South America Watch Thread

[wjfox]

Great. Another war coming.

[caltrek]

From that article:

The referendum came at a time of heightened tension between Guyana and Venezuela after the 2015 discovery of oil in the waters off Essequibo's coast by US oil giant ExxonMobil.

More on that:

ExxonMobil Wants to Start a War in South America
by Vijay Prishad
December 6, 2023

Introduction:

(Counterpunch) On December 3, 2023, a large number of registered voters in Venezuela voted in a referendum over the Essequibo region that is disputed with neighboring Guyana. Nearly all those who voted answered yes to the five questions. These questions asked the Venezuelan people to affirm the sovereignty of their country over Essequibo. “Today,” said Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, “there are no winners or losers.” The only winner, he said, is Venezuela’s sovereignty. The principal loser, Maduro said, is ExxonMobil.

In 2022, ExxonMobil made a profit of $55.7 billion, making it one of the world’s richest and most powerful oil companies. Companies such as ExxonMobil, exercise an inordinate power over the world economy and over countries that have oil reserves. It has tentacles across the world, from Malaysia to Argentina. In his Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power (2012), Steve Coll describes how the company is a “corporate state within the American state.” Leaders of ExxonMobil have always had an intimate relationship with the U.S. government: Lee “Iron Ass” Raymond (Chief Executive Officer from 1993 to 2005) was a close personal friend of U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and helped shape the U.S. government policy on climate change; Rex Tillerson (Raymond’s successor in 2006) left the company in 2017 to become the U.S. Secretary of State under President Donald Trump. Coll describes how ExxonMobil uses U.S. state power to find more and more oil reserves and to ensure that ExxonMobil becomes the beneficiary of those finds.

Walking through the various polling centers in Caracas on the day of the election, it was clear that the people who voted knew exactly what they were voting for: not so much against the people of Guyana, a country with a population of just over 800,000, but they were voting for Venezuelan sovereignty against companies such as ExxonMobil. The atmosphere in this vote—although sometimes inflected with Venezuelan patriotism—was more about the desire to remove the influence of multinational corporations and to allow the peoples of South America to solve their disputes and divide their riches among themselves.

Read more here: https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/12/0 ... america/

[Xyls]

^Bullshit.

[firestar464]

How so?

[caltrek]

Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori Freed from Prison on Humanitarian Grounds
Updated December 6, 2023

Introduction:

(AP via NPR) LIMA, Peru — Peru's former President Alberto Fujimori was released from prison Wednesday on humanitarian grounds, despite a request from a regional human rights court to delay his release.

Fujimori, 85, was serving a 25-year sentence in connection with the slayings of 25 Peruvians by death squads in the 1990s. Peru's constitutional court ordered his immediate release on Tuesday, but the Inter-American Court of Human Rights asked for a delay to study the ruling.

Fujimori, who governed Peru from 1990 to 2000, was sentenced in 2009 on charges of human rights abuses. He was accused of being the mastermind behind the slayings of the 25 Peruvians while the government fought the Shining Path communist rebels.

Read more here: https://www.bing.com/search?q=Alberto+ ... vfirst=14

[erowind]

There is no justifiable reason for Venezuela to annex any part of Guyana. Imperialism is imperialism is imperialism.

I worry that this will cause another war where Venezuela foolishly attacks its neighbor and then America swoops in to play world police and invades Venezuela in turn completely destabilizing the entire region and creating even more refugees.

A Venezuelan invasion wouldn't be justified even if this weren't the case but it especially disturbs me because Guyana is a social democracy and in theory should be an ideological ally of Venezuela. It really shows the nature of the so-called "socialist" government there they they're playing revanchist nationalist games.

[caltrek]

^^^I have that same worry. Still, I wonder if you are jumping the gun a little bit. What if the idea is to ally with the neighboring country governed by a social democratic party in order to strengthen the collective bargaining position in relation to ExxonMobil?

No guarantees, just one possibility for which I will be looking out.

[caltrek]

US Involvement in a War Between Venezuela and Guyana Must Be Opposed
by Dan La Botz
December 11, 2023

Introduction:

(Common Dreams) The United States has taken the first steps in becoming involved in a potential war between Venezuela and Guyana. President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela is claiming the territory of the oil-rich Essequibo region of neighboring Guyana, a claim recently backed by a referendum. Maduro then produced a new Venezuelan map that includes Essequibo as a new state. A 1996 agreement between the two countries gives the United Nations International Court of Justice the power to resolve disputes, but Maduro has rejected its involvement. All of this is seen as a prelude to military action to take over the province and its petroleum wealth.

President Irfaan Ali of Guyana declared, “Essequibo is ours, every square inch of it,” and sent troops to reinforce the country’s border with Venezuela. Brazil, which is a neighbor of both countries has also sent armed forces to the area. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva expressed his concern about the situation, saying, “We are going to treat it very carefully because what we don’t want here in South America is war.” St. Vincent and Grenadines President Ralph Gonsalvez and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres have persuaded Maduro and Ali to meet to discuss the issue, but Ali says he will not discuss the country’s borders and Maduro reiterates his claim to Essequibo.

Why is Maduro claiming Essequibo at this time?

Conclusion:

Since the discovery of enormous off-shore oil fields in Guyana, American and other foreign petroleum companies, such as Esso Exploration & Production Guyana, a descendant of ExxonMobil and Standard Oil, already have operations in Essequibo, and the oil companies have always played a large role in U.S. foreign policy.

War? Not yet. But the left must be watching, prepared to oppose U.S. involvement.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/u ... a-guyana

[caltrek]

Here is a news article from earlier this year that I missed. It may be of relevance in discussing more recent developments in Venezuela as discussed above:
Iran to Help Venezuela Overhaul Major Refinery Complex
by Julianne Geiger
February 3, 2023

Introduction:

(OilPrice.com) Venezuela’s Paraguana refinery complex is soon to begin a 100-day overhaul to reclaim its crude distillation capacity, anonymous Reuters sources suggested on Friday, with work set to be completed as a joint effort by Venezuela’s PDVSA and National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC).

Iran’s assistance with Venezuela’s Paraguana Refining Center—the nation’s largest—looks to ease Venezuela’s reliance on U.S. refinery technology.

Over the past decade, Venezuela’s oil industry has crumbled due to mismanagement, corruption, and a lack of investment in maintenance, and U.S. sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry and exports, enacted by former President Donald Trump, helped to cripple the industry and discouraged foreign operators from working in the country.

Additional extract:

Venezuela’s refining woes have led to shortages in gasoline supplies in the country, triggering hours-long waits on the retail side.

Venezuela sits atop the largest crude oil reserves in the world but has for years been unable to keep its crude oil and refining sectors operating normally.

Read more here: https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-New ... lex.html

[40lightyears]

Wow, saw the news about Castillo declaring victory in Peru. Talk about making a bold move before the count's even done! Exciting times ahead for Peru, curious to see how it all plays out.

[firestar464]

What?

[caltrek]

Chile Rejects Effort to Extend Pinochet's 'Extremist Neoliberal Model'
by Jake Johnson
December 18, 2023

Introduction:

(Common Cause) Chilean voters on Sunday rejected a proposed right-wing constitution that would have further weakened abortion rights and allowed the private sector to extend its reach in the country's healthcare, education, and pension systems.

Sunday's vote marks the second time in as many years that Chileans have spurned a replacement for the current constitution, which was drafted during Gen. Augusto Pinochet's murderous U.S.-backed dictatorship and subsequently amended dozens of times.

Last year, after a massive far-right disinformation campaign, voters rejected a progressive constitution that would have enshrined gender equality, formally recognized the nation's Indigenous groups, strengthened workers' rights, and expanded the welfare state, including by making public colleges tuition-free.

The new proposal, crafted by elected members of a constitutional council dominated by conservatives, "placed private property rights and strict rules around immigration and abortion at its center," Reuters reported.

The proposed replacement would have slightly tweaked the current constitution to protect "the life of who is unborn," a change that observers said would have opened the door to the total criminalization of abortion. The procedure is currently legal in Chile only in cases of rape, a nonviable fetus, or a threat to the life of the mother.

Read more here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/chil ... titution

[wjfox]

Ecuador declares war on armed gangs after TV station attacked on air

Ecuador's president has ordered that criminal gangs be "neutralised" after days of violence culminated in an attack on a television studio.

Masked gunmen broke into public television channel TC's live studio during a broadcast, forcing staff to the floor.

Police made 13 arrests following the attack, which injured two employees.

At least 10 people have been killed since a 60-day state of emergency began in Ecuador on Monday.

The emergency was declared after a notorious gangster vanished from his prison cell. It is unclear whether the incident at the TV studio in Guayaquil was related to the disappearance from a prison in the same city of the boss of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, or Fito as he is better known.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-67930452

[caltrek]

^^^More on that:

How Ecuador Went from Being Latin America’s Model of Stability to a Nation in Crisis
by Eduardo A. Gamarra
January 12, 2024

Extract::

(The Conversation) I have been tracking how gang crime has affected states in Latin America for 38 years. When I started, few would have projected that Ecuador would descend into the crisis it finds itself today. But the story of Ecuador reflects a wider story of how countries across Latin America have struggled with organized crime and transnational drug gangs and how they have responded.

Ecuador now looks set to follow the recent path of El Salvador under President Nayib Bukele’s leadership in trying to crack the gang problem through the use of military and the suspension of democratic norms. In the aftermath of the Jan. 9 violence, Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa named 22 gangs as terrorist organizations – a designation that makes them legitimate military targets. He has also imposed a 60-day state of emergency, during which Ecuadorians will be subject to curfews while armed forces try to restore order in the streets and the country’s gang-controlled prisons.
Ecuador: Victim of geography

To understand why Ecuador has become the epicenter of gang violence, you need to understand both the geography and history of Latin America’s drug trade.
…
Path of El Salvador

With an unprecedented wave of violence in Ecuador, it looks like President Noboa is looking to take his country down the same path as El Salvador. He has ordered the Ecuadorian military to “neutralize” the criminal gangs that operate in the country.

Whether the approach will work is another matter; Ecuador is in a weaker position than El Salvador.

Read more here: https://theconversation.com/how-ecuado ... s-220911






Ecuador

[caltrek]

Venezuela's inflation rate slows to 189% – below Argentina's
January 13, 2024

Introduction:

(Buenos Aires Times) Venezuela, which often experiences record inflation, closed 2023 with an increase in bolívar prices of 189.8 percent, a slowdown compared to the previous year's 234 percent, according to the Central Bank on Friday.

The publication of data by the monetary institution in Caracas means that Argentina recorded the highest inflation in Latin America last year.

Venezuela, whose economy is almost completely dollarised after years of recession and hyperinflation – which hit 686 percent in 2021 – is struggling with one of the worst inflation crises in the world.

Shaken by a serious economic meltdown, the country saw its GDP contract by 80 percent between 2013 and 2021.

Conclusion:

The only consolation for Venezuela today is that it has ceded the title of worst inflation in 2023 to Argentina, which closed with an increase in peso prices of 211 percent, after the slow fall of its own currency and a move by the new president, Javier Milei, to devalue it by another 50 percent after taking office in December.

Read more here: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/econom ... as.phtml


Venezuela

[firestar464]

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/0 ... i-j13.html

This article starts out decent but ends with the annoying "hAvE yOu hEaRd oF oUr lOrD aNd sAvIoR tHe sOciAlIsT rEvOlUtIoN?"

[Powers]

"hAvE yOu hEaRd oF oUr lOrD aNd sAvIoR tHe sOciAlIsT rEvOlUtIoN?"

"Peaceful "revolution""

[caltrek]

Community of Latin America and Caribbean States Meeting to Analyze Regional Food Security Plan
January 26, 2024

Introduction:

Santiago de Chile, Jan 16 (Prensa Latina) Ministers of Agriculture and other senior functionaries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) will meet in Chile to analyze the update of the region's Food and Nutritional Security Plan.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) regional headquarters will be the venue of this event. Representatives from more than 25 countries, in person or online, are scheduled to participate.

According to experts, problems related to nutritional quality continue to be a concern for governments, especially now that countries face, not only serious problems of malnutrition but also obesity and its consequences.

“Even though there is sufficient availability of food in the region, there are areas with access difficulties to cover their basic requirements and, in many cases, the nutritional quality is deficient,” notes a report from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Based on the document, international crises, soil wear out and the intensity of natural phenomena are affecting food production and its access at low costs, which requires a profound transformation.

Read more here: https://www.plenglish.com/news/2024/01 ... ty-plan/

[caltrek]

United Nations Human Rights Office Regrets Venezuela’s Decision to Suspend Operations
February 16, 2024

Introduction:

(United Nations News) The UN human rights office (OHCHR) is evaluating its next steps while continuing to engage with Venezuelan authorities following the Government’s announcement on Thursday that the office must suspend operations in the country and its staff leave within 72 hours.

Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for OHCHR, said in a statement that the Office regretted the announcement and that it continues to engage with the authorities and other stakeholders.

“Our guiding principle has been and remains the promotion and protection of the human rights of the people of Venezuela,” she added.

Earlier this week, OHCHR said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that it was following up on the detention of human rights defender Rocío San Miguel “with deep concern.”

“Her whereabouts remain unknown, potentially qualifying her detention as an enforced disappearance,” it said, calling for her immediate release and for her right to legal defence to be respected.

Read more here: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146652

[caltrek]

Indigenous Colombians Fret as Sacred Mountain Glaciers Melt
by Juan Sebastián Serrano
February 28, 2024

Introduction:

(Buenos Aires Times) In the shade of a sacred tree, indigenous wise men chew coca leaves as they mull the threats to their home among the melting, snow-capped peaks of Colombia's Sierra Nevada mountains.

As a "consequence of man's actions, it is slowly warming, more every year," one of the men says in the Iku language, according to a translator, at a meeting of dozens of indigenous people from different communities.

The inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada range in north Colombia believe it is the centre of the universe, its rivers, stones and plants part of one living body. They see it as their job to protect its balance.

In 2022, UNESCO recognised the ancient knowledge of the area's four Indigenous groups as part of the world's intangible cultural heritage, and essential to caring for "mother nature, humanity and the planet."

But here in Earth's highest coastal mountain system, 5,775 metres (19,000 feet) above sea level, the natural harmony they prize is being disrupted as record heat waves melt the glacial peaks and ruin their crops.

Read more here: https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/latin- ... lt.phtml