Henry agrees to hold elections by Aug. 2025
Feb. 29, 2024
CARICOM announced that Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to hold general elections by August 2025, yesterday at the conclusion of a regional leaders in Guyana, reports the Miami Herald. (See Tuesday’s post.)
Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said in order to achieve the goal, CARICOM will lead an assessment team supported by the United Nations, the United States, Canada and the Organization of American States to help with election planning in Haiti. (Miami Herald)
More Haiti
Levels of violence in Haiti are “inhuman,” said the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Caribbean country yesterday, adding that 5.5 million Haitians are in need of assistance, including 4.4 million — about 40% of the population — facing “huge food insecurity. (Associated Press)
Regional Relations
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, speaking at the CARICOM summit yesterday, called on the international community to “to act quickly to alleviate the suffering of a population torn apart by tragedy" in Haiti. (AFP)
Lula also said yesterday “he wanted Brazil to resume having a diplomatic presence in Caribbean countries,” reports Reuters. He said Brazil would make a contribution this year to the Caribbean Development Bank and that one of his country's policy priorities was "the connection between Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela."
Brazil
“Jair Bolsonaro’s leadership of the Brazilian right is “undisputed” even as he faces a ban from office and coup allegations that could lead to his arrest,” São Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, “a potential heir to the former president’s political throne who insists he doesn’t want it,” told Bloomberg.
Venezuela
Venezuela’s government proposed more than 20 potential dates for this year’s presidential election, ranging from mid-April through early December. Venezuela’s governing party-loyal National Electoral Council members will choose the date. Anything before July 1 would be in violation of the Barbados Accord with an opposition group that specified the vote would take place in the second half of the year, reports the Associated Press.
Guatemala
Indigenous activist Thelma Cabrera, a twice presidential candidate, is one of Guatemala’s most suprising politicians. “Amid the increasing political turbulence that has rocked democracy in the country since last year’s elections, Cabrera has no reason to believe the radical change she calls for will happen in Guatemala under the new social-democratic administration of Bernardo Arévalo,” reports the Guardian.
Migration
“Migration toward the United States through the dangerous jungle passage known as the Darién Gap has been halted, at least temporarily, following the arrest of two boat captains working for companies that play an essential role in ferrying migrants to the jungle,” reports the New York Times.
The United States, Mexico and Guatemala promised “to deepen their cooperation to address illegal migration after a round of ministerial level talks in Washington, DC,” yesterday, reports CNN.
Regional
Communities from the region under imminent threat from rising sea level, floods and other extreme weather were scheduled to testify in Washington today before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “a first-of-its-kind hearing on how climate catastrophe is driving forced migration across the Americas,” reports the Guardian.
Argentina
Argentina’s government is in talks with the International Monetary Fund about a possible new program that would finance the country’s exit capital controls, reports Bloomberg.
Argentine President Javier Milei’s drastic spending cuts are “widely perceived as high-risk,” reports the Financial Times. Despite opposition from a broad chunk of the political spectrum, the president is confident and plans to push through reform by decree.
Mexico
Over decades Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim and Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador “have formed a close, if unlikely, partnership bringing together the telecoms mogul with the president, a leftist former protest leader,” according to Bloomberg.
Ecuador
“Five suspects accused of involvement in the assassination of Ecuadorean anti-corruption presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was gunned down in Quito last August, will go to trial,” reports Reuters.
Cuba
Cuba’s government asked the World Food Programme for help providing powdered milk to children, as food shortages on the island worsen, reports the BBC.