International
In shift, Venezuela opposition takes part in vote as foreign teams observe
AFP
With opposition parties participating for the first time since 2017 and European Union observers returning, Venezuela’s Sunday elections represent an early contest for power between the government and rivals in a country mired in economic crisis.
An estimated 21 million Venezuelans will be going to the polls to elect 23 state governors, as well as the mayors and council members of hundreds of cities.
Polling stations opened at 6:00 am (2200 GMT) for 12 hours, with results expected around “two or three in the morning,” a source with the National Electoral Council said.
Lines formed early.
“I’ve come to exercise my right to vote in a democratic country,” 74-year-old Jose Casanova, a militant leftist, said after casting his ballot in a working-class neighborhood in eastern Caracas.
He considers Venezuela “a blessed country despite all its problems.”
Leftist President Nicolas Maduro, whose deeply controversial presidency has left the South American nation facing punishing economic sanctions, has been seeking a measure of relief through careful shows of goodwill and democratic intention.
The opposition, which had boycotted elections for the past three years saying they were neither free nor fair, agreed to take part in Sunday’s votes after receiving assurances from the government.
Opposition leaders hope to raise their profile and gain momentum ahead of presidential elections set for 2024.
But there seems little doubt about the outcome: experts predict the Chavist movement that Maduro has led since the death of President Hugo Chavez in 2013 should easily prevail over a divided opposition.
– Limited opposition gains –
Henrique Capriles, who lost presidential elections both to Chavez in 2012 and to Maduro a year later, said the opposition’s division will undeniably weigh on it.
“Let’s be honest,” he said: “The PSUV (the governing Socialist Party) is going to win.”
Observers say the opposition stands to win in six states at most: Tachira, Zulia, Lara, Nueva Esparta, Sucre and Anzoategui.
Caracas seeks a loosening of economic sanctions — notably from the United States, which does not recognize Maduro’s presidency — hoping at least for a partial lifting of the measures, said Oswaldo Ramirez, a consultant.
With hundreds of millions of dollars of its funds frozen abroad, Venezuela wants to be able to sell its petroleum more easily — the US historically is its biggest customer — and to end limits on imports.
The government has made a calculated series of concessions, opening negotiations with the opposition, and inviting election observers from the EU, the United Nations and the US-based Carter Center.
The EU is sending its first observer mission in 15 years, as Caracas — long prickly about its “sovereignty” — has had to swallow its pride.
“The regime needs this mission” to give its election credibility, one opposition member said.
After sitting out the 2018 presidential election and 2020 legislative votes, the opposition dropped its boycott strategy but has failed to agree on candidate lists.
Juan Guaido, who is recognized by the US and some 50 other countries as Venezuela’s president after the disputed 2018 election, has said the opposition must “unify the struggle.”
But he said he will not vote, and that “it is certain that Maduro is, and will continue to be, illegitimate.”
Maduro, clearly relishing the opposition’s division, has called for “a great election so that this will be a great victory for democracy.”
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
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