Latin America Briefs
Aug. 29, 2024
Venezuela
Supporters of Venezuela’s opposition and government held separate, small rallies yesterday, marking a month since a disputed presidential election both sides claim to have won. Nicolás Maduro’s government has cracked down on dissent. Shortly after the rally, the opposition coalition said party leader Biagio Pilieri, had been arrested.(Reuters)
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who went into hiding following the election, appeared at yesterday’s rally, waving a Venezuelan flag, reports Al Jazeera.
Venezuela’s attorney general has repeatedly cited opposition presidential candidate, Edmundo González, who appears to have won the election by a landslide, to appear. (Efecto Cocuyo)
“The party of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro maintains a strong hold on state institutions, but it has lost the people’s mandate. Will there be a transfer of power to the opposition candidate, Edmundo González—the true victor of this summer’s election?” writes William Neuman in New York Review of Books.
Maduro’s government is weakened, but likely strong enough to hold onto power until the new presidential period begins in January. This, however, does not guarantee Venezuela’s stability, writes Michael McCarthy at the Aula Blog.
Regional Relations
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega offered to send “Sandinista fighters” to support Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, in case there is an attempt at an “armed counterrevolution” following July’s disputed presidential election. (CNN)
Honduras notified the U.S. of its decision to “terminate” the extradition treaty between the two countries, reports EFE. The announcement came after the US ambassador in Tegucigalpa, Laura Dogu criticized the meeting of Honduran defense officials with sanctioned Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.
The United States defended its ambassador in Mexico after his criticism of controversial judicial reforms angered Mexican officials, including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. (AFP)
Guatemala
“The democratic transition in Guatemala represents one of the clearest victories of U.S. President Joe Biden’s agenda to promote democracy worldwide, as well as a rare example of Vice President Kamala Harris’s national security team playing a distinct and direct role in shepherding it through … The episode provides possible insights into how Harris’s foreign-policy team would work should she win the presidential election in November,” argues Robbie Gramer in Foreign Policy.
Santiago Palomo, the Guatemalan Arévalo administration’s chief spokesperson, told El Faro that the government is “concerned by a systematic pattern of attacking government officials, myself included, but we will not stop at restoring confidence in public institutions, particularly the justice system.”
Colombia
Two years into Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s mandate, the government has “followed neither the most optimistic nor the most pessimistic paths” and Colombians remain anxious for the change they voted for, writes James Bosworth in World Politics Review.
Haiti
Haitian gangs are, thus far, undeterred by the Kenyan-led multinational security support mission. The force has "neither the sufficient personnel nor the equipment to launch real offensive operations against the gangs," International Crisis Group analyst Diego Da Rin told AFP.
Brazil
Brazil’s Supreme Court threatened yesterday to ban social media platform X unless owner Elon Musk names a legal representative in the country within 24 hours. (Al Jazeera)
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva chose political ally Gabriel Galípolo to head the country’s central bank, after sharply criticizing the institution’s incumbent governor over high interest rates, reports the Financial Times.
Ecuador
Ecuador’s government began the process of shuttering oil wells in the 43-ITT block, located on a vast nature reserve, yesterday, in keeping with a referendum last year in which voters chose to end drilling in the area on environmental concerns. (Reuters)
Chile
“One of Chile's most powerful lawyers was ordered detained Tuesday pending trial on money laundering and tax fraud charges in a case that has rocked the country's corporate and political elite,” reports the Associated Press.