Regional Round-Up: Uruguay Approves Assisted Dying; Ecuador Referendum Rejects US Military Bases; Brazilian Hairdresser in India Voter Fraud Scandal; Gen Z Protests in Mexico City

Latin America Correspondent Jon Bonfiglio with a round-up and analysis of stories from the region. 

For more context of the anger towards Claudia Sheinbaum, listen to:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/admin/739100/episodes/18159374-regional-round-up-understanding-the-fury-around-claudia-sheinbaum-israel-thanks-mexico-for-thwarting-assassination-of-ambassador-france-mexico-announce-expanded-cooperation-remembering-florence-cassez

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Transcript

Jon Bonfiglio: 0:01

Hi everyone, sorry about the delayed roundup this week between everything happening in Haiti and the complexities around managing the days here, multiple broadcasts related to the USA and Venezuela and Haiti's World Cup qualification as of last night, with everything that that involved, uh and the fact that football and culture in the country suddenly became a thing. The Roundup has taken a backseat. In fact, just uh this is the day after and just coming through Cap- Haitian's main square, uh there was the sort of the the ongoing after effects, visible after effects of the last night in which the square was absolutely full to brimming of celebrating Haitians. Yesterday also happened to be the annual celebration of the Battle of Verizier, the final battle in the war for Haitian independence, 18th of November. And there was definitely a vibe in the air. More on Haitian due course. However, just a few quick stories though before we get onto it. Firstly, Uruguay has just been the first country in Latin America to legalize euthanasia. There's two stories here. On the one hand, the ongoing history of Uruguay being the most progressive country in Latin America and knowing that it is, which is also relevant socio-cultural memory. But also, I think the legislation itself. The law, uh also known as a dignified death bill, allows mentally sound adults with an incurable or irreversible disease causing unbearable suffering to request medical assistance to end their lives. It includes provisions for written requests, reviews by a medical board, and the right for professionals to refuse to participate. In an attempt to stop potential uh euthanasia tourism, the law adds that it is only available to citizens or permanent residents of Uruguay. Also interesting is the fact that it does not completely take away the right from patients with mental health difficulties. But in this case, it requires two doctors to confirm whether or not the patient is mentally able and capable of making the decision. As well as a general election in Chile on Sunday, there was a referendum in Ecuador. For those who aren't regular listeners and who may have missed Ecuador's descent from the safest country in Latin America over the last few years to one with the highest homicide rates, thanks largely to cocaine and a new deep water port in Guayaquil, which was ripe for what is estimated to be that now the movement of 70% of global cocaine movement through the country, produced in Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia now, not Venezuela. It's ridiculous to have to emphasize this, but there we go. The referendum was designed to allow new bases, American bases in the country. The idea was that a US military presence would help curtail the flow and activity around cocaine and illegal groups, but these same bases were banned half a generation ago on the basis of Ecuador being a sovereign nation and foreign military bases impinging on Ecuador's sovereignty. Of course, there are fringe issues related to this, such as the fact that the USA is increasingly interested in a hemisphere with no Chinese presence, which in theory at least US bases promulgate, and the fact that Daniel Noboa is a Trump ally, and the current US administration wants to promote the possibilities of collaboration, with military support being one of the bridges to economic support. On which note, given recent electoral results in the US and a sense that Trump's initial promise to reduce costs for the average American have not materialized, tariffs on certain foods like bananas have been removed. But more on this in a couple of days with Julia Tilton, uh Daily Yonder correspondent. But the point is that Ecuador is a huge producer of bananas, and Ecuador is aligned with the current US administration. It continues the transactional nature of US foreign policy as it stands, as is being currently employed. Nonetheless, the vote is uh the vote in Ecuador is being seen as a rejection of 37-year-old Naboa's policies, despite the fact that he only won a full election on 9th of February earlier this year. The vote is also uh also rejected a reduction in funding of political parties, a reduction in the size of Congress, and a no to rewriting the Constitution, all of which are seen as being uh or were seen as being an attempt by the President Noboa, by President Daniel Noboa, to concentrate power in his hands, much as El Salvador's Naeeb Bukheli has advanced, and as a result to allow him, of course, to uh to to advocate advocate and deliver policies which perhaps were at the fringe of what was previously allowed, accepted, and legal as regards um transnational criminal organizations. Um over in Brazil, uh strange story this one, hairdresser Larissa Netty has been making headlines. She'd been making headlines not in Brazil but in India after her photograph appeared across international media related to allegations of electoral fraud. Uh Nelly from Belo Horizonte has uh never been to India and was entirely unaware of the situation and of her infamy until friends and family alerted her to the issue. It all relates to a press conference given by opposition leader in India, Raul Gandhi, in which he accuses current President Naendra Modi of electoral fraud and shows slides in which hairdresser Netty, again Brazilian hairdresser Nettie, who's never been to India, appears as 22 separate voters, all with different names and addresses, but all with her verifiably, demonstrably her photo. And finally, if you missed the Generation Z Z protests in Mexico City, well, where have you been? Perhaps just offline and reading a good book or hiking in the mountains, and if that's the case, I'm very happy for you, and also just uh a little more than envious. Uh so the protests in Mexico City injured last Sunday, over 120, most of them police officers. Thousands marched in Mexico City in the centre of the Zocalo to Dan, to the surrounding area, to demonstrate against violent crime and President Claudia Shane Baum's government. Again, regular listeners will have heard a recording about ten days ago, which we'll link to in the notes on the podcast, in which we explain some of the real guttural disdain for Shane Baum at the moment. And it's not because she's disliked, precisely the opposite. It's because people believe in her and they feel they are being betrayed. She's added to her own difficulty by saying that the marches were funded by opposition parties and promoted online by bots because she's unwilling to address the fact that she actually agrees with what is being protested. These are exactly the kinds of protests she would have supported ten years ago before she became, well, a tribal leader. The protesters took as a point of entry the killing, the recent killing of Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manso, a well-known hardliner in the struggle against organized crime, who had called for increased federal protection as well as tougher action on the cartels. Shanebaum, for her part, insists that when the government had previously declared war on the cartels, all that did was increase the violence and failed to alter their operations. To a large extent, she's right, but people perceive her current laissez-faire policy as one of inaction and collusion with the criminal groups. Perhaps not for her, but for her party. They are largely right. As we've said before, Shanebaum is undoubtedly undoubtedly a principled politician. But the catch 22 that she finds herself in is that she's inherited the presidency by virtue of being anointed to lead an utterly unprincipled party. How she bears that cross will be an ongoing struggle for her and for the country, for Mexico. For the moment, given her accusations again around the organizing of the protests, she clearly has no functioning strategy, and she's going to have to find one pretty quickly. So thanks for listening, everyone. That's a roundup for the moment. A reminder to, as always, uh, to please share information on the podcast to like-minded individuals who may enjoy or appreciate getting these updates, perspective, and analysis. And of course, a reminder to about our live events next year. Uh, we're coming towards the end of November already. How the year has passed. Founding members, uh subscribers will be invited to attend events next year across the USA, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and the United Kingdom. Information on how to subscribe should be in the show notes. And if it isn't, just uh please email Latin AmericaCorrespondent at gmail.com. I hope to meet some of you, uh some of you I know already. I hope to meet uh to see those of you again and uh to see meet some others of you at these events next year. Equally, if you have an idea for a local event or a talk at a university, business, or other group, just also message in Latin AmericaCorrespondent at gmail.com. And with that, thanks again and good night.