International
Biden says Congress spending talks ‘getting down to the hard spot’
AFP
US President Joe Biden on Friday said he remains confident the two spending bills at the heart of his domestic agenda will pass in Congress but that negotiations have reached crunch time.
“We’re getting down to the hard spot here,” Biden told reporters in the White House. “People are having to get down in detail specifically what they’re for.”
While his Democratic Party remains divided on the size of the proposed spending, which could reach several trillion dollars, Biden said, “I believe we’re going to end up getting both the pieces.”
The coming few weeks are among the most critical of Biden’s tenure as he bids to demonstrate his dealmaking chops with Democrats bidding to hang on to the House and Senate in next year’s midterms.
Democrats are preparing for a frenetic stretch of late nights as they race to finalize their $3.5 trillion social spending plan, dubbed the “Build Back Better Act.”
And House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initially promised the party’s moderates a September 27 vote on a $1.2 trillion Senate-passed infrastructure bill to rebuild the nation’s roads and bridges.
Pelosi told her members on Friday that the House would vote on the two packages next week, although she added that there “may be changes” to the language in Build Back Better as negotiations continue.
Both bills are bogged down internecine rivalries, with moderates nervous about the high ticket price on the larger measure and progressives demanding that that deal be in the bag before they will consider voting for the infrastructure legislation.
Biden invited two dozen lawmakers from the warring center and left wings to the White House this week in a bid to forge a united front on the $3.5 trillion package, which would make for the largest single federal spending spree in US history.
International
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed on Wednesday that the death toll from recent rains and floods across several central states has risen to 66, while the federal government has activated air bridges and prioritized assistance in 191 isolated communities.
“Unfortunately, 66 people have died, and 75 remain missing,” the president said during her morning press conference. She added that the official death toll will be updated later in a new report.
As of Tuesday, authorities had reported 64 fatalities. Sheinbaum also announced the creation of a public information center to centralize official data on the deceased, missing persons, damaged homes, and cut-off communities.
According to the president, the number of missing persons has decreased thanks to coordination with state authorities.
“Through calls to phone line 079, 103 people who had been reported missing have now been located,” she explained.
Priority Municipalities
The president noted that the federal government has classified 191 communities as ‘priority’, a designation based mainly on the percentage of homes affected.
International
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Ecuadorian authorities are investigating two explosions that occurred early Wednesday, one on a road in the southern part of the country and another under a bridge in Guayas province. These incidents follow the car bomb explosion in the coastal city of Guayaquil, also in Guayas, which occurred the day before and left one person dead and 30 injured.
Press reports indicate that one person was injured and several vehicles were damaged in the explosion on the Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje road in the south.
“Besides yesterday’s explosion in Guayaquil, we have received reports of explosives placed on bridges along the Guayaquil-Machala and Machala-Cuenca routes to disrupt traffic,” said Roberto Luque, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT).
On his X social media account, Luque reported that authorities have been deployed to the sites to assess the damage and determine the current condition of the structures.
“What they haven’t achieved with their call for a strike, some are trying to achieve through terrorism,” he stated, referring to the 24 days of protests organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities (Conaie) against rising diesel prices and other demands.
The protests, called at a national level, have Imbabura province as their epicenter. Roadblocks have also been reported in the northern part of Pichincha province, whose capital is Quito, while activities in the rest of the country continue normally.
International
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
Ecuador’s Armed Forces carried out an operation on Monday — including airstrikes — against illegal mining in the town of Buenos Aires, in the country’s north, Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo reported.
The mountainous, gold-rich area has been a hotspot for illegal mining since 2017, located in the Andean province of Imbabura.
In 2019, former president Lenín Moreno deployed around 2,400 soldiers to the region in an attempt to curb the illegal activity. “The operation began with mortar fire, followed by gunfire and bombing runs by Supertucano aircraft,” Loffredo said in a video released by the Defense Ministry.
He added that the operation would continue on Tuesday with patrols across the area to locate possible members of “irregular armed groups that may have crossed from the Colombian border.”
The Armed Forces stated on X that the intervention focused on the “complete elimination of multiple illegal mining tunnels” in the areas known as Mina Nueva and Mina Vieja.
The operation coincided with the deployment of a military and police convoy into Imbabura, which has been the epicenter of protests against President Daniel Noboa since September 22, following his decision to scrap the diesel subsidy.
Mexican government prioritizes 191 communities after deadly floods
New road and bridge explosions raise alarm amid indigenous protests in Ecuador
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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