Politics

Police in Bolivia arrest former President Jeanine Añez; she claims ‘political persecution’

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The former interim caretaker was arrested in the middle of the night at her home in the Amazonian region of Beni under accusations of sedition, terrorism, and complicity in a “coup” that ousted former President Evo Morales. The courts said she was considered a “flight risk.”

In turn, she accused the government of political persecution, “It accuses me of having participated in a coup that never happened,” she tweeted.

Añez assumed the presidency as the constitutional next-in-line after Morales, his vice-president. The presidents of the upper and lower houses of Congress, and the president of the Senate resigned following a countrywide revolt that questioned his claim to have won the country’s 2019 elections. She was the second vice president of the senate.

Her charge was to run the country until new elections were held; she held office for one year and was the country’s second woman president, handing over power to Luis Arce of Morales’s political party after a landslide victory in elections held in October 2020.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Niger: Peaceful and democratic change of power

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In a first since the country’s independence in 1960, President Mahamadou Issoufou will not use any constitutional amendments or tricks to extend his stay in power and will step down at the end of this term, handing power over to his democratically elected successor, former Foreign Minister Mohamed Bazoum.

According to The Economist, 13 African heads of state have exceeded their term of office in the past six years.

by Milan Sime Martinic

Philippine president calls for hunting of communists, ‘massacre’ ensues

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President Rodrigo Duterte launched a campaign Friday targeting everyone he classifies as “communist rebels.”

By Sunday, 9 people were dead in raids by the military and police in what Vice President Leni Robredo, who is Duterte’s rival, called a “massacre” that needs to be cleared up.

Opponents fear the president, who is famous for saying, “Kill them,” when ordering persecutions of drug dealers, is using his declaration of persecuting rebelling communists as a way to silence vocal critics and activists who now say they fear for their lives.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Brazil’s leftist ex-president da Silva can run again

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SAO PAULO, Brazil – A judge in the country’s Supreme Court declared the corruption trials against former President Lula da Silva invalid and thus the conviction for which he served time in prison also invalid. Further, it means he can run in the presidential elections of 2022.

Lula, Brazil’s leftist icon, would challenge right-wing populist incumbent President Jair Bolsonaro, suspected to have engineered the investigation that convicted Lula on corruption charges, which judges and prosecutors now agree was manipulated and is questionable.

The former union leader ran the country from 2003 to 2011 and still enjoys great support, especially among the poor in Brazil. During Lula da Silva’s tenure, Brazil experienced a boom, but in 2018 the conviction made his candidacy impossible. Despite polls showing he was likely to win the election, he was sent to prison and taken off the ballot, Bolsonaro then won the elections and took the presidency. The 75 year-old Lula has not indicated whether he wants to run again, but his supporters are already celebrating.

According to recent polls, if the elections were held today, he would have more votes than Bolsonaro.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Khoi-San leadership recognized in South Africa

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DURBAN, South Africa – For the first time in South African history, Khoi-San will be recognised officially and will now be able to serve in the national and provincial houses, as the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act will come into effect April 1.

During his address at the opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders in parliament on Thursday, president Cyril Ramaphosa said, “The country’s Khoi and San leaders will, after following the prescribed processes, for the first time enjoy official recognition and will serve in the national and provincial houses. This is a significant milestone.”

While the contested act of acknowledging the independence and culture of the Khoi and San has been praised, South Africans have mixed feelings and have expressed themselves on social media.

Magesh Makasi commented, “The sons and daughters of the soil. The people of Gqerbeha are very proud of you to be finally recognised,” while Donald Tuck wrote, “Passed in time for elections.” Another Facebook user, Duane Nicholas du Mont commented, “Took so long because the ANC only needed the Khoi vote now.”

By Zakithi Dlamini

Police reform bill passes US House, Senate passage more difficult

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The US House has passed a policing overhaul and accountability bill named after George Floyd which would ban chokeholds, attempt to end racial profiling, limit no-knock warrants, require body cameras, and establish a database to track police misconduct. The bill’s fate in the Senate is uncertain.

Support and opposition falls mostly along party lines. The legislation passed the House with no Republican support with 2 Democrats voting against it. Republicans have branded the bill as a “defund the police” movement and oppose it in the Senate where party lines are divided at 50 each, and the legislation needs 60 votes to proceed.

The threat of a filibuster and getting 10 Republicans to join Senate Democrats are necessary for the bill to make it to Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

“A profession where you have the power to kill should be a profession that requires highly trained officers who are accountable to the public,” said Calif. Democrat congresswoman Karen Bass, during House debate. Bass, one of the authors of the bill, has noted that there have been over 100 officer-involved shootings since Floyd’s death last year, with “numerous examples” of the officers not being charged.

Laying the groundwork for opposition in the Senate, Fla. Republican congresswoman Kat Cammack said “You say this is a reform bill, and I say that’s BS. Your own conference members have been advocating for the defunding of our local police officers, calling them names I cannot and will not repeat here today.”

To pass both houses, the bill will have to be the result of bi-partisan reconciliation between House and Senate versions.

By Milan Sime Martinic

New GOP narrative emerges it was Antifa and not Trump supporters that stormed the Capitol, FBI classifies act ‘domestic terrorism’

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Pro-Trump politicians and right-wing media figures Sarah Palin, Laura Ingraham, Matt Gaetz, Sean Hannity, Wisc. Sen. Ron Johnson, MyPillow chief Mike Lindell, and a growing chorus of Republicans magnified by right-wing media are repeating the claim that it was Antifa and “fake Trump protesters” that stormed the Capitol.

Meanwhile, FBI chief Christopher Wray has classified the assault as “domestic terrorism.”

“This attack, this siege was criminal behavior, plain and simple. And this behavior, which we, the FBI, see as domestic terrorism, has no place in our democracy,” said Wray Tuesday at a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Despite denials from pro-Trump participants in the Capitol siege that there were Antifa supporters in their midst, Rep. Gaetz, who stood on the ransacked House floor and claimed that many rioters “were members of the violent terrorist group Antifa,” repeated the claim again at CPAC this past weekend.

The repetition of the new narrative reaches audiences that have been told for months by Trump that Antifa is a dangerous terror group, providing an alternative that could be easier to accept than that of MAGA fans as domestic terrorists.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Bolsonaro says he wants to arm the population to make Brazil safer; critics say he wants armed supporters to keep him in power

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SAO PAOLO, Brazil – In one of the most violent countries on Earth, its president says the solution is more arms and he is relaxing the gun laws by decree: A mid-February executive order increases the number of guns Brazilians can legally acquire to 6 to be keep at home, but 30 if you are a hunter, and 60 if you are sports shooter.

However, critics say that these moves put human lives in danger and that the extreme right-wing president is creating a threat to democracy because the weapons could be used for more than just defending against crime or for recreation. Opposition Congressman Marcelo Freixo charged that Jair Bolsonaro wants his supporters armed so they can keep him in power if he loses the upcoming election.

Since Bolsonaro took office, the number of officially registered weapons has exploded: 450,000 pistols and rifles have been added since 2019, an increase of 65%. Brazilians now officially own 1.2m firearms, not a lot for a country of 211m, but the Insper Institute of Sao Paulo estimates that the number of illegal weapons may be as much as 15 times higher.

The right-wing populist president says guns are not only a civil right, but also the best way to fight crime and violence. He is on a campaign to arm Brazilian civil society, critics and supporters agree, but they differ on how they see his motives.

Bolsonaro is heavily supported by the National Rifle Association in Brazil, which has a growing and vocal chapter in the country.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Trump puts end to speculation, hints return to presidency

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Speaking at the American Conservative Union’s CPAC conference widely described as a “Trumpfest,” complete with a golden idol of himself, the former president announced he would not launch a new political party out of his Republican faction and instead positioned himself as the party’s leader. He did not announce his candidacy for 2024 but he repeatedly claimed to have won the 2020 election and hinted at a second and third terms for himself.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Former French president sentenced to ‘prison’

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Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to three years for bribery and illicit influence by a Paris court Monday stemming from a conviction for conspiring with lawyers in order to obtain information into an investigation of his campaign finances.

Of the 3-year sentence, 2 years will be be spent on probation, reported French news agency AFP from the Paris Palace of Justice. The 66-year-old is unlikely to have to go to jail because the sentence can be served at home under electronic surveillance. He is the first former French president to be sentenced to prison.

He has 10 days to appeal.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Japan’s ruling party to allow women to watch its board meetings, but no talking

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Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party will invite up to five of its female members of parliament to board meetings, but they should not speak. This was announced by the party as it took what it said was a step toward equality.

“It’s important to fully understand what kind of discussions are going on,” said Toshihiro Nikai, the LDP general secretary. “Look. That’s what it’s about.” Nakai added that women should not have a say in the proceedings but can submit suggestions in writing after the meetings have concluded.

The party’s action has sparked criticism from the opposition, which charges male chauvinism and discrimination against women is ingrained in the LDP, which depends on the voices of Japan’s strong nationalist circles with their traditional role models. They are tentative in grappling with women-friendly ideas, according to women’s groups, and progress is slow. The party’s make-up is 40% female, but women only hold 10% of its parliamentary seats, a figure far below the 25% global average.

According to the World Economic Forum 2020 report, Japan ranks 121 out of 153 countries in its gender parity global ranking.

By Milan Sime Martinic

Mitch McConnell would ‘absolutely’ support Trump if he wins Republican nomination for 2024, ignoring insulting criticism and taking a long view

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Only weeks after appearing to lead the GOP away from Trump and a blistering condemnation of the ex-president as “morally responsible” for for what McConnell described as a “failed insurrection,” the minority leader this week told Fox News he would support Trump as the nominee of the GOP.

Trump, for his part recently called McConnell a “dour, sullen and unsmiling political hack.”

The difficult political equilibrium did not go unnoticed by Democrats, who see it as yet another example of a Republican following Kevin McCarthy and Michael Pence in a re-approachment they say compromises values to capture Trump support for future elections.

By Milan Sime Martinic