News from across Latin America

[AlbertC]

Fourteen police dead in Mexico gun ambush

Fourteen police officers have been killed and three injured in a shooting in western Mexico.

Fourteen police dead in Mexico gun ambush

The attack is believed to have been carried out by a drug cartel in western Michoacán state.

www.bbc.com

 

[jje1000]

Mexico’s government has been humiliated today! The veil’s been drawn back, and it shows who’s really in control.

Elsewhere, the UN shows how compromised it’s become:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1184859338185293825

 

[AlbertC]

We do not want war': Mexico president defends release of El Chapo’s son

Andrés Manuel López Obrador said security forces saved lives by releasing jailed kingpin’s son after his brief capture in Culiacán

Jo Tuckman in Mexico City
Fri 18 Oct 2019 17.30 BST

'We do not want war': Mexico president defends release of El Chapo’s son

Andrés Manuel López Obrador said security forces saved lives by releasing jailed kingpin’s son after his brief capture in Culiacán

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

Mexico: Shootout rages in El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel stronghold

Heavy gunfights broke out in a Sinaloa cartel stronghold after Mexican security forces arrested a son of drug lord El Chapo. The government is struggling to explain why he was released after a storm of violence.

Mexico: Shootout rages in El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel stronghold | DW | 18.10.2019

Heavy gunfights broke out in a Sinaloa cartel stronghold after Mexican security forces arrested a son of drug lord El Chapo. The government is struggling to explain why he was released after a storm of violence.

m.dw.com

 

[jje1000]

Tough choice- there are plenty who don't want a return to the bloodshed of the Calderón days, but at the same time, all this does is give the Sinaloa cartel a prestige boost, show that the Mexican government can't control its own territory, and legitimize a methods of dealing with the Mexican government- holding an entire city hostage though implications of violence (with no guarantees of peace even if the government acquiesces to the demands).

IMO, it's a battering to the national psyche, at a time when Mexico is already going through economic stagnation.

 

[AlbertC]

Chile protests: state of emergency declared in Santiago as violence escalates

President announces order in televised address after fare-dodging protest by students in capital widens

John Bartlett in Santiago
Sat 19 Oct 2019 04.56 BST

Chile protests: state of emergency declared in Santiago as violence escalates

President announces order in televised address after fare-dodging protest by students in capital widens

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

Chile on edge as worst unrest in three decades claims 11 lives

More clashes likely after Piñera expands state of emergency following ‘weekend of rage’

Tom Phillips Latin America correspondent and Charis McGowan in Santiago

Mon 21 Oct 2019 18.03 BST

Chile on edge as worst unrest in three decades claims 11 lives

More clashes likely after Piñera expands state of emergency following ‘weekend of rage’

www.theguardian.com

Chile: UN rights chief demands probe into protester deaths

Hundreds of protesters have defied an emergency decree and confronted police in Santiago, continuing a wave of unrest that has led to at least 11 deaths. Protests led by students began last week over a metro fare hike.

Chile: UN rights chief demands probe into protester deaths – DW – 10/22/2019

Hundreds of protesters have defied an emergency decree and confronted police in Santiago, continuing a wave of unrest that has led to at least 15 deaths. Protests led by students began last week over a metro fare hike.

m.dw.com

 

[AlbertC]

‘It is inhumane’: Santiago’s protesters point finger at Piñera

After Chile’s president declares country is ‘at war’, people in capital accuse military of brutality

by Jonathan Franklin in Santiago

'They smashed me in the head': anger at Piñera as Chile's bloodied protesters allege brutality

Death toll rises to 15 in worst unrest Chile has faced since Pinochet, as armed men in masks prowl Santiago firing at defiant protesters

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

'It's where we come from': the River People in Mexico left without a river

The loss of the Colorado River has destroyed the social fabric of the Cucapá tribe and is partly to blame for its population decline

• Read our first environmental justice story - about Mexico’s lost river
• Learn more about our new series on environmental justice

by Nina Lakhani in El Mayor, Baja California Norte

The River People in Mexico left without a river

The demise of the Colorado River has destroyed the social fabric of the Cucapá tribe and is partly to blame for its population decline

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

Bolivia braces for fresh protests as officials say Evo Morales close to victory

Protesters set fire to electoral offices in three cities across the country late on Monday amid fury over allegations of vote-rigging

Mat Youkee and agencies in La Paz

Tue 22 Oct 2019 12.34 EDT

Bolivia braces for fresh protests as officials say Evo Morales close to victory

Protesters set fire to electoral offices in three cities across the country late on Monday amid fury over allegations of vote-rigging

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

Chilean leader tries to calm unrest with wage rises and taxes on rich

Sebastián Piñera announces plans after riot police use teargas to disperse protesters

Associated Press in Santiago
Wed 23 Oct 2019 11.08 BST

Chilean leader tries to calm unrest with wage rises and taxes on rich

Sebastián Piñera announces plans after riot police use teargas to disperse protesters

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

An explosion of protest, a howl of rage – but not a Latin American spring

From Chile to Ecuador and Bolivia to Haiti police and protesters are clashing on the streets, but what are the common threads and will they lead to change?

by Tom Phillips in Mexico City

Thu 24 Oct 2019 17.06 BST

An explosion of protest, a howl of rage – but not a Latin American spring

From Chile to Ecuador and Bolivia to Haiti police and protesters are clashing on the streets, but what are the common threads and will they lead to change?

www.theguardian.com

 

[AlbertC]

Chile's congress evacuated as inequality protests paralyse Santiago

Legislature in Valparaíso empties after protestors try to force entry to grounds; up to 1 million rally in Santiago

Sat 26 Oct 2019 03.09 BSTFirst published on Fri 25 Oct 2019 22.52 BST

Chile's congress evacuated as inequality protests paralyse Santiago

Legislature in Valparaíso empties after protestors try to force entry to grounds; up to 1 million rally in Santiago

www.theguardian.com

 

[Northern Light]

I want to take a moment to express my thanks to @AlbertC for making an effort to bring a curated global newsfeed to UT. I consider myself rather well read in such things and yet I'm seeing the odd story
I otherwise would have missed.

***

As to Chile's struggles I have a myriad of thoughts.

This has a been a stable, democratic and increasingly prosperous nation for more than a generation now.

It would be a shame to lose that; which is always a risk with violence and insurrection.

On the other hand, the relative prosperity has not been evenly shared, to say the least. Tensions have been building for many years as the ultra-rich have claimed an inordinate share of the nation's gains.

Its really no surprise that there's a limit to that, even in rich countries., perhaps especially in those.

This is an object lesson for the power structure the world over; if you don't share voluntarily, its entirely possible, that at some point, you won't be asked any longer; and that may be a far deeper problem.

 

[AlbertC]

I want to take a moment to express my thanks to @AlbertC for making an effort to bring a curated global newsfeed to UT. I consider myself rather well read in such things and yet I'm seeing the odd story
I otherwise would have missed.

***

As to Chile's struggles I have a myriad of thoughts.

This has a been a stable, democratic and increasingly prosperous nation for more than a generation now.

It would be a shame to lose that; which is always a risk with violence and insurrection.

On the other hand, the relative prosperity has not been evenly shared, to say the least. Tensions have been building for many years as the ultra-rich have claimed an inordinate share of the nation's gains.

Its really no surprise that there's a limit to that, even in rich countries., perhaps especially in those.

This is an object lesson for the power structure the world over; if you don't share voluntarily, its entirely possible, that at some point, you won't be asked any longer; and that may be a far deeper problem.

The inequality in Chile is very true, as its income levels remain one of the most polarized among OECD member nations.

Chile is one of Latin America's wealthiest countries but also one of its most unequal - it has the worst levels of income equality among the 36 member nations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The president on Wednesday announced a package of reforms aimed at ending the protests, including increasing the basic pension and minimum wage. But this has done little to quell the unrest.

Chile protests: One million join peaceful march for reform

The president says the government has "heard the message" after the march in the capital Santiago.

www.bbc.com