Paraguay’s Senate expelled Senator Kattya González yesterday, on allegations of administrative misconduct. A member of the center-left National Meeting Party, González is a leading opposition voice in Paraguay’s national politics. (EFE)
She was ousted by members of the Honor faction of the ruling Colorado party, and other lawmakers loyal to former President Horacio Cartes, reports ABC Color. (See Última Hora.) Opposition parties will contest the vote in court, which they say violated Senate rules requiring 30 votes. Opposition senators also said the move violated the chamber’s due process regulations. (EFE, ABC Color)
González has criticized widespread corruption and said the country is falling further into the grip of organized crime. She had started a hunger strike on Saturday against what she said were efforts by President Santiago Peña and the ruling Colorado party to reform the Constitution to permit presidential reelection. She called on Peña to formally renounce any plans to amend the constitution, reports Deutsche Welle. (See yesterday’s briefs.)
“Critics accuse the Colorado party, which has been the dominant political force for the past three-quarters of a century, of trying to silence any opposition to their rule by dismissing González without just cause,” reports the Reuters. González was the fourth most-voted senator in last year’s elections.
“More than 100,000 votes leave here today,” said González in yesterday’s Senate session. “Be afraid, sirs, because the people no longer fear you.” (La Diaria)
Protesters demonstrated against the ouster outside of Congress yesterday, and more were expected today. (ABC Color) Many carried signs saying “Dictatorship never again,” reports ABC Color.
The OAS expressed concern regarding González’s expulsion, while the U.S. embassy shared a quote in support of democracy on social media. (ABC Color)
Regional Relations
Paraguayan President Santiago Peña met with his Argentine counterpart, Javier Milei, in Buenos Aires yesterday. He advised the firebrand libertarian that he should “build political consensus" in order to pass key legislation, Peña said in an interview earlier this week, reports the Buenos Aires Times.
A smugglers haven is thriving on the disputed border between Belize and Guatemala, and tensions are simmering, reports the New York Times. Actual military clashes are unlikely, but Belizean authorities are concerned over “illicit activities in the disputed zone, including illegal fishing; unauthorized migration; the cultivation of coca, the plant used to manufacture cocaine; and incursions from Guatemala fueling a deforestation surge.”
“The Kremlin has opened a trade war with Ecuador over its plans to exchange its Soviet-origin weapons for modern U.S. materiel. Moscow suspects that Quito’s armament of Russian and Ukrainian origin — which forms a significant part of the arsenals of Latin American armies — will subsequently be transferred to Kyiv for the war effort against the Russian invasion and has partially vetoed imports of Ecuadorian bananas in retaliation,” reports El País.
Venezuela
Venezuelan human rights activist Rocío San Miguel was disappeared for four days after being detained by counterintelligence officials. She was located in the Helicoide detention center on Tuesday. Several members of her family were also detained and kept without communication for days. The “forced disappearances” mark a shift in the government’s repression, aimed at escalating fear among those who challenge Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power , Gonzalo Himiob of Foro Penal told the New York Times.
“The prosecution of San Miguel’s brothers and relatives has spread fear in the national social body, and the prevention, if not imitation, of many social figures in the democratic camp,” reports El País. “As it loses popularity, the Venezuelan government has eventually come to believe it is hostile for any civic procedure to reach power on the part of its adversaries.”
“A United Nations-backed expert on food security is urging Venezuela’s government to develop a robust plan to address hunger,” reports the Associated Press.
Regional
Up to half of the Amazon rainforest could hit a tipping point by 2050 as a result of water stress, land clearance and climate disruption, according to a new comprehensive study in Brazil that urges remedial action to restore degraded areas and improve the resilience of the ecosystem. (Guardian)
Ecuador
Ecuador will hold a referendum on measures to tighten security, fight organized crime and reform the constitution, in April, amid worsening conflict between government forces and criminal gangs, reports Reuters. Questions will seek approval to impose stricter gun controls in areas close to jails and increase prison sentences for organized crime offences, among others.
The Ecuadorian city of Durán went from relative obscurity to being splashed across international headlines when its homicide rate began to skyrocket in June 2023. Murders have dropped in Durán, and most of the country, since President Daniel Noboa declared war against Ecauador’s gangs last month. “ But this militarized strategy has not engaged with the underlying dynamics driving violence in Durán, which have deep roots and are likely to resurface,” according to InSight Crime.
Migration
“Arrests for illegal crossings on the U.S. border with Mexico fell by half in January from record highs in December,” reports the Associated Press.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has drafted plans to release thousands of immigrants and slash its capacity to hold detainees after the failure of a Senate border bill that would have erased a $700 million budget shortfall,” reports the Washington Post.
Colombia
Colombian human rights lawyer Adil Meléndez Márquez received an international award from the Alliance for Lawyers at Risk — and was notified 20 minutes later that his bodyguard detail was cancelled, reports the Guardian.
The IMF called on Colombia’s Petro administration to exercise prudent fiscal management in light of profound health and social security reforms the government has proposed, reports the Associated Press.
Bogotá will host the first liaison post of the New York City Police Department in Latin America, reports El País.
Peru
“Peruvian President Dina Boluarte named replacements on Tuesday for four key members of her cabinet, including a new economy chief as well as a new energy and mining minister,” reports Reuters.
Carnival
Meet the working class bate-bolas of Rio de Janeiro’s carnival celebrations: “clown-like figures who reign over the pre-Lenten revelry, delighting and frightening in equal measure with their mesmerising costumes and playful antics.” — Guardian