International
Luis Arce appoints new Bolivian Foreign Minister, Celinda Sosa
November 28 |
On Monday morning, President Luis Arce Catacora swore in Celinda Sosa as Bolivia’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, replacing Rogelio Mayta.
The new foreign minister, once in office, expressed that “I have no doubt that this is the biggest commitment I have assumed in my life, be assured (President Arce) that I will respond to the height of this new challenge; I will be the first woman foreign minister of the Plurinational State and of the process of change from the legitimacy and legality that the Bolivian people gave to our government in 2020”.
According to the words of the Foreign Minister, she assumes the position “at a time when humanity is facing the urgent challenge of building and consolidating a new and fairer world order, but also in a context in which internal and external threats put democracy at risk”.
The Bolivian president recalled that Mayta now serves as a magistrate in the Court of Justice of the Andean Community (TJCA) “where we had to bring a specialized jurist so that he could adequately perform those functions”.
Arce recalled that “she left us here a vacuum that we have happily filled now with the presence of a woman (…) very committed to the process of change from the beginning, a woman who has shown that the process of change is built little by little and therefore, seeing her work of many years, today we invite her to be part of the team of ministers of the Government”, he said.
Celinda Sosa was a minister in the government of Evo Morales, and when she was sworn in as the new foreign minister, she did so with expressions of support for Palestine, Cuba, Venezuela and the integration of her country into the BRICS economic bloc.
Sosa was born in a community in the Cercado province of Tarija and during her swearing-in ceremony she remarked that she has always been linked to working with “the people and social organizations”.
In 1983 she was part of the founding team of the Single Federation of Bolivian Peasant Workers and that same year she was a leader of the peasants, also general secretary of the National Federation of Peasant Women “Bartolina Sisa”.
For 18 years she was director and founder of the Training and Research Center for Peasant Women. In 2005, after the triumph of Evo Morales in the presidential elections, she was called to join the social transition commission and in 2006 she was called to join the cabinet as Minister of Production and Microenterprise until 2007.
In 2008 she assumed the presidential representation in the department of Tarija, she also worked in the Governor’s Office presiding over the Social Development Secretariat and until recently she was part of the board of directors of the Productive Development Bank (BDP).
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.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
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Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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