Protests against judicial reform in Mx
Aug. 26, 2024
Mexico’s electoral institute voted Friday to give the governing Morena party and its allies about 73 percent of seats in the lower house of Congress. This puts the governing coalition comfortably above the two-third needed to unilaterally pass constitutional reform. In the Senate, the ruling party will control 83 of the 128 seats, just shy of the two-thirds majority of 85 seats.
However, the move could be challenged in court, as the coalition won less than 60 percent of the votes in the June 2 elections. Opposition objections are based on an interpretation of the electoral system prioritizing representation by party rather than coalition, reports Reuters. (Animal Político)
“The dispute involves a law that assigns some seats in Congress on the basis of proportional representation. That was designed to give smaller parties some seats in Congress, based on their national vote percentage, even if they couldn’t win individual congressional district races,” explains the Associated Press. While the seats can’t be used to give any party a majority, smaller Morena allies, who vote in lockstep with the ruling party, obtained seats through this mechanism.
The composition of Congress is particularly key as the new Congress, with a strong Morena majority, will vote on a series of reform proposals championed by outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, next month. These include judicial reform that would make all federal judgeships elected positions. (El País)
Judicial Reform
Sheinbaum insisted, speaking at a public works inauguration Friday, that Supreme Court magistrates should be elected by citizens and be accountable to them. She emphasized the division between economic and political power, insisting her government will not be hostage to business interests, reports La Jornada.
Morena is also pushing a reform that would essentially eliminate all of Mexico’s independent oversight and regulatory bodies, which the party says are a waste of money, and that oversight responsibilities should be given to government departments instead.
Yesterday thousands of people protested against the reforms in Mexico City as well as in Michoacán, Puebla, León, Jalisco, Oaxaca, Veracruz and other states. Many protesters are also upset by a proposal to do away with independent regulatory agencies. (Associated Press, Animal Político)
Federal court employees and judges remain on strike, the peso’s value has slumped, and the U.S. ambassador voiced concern over the planned reform. But journalist Salvador Camarena dissects criticism of Morena’s supermajority and judicial reform — saying national and international opposition to the ruling party has turned a blind eye to very clear voter will expressed in Morena’s landslide June victory. (El País)
Venezuela
An opposition member of Venezuela’s electoral authority, Juan Carlos Delpino told the New York Times that he had no proof that Venezuela’s authoritarian president won last month’s election — the first major criticism from inside the electoral system.
Venezuela’s Maduro government said it will order former opposition candidate Edmundo González to provide sworn testimony in an ongoing investigation into an alleged effort to spread panic in the country by contesting the results of the July 28 presidential election. González has been in hiding since since the vote, in the midst of a massive government crackdown on dissent. (Associated Press)
The Attorney General’s Office has summoned him to provide sworn testimony today for the alleged crimes of usurping state responsibilities, forging public documents, instigating disobedience of the law, computer crimes, criminal association and conspiracy, reports El País.
The accusations against González focus on the publication of vote tallies obtained by opposition poll monitors, data verified by numerous independent experts that corroborates González’s claim of a landslide win, explains El País.
González urged Venezuelans to join in defense of freedom and sovereignty of the people after the government’s announcement on Friday, reports Reuters.
Carmela Longo, awell-known Venezuelan journalist, was detained in Caracas on yesterday by police. At least eight other reporters have been detained since the disputed July presidential election, reports Reuters.
There are currently 1,674 political prisoners in the country, the greatest number so far this century, according to Foro Penal.
A month into the Maduro government’s crackdown, many analysts expect the president to ride out discontent and continue ruling the country, reports the Guardian.
But opposition leader María Corina Machado told the Financial Times that Maduro’s campaign of repression is unsustainable.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro insisted this weekend that Venezuela’s government must publish the full polling station voting results to back its claim of reelection. (El País)
In a joint statement, Lula and Petro said the "credibility of the electoral process can only be restored through the transparent publication of disaggregated and verifiable data." (Associated Press)
The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said that Maduro has still “not provided the necessary public evidence” to prove he was the winner of July’s elections, after Venezuela’s Supreme Court backed the government’s disputed claims of victory, last week. (Associated Press)
Guatemala
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo told the Financial Times his government is at risk of a judicial coup, and said critics pushing him to take more drastic action — for example in removing the attorney-general, who has relentlessly investigated his party — do not fully appreciate the risks.
Haiti
The U.S. military said it will deliver 24 additional armored vehicles, as well as 34 Overhead Gunner Protection Kits, or "turrets" for the armored vehicles, to Kenyan personnel deployed in Haiti. Critics say the multinational security mission led by Kenya lacks essential equipment. (Reuters)
Migration
The U.S. is seeing to coordinate migration policies with several Latin American countries to respond to an increase in migrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Last week Brazil tightened transit regulations for people from several Asian countries, while Panama has conducted repatriation flights for migrants, financed by the U.S. (Reuters)
Regional
In Argentina, Brazil and Chile about a third of the electorate supports the national far-right, and about 60 percent rejects it, according to a new study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation. (El País)
The far-right exercises a polarizing effect on the electorate, and its electoral success lies partially with the second-round system for presidential voting, which pushes voters to choose the least-bad option, writes the study’s coordinator Cristian Rovira in El País.
Brazilian National Development Bank head Aloizio Mercadante said protectionist measures — put in place by the United States, China and the European Union — are an economic threat to Latin American countries, in an interview with El País.
Brazil
Wildfires in Brazil’s southern Sao Pâulo state have killed at least two people, at least 36 cities have been put on high alert, reports the Associated Press.
Authorities said that arsonists were setting blazes and deployed military aircraft as part of a "war against the fire." (AFP)
A string of murders and assaults of gay men targeted through dating apps has shaken Brazil’s gay community, reports Reuters.
Ecuador
El País profiles how a group of Indigenous Waorani forest defenders hone their skills to monitor and denounce deforestation.
Cuba
Power outages totaling 14 hours or more per day were reported last week in Cuba, leaving millions of residents affected by summer heat and humidity. The state-run power company said breakdowns had forced six plants off-line, reports Reuters.