that a joint commission consisting of the foreign ministers of both countries and other officials will address the problem, said the Guardian story attributed to the Associated Press. The commission will issue a report on the matter in three months. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and Guyanese leader Irfaan Ali said they would meet again at that time. Guyana wants the dispute resolved by the International Court of Justice but Venezuela does not recognize the court. Tension over Maduro’s announcement Venezuela would  annex the territory stirred fears of a military clash. But the two countries are under strong international pressure to settle the matter without violence.

“Prices Soar in Argentina After Milei’s Currency Devaluation,” El País, Dec. 14, 2023

 

Unions and social movements are warning that economic shock measures announced by Argentina’s new president Javier Milei will mean financial ruin for Argentines. The most visible effects so far are price increases up to 100 percent, and “a calm reaction from the markets,” El País reported.  Unions “have called emergency meetings to debate appropriate responses.” But a spokesman for Milei defended the actions to revive an economy leveled by triple digit inflation and widespread poverty. “We have found a patient in intensive care about to die,” he said. “We are not willing to let him die.” Milei also abandoned a promise to not raise taxes. He imposed a tax of 17.5 percent on imports and will assess new taxes on exports. He expressed confidence revenues would rise by 2.2 percent and that budget cuts would help trim deficits. Prices are soaring because of Milei’s sharp devaluation of the peso. “The mega-devaluation that is being carried out is a matter of concern because it may devolve into hyperinflation,” said Pato Laterra, an economist who teaches at the National University of LaPlata. Gerardo Martínez, secretary of Argentina’s largest labor union, the General Confederation of Labor, warned that “a total social tsunami is coming.” 

“My Trump Interview Had a Purpose: Giving Latinos a Chance to Hear Him,” Opinion by Enrique Acevedo, Washington Post, Dec. 13, 2023

 

The broadcast giant Univision aired my hour-long interview with former President Donald Trump on Nov. 9, its first of a current or former Republican president in 22 years. I became concerned by the troubling inuendo in criticism of the interview. A former Univision president called it “Mexican style news coverage,” casting a shadow of corruption over my interviewing style and overlooking how journalists in Mexico are killed more often than any others in the world for doing their jobs. My interview with Trump wasn’t crafted to convince Democrats or my colleagues in the press that Trump is an unsuitable choice. Instead, its purpose was to afford conservative Latinos the opportunity to hear directly from him without confrontation or hostility. The goal was to empower viewers to form their own assessments and process the information rationally rather than emotionally. I didn’t fact-check statements live that have already been debunked repeatedly, and were debunked again after our conversation aired; what would have been the point in blowing up the conversation to do so? While my friend and colleague Jorge Ramos champions confrontation as the only way to hold those in power accountable, the downside to that approach became clear in recent years as newsmakers across the political spectrum and beyond the United States refused to engage with Univision, driving the network to the brink of journalistic irrelevance. When an entire network is sidelined because of the perceived confrontational bias of a single journalist, its ability to fulfill the mission of serving and empowering Hispanics is severely compromised [this summary is taken largely verbatim from Acevedo’s opinion piece but involves some condensation].

“Argentina Sharply Devalues Its Currency and Cuts Subsidies as Part of Shock Economic Measures,” Associated Press, Dec. 12, 2023

 

Argentina announced Dec. 12 a sharp devaluation of its currency and cuts to subsidies for energy and transportation. The steps are part of shock measures that Javier Milei, who was sworn in as president Dec. 10, says are necessary to fix a country staggered by soaring inflation and widespread poverty. Economy Minister Luis Caputo said the peso’s value will be cut in half, going from 400 pesos to the dollar to 800. “For a few months, it’s going to be worse than before,” said Caputo. Argentina faces a trade deficit of $43 billion along with $45 billion in debt owed the International Monetary Fund (IMF). It has a debt payment of $10.6 billion due by April. Caputo also said the government is trimming public works projects and cutting some state jobs to reduce the size of government. Milei also will shrink the number of government ministries from 18 to 9. Caputo said the steps must be taken to cut the size of the fiscal deficit he blames for Argentina’s economic woes. The IMF said the measures build a good foundation for further discussions about the debt owed to it by Argentina. An IMF spokesperson said the “bold” actions “aim to significantly improve public finances in a manner that protects the most vulnerable in society and strengthens the foreign exchange regime.” But Juan Grabois, a labor leader who ran an unsuccessful campaign for the presidency, said the changes “will get you half in the supermarket. Do you really think the people are not going to protest?” 

“Guyana, Venezuela Presidents to Meet Thursday on Border Row,” Agence France-Presse, Dec. 9, 2023

 

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro will meet Dec. 14 with  Guyanese President Irfaan Ali amid escalating tension over whether their dispute over the oil-rich Essequibo territory will lead to war. There is “an urgent need to de-escalate the conflict and institute an appropriate dialogue, face to face,” said St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, whose Caribbean country chairs the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The meeting will be held in his country under the auspices of that organization. Maduro has announced annexation of the Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana. The United States, Britain, Russia, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay  have urged a de-escalation of tensions and a peaceful settlement. Maduro said he would defend Venezuela’s “historic rights” to the territory, which has vast oil reserves. “Once again, we will defeat lies, provocations and threats against our people. Our fatherland will prevail!” Ali said Guyana is “fully committed” to resolving the dispute through the International Court of Justice, not negotiations with Maduro.

“Venezuela Says Will Hold ‘High Level’ Talks with Guyana on Crisis,” Agence France-Presse, Dec. 9, 2023

 

The Venezuelan government said it has agreed to hold talks with Guyana amid growing fears the two countries will go to war over the oil-rich Essequibo territory that makes up two-thirds of Guyana. A Venezuelan official said Guyana also has agreed to the talks. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro agreed to the talks in a conversation with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the president of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, the Venezuelan government said. Lula’s office said he had warned Maduro against any “unilateral measures” that would make the crisis worse. Venezuela has announced that 95 percent of voters in a Dec. 3 referendum favored annexation of Essequibo, which Guyana has administered for more than a century. A number of South American countries along with the United States, Britain and Russia have urged a peaceful resolution of the dispute. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reportedly has promised to aid direct talks to find a solution. The U.S. has announced joint military exercises with Guyana, a move Venezuela termed “a provocation.” Columbian President Gustavo Petro said “the biggest misfortune that could hit South American would be a war.” Exxon-Mobil found oil in Essequibo in 2015. Agence France-Presse reporter Barbara Agelvis said the discovery helps give Guyana and its 800,000 residents “the world’s biggest crude reserves per capita.” 

“Guatemala  Prosecutors Say Presidential Election Results Must Be Annulled,” Wall Street Journal, Dec.8, 2023

 

Guatemalan prosecutors said Dec. 8 that faked polling station certificates and a rigged computer system in the country’s presidential election earlier this year mean the results must be thrown out. Their announcement could stir political turmoil a month before President-elect Bernardo Arévalo, an anti-corruption candidate who was a surprise winner in the June election, is due to take office. The prosecutors, part of the anticorruption unit in the office of the Attorney General, said Guatemala’s electoral court should annul the results.  However, the head of the electoral court, Blanca Alfaro, said the results were clean. She added that if elected authorities don’t take office, that would violate the Constitution. Arévalo said the Attorney General and the prosecutors “are plotting a coup against him to thwart his promised anticorruption campaign,” wrote Journal reporter Juan Montes. Election observers from the European Union and the Organization of American States said they found no fraud or manipulation.  An OAS statement said the prosecutors are attempting a coup d’état. The U.S. lists the Attorney General and one of the prosecutors as corrupt because they blocked corruption cases and filed false complaints. The prosecutors also said Dec. 8 they will ask the Congress to strip Arévalo of immunity as president-elect. They did so as part of a probe of allegedly forged signatures to register his Seed Party. The Congress last week stripped four electoral judges of immunity after prosecutors accused them of fraud.  

“Argentina’s New Libertarian Leader Softens His Economic Radicalism,” Bloomberg Businessweek,” Dec. 8, 2023

 

Argentina’s incoming President Javier Milei has dumped or downgraded into less powerful roles more than a dozen advisors from his recently formed libertarian party as he prepares to take office. Instead, he’s picked people with years of public sector experience for cabinet positions. Their political backgrounds differ from his -- and even include officials from the Peronist administration he attacked to win office. Milei, who says his father beat him up as a boy and harassed him during exam periods to try to make him fail, is mistrustful and embraces solitude, skipping vacations for years partly because he didn’t want to be away from his library. Viewed as a supporter of Donald Trump, his first political meeting on a recent trip to the United States was with Bill Clinton. “What’s come as a hard blow to his friends has been embraced by investors as a promising sign for his presidency,” says Bloomberg Businessweek, in a story written by Manuela Tobias and Ignacio Olivera Doll. “Sovereign bonds rallied by nearly 30 percent since his victory, and shares of Argentine companies such as state-owned oil firm YPF rose as much as 68 percent.”  Though he’s sending a clear signal “he’s willing to do whatever it takes to whip the broken economy into shape," Milei’s lack of loyalty is raising eyebrows – “the risk is he loses his base and alienates those he’ll need to help him once he really gets started.” Argentina is in its worst economic crisis in years. Inflation is in triple digits and 40 percent of its people now live in poverty. 

“Juanita Castro Obituary,” The Guardian, December 7, 2023

 

Juanita Castro, who died Dec. 4 in Miami at the age of 90, was the younger sister of Cuban revolutionaries Fidel and Raúl Castro. She supported their overthrow of the Batista government  in Cuba in the 1950s, but opposed her brothers soon after they took power in 1959. She collaborated with the Central Intelligence Agency after Cuban exiles failed in April 1961 to topple the Castro government in the Bay of Pigs invasion. Juanita Castro loathed Che Guevara, blaming him for the Cuban revolution’s turn toward communism. When she spoke at a hospital opening ceremony in the early days of Castro rule, she proclaimed “Democracia sí, communismo no,” wrote Guardian reporter Richard Gott. She opened a boarding house in the wealthy Havana suburb of Miramar to protect opponents of the regime and prepare them for exile abroad. The presence in the house of her mother Lina was protection against her brothers. But after Lina died in 1963, her brother Raúl handed her a list of her counter-revolutionary deeds. She took that as a message that she was no longer safe in Cuba. She fled to Mexico City in June 1964, where she generated headlines by attacking Fidel’s government. An exile in Miami, she was the first recruit in Operation Mongoose, a CIA project to overthrow Castro. But the financial support she got from the CIA ended after President Richard Nixon in 1969 pursued detente with the Soviet Union. She opened a successful pharmacy in Miami, continuing the string of entrepreneurial successes she enjoyed while in Cuba. She continued thereafter to support exiles and work against communism. Juanita was the fifth of seven children of Angel Castro, a prosperous immigrant who came to Cuba from Galicia in northern Spain, and Lina Ruiz, the child of a family of laborers from Pinar del Río, a city in Cuba. [The following is from a Dec. 6, 2023 Associated Press story, “Juanita Castro, Sister of Fidel and Raúl Who Worked With CIA, Dies Age 90.”] Juanita would not support any violence against her brothers. It was her brother Raúl who arranged her visa to flee to Mexico. However, on her arrival there she said she could not remain indifferent to what was happening in her country. She said her brothers “have made it into an enormous prison surrounded by water. The people are nailed to a cross of torment imposed by international  communism.” But she took no joy when Fidel experienced serious health problems in 2006 and Little Havana in Miami celebrated. “It’s my family. It’s my brothers. It doesn’t matter. We are separated for ideological reasons, but that’s it.” 

“U.S. Throws Weight Behind Guyana in Territorial Dispute With Venezuela, Aljazeera,” Dec. 7, 2023

 

 Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed in a phone call Dec. 7 that the disputed Essequibo territory is lawfully under the control of Guyana in the view of the United States. He spoke with Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali. Ali said his country will do whatever it must to head off a planned move by Venezuela to annex the territory. Ali has been lining up support from other South American nations to prevent the Venezuelan takeover.  Brazil has sent troops to its northern border with Venezuela. “We’re building a regional response,” he said. But both countries have agreed to keep open a channel of communication between them. The Essequibo is in “one of the four last pristine tropical forests in the world mined with natural and mineral resources, including large resources of gold, copper, diamonds, iron and aluminum, among others,” said the Aljazeera report. It also has more crude oil reserves per capita than any other place in the world, including Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It’s set to surpass the oil production of Venezuela. 

 

“Venezuela-Guyana Dispute: Maduro Mobilizes the Army and Announces Annexation of Essequibo,” El Pais, Dec. 6, 2023

 

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced a new “special law” Dec. 5 creating a new Venezuelan state out of the Essequibo territory that its neighbor Guyana claims as its own. The move to take control of the oil-rich territory follows a Dec. 3 Venezuelan referendum in which 95 percent of voters backed annexation, according to Maduro. Observers say relatively few Venezuelans participated in the referendum, contrary to Maduro’s claim that more than ten million took part. In a television appearance, Maduro “presented a new official map of Venezuela with Essequibo incorporated,” wrote El Pais reporter Florantonia Singer. Maduro also sent a military contingent to Puerto Barima near the disputed territory and announced upcoming legislation “to cement Caracas’s possession of the territory and its resources,” Singer said. In addition, he ordered the state oil company to draw up a map of exploration and exploitation of Essequibo’s resources. Maduro said the disputed region “has been de facto occupied by the British Empire and its heirs, and they have destroyed the area.” The president of Guyana, Mohamed Irfaan Ali, expressed concern that Maduro is creating “fear and terror within the hearts and minds” of its neighbors. He said that the International Court of Justice should settle the matter and that many countries support Guyana. A Brazilian diplomat expressed confidence diplomacy would resolve the dispute without armed conflict. 

“Maduro Vote to Claim Guyana’s Territory Backfires as Venezuelans Stay Home,” The Guardian, Dec. 4, 2023

 

A vote by Venezuelan voters to annex the oil-rich Essequibo region in neighboring Guyana (see story below) reflected a turnout dramatically lower than that claimed by the country’s dictatorial president, Nicolás Maduro, analysts say. “The turnout appeared so underwhelming that the Venezuelan government has been widely accused by analysts of falsifying the results,” wrote Guardian reporter Luke Taylor. Venezuelan officials claimed more than 10.5 million people voted in the Dec. 3 referendum and that 95 percent of them voted for annexation. But outside observers reported few voters at the polls and according to “intelligence collected by Guyana and its allies” the actual turnout was fewer than 1.5 million votes. Maduro hoped that a big turnout supporting annexation would bode well for his chances in a presidential election next year. Opposition candidate María Corina Machado is given a strong chance of beating Maduro if next year’s election is free and fair. “If Maduro is unable to rally the people under the banner of Venezuela’s claim to the Essequibo, there are few options left but to rig the contest,” Taylor concluded. 

“Retired U.S. Diplomat Accused of Working as a Secret Agent for Cuba,” New York Times, Dec. 4, 2023

 

Federal prosecutors have charged the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia with spying for Cuba since at least 1981 while rising through the ranks at the State Department and working briefly in a top White House role. Seventy-three-year-old Manuel Rocha, who served as U.S. ambassador to Bolivia from 2000 to 2002, apparently met with his Cuban handlers as recently as 2017. He “boasted that he had spent 40 years spying on behalf of the communist government in Havana and ‘strengthened the revolution,’” the Times reported. It said the case raises serious questions about the effectiveness of U.S. counter-intelligence programs to uncover spies. It’s unclear what Rocha was able to report back to the Cubans but a fellow former diplomat said that “if it had to do with Cuba he got to see it.” In meetings over the past year with an undercover FBI agent he thought was a representative of the Cuban spy agency, Rocha referred to the U.S. as “the enemy” and said that “what we have done” was “more than a grand slam,” the Times said. Rocha portrayed himself publicly as a right-winger. He may have aided the election of Evo Morales, a staunch ally of Cuba, as president of Bolivia, the story suggested. Rocha, apparently without State Department clearance, warned Bolivian voters against voting for Morales. Other diplomats said that actually may have helped Morales’s prospects. “Cuba’s intelligence service is widely regarded as one of the best in the world, and for decades it has placed a high premium on penetrating American federal agencies,” the Times noted.  

“Venezuela Breaks Another Promise,” Wall Street Journal Editorial, Dec. 3, 2023

 

The Maduro regime in Venezuela ignored a November 30 U.S. deadline to spell out a process for reinstating opposition candidates in the country’s 2024 presidential election. In return for that promise the  Biden administration has lifted sanctions for six months on the export of Venezuelan oil. It also lifted bans on dealing with the government-owned mining company and trading certain Venezuelan securities. The U.S. also said Venezuela had to begin the release of wrongfully detained U.S. nationals and Venezuelan political prisoners. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “failure to  abide by the terms of this arrangement will lead the United States to reverse the steps that we have taken.” But Venezuela has only released a few political prisoners and still holds some 270, including three wrongfully detained Americans. The Blinken deadline also has passed without the reinstatement of banned presidential candidates, including the popular Maria Corina Machado. There “have to be consequences for the regime’s failure to meet its commitments,” the editorial said. “Venezuelan democrats deserve better than more statements in coming days.” 

“Venezuelan Voters Reject ICJ Jurisdiction in Dispute with Guyana,” Reuters, Dec. 3, 2023

 

Voters in Venezuela backed the annexation of the disputed territory of Essequibo in a referendum Dec. 3. They also rejected the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice over the matter, which involves the potentially oil-rich territory that makes up two-thirds of the tiny bordering country of Guyana. Both actions, which received 95 percent approval, had been urged upon Venezuela’s voters by the country’s dictatorial president, Nicolás Maduro. However, analysts say Maduro  so  exaggerated the turnout that the referéndum was a disaster for him politically (see story above). Maduro went ahead with the referendum even though the international court stated Dec. 1 that Venezuela should take no action to annex the territory. “Some political and security analysts have called the referendum a show of strength by Maduro and a test of support for his government ahead of a planned 2024 presidential election,” wrote Reuters reporter Daisy Buitrago. Guyana residents fear Venezuela’s military will seize the territory, but some expressed relief in the wake of the court’s Dec. 1 statement. Analysts suggested the referendum was a way for Maduro to test the government’s electoral machinery and to establish a military presence at the polls. Maduro could well lose next year’s presidential election if Venezuelans decide to come to the polls, said security analyst Rocio San Miguel.  “He is activating a scenario of conflict” to possibly suspend the election. 

“Nicaragua’s Miss Universe Emerges as Symbol of Defiance Against Ortega Regime,” The Guardian, Dec. 2, 2023

 

Described by one observer as “the North Korea of our continent,” Nicaragua has cracked down on celebrations of the recent selection of a 23-year-old Nicaraguan woman as Miss Universe. Sheyniss Palacios “comes from a low-income family who sold fried dough balls known as buñuelos to put her through university, and her story seemed to resonate with many Nicaraguans,” said Guardian reporter Thomas Graham. Joyous crowds took to the streets to celebrate her surprise selection Nov. 18 at a Miss Universe event in El Salvador. But despite offering congratulations, the government of Nicaragua regards her suspiciously. Palacios took part in 2018 demonstrations that sought to topple President Daniel Ortega, the former revolutionary hero who during his latest stint as president has turned Nicaragua into an authoritarian state. The demonstrations lasted three months and led to 320 deaths. Ortega’s wife, Vice-President Rosario Murillo, has put out a broadcast claiming that “coup plotters” were planning provocations under the pretext of celebrating the Miss Universe selection. It’s unclear whether Palacios will be allowed back into the country. Nicaragua is now in a state of “absolute” repression, says Juan Pappier of Human Rights Watch. At least 600,000 people have left Nicaragua since 2018, mainly to go to the United States or Costa Rica. Pappier said that “in terms of systematic repression and isolation from the international community, this is the North Korea of our continent.” 

“Honduras: Arrest Warrant Issued Over Murder of Activist Berta Cáceres,” The Guardian, Dec. 2, 2023

 

Honduran authorities have issued an arrest warrant in connection with the 2016 murder of Indigenous environmental leader Berta Cáceres.  A court issued a warrant for the arrest of Daniel Atala Midence, the former financial manager of the dam company Desa. He’s charged with masterminding the murder, said Guardian reporter Nina Lakhani. Two hired hitmen shot and killed Cáceres in her home on March 2, 2016. She was leading a campaign to stop the construction of a hydroelectric dam. The father and two uncles of Atala Midence own the majority of shares in the dam company. Atala Midence ran Desa along with the company’s president David Castillo. Castillo was sentenced in 2022 for 22 years and 6 months in prison for taking part in and planning the assassination of Cáceres,  a defender of the indigenous Lenca people. The dam was under construction on the Gualcarque River, which is sacred to the Lenca.

“As George Santos Is Expelled from Congress, Brazilians Hang Their Heads,” Washington Post, Dec. 1, 2023

 

The disgraceful exit of serial liar George Santos from the U.S. Congress may seem no more than the story of a troubled individual. But to many Brazilians, the expulsion of the son of Brazilian immigrants from the U.S. House of Representatives is but another example of the shortcomings of their nation. That Brazil has such a gloomy self-image may startle outsiders. But Post reporters Terrence McCoy and Marina Dias write that “despite its extraordinary beauty, loving people, and wondrous culture, Brazil often doubts itself” compared to industrialized nations. “It’s all so predictable,” a Brazilian security officer said. “A son of Brazilians, involved in political scandals.” Other recent events that brought shame and embarrassment, according to Post reporters -- the death of a Taylor Swift fan in the hot weather at a recent concert in Brazil and the escape of a Brazilian prisoner that brought terror to Pennsylvania earlier this year. Brazil cares deeply what the rest of the world thinks of it. “You can be cultured, intelligent, do a lot of good stuff,” said one hair salon patron. “But at the end of the day, Santos is the view the world will have of us.”

“’Despotic’ Maduro Accused of Risking Venezuela-Guyana Conflict Over Oil-Rich Region,” The Guardian, Dec. 1, 2023

 

Tensions between Venezuela and the tiny neighboring country of Guyana are higher than ever before in the days leading up to a Dec. 3 referendum on the fate of an oil-rich rainforest region called Essequibo. The region makes up two-thirds of Guyana and is inhabited by 120,000 of its 800,000 residents. Essequibo “is largely impenetrable jungle but has large reserves of oil, gold and copper,” writes Guardian reporter Luke Taylor. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is asking Venezuelans in the referendum whether Essequibo should be converted into a new Venezuelan state. The vote, expected to rubber-stamp the annexation, “is widely seen as a way for the deeply unpopular dictator to drum up public support ahead of presidential elections next year,” Taylor says. Government officials in Guyana worry Maduro could push his country into war to claim the land. Guyana asked the international court of justice in 2018 to settle the matter but Venezuela rejects the court’s authority. Massive oil deposits were discovered in Essequibo in 2015. Venezuela disputes the borders drawn by international arbitrators in 1899 when Guyana was a British colony. “The people who reside in that region speak English, they pay taxes to the government of Guyana, they abide by our constitution…and they call themselves Guyanese,” said the country’s foreign minister Hugh Todd. “So it has nothing to do with Venezuela.”