Tag Archives: South America

Reuters reports: Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro will not contest his election defeat and will address the nation later on Tuesday, Communications Minister Fabio Faria told Reuters. The presidential address may defuse protests by his supporters who have blocked highways in many states across Brazil, along with pro-Bolsonaro truckers calling for him to defy the electoral victory of leftist Luiz …

CNN reports: More than a day after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was pronounced the winner of Brazil’s 2022 presidential election, incumbent Jair Bolsonaro has yet to publicly acknowledge his loss. The President’s delay in conceding Sunday’s race has contributed to fears that he will not cooperate with a transfer of power, amid scattered protests by his supporters. Ahead of …

The New York Times reports: Voters in Brazil on Sunday ousted President Jair Bolsonaro after just one term and elected the leftist former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to replace him, election officials said, a rebuke to Mr. Bolsonaro’s far-right movement and his divisive four years in office. The victory completes a stunning political revival for Mr. da Silva …

The New York Times reports: In the first round of Brazil’s closely watched elections this month, the polls were off the mark. They significantly underestimated the support for the far-right incumbent, President Jair Bolsonaro, and other conservative candidates across the country. Many on the right were furious, criticizing the pollsters as out of touch with the Brazilian electorate. That response …

The Miami Herald reports: Snipers from Russia and other countries hostile to the United States are competing in war games being held this week in Venezuela in events described as Olympic games for soldiers that were organized not only to show that Moscow still has friends but also that some of them are in Latin America. The international war games …

CBS News reports: Two same-sex couples became the first Thursday to legally tie the knot in Chile, which joined countries in majority Catholic Latin America to allow LGBTQ couples to marry. Under a law approved by Congress in December and signed by outgoing President Sebastian Pinera, they can also now adopt children. “We never imagined we would experience this moment …

The New York Times reports: Having an abortion is no longer a crime under Colombian law, the country’s top court on constitutional matters ruled on Monday, in a decision that paves the way for the procedure to become widely available across this historically conservative, Catholic country. The ruling by Colombia’s Constitutional Court follows years of organizing by women across Latin …

ABC News reports: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was taken to a Sao Paulo hospital early Monday with a suspected intestinal obstruction, the country’s media reported. Globo reported that Bolsonaro returned to the Brazilian capital during the night from a New Year break on the coast and was immediately taken to Hospital Vila Nova Star. Globo quoted Bolsonaro’s doctor, Antônio Luiz …

The New York Times reports: Lawmakers in Chile on Tuesday legalized same-sex marriage, a landmark victory for gay rights activists that underscores how profoundly the country’s politics and society have shifted in the past decade. By overwhelming majorities in both chambers, lawmakers put the unions of same-sex couples on par with others, making Chile the 31st nation to allow gay …

The Associated Press reports: A measure to legalize marriage and adoption by same-sex couples was approved by the lower house of Chile’s Congress on Tuesday, moving it close to final adoption. It had already passed the Senate. The bill approved 101-30 now awaits only final modifications related to the rights of same sex couples. President Sebastián Piñera has indicated he …

Reuters reports: Brazil’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro said on Saturday that he had three options: victory in the 2022 presidential election, death or prison. “I have three options: arrest, killing, and victory,” he said at a rally of evangelical leaders. Bolsonaro later added that the first option was out of the question. “No one on earth threatens me.” Bolsonaro follows …

The Washington Post reports: In a television interview two decades ago, the fringe congressman didn’t hesitate to say it: If he were president, he would shut down the Brazilian congress and stage a military takeover. “There’s not even the littlest doubt,” Jair Bolsonaro said. “I’d stage a coup the same day [I became president,] the same day. Congress doesn’t work. …

Michael Lavers reports at the Washington Blade: The Chilean Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The vote took place less than a month after President Sebastián Piñera announced he supports marriage equality and urged lawmakers in the South American country to quickly act on the issue. The bill now goes to the …

Axios reports: In speeches, Bolsonaro, a former military captain, has been questioning the integrity of an electronic ballot system that’s been in place since 1996 and suggesting he might not even allow elections to happen. Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is currently the runaway favorite heading into the October 2022 contest. Driving the news: The Supreme Court opened …

The New York Times reports: During a recent visit to Argentina by the prime minister of Spain, President Alberto Fernández tried to connect with his guest by paying homage to Argentina’s European immigrant heritage. Instead, with a statement that was widely seen as xenophobic and offensive, Mr. Fernández managed to cause offense at home and across Latin America — including …

Reuters reports: Brazil’s brutal surge in COVID-19 deaths will soon surpass the worst of a record January wave in the United States, scientists forecast, with fatalities climbing for the first time above 4,000 in a day on Tuesday as the outbreak overwhelms hospitals. “It’s a nuclear reactor that has set off a chain reaction and is out of control. It’s …

The Guardian reports: The commanders of the Brazilian army, navy and air force – Gen Edson Leal Pujol, Adm Ilques Barbosa and Lt-Brig Antônio Carlos Bermudez – met with the president’s new minister on Tuesday morning and reportedly tendered their resignations during a dramatic and heated encounter. On Tuesday afternoon the defence ministry confirmed all three would be replaced, a …

The Washington Post reports: Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro offered Sunday to pay for coronavirus vaccines doses with oil shipments, saying in a televised address that the cash-strapped yet oil-rich nation would dedicate some of its production toward acquiring the shots. “Venezuela has the oil tankers, it has customers ready to buy oil from us. It would devote part of its …

The BBC reports: Argentina’s Congress has legalised abortions up to the 14th week of pregnancy, a ground-breaking move for a region that has some of the world’s most restrictive termination laws. Senators voted in favour of the bill after a marathon session with 38 in favour, 29 against and one abstention. Until now, abortions were only permitted in cases of …

Agence France-Presse reports: President Jair Bolsonaro drew criticism Tuesday for telling Brazilians not to deal with Covid-19 like “a country of fags,” the far-right leader’s latest controversial outburst on the pandemic. Bolsonaro, who has consistently downplayed the virus even as it has killed 163,000 people in Brazil,  made the comment during a meandering speech at the presidential palace in which …