Eight of Mexico’s 11 Supreme Court justices announced that they will step down, rather than participate in elections next year to renew their mandate under the newly passed judicial reform. (La Jornada)
The court’s three other justices have indicated they will compete in the elections, reports the Associated Press.
The judges who resigned will serve until August, and emphasize that their resignation is not a ratification with the judicial reform, but a signal that they will respect the changes passed by Congress last month, reports El País.
The move comes amid increasing tensions between Mexico’s executive, legislative and judicial powers. The Supreme Court is considering a resolution that would invalidate key pieces of the judicial overhaul. The resolution would maintain the popular election of Supreme Court justices, but would declare unconstitutional the election of thousands of federal and local judges, reports the New York Times.
The author of the resolution, Supreme Court Judge Juan Luis González Alcántara cast the move as a sort of olive branch towards the government, reports the Financial Times.
Yesterday Mexico’s ruling Morena party dominated Congress approved a bill that would prevent legal challenges to constitutional amendments — a move that critics say would eliminate judicial oversight of constitutional matters. Morena and allies have a supermajority in both chambers (almost), giving the government broad power to amend the constitution. (New York Times)
More Mexico
The U.S. imposed sanctions on senior members of La Linea, a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization that smuggles fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into the U.S. on behalf of the transnational Juárez Cartel that operates on border territories in and around Chihuahua, reports the Associated Press.
Venezuela - Brazil tensions
Venezuela’s Maduro government accused Celso Amorim — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s top international relations advisor — of being a U.S. lackey. The call for Amorim to be declared persona non grata in Venezuela came after the Brazilian diplomat said Venezuela’s July election had failed to meet transparency standards and that Brazil cannot recognize Maduro’s claim to victory. (EFE)
Amorim played a key role in Brazil’s efforts to support negotiations between Maduro and the political opposition following the election.
The accusations follow Brazil’s veto of Venezuela’s application to become a member partner of BRICS, which Maduro’s government has sought to paint as a decision of Brazil’s foreign ministry rather than Lula. (El País)
Maduro’s government called its ambassador to Brasilia for consultations, a form of diplomatic protest. (Infobae)
“Amorim on Tuesday in a hearing before Brazilian lawmakers acknowledged “discomfort” between the two countries, attributing it to the Maduro government’s refusal to publish detailed election results supporting the victory that electoral authorities handed the president. He later said that an improvement of the diplomatic relations “will depend on actions” taken by Venezuela, but he did not offer any specifics,” reports the Associated Press.
More Venezuela
Now that the democratic “transition appears to have failed, the U.S. should do more to ensure respect for the will of the Venezuelan people, such as imposing fresh sanctions on Maduro’s closest allies, including business people who support him, and using its diplomatic leverage over Cuba, which provides intelligence to Venezuela’s repressive machinery,” writes Human Rights Watch executive director Tirana Hassan in the Los Angeles Times.
More BRICS
“Russia has tried to present BRICS as a new nonaligned movement. But in reality, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the organization increasingly resembles a club of Russia’s allies in opposing the West,” argues Alexander Baunov at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
More Regional Relations
Former Colombian President and Nobel Peace Laureate Juan Manuel Santos, was named chair of The Elders, an organization founded by Nelson Mandela in 2007 to fight for peace, human rights, justice and sustainability. (El País)
The Nobel Sustainability Trust is awarding a medal to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for achievements in sustainability during her tenure as Mexico City mayor, reports La Jornada.
Yesterday 189 countries voted in favor of the annual U.N. resolution condemning the U.S. embargo against Cuba — the 32 such resolution. Only the U.S. and Israel voted against it. (Financial Times)
Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez blamed the U.S. government’s “maximum pressure policy” aimed at depriving Cuba of the imported fuel it relies on for a widespread blackout this month, including when Hurricane Oscar lashed the island. (Associated Press)
Argentine President Javier Milei ousted his foreign minister, Diana Mondino, after the country voted in favor of the resolution condemning the U.S. embargo against Cuba. Foreign ministry sources defended the position saying the votes of Cuba and its allies would be needed in any future resolutions on Argentina's claim of sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. (AFP)
Argentina
Mondino’s departure means that at least 30 high-level officials have left government, either via dismissal or resignation, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
Transportation was slowed yesterday by a train and airplane strike in Argentina, as unions push back against government layoffs and austerity measures, reports Reuters.
“About 41 percent of Argentines have a positive image of Milei, putting him ahead of former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, with 38 percent, and Buenos Aires Province Governor Axel Kicillof, with 36 percent, according to LatAm Pulse, a survey conducted by AtlasIntel for Bloomberg News.”
Brazil
Hundreds of Indigenous people marched in Brazil’s capital yesterday, calling on Congress to drop a proposed constitutional amendment that has the potential to paralyze and even reverse land allocations, reports the Associated Press.
Mexico
Pollution from a cluster of foreign factories in Mexico’s Nueva Alemania region is contributing to a threat to public health, allege campaigners, who say the country is prioritizing economic growth over the environment — Guardian
Several cities in Mexico implemented restrictions on costumes that cover faces for Halloween, in response to insecurity. (El País)
Culture Corner
Mexico’s Day of the Dead is becoming internationally popular thanks to the entertainment industry and tourism, reports El País.