The Guatemalan president transition process between President Alejandro Giammattei’s adminsitration and the president-elect, Bernardo Arévalo, remains suspended while the current administration analyzes a proposal sent by Arévalo, reports EFE.
Arévalo proposed direct coordination between government areas in order to advance with the transfer in the midst of judicial efforts to overthrow his victory, reports Soy 502.
More Guatemala
The Public Ministry requested the removal of immunity from members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (which has defended Arévalo’s victory), in relation to alleged anomalies in the acquisition of an electoral data transmission system. (Prensa Libre)
Chile
Chilean President Gabriel Boric visited Washington DC last week, marking the anniversary of the 1976 assassination of Orlando Letelier, an exiled Chilean diplomat, by Chilean secret police — a significant ceremony coming on the heels of the fiftieth anniversary of the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende. (The Nation, Washington Post, WOLA)
“What I say tends to annoy people from the right and from the left. In politics, as in life, I think you have to be guided by principles. There is no way I can stay strong against the military dictatorships in Latin America in the 1970s and not say anything about what is going on in Nicaragua [now]. It is inconsistent,” Boric told the Washington Post in an interview.
Migration
Immigrant-rights advocates are calling on the U.S. Biden administration to immediately suspend all deportation flights to Haiti, citing the inconsistencies in its policies and the deteriorating security situation in the country, reports the Miami Herald.
Regional Relations
The U.S. is working to build support for an international security mission to Haiti, led by Kenya. Though there has been no official confirmation of who will participate, the Miami Herald reports that in addition to The Bahamas, Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda, which had previously announced their intent to take part in the mission, Italy, Spain, Mongolia, Senegal, Belize, Suriname, Guatemala and Peru will also lend support.
A group of Haitian-American elected officials is calling on U.S. President Joe Biden to withdraw support for a Kenya-led peacekeeping mission in Haiti, which they say will bolster acting President Ariel Henry’s grip on power, reports The Hill.
The EU must finalize a long-delayed free trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur bloc by December, or the Latin Americans will walk away and negotiate with Asian countries instead, Paraguay’s president Santiago Peña told the Financial Times.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley said that reparative justice is inevitable for countries that suffered the horrendous consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to develop economically, addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Friday. (See today’s Just Caribbean Updates.)
Venezuela's National Assembly has green-lighted a referendum regarding a territorial dispute with Guyana, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said in an address to the United Nations on Saturday. (Reuters)
El Salvador
El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele defended his ongoing crackdown against gangs — strongly criticized by rights groups — at his U.N. address last week, saying the country’s security results speak for themselves. He framed the mano dura approach as an exercise in sovereign policy making, saying the country is an example of what all countries can achieve when they start to claim their sovereignty.(Associated Press, United Nations)
Regional
Latin America’s current leftist wave is likely to fall prey to the regional anti-incumbency movement, which is making political pendulum swings short and shorter. But long term trends will further undermine “the left, and specifically the brand of social-democratic center-leftism that spread far and wide during the latest political cycle,” argues Will Freeman in Americas Quarterly.
Ecuador’s descent into violent crime over the past few years has regional implications, writes Juan Elman in Cenital.
Latin America’s conservative corporations are finding different ways to get into technology, reports Rest of World.
Brazil
A Brazilian activist campaign is pushing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to nominate the first ever Black female justice to Brazil’s Supreme Court, to fill the slot that Chief Justice Rosa Weber will vacate in October when she reaches the compulsory retirement age. (Guardian)
Brazil is baking in what promises to be a “mercilessly hot” spring, reports the Guardian.
Bolivia
Bolivia’s dollar bonds fell the most in nearly six months after former President Evo Morales said he’ll run in the 2025 presidential election, adding to uncertainty in a nation already concerned about dwindling gold reserves, reports Bloomberg.
Critter Corner
For decades the plundering of the region’s protected species went unchallenged, but new efforts are being made to halt traffickers across Latin America and the Caribbean. Colombia created its first intelligence unit dedicated to wildlife crime five years ago, and, last year, signed up to the Buckingham Palace declaration, a plan to strengthen defenses against wildlife trafficking, reports the Guardian.
A Mexican woman shielded her son from a bear who invaded their birthday picnic in the Chipinque Park on the outskirts of the northern city of Monterrey. She kept her eyes downcast to avoid anything the bear might consider a challenge. (Associated Press)