International
Netflix co-founder donates seven million dollars to Kamala Harris’ campaign
Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, donated seven million dollars to the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, the current vice president of the United States, according to the American media The Information.
“After a depressing debate, we are in the game again,” the also executive chairman of the board of the streaming platform told the media, who also specified that this is the largest political donation that Hastings has made to a single candidate.
Hastings is one of the most powerful Democratic Party donors who pressured President Joe Biden to give up his candidacy for the next elections to be held in November.
“Biden must be set aside to allow a vigorous Democratic leader to defeat Trump and keep us safe and prosperous,” The New York Times told the American media earlier this month.
Biden withdrew from his candidacy for the White House on Sunday and supported Harris, after facing pressure from members of Congress and donors after the criticism aroused by his weak performance in the first debate against Donald Trump (2017-2021) that took place on June 27.
The latest polls on the United States elections show slightly better numbers for the vice president, although she would also, like Biden, lose the election to Trump.
These surveys were carried out before President Biden’s announcement this Sunday to resign from re-election, so asked by Harris, respondents responded to a hypothetical situation.
The most recent, YouGov’s poll for CBS News, gave Trump five points of advantage over Biden (52% to 47%) by only three over Harris (51% to 48%).
Another from NBC News gave the same two-point advantage for Trump (45% to 43% with Biden and 47% to 45% with Harris), while one from Fox News gave the same result of 49% to 48% in favor of the former president regardless of the rival.
The Marist poll for NPR and PBS was the only one that gave a majority to the Democratic ticket and, in this case, gave Biden a better advantage over Trump (50% to 48%), than Harris over Trump (50% to 49%).
Although the overall result is relevant, what is really important in the American elections are the key states, such as Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia or Arizona.
A Siena survey for The New York Times, Harris got a better result than Biden in Pennsylvania and Virginia.
In Pennsylvania, Trump took three points to Biden (48% to 45%) and only one to Harris (48% to 47%), while in Virginia the vice president beat the Republican by five points (49% to 44%), two more than Biden (48% to 45%).
International
OAS Election Mission to Monitor Claims of Political Interference by Colombia’s President
The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) has pledged to follow up on allegations regarding the alleged involvement of Colombian President Gustavo Petro in political campaigning ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.
The announcement was made by presidential candidate Claudia López after a meeting with the head of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, former Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández.
According to a statement released by López’s campaign, the OAS mission listened to the concerns raised by the candidate and committed to monitoring the complaints she has submitted to both national and international organizations.
The mission also reiterated its commitment to overseeing the electoral process to help ensure that the will of Colombian voters is respected throughout the election.
“We have turned to international forums and technical observation missions to warn that Colombian democracy cannot be left at the mercy of fear or undue pressure,” López, the former mayor of Bogotá, said following the meeting.
López has repeatedly expressed concerns about what she describes as political interference in the electoral process and has called on national and international institutions to closely monitor the conduct of the campaign.
The OAS observation mission is one of several international bodies deployed to Colombia to monitor the presidential election, which is taking place amid heightened political tensions and intense competition among candidates from across the ideological spectrum.
The election is expected to be closely watched both domestically and internationally as Colombians choose whether to continue with the country’s first left-wing administration or shift toward a new political direction.
International
Colombia Votes in Pivotal Election as Left Seeks to Retain Power
Colombians headed to the polls on Sunday in a crucial presidential election that will determine whether the country continues under its first left-wing government in modern history or shifts back toward the political right.
The election campaign has been marked by deep political divisions, with armed violence and economic concerns emerging as the dominant issues for voters.
A total of 11 candidates remain in the race following the withdrawal of three presidential tickets. The central question is which candidate will advance to a likely runoff election alongside ruling-party senator Iván Cepeda, who has led opinion polls for months with his platform of “democratic revolution” but is not expected to secure enough votes to win outright in the first round.
On the right, Senator Paloma Valencia of the Democratic Center party, the political movement founded by former President Álvaro Uribe, has lost momentum as support has grown for far-right attorney Abelardo de la Espriella. Known as “The Tiger,” De la Espriella has campaigned on a tough-on-crime agenda targeting criminal organizations and guerrilla groups, drawing comparisons to the security policies of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
Political analyst Sandra Borda, a professor at the University of the Andes, argues that Colombia is experiencing not simply greater polarization but a broader political landscape.
“The 2016 peace agreement with the FARC opened significant space for the left. Inevitably, it also created opportunities for the right,” Borda told CNN. The political scientist, who ran for the Senate in 2022 with the New Liberalism movement, believes the current election presents a more challenging environment for the left than four years ago.
According to Borda, left-wing candidates can no longer campaign solely as agents of change who have never had the opportunity to govern or who remained untouched by traditional politics.
“They can no longer make that argument. They have already governed and are no longer immune from criticism associated with political power,” she said.
The election is being closely watched across Latin America as voters weigh the record of the outgoing administration against promises of change from candidates across the political spectrum.
International
ICE agent arrested in Texas over shooting of Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota
U.S. authorities arrested an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Friday in Texas after he was accused of shooting a Venezuelan migrant in Minnesota earlier this year and later providing false information about the incident.
The suspect, identified as Christian Castro, faces four counts of second-degree assault, along with an additional charge related to filing a false official report. He was taken into custody after investigators from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension located him, according to a statement from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
The case stems from a January operation carried out by ICE during which Castro shot Julio César Sosa, a Venezuelan migrant, in the leg. Prosecutors allege that the agent later submitted a misleading account of the incident, claiming that Sosa and another migrant had attacked officers with a shovel and a broomstick.
However, investigators say that video evidence and further findings contradicted that version of events, leading to the dismissal of charges initially brought against the migrants by federal prosecutors.
ICE’s acting director, Todd Lyons, acknowledged in February that agents involved in the incident had given “false sworn testimony” about what occurred.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty described Friday’s arrest as a “critical step forward” in the judicial process and reaffirmed that the investigation remains ongoing.
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