News Summaries in July 2024

[Note to readers: the Venezuelan election stories summarized below repeat some of the same information but in my view each contains new elements in what clearly is a pivotal struggle for democracy in Latin America that contains echoes of our own political upheaval.]

“Post-Election Protests Turn Deadly in Venezuela,” New York Times, July 31, 2024

At least 16 people including one soldier have died in protests that broke out after Venezuelan officials claimed that autocratic President Nicolás Maduro won the country’s July 28 presidential election and so will serve another six years in office. “Both sides of the country’s political divide called on followers to take to the streets, which resulted in deadly clashes on Monday,” wrote Times reporters Frances Robles and Isayen Herrera. “The demonstrations continued on Tuesday, signaling that the crisis was far from over.” Supporters of opposition candidate Edmundo González said that he won at least twice as many votes as Maduro, a claim consistent with independent exit polling. An election monitor said concerning the Maduro claim of victory that “this has been the biggest fraud in the history of Latin America.” The turnout for a pro-Maduro demonstration Tuesday was relatively light. “To the security forces and armed forces, we insist that you respect the will Venezuelans expressed on the 28^th of July and stop the repression of peaceful protests,”  González said. Maduro said he was relaxed about the election fallout and said he “slept like a baby” Sunday [July 28] night.  Venezuela’s attorney general, a Maduro ally, said July 30 that 749 people had been arrested. The Ministry of Defense said 48 police officers and soldiers were injured in the protests, in addition to the soldier killed. Maduro urged his supporters to take to the streets each day to defend the election results. He said most of those arrested had admitted to being part of an “ultraright” plot supporting the opposition and said “they are fascists.” Many international observers say that Maduro is stealing the election (see next story).

“Will Democracies Fight for Venezuela?,” Washington Post Editorial, July 30, 2024

President Nicolás Maduro’s fraudulent declaration of victory in Venezuela’s July 29 presidential election demands urgent action from the United States and other countries around the world, the Washington Post states in an editorial. “This blatant attempted electoral theft cannot stand.” It adds: “Now is the golden hour of democratic change, the moment after the votes have been cast but before the theft of the outcome has solidified.” Democracies are obliged to recognize that the opposition are the true winners and that Maduro must submit to the will of Venezuelans.  Expressions of “serious concern” are not enough – a reference to the Biden administration’s response so far. Venezuelan officials barred international observers from the vote. After the polls closed, the election commission began a public count, “then suddenly, and suspiciously, stopped it because of what Mr. Maduro announced was a massive ‘hack’ against the electronic transmission system.” Maduro declared that “the demons and the devils did not want the total to be completed.” This, in the Post’s view, “is an obvious smokescreen for rigging the election results.” If the opposition fails to thwart the theft “it will resonate around the world, and could set Venezuela back for many years.” That will be especially true if the U.S. fails to support the opposition. Some in the U.S. hint it would be better to go along with Maduro’s power grab in order to ensure access to Venezuelan oil. That not only would be a betrayal of principle but ignores the fact that as the world’s leading oil producer the U.S. can afford to do without Venezuelan oil. 

 

“Nations Doubt Election Result for Venezuela,” New York Times, July 30, 2024

The failure of officials to release detailed voting results, a routine practice in past elections, is strengthening the sense among international observers that Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election has essentially been stolen by President Nicolás Maduro. Officials prevented the release of paper tallies that record votes cast at each voting machine. “The opposition also said there were irregularities in the way that results were digitally transmitted from the voting stations to the electoral system,” said Times reporter Frances Robles. The leaders of Uruguay, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Argentina and Guatemala have all denounced the results in which the Maduro-directed national electoral authority declared him the winner with 51 percent of the vote. Left-leaning neighbors also cast doubt on the results, with Brazil, Colombia and Mexico negotiating a statement the night of July 29 calling on Venezuela to release voting records from each polling station. Chile’s leftist leader, Gabriel Boric, said “the Maduro regime must understand that the results they publish are difficult to believe.” Opposition leaders said they had obtained paper tallies sufficient to show that opposition candidate Edmundo González was the victor in a landslide, winning more than 3.5 million votes more than Maduro, a claim consistent with independent exit polling.  Maduro did receive expressions of support from the leaders of Cuba, Serbia, Nicaragua, Russia, Bolivia and Honduras. By the afternoon of July 29, Venezuelan officials had kicked out all diplomats from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay. Brazil is perhaps best positioned to aid negotiations between Maduro and the opposition but traditionally has been reluctant to involve itself in the internal affairs of other countries, Robles wrote. The U.S. has expressed “serious concerns” about the vote and called for the release of detailed voting data. It said Maduro is risking diplomatic isolation by obscuring election results and violating election norms. “The Biden administration faces a difficult choice,” observed Robles. “Sanctions could deepen Venezuela’s economic woes, increasing migration toward the United States ahead of the presidential election in November. But not taking a tough stance could strengthen Mr. Maduro and allow Republicans to attack him as weak on autocrats.” 

“Maduro’s Exit ‘Irreversible’ Says Venezuela Opposition Leader, As Election Protests Grow,” The Guardian, July 30, 2024

Thousands of dissenters remained on the streets of Caracas and other Venezuelan cities the evening of  July 29 after a day of demonstrations protesting Nicolás Maduro’s claim of victory in the presidential elections the day before. “Remarkably, many of those protestors came from sprawling hillside slums long considered bastions of the Chavismo movement” [to which Maduro is heir], wrote Guardian reporters Tom Phillips and Patricia Torres. One such slum dweller “shook with rage, ‘Maduro stole these elections…it’s a swindle – everyone knows it,’” he said. “This man did not win, he did not,” another protestor from the same community said, explaining that Maduro was thoroughly defeated because residents were tired of the economic deprivation they experience under his rule. During the day social media was filled with reports of opposition marches starting in poor communities across Caracas. “What is happening isn’t just fraud, it’s a coup d’etat,” said a 37-year-old cook who joined one march. Three statues of Hugo Chavez were torn down in other parts of Venezuela during the day. Maduro insisted his victory was “irreversible” but opposition leader María Corina Machado said Maduro’s departure is irreversible. “He should understand that he was defeated,” she said. Machado asserted that she had evidence proving that opposition candidate Edmundo González won in a landslide. According to Guardian reporters, “Gonzalez and Machado said they could prove their victory after obtaining 73.2% of the voting tallies from polling stations – the official records that show the number of votes cast by the time each polling station closes.”  Those tallies showed Gonzalez with 6.2 million votes compared to 2.7 million for Maduro.

 “Venezuela Opposition Has 73 Percent of Vote Tallies, Says Its Victory Is Irreversible,” Reuters, July 29, 2024

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said July 29 that the opposition has obtained 73.2 percent of the paper tallies on which digital vote tallies are based, allowing it to prove a resounding victory in the July 28 presidential election. The national electoral authority proclaimed Venezuela’s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro the winner of the election but independent pollsters said that was implausible. Opposition leaders and foreign observers urged the release of vote tallies. Those obtained by the opposition showed that 6.27 million were cast for opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and 2.75 million for Maduro. The electoral authority, which is subservient to Maduro, said he won 5.15 million votes and Gonzalez 4.45 million. Independent exit polls showed 65 percent support for Gonzalez. 

“Protests Erupt in Venezuela as Questions Grow Over Strongman Maduro’s Victory,” CNN, July 29, 2024

Security forces used tear gas in Caracas July 29 to disperse a large crowd of demonstrators protesting the declaration of President Nicolás Maduro as  the winner of the July 28 presidential election. Opposition groups say the results are false. Protests also broke out in other cities.  In Caracas, “crowds of people were seen walking down a main road banging pots and pans as anger rose over Maduro’s victory,” CNN reported. A Venezuelan human rights group called Provea said that armed groups supporting Maduro shot at peaceful demonstrators on the Avenue Urdaneta. In the city of Maracay, an opposition activist told CNN people were on the streets “to yell and demand to tell the truth because we know the real results.” In the state of Falcon, social media video showed demonstrators bringing down a statue of Maduro. “The next 24 hours will be key in seeing how Maduro responds to the allegations against him,” CNN said. The Venezuelan military crushed street protests in previous years. Opposition groups say the Maduro regime must release precinct-level voting results. Biden administration officials have taken that position as well, with one official saying that if results are credible it should be no problem for Maduro to release that information. 

“Government, Opposition Both Claim Venezuela Election Win, Official Results Questioned,” Reuters, July 29, 2024

Both President Nicolás Maduro and opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez have claimed victory in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election. The country’s national electoral authority declared Maduro the winner with 51 percent of the vote but the opposition movement along with journalists and foreign leaders have challenged the results, alleging numerous election irregularities (see next story). However, “independent exit polls pointed to a big opposition win following enthusiastic shows of support for Gonzalez and opposition leader María Corina Machado,” said Reuters reporter Julia Symmes Cobb. Machado said Gonzalez won 70 percent of the vote. “It was not immediately clear what the opposition’s next move might be,” Cobb said. Gonzalez said he was not going to call for backers to engage in mass demonstrations or commit acts of violence. Machado had  called on the military to uphold the actual vote and said that voters clearly did not want Maduro. There have been no public signs that military leaders are backing away from Maduro. Argentina, Costa Rica, Peru, Chile and the U.S. have either rejected the results announced by the electoral authority or voiced serious concerns. 

“Venezuela’s Autocrat Is Declared Winner in Tainted Election,” New York Times, July 29, 2024

Defying widespread indications voters overwhelmingly favor his departure from power (see next story),  Venezuela’s electoral body declared autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro the winner early July 29 of the country’s presidential election.  “The vote was riddled with irregularities, and citizens were angrily protesting the government’s actions at voting centers even as the results were announced,” wrote Times reporters Anatoly Kurmanaev, Frances Robles and Julie Turkewitz.  Election authorities subservient to Maduro said that with tallies in from 80 percent of voting stations, Maduro received 51.2 percent of the vote while the opposition candidate Edmundo González received 44.2 percent. Maduro has fabricated election results before, Times reporters noted, adding that several officials in the region called the announced results into question. The announced results are “impossible” given voter turnout,  said Venezuela’s most popular opposition figure, María Corina Machado, who was barred from running but campaigned for Gonzalez despite constant harassment. The U.S. has “serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people,” said Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken. Authorities at some voting centers refused to release printouts used to verify the electronic vote count.  At one center, some 15 men in unmarked black jackets temporarily blocked access by voters. At another, a woman reportedly was hit by a bullet as men sped by on motorcycles. At yet another, government security forces removed a vote monitor for the opposition. In the city of Cumaná, dozens of national guardsmen and policemen in uniform formed a long line outside a voting center in a display of force The Times said was meant to intimidate opposition voters. In Maracaibo, voters said their polling places had been moved without their knowledge. Many polling places opened late and at times voting machines stopped functioning. Most Venezuelans abroad were prevented from casting a vote. In the end, “Mr. Maduro’s time-tested tactics of voter coercion,  suppression and confusion, combined with the opposition’s limited ability to monitor the vote, seemed to have tipped the balance in his favor.” In the weeks leading up to the election hopes grew among Venezuelans that by routing Maduro at the polls he could be persuaded to leave office, opening the door to the eventual return of millions of Venezuelans who have fled the country’s economic collapse and brutal authoritarian tactics. There were reports of long lines to vote including people showing up hours before polling places open. But with Maduro in line for another six-year term if the announced election decision holds, millions more Venezuelans may leave the country and try to get into the U.S. (see stories below).  How will the Venezuelan opposition react now? “In recent interviews across the country, some supporters of the opposition vowed to take to the streets if Maduro declared victory,” the Times noted.

“Exit Polling in Venezuela Shows Opposition Beating Maduro by Wide Margin,” Washington Post, July 28, 2024

Exit polling released after voting centers began closing the evening of July 28 showed opposition candidate Edmundo González with 65 percent of the vote in the Venezuelan presidential election and current President Nicolás Maduro with just 31 percent. Official results weren’t yet available. Maduro’s opponents hoped that with a lopsided victory they would have a chance of removing Maduro from power even though he controls the electoral council, the courts and the military. “If he loses the vote, he’s not expected to cede power willingly,” Post reporters wrote. “He and his team were confident they can win,” they added. A high voter turnout could aid González’s chances. His campaign estimated that by 4 p.m. 11.7 million Venezuelans had voted, a participation rate of more than 54 percent. But “there were reports of blocked access, delays and some violence,” the Post said. For example, local opposition leaders in the city of Maturín said that a voting center coordinator and her mother were insisting on access by opposition poll watchers when armed Maduro supporters on motorbikes rode up and shot the mother in the leg. [A New York Times reporter said roughly 15 men in black jackets temporarily blocked access to a Caracas voting center in the early morning and that a volunteer vote monitor was punched.]

But opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said problems at voting centers were exceptions and that the voting process was unfolding peacefully.  

“Everyday People Risking All to Protect Venezuela’s Vote,” Washington Post, July 26, 2024

Venezuela recently has seen the emergence of thousands of citizen “testigos” – volunteer witnesses who will try to ensure a fair vote during the country’s presidential election July 28. Their job is to watch polling places to make sure that the rules are followed.  In a country “where the authoritarian president is accused of rigging elections – disqualifying challengers, harassing opponents, menacing voters – their work could be essential,” write Post reporters Samantha Schmidt and Ana Vanessa Herrero. But in places like the state of Vargas, a stronghold of government support, witnesses are taking big risks. “By showing their faces at their local polling places, they say, they are facing harassment and threats from their own neighbors.” They could be risking their homes and livelihoods too since many families in Vargas live in government housing or depend on the government for a weekly ration of food staples. At one recent meeting of two dozen volunteers, intelligence agents circled the house, and an outside wall of the  house had government graffiti identifying it as a meeting place of the opposition. Even so, the opposition says it has recruited enough testigos to monitor more than 98 percent of 30,000 of  the country’s polling tables, or one per candidate per table. The government has countered with new rules, such as one that says witnesses can only monitor their own voting centers, which means they will be watching their own neighbors. It also has divided larger voting centers into smaller ones The changes have led many witnesses to back out. But others seem determined and speak as if they are going into battle. “At 72 years old,” said one, “I have nothing more to lose.”  

“Senior Sinaloa Cartel Leaders Surrender into U.S. Custody,” Washington Post, July 26, 2024

United States authorities in Texas have taken into custody two senior leaders of the Sinoloa cartel, the top supplier of fentanyl to the U.S. The arrests are a major blow to the global drug-trafficking syndicate. The two are Ismael Zambada Garcia, known as “El Mayo,” and Joaquin Guzman, the son of the famed drug lord “El Chapo” whose name also is Joaquin Guzman. El Mayo and El Chapo are considered co-founders of the Sinaloa cartel. El Chapo is serving a life sentence in a Colorado maximum-security prison. “This is huge,” said John Callery, a retired Drug Enforcement Administration official who headed the agency’s San Diego field division. “There were so many operations to try to get him in the past, and he was always very smart, very slippery.” El Chapo got more notoriety but El Mayo “was the logistician, the guy who made the trains run,” said John Feeley, a former U.S. ambassador in Mexico. “This guy was a legend.”  Fentanyl “has detonated the most lethal drug epidemic in U.S. history, causing tens of thousands of American deaths in the past few years,” Post reporters wrote. But the detentions aren’t likely to dry up the supply of the drug in the U.S. “We were very effective at capturing or killing these guys, but they just splinter into new groups,” said Joe Evans, another DEA veteran. “You take a  guy out and it becomes a power grab because there’s so much money in it."

“Tensions Rise Within Haiti’s New Ruling Group With ‘Near Fight’ Between PM and High-Ranking Official,” Latin Times, July 24, 2024

 

The relationship between Haiti’s newly appointed prime minister Gary Conille and the country’s presidential council has become increasingly strained, according to press reports. Conille has the support of individual members of the council. But disagreements over who has authority to run day-to-day government operations may be souring his relationship with the group. Conille and council member Claude Joseph, a former Haitian prime minister, got into a verbal battle at a recent dinner “after the latter expressed frustration over recent appointments and the security situation,” wrote Latin Times reporter Demian Bio. “The argument was filled with profanities and Joseph, an early supporter of Conille, warned him that he would be out of a job if things continue down this path.” Conille than challenged Joseph to follow through on his threat. Meanwhile, U.S. officials are in Haiti to encourage progress toward holding presidential elections in 2026.  The presidential council is forming an electoral council but “the process is already ridden with conflict and accusations of corruption over appointments.” 

“Venezuela Needs the World’s Help,” Opinion Column, New York Times, July 23, 2024

Venezuela could be on the verge of an  historic return to democracy, but it won’t get there without the help of the United States and Brazil and other countries, says Robert Patiño. “The world is watching, and history will remember those who stood by the Venezuelan people in their fight,” says Patiño, founder of Alimenta la Solidaridad, an aid organization in Venezuela (https://donate.alimentalasolidaridad.org/campaign/apadrina-a-un-nino/c583084.) Despite government intimidation, two-thirds of registered voters are planning to cast ballots in the July 28 presidential election, with opposition candidate Edmundo González leading President Nicolás Maduro by double digits in opinion polls. Maduro could rig the results if he loses but “something can be done.” The U.S. could create a legal off-ramp for Maduro and his associates who face criminal prosecution and jail and an international investigation of crimes against humanity by the regime.  “Washington could make a strong and credible offer that it will not prosecute him or his circle if they recognize an electoral defeat and leave office,” Patiño writes. If Maduro accepts, a transition to democracy could occur quickly. President Biden would get a badly needed foreign policy win, a new surge of migration from Venezuela could be limited, and the influence of Russia and China could be reduced “in a country that possesses the largest oil reserves in the world.” It’s been done before. “Negotiated political transitions in South Africa and Chile, for example, show that offering a face-saving exit to entrenched leaders can facilitate peaceful and lasting change.” For this strategy to work other foreign leaders must join in. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva “is uniquely positioned to mediate this delicate process.” He has historical ties to Chavismo, the socialist movement led by the late Hugo Chávez that dominated the Venezuelan government to which Maduro is the successor. Chavez once called Lula the “big brother” of the Latin American left. “Persuading Venezuelans to accept a face-saving exit for Mr. Maduro won’t be easy.” Communities have been “brutalized by the government’s security apparatus.” But a focus on the practical benefit of securing Maduro’s exit from power would restore “democratic institutions and the rule of law, national stability and economic recovery,” serving all Venezuelans. “This is the time to prioritize the greater good and for the interests of the people to take precedence over the politics of vengeance.” 

“Transfemicide Becomes a Crime in a ‘Watershed’ Moment for Mexico City,” The Guardian, July 24, 2024

Mexico City has passed a law making the killing of trans women a crime with a prison sentence of up to 70 years. “For the first time, we can feel represented before the law, and that violence against us really carries a severe punishment,” said Kenya Cuevas, an activist who campaigned for the law. Mexico City is the second of Mexico’s 32 states to make transfemicide a crime. The law also makes it possible for friends of a victim, not just relatives, to be involved in identifying and claiming bodies and in pushing for investigations. “This matters in a country where some families disown transgender relatives, meaning there is no one to force the state into action,” wrote Guardian reporter Thomas Graham. Ninety-five percent of all homicides in Mexico in 2022 went unpunished. It’s thought that the percentage is higher in the case of transfemicides. Another feature of the law is that the office of the attorney general must produce statistics and quarterly reports on crimes against LGBTQ+ people. A total of 231 members of that community were murdered between 2021 and 2023, of whom two-thirds were transgender, according to Letra Ese, a human rights group. Many murders are never reported. Mexico is the second deadliest Latin American country for transgender people after Brazil. 

“Colombia President Enacts Law Banning Bullfighting,” Agence France-Presse, July 23, 2024

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has enacted a law that bans bullfighting in his country. Speaking to a crowd gathered at a bullring in Bogota, Petro “celebrated ending the ‘right to kill’ animals for entertainment,” Agence France-Presse said. “Culture, and even less the justice system, cannot say that it is culture to kill sentient beings, living creatures, for pleasure," said Petro. He was referring to a 2018 ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court that permitted bullfights in places that traditionally allowed it. “If we have fun by killing an animal, we will have fun by killing human beings,” Petro said. “A place where you saw blood, where you saw death, now you will see culture,” said Luana Delgado, an anti-bullfighting activist. Under the new law, bullrings are to be transformed into spaces for cultural or sporting events. “Today we put an end to a long history of suffering,” said Jesus Merchan, an animal rights activist. Enforcement of the law starts in 2027, giving time to convert arenas and to find alternative jobs  for those whose livelihood relates to bullfighting. Other Latin American countries that have outlawed bullfighting include Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala and Uruguay. It is still permitted in Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela, and in France, Spain and Portugal. 

“Lula Raises Alarm Over Maduro’s ‘Bloodbath’ Warning to Venezuela,” The Guardian, July 22, 2024

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is urging Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to respect the electoral process, saying he has been “frightened” by the latter’s warning of a “bloodbath” if he loses the July 28 presidential election. At a July 17 rally Maduro said “if you don’t want Venezuela to fall into a bloodbath, into a fratricidal civil war, due to the fascists, let’s ensure the greatest success, the greatest victory in the electoral history of our people.” Lula “for many years has refused to openly criticize the Venezuelan leader,”  an autocrat who has been in power for the last 11 years, notes Guardian reporter Tiago Rogero. But Lula said July 22 that “if Maduro “wants to contribute to resolving the return of growth in Venezuela, the return of people who left Venezuela, and establish a state of economic growth, he must respect the democratic process.” Opinion polling shows that Maduro trails opposition candidate Edmundo González by a wide margin. Rather than threaten violence, “when you lose, you go home and get ready to run in another election,” Lula counseled Maduro. Maduro’s security forces have detained dozens of people linked to the González campaign. Lula also on July 22 praised U.S. President Joe Biden for his decision to withdraw from the U.S. presidential election in November. “Brazil’s relationship will be with whoever is elected,” said Lula. “We have a strategic partnership with the United States and we want to maintain it.” 

“A Deadly Robbery Reveals a Pattern of Targeting Latinos in Alabama’s Capital,” New York Times, July 22, 2024

In June, a father and son and family friend were shot and killed minutes before closing time at the family’s grocery store, Tienda Los Hermanos, in Montgomery, Alabama. La Moraleja, a Mexican ice cream shop in the city owned by Maria Morales and her husband, has been robbed three times since it opened last year, with robbers in April pointing guns at two of their teenage daughters. Overall, robberies in Montgomery are on track to increase 50 percent in 2024. Times reporter Christina Morales writes that “officials have acknowledged that Latino businesses in particular have been targeted, in part because they often trade primarily in cash.”  The pattern of robberies targeting Latinos is occurring in other cities too, including Philadelphia, in Chicago among Latino street vendors, and in Durham, N.C. Montgomery residents say the problem is made worse by  “police response times that stretch past an hour, a lack of Spanish-speaking officers and concerns among some undocumented immigrants that engaging with the authorities could lead to deportation,” says Morales of the Times. The Latino population numbers about 10,000 in and around Montgomery and is growing. The attraction is a lower cost of living and the chance to work in jobs in construction, auto manufacturing, hospitality and tourism. But a  number of Latino businesses there now keep their doors closed all day, only letting in customers they know. Activists say crimes are most likely underreported because in the past police questioned a person’s immigration status. Montgomery’s acting police chief says his department’s aim is to build trust and to reassure people that their immigration status won’t be checked. But thieves regard Latino businesses as easy targets, suggests José Vázquez, whose stepfather was shot in the hip at their family-run restaurant. “They know that Latinos can’t defend themselves.”  

“Venezuela’s Election Could Spark a New Exodus,” Washington Post, July 21, 2024

The candidate running against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is trying to win votes by saying that if he defeats the autocratic leader in the July 28 election loved ones can return home. But if Edmundo González loses, analysts say, the opposite could happen – many more Venezuelans in addition to the seven million who have departed in recent years will leave for other countries, many hoping ultimately to reach the United States. That surge could occur while Donald Trump tries to recapture the White House during this fall’s election campaign by slamming the Biden-Harris administration for allowing a huge influx of migrants into the U.S. The seven million who left during the decade of Maduro’s authoritarian rule is about one-quarter of Venezuela’s population. About one in three of those who remain tell pollsters they’re thinking of leaving too if Maduro remains in power. About three million of the Venezuelans who have already departed are living in Colombia. “Some expect that Venezuelan migrants now living close to home – in Colombia or other South American countries – will give up their hope of returning, and instead head north to the  United States,” write Post reporters Samantha Schmidt and Nick Miroff. The exodus is an emotional issue for all Venezuelans, says Ronal Rodríguez, a professor at Colombia’s Universidad del Rosario. “I don’t think there’s a single Venezuelan who doesn’t have someone in the diaspora.”  As much as Venezuelans are hoping for the return of family members, a González victory wouldn’t reverse the exodus any time soon, Rodríguez suggests. Even if Maduro loses and does step aside, Venezuela would experience months of instability, uncertainty and potentially violence, he says. He’s predicting a surge in migration this summer or fall regardless of the winner of the election. 

“For Oil-Dependent Mexico, a Climate Expert as President,” Washington Post, July 19, 2024

She’s a climate expert and committed environmentalist whose patron and presidential predecessor Andrés Manuel López Obrador [“AMLO”] sidelined green energy projects and emphasized petroleum production. So how realistic are the hopes of environmentalists and diplomats that Claudia Sheinbaum can reverse Mexico’s lagging record on climate change? Sheinbaum’s global environmental credentials are real,  but so too is her loyalty to AMLO and the Morena Party he heads. AMLO has emphasized strengthening national oil and electricity companies in pursuit of his goal of establishing Mexico’s energy independence. He spent billions on oil refineries and withheld permits to foreign companies developing solar and wind power. Sheinbaum, who holds a doctorate in energy engineering, was one of the lead authors of the landmark 2014 report by the prestigious U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. An aide to AMLO when he was mayor of Mexico City, Sheinbaum incorporated environmental advances into a project he championed otherwise slammed by environmentalists – building a second highway encircling Mexico City. She introduced “a rapid transit corridor with efficient, diesel-fueled buses,” the Post said. Sheinbaum later converted the buses to electric power. She’s moving into the presidency with a $14 billion plan for generating energy using wind, solar and hydropower. She wants more electric-powered public transit, greater energy efficiency, and a program to take polluting old cars and trucks off the road. She will need to attract private investors to achieve her goals for renewable energy, given the financial constraints faced by the Mexican government. That may be a problem since AMLO’s goal in his remaining days in office is to establish direct election of judges. Businesses fear that could weaken judicial independence and erode legal guarantees, making investors skittish about committing funds. But Sheinbaum has shown political skill in attracting foreign money. Though loyal to AMLO, Sheinbaum is expected by many scientists to make her environmental mark. “The environmental theme isn’t secondary for her,” said one of her colleagues.

“Some Latino Voters Back Trump’s Deportation Plans,” New York Times, July 18, 2024 – [Personal Commentary]

To what degree do Latino voters support mass deportation of undocumented migrants, a move promised by Donald Trump if he returns to the White House? The headline of this story by the New York Times, coming as it does amid a wave of stories in recent days favorable to Trump, suggests that voters are swinging toward the Republican nominee even when it comes this controversial plan. “Surveys and focus groups show that Latino voters, like other Americans, have warmed to more punitive measures on illegal immigration,” writes Times reporter Jazmine Ulloa. She adds that “more Latinos are saying they trust Mr. Trump and Republicans over President Biden and Democrats to better handle migration at the Southern border.” But how many more? Is it a majority of Latinos, or simply more than used to feel this way? And does the term “punitive measures” mean “mass deportation”? Ulloa fills in the story with interviews with more than two dozen Latino voters. But they don’t represent Latino voters in general; she describes them as “largely Republicans and independents.” Other elements of the story also create uncertainty about how much there is to the trend. It notes, for example, that “Mr. Trump remains unpopular with Latino voters overall.” It also cites the results of a Marquette Law School Poll that found, both in Wisconsin and nationally, “a small majority of Hispanic voters reject deporting those in the country illegally. That opposition is likely to be even higher if the dragnet is said to target undocumented immigrants who have been in this country for years and who have well-established jobs and families, said Charles Franklin, who directs the law school Poll.” Franklin said  “there is a general change in how punitive people are willing to be, but how you frame the question really matters.” Among the people interviewed, “most of those in favor of a crackdown said it should focus solely on undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes or are recent arrivals. Many were unfamiliar with Trump’s platform, including his plans to round up undocumented people on a mass scale and to detain them in camps pending their deportation.” In many cases, they did not believe Trump would be able to fulfill those promises. For its part, the Trump campaign asserted that “a majority of Americans, including Hispanics, want mass deportations for illegal immigrants, not Joe Biden’s mass amnesties and Border Bloodbath.” 

“Venezuela: Fears of Unfair Election Grow as Opposition Security Chief Arrested,” The Guardian, July 17, 2024

The government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has detained the security chief of the country’s leading opposition figure, arousing fears that she will not be protected in the days leading up to the July 28 Venezuelan presidential election, and that the election will not be a fair one. The security chief, Milciades Avila, had been protecting Maria Corina Machado as she provided high-voltage support in campaign stops on behalf of opposition candidate Edmundo González. “Avila has accompanied me around the country and risked his life defending me,” she said. “Early this morning he was abducted by the regime, accused of gender violence against some women last Saturday who tried to attack Edmundo and me.” Machado supporters said that last Saturday unidentified men and women entered a restaurant where she and González were eating and that two of the women confronted the politicians. A group of men stood in front of the women, one of whom shouted “Don’t touch me.” Machado said there were dozens of witnesses and videos proving that this was an act of provocation designed to leave her without protection 11 days before the election. This year alone Venezuelan authorities have arrested 102 people linked to the González campaign, said Foro Penal, a  Venezuelan non-governmental organization. González is leading in the polls leading up to the election but the dictator Maduro controls all the levers of power (see next story). 

“El Salvador Children Tortured, Imprisoned In Gang Crackdown,” Agence France Presse, July 16, 2024

Mass arrests of gang members have made El Salvador one of the  safest countries in Latin America and its president the most popular. But the government crackdown on gang violence too often fails to protect children from abuse and even torture, says Human Rights Watch. More than 1,000 minors have been convicted of crimes since the state of emergency launching the crackdown began in March 2022, the non-governmental organization said.  “Through mistreatment including torture, some children have been coerced into confessing to being part of a gang or otherwise providing information about supposed gang affiliation,” HRW said. Children have received sentences of 2 to 12 years “often on such overly broad charges as unlawful association, and frequently on the basis of uncorroborated police testimony,” it said. Authorities have done little to protect children from the violence of fellow detainees. Dozens have been withheld for weeks or months without any contact with their families or have been allowed to see a lawyer for only a few minutes before a hearing. President Nayib Bukele’s government has detained more than 80,000 presumed gang members under a policy that allows for arrests without a warrant. Some 3,000 are children or teenagers. The government should “prioritize a rights-respecting and effective policy that dismantles criminal gangs, addresses child recruitment, and provides children with protection and opportunities,” said HRW Americas director Juanita Goebertus. 

“Maduro Rival Promises ‘Government for All’ If He Wins Venezuela Election,” The Guardian, July 15, 2024

Retired diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia is promising he’ll govern for all Venezuelans if he defeats that country’s autocratic leader Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela’s July 28 presidential election. Virtually a political unknown, the 74-year-old González was a last-minute stand-in for Maria Elena Machado, the very popular and charismatic opposition candidate Maduro barred from running. González served as Venezuelan ambassador to Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2002. He’s now leading in the polls, stirring hope that he can somehow succeed the extremely unpopular Maduro even though the latter controls all the levers of power, including the courts, the police, the secret police, the military, and the electoral authorities. “Here, nobody will be excluded,” promises González. “Here we will not view our opponent as an enemy but simply as a political adversary.” But González has made clear that Machado would play a major role in his administration, and she has sworn to eliminate socialism in Venezuela.  “Experts say the Venezuelan strongman [Maduro] will need concrete guarantees if he loses the election and there is to be a smooth transition before his successor’s swearing-in in January 2025,” the Guardian said. “Guarantee is a technical term for a get out of jail free card,” said Benjamin Gedan, head of the Latin America program on the Washington, D.C.-based Wilson Center. Gedan said “overnight democratization” is a pipe dream. But a long, messy transition away from Maduro in which some parts of the government remain in the hands of bad actors and in which human rights abusers aren’t brought to justice would be “a great scenario for Venezuela given what it’s been living.” 

“Body Found on Melting Peru Peak After 22 Years,” New York Times, July 12, 2024

Climbers in Peru discovered the body last month of an American who went missing 22 years ago after an avalanche on Peru’s highest mountain. American Ryan Cooper and fellow climbers came upon the body of Bill Stampfl on Huascaran, a 22,205 peak in the Andes. “On June 27, the climbers were descending Huascaran when they saw a dark shape that stood out against the snow,” said Times reporters Yan Zhuang and Mitra Taj. “As they drew closer, they saw it was a body, curled in a defensive position like someone trying to protect himself during an avalanche….”   The group had tried to climb to the summit of the peak but were forced by dangerous conditions to give up the attempt and chose to descend by a rarely used older route. In a fanny pack they found Stempfl’s still-legible ID card and passport. Stampfl had set out from California in June 2002 with two friends, Steve Erskine and Matthew Richardson to climb the peak. Only Erskine’s body had been recovered after the avalanche. Stampfl’s two children hired an alpine rescue team to retrieve the body. Cooper said the effects of climate change were apparent on Huascaran. “It’s basically falling apart, it’s just crumbling,” he said. A Peruvian police spokesman said melting glaciers may lead to the discovery of more long-buried bodies on Huascaran. 

“Two More Police Officers Killed in Attacks,” Washington Post, July 12, 2024

Two police officers were shot and killed in the Mexican city of Celaya, the latest in targeted attacks authorities said were likely carried out by a drug cartel. “A total of 18 Celaya police officers have been killed this year, making the city of a half-million inhabitants probably the most dangerous city in the hemisphere for police,” the Associated Press reported. Gunmen opened fire on police in at least four locations July 10 in and around Celaya, authorities said. They said that the Santa Rosa de Lima gang appeared to have launched the attacks. [A tourist visits https://www.tiktok.com/@chunka.munka/video/7348210429262400811]. 

“The Venezuelan Moment,” Washington Post, July 11, 2024

“Against all odds, a resurgent opposition could threaten the regime’s hold on power” in Venezuela, the Post editorializes. “But it is possible that Mr. [Venezuelan President Nicolás] Maduro will cling to office through fraud or force. Everything must be done to ensure he does not – and that voters make the most of this opportunity to restore freedom and democracy.” Maduro faces the opposition of former diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia in Venezuela’s upcoming Jully 28 election.  Maduro, the  Post observes, “has spent years trying to destroy the opposition, detaining thousands of activists, journalists and dissidents, subjecting them to beatings, rape, electric shocks, mutilation, asphyxiation and other types of torture.” But at campaign appearances tumultuous crowds now greet Urrutia and charismatic opposition figure María Corina Machado, who Maduro barred from running. Two-thirds of voters in a recent poll want Maduro out. But “he might be tempted to abort the vote through brute force or declare himself the winner when he is not.” The United Nations as election day approaches is documenting increased threats, and assaults against regime critics including 38 cases of arbitrary detention. The government is limiting the movements and number of election observers and the U.N. is only sending a “pitiful” number of them – four. President Biden and other democratic leaders in Latin America and Europe “should pay attention and speak out for a free and fair vote. This might be Venezuela’s last, and best, chance to end a generation of misrule.” 

“Political Outsider. Policy Nerd. Haiti’s Rescuer?” New York Times, July 10, 2024

Is a mild-mannered policy nerd who served as a regional United Nations official the answer to leading Haiti out of the horrific violence and lawlessness that has tormented the country in recent months? Perhaps he can make a start at least. Haiti’s new prime minister Gary Conille has begun by attending the funerals of slain police officers and meeting with their widows. He’s fired the police chief for failing to fight the gangs whose violence has forced half a million Haitians out of their homes. He has brought in Kenyan police officers to begin restoring order. And the 58-year-old Conille, a gynecologist by training,  “met last week with Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, members of Congress, international lenders and members of the Haitian diaspora to make the case that aid is needed more than ever,” said Times reporter Frances Robles. Conille’s priorities include retaking territory held by gangs, reopening schools and hospitals, rebuilding roads and 40 destroyed police stations, and rebuilding the criminal justice system. He wants a government that provides for education and medical care. But international aid to accomplish those things falls far short of the sums needed. Conille has won goodwill by showing empathy to the wives of the slain police officers and has been praised for having a “calming vibe.”  His “profile as a policy nerd, one detached from Haitian politics, was exactly what people were hoping for….,” Robles wrote. But his previous stint as prime minister a decade ago ended quickly, causing doubts about his political skills. “We are yearning for results,” said Ariel Dominique of the Haitian American Foundation for Democracy. “Whether he is the person remains to be seen.”

“Fed Up With Overtourism in Barcelona, Protestors Blast Visitors With Water Guns,” Washington Post, July 10, 2024

 

Thousands of people last weekend [July 6-7] in Barcelona protested the overcrowding of the city by tourists, in some cases aiming water pistols at bewildered visitors dining on restaurant patios, causing them to leave their meals behind.  Bearing signs saying “Tourists go home,” the protestors say “tourism has inflated the cost of living for Barcelonians, while the revenue from visitors hasn’t been fairly distributed across the city,” wrote Post reporter Andrew Jeong. “As travel rebounds after the end of pandemic restrictions, the frustration in Spain reflects the growing backlash against overtourism around the world.” The Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth is demanding fewer tourist accommodations in Barcelona, fewer cruise terminals in the city’s port, and an end to using public money to advertise tourism. Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni promised to preserve for local residents 10,000 residential units normally used by tourists. The mayor also promised to increase taxes on tourists.  Almost 26 million people visited the Barcelona region last year, and Spain was the second-most visited country in the world, according to local estimates and United Nations figures. “I think the key point here is about sustainable tourist development and sustainable management of tourist flows within a country,” said J.J. Zhang, a tourism geographer at Nanyang Technological Institute in Singapore. 

“5,000 Miles, 8 Countries – the Path to the U.S. Through One Family’s Eyes,” New York Times, July 9, 2024

What’s it like to be among migrants without means who travel thousands of miles to cross into the United States to escape poverty and oppression? What does it take to get here, and what are their lives like if they make it? In the case of the Aguilar Ortega family, it meant a months-long journey of 5,000 miles through 8 countries that began in May 2023, Times reporters chronicled. The blended Venezuelan family of five -- including three kids and a dog -- were able to make it by taking risks that ended the lives of other migrants. It required a lot of good luck. It required determination to keep going even when penniless. It entailed kids that bought into their parents' idea that they were undertaking a grand adventure. It  required the help of family, and the unexpected generosity of strangers.  It also meant enduring violence within the family. But once in the U.S., despite its good luck and fortune, the family couldn’t settle down. Its wandering ways have continued. Henry Aguilar and his partner Leivy Ortega began the journey in Chile after meeting and falling in love and blending their families. They “headed to Colombia but with no money, no plan and no place to sleep – a frequent plight during their voyage,” Times reporters wrote. In Colombia, Aguilar attempted to toughen his kids up for the trek through the dangerous Darien Gap jungle through a regimen of bike riding and limited breakfast to learn to cope with hunger. Traversing the Darien to get from South to Central America, they crossed swollen rivers and encountered the bodies of fellow migrants who had perished in the jungle. Ms. Ortega “generously, but perhaps naively, shared the family’s food with other migrants, leaving the family to subsist on nothing but river water on the last two days of the six-day hike through the jungle.” The family then circumvented border check  points in Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.  It became stranded in Mexico City, sleeping for days in a makeshift tent outside a bus terminal with no money to go north. But they decided to ride a series of freight trains to the U.S. border. “Countless people have died or lost limbs riding the trains,” the Times noted. “The nights were the hardest. They battled falling asleep, fearful with each jerk of the train they would fall off.” But they made it to the U.S. border and when they did their good luck held. They were able to secure a coveted appointment with U.S. immigration using an often-unsuccessful mobile app the Biden administration offers to migrants. After entering other countries illegally, the crossing into the U.S. was lawful though nerve-wracking because the family did not know if the U.S. checkpoint would know of Ortega’s criminal past and deny him entry. (He’d been jailed for two years in Venezuela for holding up several people at gunpoint with a friend and robbing them. Ortega told the Times the charges were exaggerated and that he and his friend had not been violent.) But his criminal past didn’t come up. The family was released into the U.S. on parole, a legal status that permits migrants without visas to live and work in the U.S. as their asylum cases go through the courts. On their third day in El Paso, Ms. Ortega got into a fight with three other Venezuelan women in the dinner line and the family had to go to another shelter. They were stranded once again but then Christian missionaries from Michigan befriended them and raised $2,000 for the family to fly to New York City. They arrived there with 20 cents to spend and relied on a shelter offering free room and board. But it was overcrowded, and Aguilar uprooted the family to go to Middletown, Connecticut. They met a social services worker who helped the family move into a two-bedroom house operated by a nonprofit for the homeless. The husband of a psychologist at the children’s elementary school hired Aguilar to build furniture and kitchen cabinets. Ortega then learned she was pregnant. That was welcome news but constant stress about the future strained the couple’s relationship. One night Ms. Ortega swung a baseball bat at Aguilar, hitting him in the hands. She was arrested and a protective order granted to keep her away from Aguilar. But the couple reconciled and  abandoned Connecticut without her court case being resolved. They headed to Houston and moved into the cramped apartment of Aguilar’s mother, applying for odd jobs and eying another move to Denver or Salt Lake City – Aguilar knowing from immigration lawyers he was likely to be ordered out of the country once his case is heard owing to his criminal record.

“Mexico City’s Burning Debate: Subdue Salsa for Foreigners?”, New York Times, July 8, 2024

 

Mexico City has become hugely popular since the pandemic both as a tourist destination and a new home for foreigners who can work  remotely and whose earnings in dollars or Euros make the city more affordable. “As a result, in certain neighborhoods the gentrification has been inescapable,” writes Times reporter James Wagner. Along with rising rents and more coffee shops, the change has brought a lowering of the heat levels of salsa, causing consternation among locals. A debate has been raging on social media in the city as a result. “Food that isn’t spicy practically isn’t good food for the majority of Mexicans,” said city resident Isaac Palacios. Nevertheless, taco sellers are making modifications, using more jalapeños and fewer habeneros and serranos. The trend toward offering a range of heat options doesn’t sit well with Guadalupe Carrillo, the 84-year-old manager of Taqueria Los Parados. “Foreigners have to learn our customs and our flavors,” she said. “Just like when we go there and we eat hamburgers or what isn’t spicy.” Some foreign visitors can’t handle the salsa heat but don’t expect taquerias to change to suit them. “They should preserve who they are, the culture that they have and their food,” said Jannelle Lee of Chicago. But there’s a realization too among Mexicans that milder versions of some foods may be worthwhile because spiciness can cause intestinal problems. 

“Tex. Judge Blocks Move to Close Migrant Shelter,” Washington Post, July 8, 2024

A state district court judge blocked an attempt by the Texas state government to close a decades-old migrant shelter network near the Mexican border. The judge called the move by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton “outrageous and intolerable.” The faith-based Annunciation House network targeted by Paxton has taken in thousands of undocumented immigrants for almost five decades. Working with U.S. immigration officials, it provides migrants with food and shelter and a first home in the U.S. Earlier this year, Paxton demanded the network release records showing the names of the people it housed. Annunciation House filed a lawsuit asking a judge to rule on Paxton’s request. Paxton in turn countersued to seek the closure of the shelters and accused the network of breaking anti-smuggling laws. State investigators say the shelters are “stash houses” that shelter undocumented migrants from authorities. Paxton has said Annunciation House facilitates illegal border crossings. In May, Pope Francis called the investigation “madness.” The judge ruled that Paxton’s allegations were groundless and that the request for records violated Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches. An attorney for Annunciation House said Paxton’s actions were purely political and that “there is no legal basis for closing a nonprofit that provides social services to refugees, period.” 

“4.1 Million Migrants: Where They’re From, Where They Stay,” Washington Post, July 7, 2024

 

A Washington Post analysis of 4.1 million U.S. immigration court records found that migrants from outside Mexico and Central America  now account for 53 percent of all immigration court cases. That’s up from 19 percent from 2014 to 2020. “They have arrived from countries such as India, China, Columbia and Mauritania,” the Post said.  Guatemala accounted for the most migrants in immigration court since 2014, with 536,000, followed by Honduras, 512,000; Venezuela, 350,000; Mexico, 297,000; El Salvador, 270,000; Colombia, 208,000; Cuba, 181,000; Ecuador, 158,000; Brazil, 125,000; Haiti, 114,000; India, 88,000; China, 74,000; Russia, 56,000; Turkey, 25,000; and Senegal, 24,000. The arrivals “have pushed the share of the U.S. population that is foreign-born to nearly 14 percent, the highest in more than a century.” The influx has “helped America’s post-covid shutdown economy to be one of the strongest in the world.” More than 3 in five of the migrants have entered the U.S. since 2021, the year President Biden took office. Immigration hubs are forming around jobs in meatpacking, agriculture and petroleum. States with severe labor shortages such as West Virginia, Wyoming and North Dakota have drawn virtually none of the newcomers. Some of the biggest growth areas are Florida and Texas, thanks to plentiful jobs and cheaper housing. California also is attracting many new arrivals. New enclaves of Venezuelan migrants are forming in Salt Lake City, Denver and Dallas. New destinations for Cubans are Louisville, Las Vegas and Houston. Haitian communities are growing in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Florida. Many of the most recent Chinese migrants are settling in Queens and Los Angeles.  

“Argentina Once Led on LGBTQ Rights. After 4 Lesbians Are Set on Fire, Critics Blame Rising Intolerance on Milei’s Government,” CNN World, July 6, 2024

Argentina’s LGBTQ groups are commemorating four lesbian women who were set on fire in Argentina in an attack  in early May, three of whom lost their lives.  The attack occurred at a boarding house in the Barracas neighborhood of Buenos Aires.  A man broke into the room the four women were sharing and threw an incendiary device that started the fire. The woman who survived did so only because her partner threw herself on top of her to protect her from the flames, according to the surviving woman’s attorney. LGBTQ rights advocates say the attack by the 62-year-old man who lived in the same building was a hate crime. However, the attorney said the police aren’t treating the attack as a hate crime because in their view the motive is still unclear. But LGBTQ rights advocates say the attack was an extreme example of the growing hostility against them. Chief among those they blame for that hostility is Argentina’s far right president Javier Milei. “Since the beginning of the new government, there are national government officials expressing themselves in a discriminatory manner,” said Maria Rachid, founder of the Argentine LGBT Federation. Hate speeches by people in positions of power generate and legitimize “discriminatory positions that are then expressed with violence and discrimination in everyday life,” said Rachid. Milei when running for office said he doesn’t oppose same-sex marriage but in the same interview compared homosexuality to having sex with animals. The woman who became Milei’s foreign minister said in late October that she supports marriage equality in theory but compared it to having lice. Argentina in 2010 became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage.  

“Latin America on Edge: Bolivia Summons Ambassador in Argentina Amid Diplomatic Crisis,” Latin Times, July 4, 2024

Bolivia has summoned its ambassador to Argentina “in a dramatic escalation of regional tensions,” write Latin Times reporter Alicia Civita. The action came in response to statements by Argentine President Javier Milei that a recent failed attempted coup in Bolivia was a “hoax.” The comments “have sparked outrage and further strained diplomatic relations between the two nations.” Bolivian President Luis Arce also faces accusations that the coup was a fabricated plot from his former ally, ex-president Evo Morales. Arce allegedly did so to beat back the coup and so bolster his standing with the Bolivian people. Morales provided no concrete evidence to substantiate his accusation. 

“Spain’s Traditional Food Markets Are Fading Away – and With Them, a Whole Way of Life,” The Guardian, July 4, 2024

 

Freelance writer Stephen Burgen says in this opinion piece that local food markets all over Spain are threatened with extinction. Barcelona’s famous La Boqueria, for example, was voted the best in the world last month by Food & Wine magazine. But that was “much to the derision of residents who long ago abandoned the city’s famous 13^th-century market to the millions of tourists who visit each year.”  Local shoppers aren’t in to being photographed  and videoed by hordes of phone-fixated tourists. Instead of past offerings of such things as wild boar, pheasants, goose barnacles and tamarillos, stall holders offer more profitable items such as plastic cups of fruit salad, jamón serrano and pre-mixed sangria.  But markets are declining everywhere and mass tourism isn’t the reason. Few young people go to the markets “partly because few of them cook but also because it’s cheaper and quicker to do an all-in-one shop at the supermarket.” The market “is still an essential part of the social fabric of every Spanish town” but for how long? The stall holders are aging along with their clientele “and their children rarely choose to step up to take over the family business.” Barcelona’s food markets have lost more than 2,000 food stalls since 2000. If the markets do close down the biggest loss will be the social connection. “Somewhere in the Spanish constitution there’s a clause which says that, even if there 50 people behind you in the queque, you have an  inalientable right to hold forth about your children, your ailments or whether onion really has a place in a tortilla de patatas,” says Burgen. “The upside is that, when it’s your turn, you get to do the same, knowing that no one behind would think of complaining.”

“Could Venezuela’s Softly-Spoken Opposition Newcomer End 25 Years of Chavismo?,” The Guardian, July 4, 2024

A septuagenarian newcomer is leading in the polls heading into a July 28 presidential election in Venezuela. He is Edmundo González Urrutia, a “former diplomat who, until a few months ago, was virtually unknown” in the contest against Venezuela’s autocratic president Nicolás Maduro. He’s described by friends as a good-natured moderate who is without personal political ambitions. However, he agreed to become the candidate of the opposition to Maduro after the Venezuelan president barred two people from running: Maria Corina Machado, the most popular opposition candidate, and her stand-in after she was excluded, an academic by the name of Corina Yoris. Machado is campaigning for González, and their efforts have “generated a rare wave of optimism among millions of disillusioned citizens,” the Guardian said. “They seem to be gaining more and more momentum,” said Javier Corrales, who has written a book about the breakdown of democracy in Venezuela called Autocracy Rising. But that sense of optimism is tempered by the anti-democratic tactics of Maduro. Those include bureaucratic hurdles to voting and the possibility of some sort of manufactured national security crisis, such as ginning up tensions with neighboring Guyana over its oil reserves. 

“Panama to Launch Migrant Deportation Flights in Coming Weeks, U.S. Says,” Reuters, July 2, 2024

Panama’s new president, Jose Raul Mulino, who took office July 1, immediately signed an agreement with the United States to end passage by migrants through the dangerous Darien jungle linking Central America to Colombia. Some 520,000 migrants passed through that terrain last year, many of them children and many from Venezuela, Ecuador and Haiti. The number of crossings has been higher so far this year than last year. [Most aspire to enter the U.S. to apply for asylum.]  Panama said it will launch deportation flights in coming weeks, to be paid for by the U.S. “We hope to start as soon as possible,” a U.S. State Department official told a press conference in Panama City. 

 “Satellite Images Show Expansion of Suspected Chinese Spy Bases in Cuba,” Wall Street Journal, July 2, 2024

Images captured from space show the expansion of Cuban electronic eavesdropping stations that are believed to be linked to China, including a new site believed to be about 70 miles from the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay. The Wall Street Journal reported last year that China and Cuba were negotiating closer intelligence and defense ties, including a new joint military training facility. “The concern about the stations, former officials and analysts say, is that China is using Cuba’s geographical proximity to the southeastern U.S. to scoop up sensitive electronic communications from American military bases, space-launch facilities, and military and commercial shipping,” wrote Journal reporter Warren P. Strobel. The facilities also could be used to spy on U.S. citizens, said Leland Lazarus, an analyst with Florida International University. A study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies pinpointed four sites as having been significantly expanded – at Bejucal, El Salao, Wajay and Calabazar. China also is building a megaport on the Pacific Coast of Peru. Chinese officials countered that the U.S. runs a vast global network of military bases and listening posts. “The U.S. is no doubt the leading power in terms of eavesdropping and does not even spare its allies,” said a Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington, D.C. 

“Argentina’s President Butts Heads with South American Leftist Leaders,” The Guardian, July 2, 2024

Argentina’s president Javier Milei has mounted verbal attacks in recent days on the left-wing leaders of the country’s two biggest neighbors, Brazil and Bolivia. During last year’s election, Milei called Brazilian President Luiz Ináco Lula da Silva a corrupt communist. When Lula last week suggested Milei apologize for talking “loads of nonsense,” Milei retorted, “Since when do you have to say sorry for telling the truth? Have we become so sick with political correctness that you can’t say anything about the left even when it’s true?” Guardian reporters wrote. Brazil is Argentina’s top trade partner. In recent days Milei accused Bolivian President Luis Arce without evidence of staging a fake coup last week to boost his own popularity. Bolivia subsequently announced it was recalling its ambassador to Argentina. Now Milei is planning a trip to Brazil not to meet with Lula but with the country’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. In May, Milei suggested that Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez was corrupt. Milei’s attacks are viewed as an attempt to energize his hardcore base. One political analyst, Juan Courel of Alaska Comunicación, said the tactic seems to be working since Milei’s support has been stable since he took office despite a huge drop in living standards.