International

“It’s women’s time,” says Sheinbaum at the end of his campaign in front of the National Palace

The ruling candidate for the Presidency of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, closed her campaign this Wednesday in a massive event in the Zocalo of Mexico City full of hundreds of thousands of people, whom she invited to celebrate “the victory” in the same place this Sunday, June 2.

In the midst of the crowd, the standard-bearer of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena), Labor (PT) and Green parties, crossed the esplanade of the Plaza de la Constitución, between shouts and slogans of support, to give her last electoral message before the start of the ban this Thursday.

“See you here on June 2 at night to celebrate the victory,” Sheinbaum said at the gates of the Government Palace, headquarters of the Executive, in the center of the Mexican capital.

The ruling party began and ended her speech of about 30 minutes evoking the current president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, whom she called “the best president in the history of Mexico” and who promised “to keep the legacy.”

Meanwhile, the public chanted again and again ‘It is an honor to be with Obrador’ and ‘President’.

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“I promise to give my soul, my life and the best of myself for the well-being of the people and the dignity of the people of Mexico and the homeland,” said the former head of Government of Mexico City (2018-2023).

The candidate also promised to continue the megaprojects of the current government, such as the Maya Train and the Dos Bocas Refinery (both in the southeast of the country), as well as to dedicate “the public budget to all welfare programs,” a speech she held throughout her three months of campaign.

In addition, she called on voters to support her to be the first woman president “in 200 years of the Republic.”

“It’s a time for women and transformation, and I want to say it here too, that means living without fear and free of violence, and from this tribune I say to young women, to all the women of Mexico, companions, friends, sisters, daughters, mothers, grandmothers: they are not alone,” said Sheinbaum.

Behind Sheinbaum, stood out Félix Salgado Macedonio, former candidate for governor of the State of Guerrero for Morena in 2021, who was accused of harassment and sexual violence by several women, so he was then disqualified.

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In the temple were also other representatives of Morena, such as the candidate for the Senate and former prosecutor of Mexico City, Ernestina Godoy; and the candidate for Mayor of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, who likewise closed her campaign.

“I assure you that in 2030, when our Government concludes, Mexico City will be even safer, more feminist and more diverse and the most human rights defender,” Brugada said in her opening message to the event.

Finally, the Cumbia group Los Ángeles Azules was in charge of closing the rally and putting some to dance on the plate of the Zócalo, which was gradually emptied as night fell.

On a corner of the esplanade, Professor Eufemio Flores hurried the step to return to his home in the Mountain region, in Guerrero, from where he traveled very early with his family to support and deliver a letter to Sheinbaum.

“The leadership of (Morena in) Guerrero, in our opinion, is only thinking about having popularly elected positions and they do not attend to our demands, that’s why we hope that our next president will listen to us,” the 67-year-old supporter told EFE.

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The polls place Sheinbaum with a wide advantage over his main rival, Xóchitl Gálvez, who leads the opposition coalition Fuerza y Corazón por México, while in a distant third place is the also opponent, Jorge Álvarez Máynez, of Movimiento Ciudadano.

This Sunday, Mexico, whose Constitution does not allow presidential re-election, will have the largest elections in its history. 98 million voters are called to renew more than 20,000 positions, including the Presidency, the 500 deputies, the 128 senators and nine state governments.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra dies in campaign road accident

Presidential candidate Napoleón Becerra, representing the Partido de los Trabajadores y Emprendedores (PTE) in Peru, died in a traffic accident while traveling to a campaign event, local authorities confirmed Sunday.

Becerra, who also served as president of the centrist political party, ranked among the lowest in opinion polls in a crowded field of more than 30 candidates competing in the presidential election scheduled for April 12.

Recent surveys place Rafael López Aliaga at the top of voter preferences.

The accident occurred near the town of Ayacucho, in southern Peru, when the vehicle carrying the candidate overturned for reasons that remain under investigation.

“The candidate Becerra has died,” Balvin Huamani, mayor of the district of Pilpichaca, told RPP radio.

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According to Huamani, he personally transported the 61-year-old candidate to a local health center, where doctors confirmed his death.

The Jurado Nacional de Elecciones (JNE) expressed condolences over Becerra’s passing and wished a speedy recovery to the three people who were traveling with him and were injured in the crash.

International

Noboa intensifies anti-cartel crackdown as violence persists in Ecuador

A close ally of Washington, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has pursued a hardline security strategy against cocaine cartels for more than two years, yet homicide, disappearance and extortion rates remain high across the country.

Between Sunday night and the morning of March 31, Ecuador’s armed forces will launch a “very strong offensive” with “advisory support” from the United States, Interior Minister John Reimberg announced Tuesday.

The government has kept details of the operation confidential and has not confirmed whether U.S. troops will be deployed on Ecuadorian soil, as has occurred at times during Noboa’s administration.

As part of the security measures, residents in the coastal provinces of Guayas, Los Ríos, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, and El Oro will be subject to a nightly curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. local time for the next two weeks.

“We are in a war,” Reimberg said, urging citizens to remain indoors. “Do not take risks. Stay home and allow the security forces and our allies to do the work that must be done.”

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Although Ecuador does not produce cocaine, it has become a major departure point for drugs heading to the United States. Meanwhile, the violence associated with trafficking has increasingly affected the local population.

Bordering the world’s largest cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has gone from being considered a relatively peaceful country to recording one of the highest homicide rates in Latin America—52 killings per 100,000 inhabitants—according to the **Observatory of Organized Crime.

International

Peruvian presidential candidate proposes death penalty amid crime surge

Peru is facing an unprecedented surge in crime ahead of its presidential election scheduled for April 12, with violence fueled by extortion networks and a wave of contract killings linked to organized crime.

Police data show that 2,200 homicides tied to organized crime were recorded in 2025, while extortion complaints increased by 19%, underscoring the growing security crisis in the South American nation.

Amid this backdrop, presidential candidate Álvarez has proposed reinstating the death penalty if elected, arguing that extreme measures are needed to curb the violence.

To implement the proposal, Álvarez said Peru would withdraw from the American Convention on Human Rights—also known as the Pact of San José—which the country signed in 1978. The agreement prevents member states that have abolished capital punishment from reinstating it.

Currently, Peruvian law only allows the death penalty in cases of treason during wartime.

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“We have to leave the Pact of San José and apply the death penalty in Peru because those miserable criminals don’t deserve to live,” Álvarez told AFP during a campaign stop at a market in Callao, the port city neighboring Lima.

“An iron fist against those criminals,” he added, proposing to declare hitmen as military targets.

During the campaign event, Álvarez walked through stalls selling vegetables, groceries, and fish, greeting vendors while musicians played cumbia music nearby.

The 62-year-old candidate, who spent more than four decades working in television as a comedian, is a newcomer to politics and is running for president under the País para Todos party.

Polls place him fifth in voter preference with nearly 4% support in a fragmented race featuring 36 candidates.