International
Peru Congress rejects snap election, president asks to try again
January 29 | By AFP | Paula Bustamante |
Peru’s embattled president Dina Boluarte on Saturday urged lawmakers to find a way out of a deepening political crisis by agreeing to snap elections in December, just hours after Congress voted against the idea.
In the early hours of Saturday, lawmakers had rejected her request to move elections forward to December, even as anti-Boluarte protests raging across the country have left dozens dead.
“We regret that the Congress of the Republic has been unable to define the date of general elections where Peruvians can freely and democratically elect the new authorities,” Boluarte said on Twitter Saturday.
She urged politicians to “put down their partisan interests and place the interests of Peru above them.”
The South American country has been embroiled in a political crisis with near-daily protests since December 7, when former president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree.
Demanding that Boluarte resign and call fresh elections, Castillo supporters have blocked highways, causing shortages of food, fuel and other basic supplies. The government said it will soon deploy police and soldiers to clear the roadblocks.
No interest in ‘clinging to power’
Lawmakers had agreed last month to bring forward elections from 2026 to April 2024.
But in the face of relentless protests, Boluarte on Friday urged Congress to move the vote up further, to December.
However, at a plenary session that ended early Saturday, Congress rejected the proposal, with 45 votes in favor, 65 against and two abstentions.
Demonstrators are calling for immediate elections, as well as Boluarte’s removal, the dissolution of Congress and a new constitution.
“Nobody has any interest in clinging to power,” Boluarte insisted on Friday. “If I am here it is because I fulfilled my constitutional responsibility.”
As Castillo’s vice president, Boluarte was constitutionally mandated to replace him after he was impeached by Congress and arrested.
The US State Department on Friday urged dialogue and restraint by all parties.
‘Everything is very expensive’
In seven weeks of demonstrations, 47 people have been killed in clashes between security forces and protesters, according to the Ombudsman’s Office of Peru.
The autonomous human rights office said an additional 10 civilians, including two babies, died when they were unable to get medical treatment or medicine due to roadblocks.
In southern regions, roadblocks have resulted in widespread shortages.
Some of the worst violence and highest death tolls have come when protesters tried to storm airports in the south.
Southern regions with large Indigenous populations have been the epicenter of the protest movement that has affected Peru’s vital tourism industry.
As well as blocking dozens of roads and forcing the temporary closure of several airports, protesters have placed rocks on the train tracks that act as the only transport access to Machu Picchu, the former Inca citadel and jewel of Peruvian tourism.
Hundreds of tourists were stranded at the archeological ruins, with many eventually evacuated by helicopter.
International
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth expressed concerns over China’s growing military activity near Taiwan during a meeting on Friday with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was a constructive and positive meeting,” Hegseth wrote on X. “I emphasized the importance of maintaining a balance of power in the Indo-Pacific and raised U.S. concerns about China’s actions around Taiwan,” the self-governed island that Beijing claims and does not rule out invading.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea. According to Trump, Taiwan was not discussed during their talks.
“The United States does not seek conflict and will continue to firmly defend its interests, ensuring it maintains the capability to do so in the region,” Hegseth added in his message.
Friday’s encounter followed a September 9 video call between Hegseth and Dong. Their previously planned meeting at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore was canceled due to Dong’s absence from the event.
Trump’s sit-down with Xi — their first since 2019 — resulted in some trade agreements but avoided addressing the issue of Taiwan, a long-standing source of tension between the world’s two largest powers.
Trump has taken a more ambiguous stance on Taiwan’s future compared with former President Joe Biden, who repeatedly stated that Washington would support Taipei if China launched an invasion. The Republican president has also criticized Taiwan for “stealing” the U.S. semiconductor industry.
International
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
The United States may soon carry out airstrikes on military facilities inside Venezuela as part of an escalating offensive against Nicolás Maduro’s regime, according to reports Friday from the Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing sources close to the Trump administration.
Airstrikes could take place “within days or even hours,” the Herald reported. The Journal noted that while the option is under serious consideration, President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision on authorizing strikes on Venezuelan soil.
Potential targets allegedly include military-controlled ports and airports used in drug trafficking operations, such as naval installations and airstrips, officials told the Journal.
The Herald also quoted a source saying that “Maduro’s time is running out”, suggesting that more than one Venezuelan general may be ready to detain and hand him over. However, officials declined to confirm whether the Venezuelan leader would be among the military targets.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to block the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, following nearly two months of airstrikes against vessels in the Pacific and the Caribbean. Those operations have destroyed 15 boats and left 61 people dead and three survivors since September 1.
“We are finally waging a war against the cartels — a war like they’ve never seen before — and we are going to win that battle. We are already winning at sea,” Trump told U.S. troops during a speech in Japan.
The reports on possible airstrikes come on the same day the United Nations accused the U.S. of violating international law with its maritime operations, saying those killed at sea may have been victims of extrajudicial executions.
International
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Pope Leo XIV announced on Friday that he will revive and update the Global Compact on Education, an initiative launched by the late Pope Francis aimed at deeply transforming global culture through education.
The announcement was made during an audience in St. Peter’s Square, held on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Educational World, which this week gathers more than 20,000 participants from 124 countries in Rome.
During his address, the pontiff — who is of U.S. origin and Peruvian nationality — emphasized the importance of restoring the value of educators and reinforcing the principles that support the pact.
“We must be careful: damaging the social and cultural role of educators means mortgaging our own future,” he warned before thousands in attendance. “A crisis in the transmission of knowledge leads to a crisis of hope.”
The Global Compact on Education, launched by Pope Francis, seeks an integral and long-term cultural transformation. It is structured around five pillars: dignity and human rights; fraternity and cooperation; technology and integral ecology; education for peace and citizenship; and culture and religions. To date, the initiative has been joined by over 553 schools and nearly 410,000 students, according to Catholic Schools data.
Pope Leo XIV also expressed concern over the widespread inner fragility affecting both students and teachers — many of whom feel overwhelmed by bureaucratic burdens.
He additionally addressed the role of artificial intelligence in education, warning that it may worsen emotional isolation among learners: “It can further isolate students who are already isolated, giving them the illusion that they do not need others — or worse, the feeling that they are unworthy of them,” he said.
U.S. warns China over Taiwan during high-level defense talks in Kuala Lumpur
U.S. considering airstrikes on military sites in Venezuela, reports say
Pope Leo XIV revives Global Compact on Education to confront cultural crisis
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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