Violence in Chiapas ahead of elections
May 20, 2024
At least 14 people have been killed in electoral violence in Mexico’s Chiapas state in recent days. The latest attack early Sunday targeted the car driving Nicolás Noriega, who is running to lead the municipal government of the town of Mapastepec. He was wounded and at least five people from his campaign were fatally shot, reports the Associated Press.
Last Thursday, a mayoral candidate and five other people, including a young girl, were killed by gunmen at a campaign rally in Chiapas. It is unclear whether Lucero López Maza was the intended target of the attack, because shootings have become so common and widespread in the area, reports the Associated Press.
The two lead presidential candidates, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, traded blame for the country’s security crisis during a debate last night. Each acussed the other’s party of ties to organized crime and promised to lower stubbornly high homicide rates, reports the Washington Post.
Ruling Morena party candidate Sheinbaum, who has a wide lead in polls ahead of the June 2 vote, said that declaring a “war on drugs” was “one of the most terrible decisions” in recent Mexican history, and said the wave of violence that ensued has not finished.
She defended the security record of her mentor, outgoing President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, while Gálvez accused the administration of playing nice with the country’s powerful drug cartels, reports the Associated Press.
Gálvez repeatedly derided Sheinbaum as "the candidate of lies," flashing a graphic depicting her opponent with a Pinocchio-style nose, and promised to continue generous social spending programs enacted by AMLO, reports Reuters.
More Mexico
“A collision of climate change, urban sprawl and poor infrastructure has pushed Mexico City to the brink of a profound water crisis,” reports the New York Times.
Abinader wins reelection
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader declared victory after yesterday’s general elections, with a strong lead in vote tallies. His competitors conceded yesterday, despite the lack of full official results, which were expected to be available in coming days. (See Friday’s post)
As of this morning, Abinader had 57.46% of the vote, with 99% of votes tallied. (Resultados Electorales)
Speaking last night, Abinader vowed unity and impartial leadership, reports Reuters. He called for a country "without distinction, without sectarianism and without party colors."
Migration was a major issue in Abinader’s reelection campaign: “The election showcased how a political leader could turn migration fears to his advantage,” according to the New York Times.
“The outcome reinforced both Abinader’s anti-corruption agenda, the government’s crackdown along its shared border with Haiti and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing the Dominican Republic’s violence-stricken neighbor. Such policies are only likely to continue in his next term,” reports the Associated Press.
A two-year crackdown on undocumented migrants in the Dominican Republic, broadly supported by Dominicans, has left Haitians vulnerable to the worst abuses, reports the Washington Post.
The Dominican Republic is seeing some of the region’s strongest economic growth, notes Bloomberg.
“Given the recent political history of the country, where the last three presidents have each been reelected across two decades of broad political stability, the result is not so surprising,” writes Rosario Espinal in Americas Quarterly. “The question now is how Abinader will choose to spend his renewed political capital: Will he tackle constitutional or fiscal reform or seek to shore up the nation’s struggling public services?”
Regional Relations
Spain recalled its ambassador to Buenos Aires for consultations, yesterday, after Argentina's President Javier Milei made derogatory comments about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's wife during a far-right Vox party rally in Madrid. Milei does not plan ti apologize, according to his spokesperson. (Reuters)
The Argentine president was the star guest at the Vox organized far-right conference, which was also attended by European politicians including France’s Marine Le Pen, reports the Financial Times.
China has replaced the Soviet Union as the U.S. bogeyman in the Latin American backyard, but the fears belie “the massive size of the U.S.’s own security presence in the region — and how small China’s is in comparison,” writes Juan Gabriel Tokatlian in Responsible Statecraft.
The U.S. is engaging with Venezuelan “stakeholders” as well regional and European partners in a bid to keep Venezuela’s electoral process on track, but expects additional difficulties as the July 28 vote approaches, reports Reuters.
Venezuela
“Provea, short for the Venezuelan Education-Action Program on Human Rights, has in recent months been declared an “enemy of the people” by government officials, who have accused it of conspiring against the country. Two weeks ago, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a multilateral body that seeks to safeguard human rights across the Americas, called on the Venezuelan government to allow Provea to continue its work without interference after the organization reported threats by state agents,” reports the Washington Post.
Regional
Investigative journalist Ronna Rísquez analyzes the seemingly unstoppable expansion the transnational Tren de Aragua gang, which originated in Venezuelan prisons at In.Visibles. The group’s particular characteristics, which include its great capacity for adaptation, negotiation, and alliance building, are a source of power, she says. “This is a group that can function either as the main operator of a criminal activity, or as a service provider for other larger groups of territories where they want to enter. These characteristics, which are not necessarily obtained by using violence as seen with the Mexican cartels and the guerrillas in Colombia, give this group a lot of strength.”
Migration
The United Nations refugee agency has called on the United States to stop forcibly returning Haitians to their home country, which is in the midst of political anarchy and rampant gang violence, reports Al Jazeera.
“Child migration through the Darien Gap up 40 per cent so far this year… Of the 30,000 children on the move so far this year, nearly 2,000 of them were unaccompanied or separated from their families. The number of unaccompanied and separated children tripled in comparison to the same period in 2023. The number of children in transit is also growing five-times faster than the number of adults.” (UNICEF via Americas Migration Brief)
Panama's newly elected president, José Raúl Mulino, promised to close the area, which has become a "gold mine" for criminal organizations. In practice, however, the proposal is unrealistic — In.Visibles
The documentary What Remains on the Way, which follows Lilian and her four young children on the dangerous journey from Guatemala to the U.S., brings a human face to the migration crisis, according to the Guardian.
Brazil
Water levels in Brazil’s southern Rio Grande do Sul state could take at least two more weeks to drop, three weeks after the country’s worst-ever floods killed 155 people and displaced 540,000 more, reports the Guardian.
“Anitta, the popular Brazilian singer, was the target of intense backlash over the release of a music video in an episode that highlighted persistent religious intolerance and racism in Brazil,” reports the New York Times. (See also El País.)
Colombia
“Colombia is entering a vicious cycle of tepid economic growth and low tax revenue, with President Gustavo Petro’s government considering wider budget deficits and investors navigating the deteriorating fiscal outlook”, reports Bloomberg.
Honduras
The air quality in San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second-largest city, has been classified as the most polluted on the American continent due to forest fires and weather conditions aggravated by El Niño and the climate crisis — Guardian
Argentina
Commuters in Buenos Aires were slammed with an overnight 360% increase in subway fares on Friday, part of libertarian President Javier Milei’s austerity plan. (Associated Press)
Milei is planning to meet with Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other leaders of tech giants in Silicon Valley at the end of May, according to Bloomberg.
Peru
Sexual diversity activists protested in Peru to demand that the Boluarte government repeal a decree that characterizes seven gender identities, including transgenderism, as “mental illnesses.” — Associated Press