International
Guatemalans in the U.S. denounce bias in candidate registration in their country’s elections
March 18 |
Guatemalans in the United States are concerned about the transparency and credibility of the elections in their country, with only a few days left before the deadline to register to vote abroad, on March 25.
A little more than 100,000 Guatemalans in the U.S. could vote in the next general elections on June 25. But Carlos Lam, leader of the Guatemalans Without Borders Association, told the Voice of America that to date the number of his countrymen in the United States eligible to vote does not reach 100,000.
In Washington, a group of Guatemalans working to achieve a greater number of registrations met this week to fine tune details of the strategy of “mobilization” of their countrymen in the final stretch of registration in the metropolitan area of the U.S. capital.
Lam said that with the Platform of Guatemalans Abroad they have tried to increase the number of registered voters.
Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which is organizing the elections, plans to set up six voting centers in the U.S., and this will be the only country outside Guatemala where people can vote, Lam said.
The TSE has said that the process is progressing successfully and that thanks to the registration campaigns, inside and outside the country, “the registration of the registered population, as of March 12, is 9,206,866 citizens”.
Lam and other activists point out that the electoral process began to lose credibility due to alleged irregularities in the registration of candidates.
“We have seen with great concern the partiality of the TSE regarding the registration of candidates,” he said.
Lam pointed out that peasant leader Thelma Cabrera and former human rights ombudsman Jordán Rodas, two attractive figures among indigenous peoples and the opposition, “were denied participation as presidential candidates”.
Thelma Cabrera is an indigenous leader and human rights defender who with the Movement for the Liberation of the Peoples (MLP) won in the 2019 presidential elections more than 400,000 votes, 10% of the votes cast in the first round, which placed her in fourth position.
Jordan Rodas, who in August 2022 completed his mandate as Human Rights Ombudsman, joined the MLP as Cabrera’s running mate.
The binomial was rejected by the TSE in a first ruling on January 28. After a review and appeal before the Constitutional Court, it was rejected again.
The TSE has not given explanations about the refusal to register the candidates except for the “invalidity” in the validity of the termination of one of the candidates, which was promoted by one of the magistrates, local media reported.
The TSE did not respond to a request for comment from Voice of America on the candidate registrations.
Concerns about lack of transparency have permeated the citizenry, Lam explained, and residents abroad are following closely and there have been multiple protests against the TSE.
The platform of Guatemalans Abroad has denounced inconsistencies in the process, including the refusal to register certain candidates while others, including questionable figures, have been approved.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
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.
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