International
Bolsonaro disapproval rating surpasses 50% for first time
AFP
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s disapproval rating passed 50 percent for the first time, according to a poll published by the Datafolha Institute, marking a new low in the far-right leader’s declining popularity.
Bolsonaro’s gap to former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of next year’s elections also increased from 18 to 21 percentage points.
The percentage of people that consider Bolsonaro to be doing a “bad” or “terrible” job increased from 45 percent in May to 51 percent in the poll conducted among more than 2,000 people from July 7-8 and published overnight Thursday to Friday.
Bolsonaro’s approval rating also remained at its lowest mark of 24 percent, set in May.
His highest approval rating of 37 percent came in December 2020.
But his popularity started to plummet from January 2021, when the government stopped handing out subsidies to mitigate the economic crunch caused by the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the country of 212 million people.
And the fall continued as Brazil entered a second, and more lethal, pandemic wave at the beginning of 2021, followed by corruption allegations surrounding Bolsonaro’s handling of the health crisis, which has claimed the lives of 530,000 Brazilians.
In the election opinion polls, Bolsonaro’s share increased from 23 percent in May to 25 Percent, but the uptick fell short of Lula’s jump from 41 to 46 percent.
Former trade unionist Lula, 75, was denied the possibility of running against Bolsonaro in 2018, as he was serving a 12-year graft sentence linked to the Petrobras corruption scandal.
But he was released 18 months later and in March had his convictions quashed on procedural grounds.
The Datafolha poll found the popular Lula would defeat 66-year-old Bolsonaro by 58 percent to 31 percent in a second round election run-off — another four percent increase on the difference in May.
Both men have their detractors, however, with Bolsonaro’s personal rejection rating rising from 54 to 59 percent and Lula’s creeping up from 36 to 37 percent.
Bolsonaro is the subject of a senate investigation over his handling of the pandemic, the seriousness of which he repeatedly downplayed.
He’s also being investigated by the public prosecutor for allegedly failing to act on an embezzlement tip off regarding coronavirus vaccine purchases.
The opposition is pushing for the chamber of deputies president to open impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro.
International
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
The United States and Mexico have reached an agreement to comply with current water obligations affecting U.S. farmers and ranchers and for Mexico to cover its water deficit to Texas under the 1944 Water Treaty, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a statement.
The department уточified that the agreement applies to both the current cycle and the water deficit from the previous cycle.
On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump accused Mexico of failing to comply with the water-sharing treaty between the two countries, which requires the United States to deliver 1.85 billion cubic meters of water from the Colorado River, while Mexico must supply 432 million cubic meters from the Rio Grande.
Mexico is behind on its commitments. According to Washington, the country has accumulated a deficit of more than one billion cubic meters of water over the past five years.
“This violation is severely harming our beautiful crops and our livestock in Texas,” Trump wrote on Monday.
The Department of Agriculture said on Friday that Mexico had agreed to supply 250 million cubic meters of water starting next week and to work toward closing the shortfall.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, quoted in the statement, said Mexico delivered more water in a single year than it had over the previous four years combined.
Trump has said that if Mexico continues to fall short of its obligations, the United States reserves the right to impose 5% tariffs on imported Mexican products.
Mexico’s Deputy Foreign Minister for North America, Roberto Velasco, said that a severe drought in 2022 and 2023prevented the country from meeting its commitments.
International
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Several people were shot on Saturday in an attack on the campus of Brown University, in the northeastern United States, local police reported.
“Shelter in place and avoid the area until further notice,” the Providence Police Department urged in a post on X. Brown University is located in Providence, the capital of the state of Rhode Island.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that he had been briefed on the situation and that the FBI was on the scene.
At 5:52 p.m. local time (11:52 p.m. GMT), Brown University said the situation was still “ongoing” and instructed students to remain sheltered until further notice.
After initially stating that the suspect had been taken into custody, Trump later posted a second message clarifying that local police had walked back that information. “The suspect has NOT been apprehended,” the U.S. president said.
International
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
The Colombian government stated on Thursday that it would have no reason to reject a potential asylum request from Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro should he leave office, as regional tensions persist over the deployment of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean since August.
“In the current climate of tension, negotiations are necessary, and if the United States demands a transition or political change, that is something to be assessed. If such a transition results in him (Maduro) needing to live elsewhere or seek protection, Colombia would have no reason to deny it,” said Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio in an interview with Caracol Radio.
However, Villavicencio noted that it is unlikely Maduro would choose Colombia as a refuge. “I believe he would opt for someplace more distant and calmer,” she added.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro also commented on Venezuela’s situation on Wednesday, arguing that the country needs a “democratic revolution” rather than “inefficient repression.” His remarks followed the recent detention and passport cancellation of Cardinal Baltazar Porras at the Caracas airport.
“The Maduro government must understand that responding to external aggression requires more than military preparations; it requires a democratic revolution. A country is defended with more democracy, not more inefficient repression,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter), in a rare public criticism of the Venezuelan leader.
Petro also called for a general amnesty for political opponents and reiterated his call for forming a broad transitional government to address Venezuela’s prolonged crisis.
Since September, U.S. military forces have destroyed more than 20 vessels allegedly carrying drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela and Colombia, resulting in over 80 deaths.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that attacks “inside Venezuela” will begin “soon,” while Maduro has urged Venezuelans to prepare for what he describes as an impending external aggression.
U.S. and Mexico Reach Deal to Address Water Deficit Under 1944 Treaty
Several people shot in attack on Brown University campus
Colombia says it would not reject Maduro asylum request as regional tensions escalate
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