Leftist Yamandú Orsi won yesterday’s runoff election in Uruguay. Though the results are a political shift for the country that has been governed by the center-right coalition that lost yesterday, both of the candidates who faced off against each other yesterday agreed on major issues.
Orsi has said he plans no major changes and agrees with his opponent on key issues like combating childhood poverty and cracking down on organized crime, reports the New York Times.
“A teacher of history, folk dancer and former mayor, the 57-year-old politician is considered the political heir of former President José Mujica, who accompanied him in his campaign and praised him as a new leader able to find the right balance between the complex dynamics on the social, political and economic chessboard,” reports the Associated Press.
The former history teacher says the “horizon is brightening,” reports Reuters.
Speaking before followers in Montevideo, Orsi reiterated his promise to lead an open government. “I am going to be the president who calls for national dialogue again and again,” he said. “The country of freedom, equality and also fraternity triumphs once again … Let’s continue on that path,” reports Americas Quarterly.
More Uruguay
Orsi’s will have to negotiate with opposition parties to pass his legislative agenda, as he lacks control in the lower chamber of Congress, notes Dacil Lanza in Cenital.
El Salvador
Hundreds of people protested in El Salvador this weekend — calling for the release of innocent people arrested as part of the government’s crackdown on criminal gangs, reports AFP.
Health workers and teachers also protested against budget cuts for their sectors next year, reports EFE.
Colombia
Thousands of Colombia protested against President Gustavo Petro’s proposed health, labor and pensions reforms and accused Petro’s administration of corruption, on Saturday. (Associated Press)
Chile
Moderates dominated in regional runoff elections held yesterday in Chile. Claudio Orrego, an independent candidate who was a member of the centrist Partido Democrata Cristiano, won in Santiago. The center-right Chile Vamos coalition will hold six of 16 governor seats, up from one previously, reports Bloomberg.
Brazil
Brazil's top public prosecutor is planning to merge three Federal Police investigations into former President Jair Bolsonaro's actions against Brazil's democratic system and produce one single global indictment against him — which means he won’t issue any indictments until next year, reports Reuters. (See Friday’s post.)
A series of rulings by Brazil’s Supreme Court over the past year — most stemming from legal challenges from people who claim they were treated unfairly — has undone major cases related to Operation Car Wash, a landmark anti-corruption investigation with repercussions around Latin America, reports the New York Times.
Regional Relations
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s threats to invade Mexico should be taken more seriously, argues James Bosworth in World Politics Review: “The fact that many reasonable analysts think military attacks on cartels are a bad idea and contradictory to Trump’s foreign policy positions elsewhere does not mean that he won’t launch them.”
Edgard Leblanc Fils, a member of Haiti’s transitional presidential council, pushed back against French President Emmanuel Macron’s remarks criticizing the council’s firing of the country’s prime minister earlier this month. He said Macron had insulted an entire nation “living through dark times,” reports the Associated Press.
Venezuela
Venezuela’s Maduro government announced yet another investigation against opposition leader Maria Corina Machado. This time she will be investigated for expressing support for a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives last week that would block the federal government from contracting any company doing business with Venezuela’s government, reports the Associated Press.
Venezuela’s political opposition leaders called for a massive protests against President Nicolás Maduro’s claim to reelection. "We have to act now," Maria Corina Machado said in a virtual meeting with other opposition activists. "This December 1 will be a unique demonstration." (AFP)
Armed and hooded members of the Venezuelan security forces have surrounded Argentina’s embassy in Caracas, where six members of Venezuela’s political opposition have been sheltered for months, since taking refuge ahead of July’s presidential election, reports CNN.
The move prompted the U.S. government to call it a serious violation of international law and Argentina’s Foreign Ministry to describe it as an act of harassment, reports the Associated Press.
Haiti
Gang recruitment of children increased by 70 percent last year in Haiti, according to a new UNICEF report. (Al Jazeera)
Gang violence is surging in Haiti, even as international efforts to aid the country’s beleaguered police forces with a multinational mission — or even a UN peacekeeping mission — falter, reports the Associated Press.
The violence is such that international organizations and embassies are suspending operations and evacuating personnel, reports the New York Times.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua’s Sandinista lawmakers passed a constitutional reform proposed by President Daniel Ortega, which would make his wife co-president and cement his family’s control over the state. The measure is all but guaranteed to pass a second reading in January, notes AFP. (See last Thursday’s post.)
Bolivia
As Bolivia’s governing MAS leaders fight for control of the party, the country’s economy is in a spiraling crisis that has many of its citizens living hand to mouth, reports AFP.
Critter Corner
“A desert oasis hidden away in the dunes in the far reaches of skyscraper-studded Dubai has drawn a surprising new set of weary world travelers: a pack of Argentinian rodents,” reports the Associated Press.