Wednesday, November 13, 2019
Bolivian Military to Join Police in Responding to Unrest
AP. November 11, 2019
The head of Bolivia’s military says that following reports police have been overtaxed by weeks of unrest, the armed forces will now provide help in keeping order.
Gen. Williams Kaliman said Monday night the joint police-military force will seek to “avoid bloodshed” and he called on Bolivians to help restore peace.
The announcement came as supporters and opponents of former President Evo Morales clashed in Bolivia’s streets. Morales resigned Sunday after weeks of protests over a disputed presidential election.
Bolivian police chief Yuri Calderon says the joint policing operation will begin immediately and “end when the peace is recovered.”
He also denies reports that he had resigned.
Calling for an 'End to Violence,' Bernie Sanders Becomes First 2020 Democratic Presidential Contender to Criticize Bolivian Coup
Eoin Higgins. Common Dreams. November 11, 2019
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday became the first 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to speak out against Sunday's military coup in Bolivia which saw that country's President Evo Morales forced to resign before going into hiding.
"I am very concerned about what appears to be a coup in Bolivia, where the military, after weeks of political unrest, intervened to remove President Evo Morales," Sanders tweeted. "The U.S. must call for an end to violence and support Bolivia's democratic institutions."
The Vermont senator's comments came after a day of mounting pressure to speak out from his left-wing grassroots movement. Earlier Monday, as Common Dreams reported, Sanders supporter Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) condemned the coup in no uncertain terms.
"The people of Bolivia deserve free, fair, and peaceful elections," said Ocasio-Cortez, "not violent seizures of power."
Sanders' expression of support for Morales was welcomed by supporters.
"By far the biggest difference between Bernie and the rest of the Democratic candidates is how well versed he is in and how much he cares about the type of international left issues that, say, The Nation writes a lot about," said reporter Matthew Zeitlin.
Earlier Monday, Sanders released a new plan to help veterans; held a town hall with veterans in Des Moines, Iowa; and published at Jewish Currents an essay on combatting anti-Semitism.
Trump celebrates resignation of Bolivia's president
BRETT SAMUELS. The Hill. November 11, 2019
President Trump on Monday hailed the ouster of Bolivian President Evo Morales as a "significant moment for democracy" even as Morales's supporters and some U.S. lawmakers likened it to a coup.
Trump issued a statement approving of Morales's resignation, which capped weeks of unrest following the country's elections last month.
"After nearly 14 years and his recent attempt to override the Bolivian constitution and the will of the people, Morales’s departure preserves democracy and paves the way for the Bolivian people to have their voices heard," Trump said in a statement.
Trump said the events in Bolivia "send a strong signal to the illegitimate regimes in Venezuela and Nicaragua that democracy and the will of the people will always prevail. We are now one step closer to a completely democratic, prosperous, and free Western Hemisphere."
Mexico on Monday offered asylum to Morales, and later said the Bolivian leader had requested it.
Morales and his leftist government have been in power for 14 years, but the country's first indigenous president has come under scrutiny toward the end of his tenure. Morales changed the country's laws in order to run for office a fourth time and declared he won last month's election despite widespread accusations of fraud.
The Washington Post reported the the heads of the armed forces and police withdrew their support for the government in recent days amid escalating protests. By Sunday, all four socialist officials atop the Bolivian government had resigned in what Morales likened to a coup.
That language was echoed by prominent liberals in the U.S. Congress, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), both self-described democratic socialists.
"I am very concerned about what appears to be a coup in Bolivia, where the military, after weeks of political unrest, intervened to remove President Evo Morales," Sanders tweeted.
"What’s happening right now in Bolivia isn’t democracy, it’s a coup," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "The people of Bolivia deserve free, fair, and peaceful elections — not violent seizures of power."
Trump has used socialist governments around the world to attack Democrats and their progressive policies ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
The Trump administration has pushed for the ouster of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but has thus far been unsuccessful.
Evo Morales Flies to Mexico but Vows to Return to Bolivia ‘With Force’
Clifford Krauss. New York Times. November 11, 2019
LA PAZ, Bolivia — Evo Morales, the former president of Bolivia who resigned under pressure from street protests and the military, flew to Mexico on Tuesday, but not before recording an audio message promising Bolivians, “I will return soon with force.”
Mr. Morales, who stepped down on Sunday, left his country deeply polarized and leaderless, and his resignation, along with those of other top officials, touched off a new surge of violence as his supporters took to the streets in protest.
Opposition leaders hope to assemble a quorum of the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday to choose an interim president, but it is unclear whether Mr. Morales’s political party, which holds majorities in both chambers, will allow that to happen. Mr. Morales, who was granted refuge by Mexico “for humanitarian reasons,” has described his ouster as an illegitimate coup.
Mr. Morales left office after weeks of growing unrest over a disputed presidential election and after the military indicated it would support the people in the streets calling for him to step down.
Hundreds of his supporters took to the streets of central La Paz late on Monday, some of them armed with sticks and chanting “here we go, civil war.” Officials said demonstrators had attacked police officers, and some frightened residents barricaded doorways to homes and stores with old furniture.
The military and the police took up positions throughout La Paz and several other cities Monday night to stop vandalism.
In his audio message, which was released by the Mexican news media and broadcast in Bolivia, Mr. Morales called on the military to “stop the massacre.” Photographed draped in a Mexican flag aboard a Mexican Air Force plane, Mr. Morales also told his supporters: “We’ll work together for Bolivia.”
Early Monday, Mr. Morales urged resistance to attempts to form a temporary government, but by later in the day he had softened his tone, urging Bolivians to resolve their differences with dialogue, not force.
Mr. Morales was not able to fly directly to Mexico, after Peru prohibited his plane from flying over its airspace. Instead, the aircraft refueled in Paraguay before taking off for Mexico early Tuesday.
Jeanine Añez Chavez, the Senate’s second vice president, an opposition politician who is the highest remaining elected official in the line of succession, has said she is ready to assume power as interim president.
Venezuelan foreign ministry temporarily loses access to Twitter account
Reuters. November 11, 2019
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s foreign ministry temporarily lost access to its account with social media service Twitter Inc over the weekend, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
A notice on the ministry’s profile on the platform visible on Monday morning read: “Caution: This account is temporarily restricted” and cited “unusual activity” from the account. The notice had been removed by Monday afternoon.
The spokeswoman said the suspension occurred between late Saturday night and Sunday morning, and that the ministry had alerted Twitter to its loss of access and requested an explanation.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the suspension was reversed and that a notice was sent to the account via email. The spokeswoman added that the account was “accidentally caught in a spam filter” which occasionally happens when an account tweets in sudden high volume.
Social media companies, including Twitter, are under pressure to stem illicit online political influence campaigns.
In September, the company blocked the accounts of Cuban Communist Party Leader Raul Castro, a major backer of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government. Asked to comment on that suspension, Twitter said its platform manipulation policies prohibit users artificially amplifying or disrupting conversations by using multiple accounts.
Before the suspension, Venezuela’s foreign ministry had tweeted several messages of support for leftist former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was fighting for political survival due to unrest over a disputed Oct. 20 re-election.
The foreign ministry’s account has not sent any tweet since early Sunday morning. That was before an eventful day in Bolivia, which began with Morales accepting a call for new elections and ended with him resigning under pressure from the military. Other foreign ministries from across Latin America weighed in on the events on Twitter.
CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela’s foreign ministry temporarily lost access to its account with social media service Twitter Inc over the weekend, a spokeswoman said on Monday.
A notice on the ministry’s profile on the platform visible on Monday morning read: “Caution: This account is temporarily restricted” and cited “unusual activity” from the account. The notice had been removed by Monday afternoon.
The spokeswoman said the suspension occurred between late Saturday night and Sunday morning, and that the ministry had alerted Twitter to its loss of access and requested an explanation.
A Twitter spokeswoman said the suspension was reversed and that a notice was sent to the account via email. The spokeswoman added that the account was “accidentally caught in a spam filter” which occasionally happens when an account tweets in sudden high volume.
Social media companies, including Twitter, are under pressure to stem illicit online political influence campaigns.
In September, the company blocked the accounts of Cuban Communist Party Leader Raul Castro, a major backer of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s socialist government. Asked to comment on that suspension, Twitter said its platform manipulation policies prohibit users artificially amplifying or disrupting conversations by using multiple accounts.
Before the suspension, Venezuela’s foreign ministry had tweeted several messages of support for leftist former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who was fighting for political survival due to unrest over a disputed Oct. 20 re-election.
The foreign ministry’s account has not sent any tweet since early Sunday morning. That was before an eventful day in Bolivia, which began with Morales accepting a call for new elections and ended with him resigning under pressure from the military. Other foreign ministries from across Latin America weighed in on the events on Twitter.
Opposition rejects plan for new Chilean Constitution
EVA VERGARA. AP. November 11, 2019
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A plan by President Sebastián Piñera to draft a new constitution for Chile was criticized Monday by the opposition and even his own political ranks.
The proposal unveiled Sunday by Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel is one of a series of measures aimed at quelling weeks of protests by Chileans over economic inequality and other grievances.
It calls for a new charter to be drafted by a “constituent congress” and then put to a plebiscite, Blumel said.
But the opposition said the proposed process was inadequate, partly because it would rely on current legislators who are viewed with suspicion by protesters. They also said the plebiscite should occur at the beginning of the process, so people’s views could be considered.
“The citizenry is demanding something different,” opposition Sen. Felipe Harboe said. He said people want a “constituent assembly” or some other form of direct participation in writing any constitution.
“Parliamentarians don’t have credibility today,” said Sen. Manuel José Ossandón, who is part of Piñera’s governing coalition. “The parliament doesn’t have credibility to do something without the more active participation of the community.”
Karla Rubilar, the government spokeswoman, on Monday rejected the call for a constituent assembly, which would involve the election of a group of citizens to draft the new constitution.
Students in Chile began protesting nearly a month ago over a subway fare hike. But demonstrations quickly blew up into a huge protest movement demanding improvements in basic services and benefits, including pensions, health and education. Chile is one of Latin America’s richest, but most socially unequal countries.
While most protests have been peaceful, at least 20 people have died in clashes between protesters and police.
A key demand of demonstrators has been to throw out the constitution that was drafted in 1980 during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The constitution is the legal basis for the market-driven system that protesters say favors Chile’s affluent minority.
The public health care system is bogged down with months-long waiting times, and those seeking higher education are often saddled with crushing student debt.
Piñera has responded with a series of proposals over the weeks, including an increase in the basic monthly pension of $146, a cut to the salaries of legislators, and a tax hike for people who earn more than $11,000 a month.
But anger in the streets still boils. Protests continued Monday in the capital of Santiago, ahead of a national strike called for Tuesday.
“We’ve seen that, in general, the government arrives late and with a weak response to societal demands,” said Claudia Heiss, a professor at the Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Chile, who considers this an opportunity for the government to react in a more convincing way.
Marcelo Mella, an analyst at the University of Santiago, said it is doubtful sectors of the opposition will accept the government’s plan as a legitimate procedure.
Given the low levels of approval for Congress and the government, “legitimacy (of the process) is a very scarce commodity within the political class,” Mella said.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A plan by President Sebastián Piñera to draft a new constitution for Chile was criticized Monday by the opposition and even his own political ranks.
The proposal unveiled Sunday by Interior Minister Gonzalo Blumel is one of a series of measures aimed at quelling weeks of protests by Chileans over economic inequality and other grievances.
It calls for a new charter to be drafted by a “constituent congress” and then put to a plebiscite, Blumel said.
But the opposition said the proposed process was inadequate, partly because it would rely on current legislators who are viewed with suspicion by protesters. They also said the plebiscite should occur at the beginning of the process, so people’s views could be considered.
“The citizenry is demanding something different,” opposition Sen. Felipe Harboe said. He said people want a “constituent assembly” or some other form of direct participation in writing any constitution.
“Parliamentarians don’t have credibility today,” said Sen. Manuel José Ossandón, who is part of Piñera’s governing coalition. “The parliament doesn’t have credibility to do something without the more active participation of the community.”
Karla Rubilar, the government spokeswoman, on Monday rejected the call for a constituent assembly, which would involve the election of a group of citizens to draft the new constitution.
Students in Chile began protesting nearly a month ago over a subway fare hike. But demonstrations quickly blew up into a huge protest movement demanding improvements in basic services and benefits, including pensions, health and education. Chile is one of Latin America’s richest, but most socially unequal countries.
While most protests have been peaceful, at least 20 people have died in clashes between protesters and police.
A key demand of demonstrators has been to throw out the constitution that was drafted in 1980 during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. The constitution is the legal basis for the market-driven system that protesters say favors Chile’s affluent minority.
The public health care system is bogged down with months-long waiting times, and those seeking higher education are often saddled with crushing student debt.
Piñera has responded with a series of proposals over the weeks, including an increase in the basic monthly pension of $146, a cut to the salaries of legislators, and a tax hike for people who earn more than $11,000 a month.
But anger in the streets still boils. Protests continued Monday in the capital of Santiago, ahead of a national strike called for Tuesday.
“We’ve seen that, in general, the government arrives late and with a weak response to societal demands,” said Claudia Heiss, a professor at the Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Chile, who considers this an opportunity for the government to react in a more convincing way.
Marcelo Mella, an analyst at the University of Santiago, said it is doubtful sectors of the opposition will accept the government’s plan as a legitimate procedure.
Given the low levels of approval for Congress and the government, “legitimacy (of the process) is a very scarce commodity within the political class,” Mella said.
Indigenous leader calls for EU action against firms over Brazil deforestation
Reuters. November 11, 2019
PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union should consider sanctions for companies that source materials from protected Brazilian forest reservations and native lands, an indigenous community representative said.
Sonia Guajajara, the head of APIB, which represents many of Brazil’s 900,000 native people, called on Monday for EU lawmakers to exert pressure on Brazil’s government to better protect the rights of indigenous communities and for scrutiny of companies profiting from deforestation in the Amazon.
“We are calling on the European community to support us so that each of them in their country can pressure companies, pressure parliamentarians, so they can adopts laws that guarantee the traceability of products and their production chain,” she told Reuters in an interview.
“Also, it must enable them to sanction companies that buy and get their supplies from conflict zones,” she added.
Brazilian indigenous leaders including Sonia are due to meet French lawmakers this week as part of a campaign through 12 European countries following clashes in the Amazon.
Illegal loggers shot dead a young member of the protected Guajajara tribe in Brazil this month, increasing worldwide concerns over the government’s environmental record and its dealings with indigenous communities.
Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office earlier this year, has vowed to open up protected lands to economic development, leading campaigners to warn of a looming crisis in the face of increased invasions by armed loggers.
“This is a very serious moment for Brazil,” Sonia said.
Indigenous leaders also visited Brussels, and have been meeting with company representatives and lawmakers.
Paulo Paulino Guajajara, who was part of an indigenous group that was formed to protect the forest, was hunting inside a reservation in Maranhao when loggers opened fire and shot him.
Another Guajajara, Laercio, was wounded but escaped.
Since the killing, the Brazilian state of Maranhao has set up a police task force to protect the tribe from illegal loggers, and Federal Justice Minister Sergio Moro vowed a thorough investigation.
President Emmanuel Macron clashed with Bolsonaro in August, when fires swept the Amazon region, prompting the French leader to call for better management of the rainforest to end an ‘ecocide’. Bolsonaro called the comments offensive and accused Macron of questioning Brazil’s sovereignty.
PARIS (Reuters) - The European Union should consider sanctions for companies that source materials from protected Brazilian forest reservations and native lands, an indigenous community representative said.
Sonia Guajajara, the head of APIB, which represents many of Brazil’s 900,000 native people, called on Monday for EU lawmakers to exert pressure on Brazil’s government to better protect the rights of indigenous communities and for scrutiny of companies profiting from deforestation in the Amazon.
“We are calling on the European community to support us so that each of them in their country can pressure companies, pressure parliamentarians, so they can adopts laws that guarantee the traceability of products and their production chain,” she told Reuters in an interview.
“Also, it must enable them to sanction companies that buy and get their supplies from conflict zones,” she added.
Brazilian indigenous leaders including Sonia are due to meet French lawmakers this week as part of a campaign through 12 European countries following clashes in the Amazon.
Illegal loggers shot dead a young member of the protected Guajajara tribe in Brazil this month, increasing worldwide concerns over the government’s environmental record and its dealings with indigenous communities.
Right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who took office earlier this year, has vowed to open up protected lands to economic development, leading campaigners to warn of a looming crisis in the face of increased invasions by armed loggers.
“This is a very serious moment for Brazil,” Sonia said.
Indigenous leaders also visited Brussels, and have been meeting with company representatives and lawmakers.
Paulo Paulino Guajajara, who was part of an indigenous group that was formed to protect the forest, was hunting inside a reservation in Maranhao when loggers opened fire and shot him.
Another Guajajara, Laercio, was wounded but escaped.
Since the killing, the Brazilian state of Maranhao has set up a police task force to protect the tribe from illegal loggers, and Federal Justice Minister Sergio Moro vowed a thorough investigation.
President Emmanuel Macron clashed with Bolsonaro in August, when fires swept the Amazon region, prompting the French leader to call for better management of the rainforest to end an ‘ecocide’. Bolsonaro called the comments offensive and accused Macron of questioning Brazil’s sovereignty.
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