International
Evo Morales defends the legality of the MAS congress in the face of the non-attendance of the electoral body
The former president of Bolivia Evo Morales (2006-2019) said this Sunday that the ruling congress of the Movement for Socialism (MAS) that will be held on Monday meets the convening requirements despite the fact that the electoral authority ruled out the supervision of the event.
Morales, who is the leader of the MAS, announced a few days ago that the party meeting for the renewal of the board will take place in the town of Villa Tunari, in the Tropic of Cochabamba and that it will have about 1,300 delegates and at least 20,000 attendees.
Therefore, its sector presented some legal actions to instruct the accompaniment of the electoral body to the event, as happened with the congress that the social organizations related to the Government of Luis Arce or ‘arcists’ that carried out at the beginning of May in El Alto, a neighboring city of La Paz.
At that meeting, the leader Grover García was elected as the new president of the MAS replacing Morales, but that appointment has been rejected by the ‘evista’ wing of that party that recognizes the former ruler as its leader, intends to re-elect him and proclaim him a candidate for the 2025 presidential elections.
The member of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) Tahuichi Tahuichi Quispe declared on the eve that the electoral body “will not attend” the event “because the formal requirements were not met.”
Evo Morales said in his Sunday program on the Coca-Cola station Kawsachun Coca that it was observed that the call to congress has not been “consensued” with the leaders of the social sectors close to the Government and that the former president’s sector rejects.
“They are forcing us to agree with the other leaders without bases. All the Bolivian people know (that they are leaders) based on prebends,” he added.
The former president maintained that even the TSE requested that the call be signed by the 10 members of the directive despite the fact that according to the rules of the MAS it is enough for the president of the organization to make the call.
“The plan that the Government has, like the United States – the empire – and as the right, if it is not to take away the acronym (of the MAS) is to outlaw and disable Evo,” Morales said.
The peasant leader Ponciano Santos said on the eve that the MAS congress in Villa Tunari will be held “yes or yes,” even without the accompaniment of the electoral body.
However, Santos, who accompanied Morales on his radio program this day, nuanced and said that in the absence of the electoral body at the meeting, it could become “a national congress” from which some decisions come out.
“We’re going to have to see each other on the streets face to face,” he said.
The MAS congress promoted by the ‘evista’ block will be held only on Monday at the Villa Tunari stadium in the midst of tensions with President Luis Arce’s ‘arcista’ block.
Arce and Morales have been away since 2021, and last year their differences were deepened by a national party congress in which, in the absence of the president and his loyal sectors, Evo Morales was ratified as leader of the MAS and elected “single candidate” for the 2025 presidential elections.
Arce and Vice President David Choquehuanca were not at that meeting considering that social organizations, the basis of the party, were not represented as they should be.
Tensions increased after the TSE decided to cancel the 2023 congress and instruct a new consensual one to be convened.
Last May, the sectors close to the president held a congress in El Alto, but the electoral authority rejected that meeting because it did not comply with the party’s regulations.
The electoral body stressed that both groups must agree on a new meeting, however, the Evo Morales bloc already had the date to hold the congress for July 10, but it anticipated it to June 10.
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
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
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