International
Arizona, the U.S. border trophy that is contested by Democrats and Republicans in 2024
– Arizona, the only ‘hinge’ state that borders Mexico, has become one of the longed-for trophies for White House candidates who know that every vote counts there, after surprisingly opting for the Democrats in 2020 by only eleven thousand votes and with the help of Latino voters.
Both the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and that of former Republican President Donald Trump (2017-2021) are investing valuable resources in Arizona in search of their 11 electoral votes in the midst of a very close national campaign for next November’s elections.
This Friday Harris will hold together with his running mate, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, a rally in Glendale (Arizona), 14 kilometers (9 miles) northwest of Phoenix, as part of a tour of key states.
It is the fourth visit of the Democrat to that state this year, the first since President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and supported her in her aspirations.
Harris participated on June 24 in an event that promoted reproductive rights on the second anniversary of the annulment by the U.S. Supreme Court of the Roe v. Wade, who protected the right to abortion, a crucial issue in Arizona.
But in Arizona there are long-standing battles that matter a lot to voters, such as immigration, one of the weapons of Trump’s campaign, and which was taken up last week by Vice-Presidential candidate J.D. Vance, on a visit to Cochise County.
At a conference on the border wall, the Republican senator for Ohio criticized Harris by saying that he had “failed” in his work of containing undocumented immigrants, whom he blamed for leaving schools and hospitals without resources.
But Vance stepped on moving land. The anti-immigrant speech that once promoted the approval in Arizona of SB-1070, one of the toughest state laws against the undocumented, took a toll on the ultra-conservatives, in a state that was one of its safest bastions.
After campaigns promoted by immigrant advocates and Latino organizations to repeal the law, Democrats have been gaining ground in election positions previously intended for Republicans as the two seats of the U.S. Senate.
The red party suffered its loss in 2020 when Biden won the state by 11,000 votes, a victory that did not take place since former President Bill Clinton won in 1996.
A greater registration and participation of Latinos were some of the factors for the Democrat to beat Trump. The electoral authorities endorsed the winner, despite the efforts of the former president’s allies, of whom more than a dozen are accused of electoral fraud, including a Trump lawyer.
Another factor for this change has been a greater participation of young Latinos, who through social networks have been key to spreading the message of the importance of the vote, a loot that Harris wants to capture.
The economy, inflation and security continue to be other important factors that will tip the balance, according to a recent CBS survey.
The most recent HighGround Public Affairs survey, conducted between July 31 and August 5, shows that Vice President Harris has a 2.8 percentage point advantage over former President Donald Trump in Arizona. A technical tie taking into account that the margin of error of the survey of 4.38%.
However, Harris could consolidate if you take into account the eleven percentage points that Democratic congressman Rubén Gallego, who is looking for a chair in the U.S. Senate, in front of Trumpist candidate Kari Lake.
In addition, several Republican figures, including the influential mayor of Mesa, John Giles, have turned their backs on Trump and seem to opt for the Democratic candidate.
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.
International
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Venezuela has announced the closure of its embassy in Norway, just days after opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Venezuelan diplomatic mission provided no explanation for its decision on Monday.
“It is regrettable,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Despite our differences on several issues, Norway wishes to keep the dialogue with Venezuela open and will continue to work in that direction.” The ministry also emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates entirely independently from the Norwegian government.
In its announcement, the Nobel Committee stated that Machado met the criteria established by Alfred Nobel, “embodying the hope for a different future, where the fundamental rights of Venezuelans are heard.”
International
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
Thousands of military personnel and civilians in Mexico worked tirelessly on Tuesday to clear roads blocked by the torrential rains of recent days, which have left more than 300 communities cut off across central and eastern regions of the country. Authorities also launched mass fumigation efforts in several affected areas to prevent the spread of dengue fever.
The official death toll remains at 64, though dozens of people are still missing. President Claudia Sheinbaumacknowledged that the government does not yet know the full situation in many of the isolated villages, which range in population from 500 to 1,000 inhabitants.
“The reopening of roads is one of the greatest urgencies,” Sheinbaum said. “It’s essential to guarantee air bridges, food supplies, clean water, and a proper census of the isolated communities so we can determine the condition of every person living there.”
Private construction companies are also assisting the effort with heavy machinery and technical support to help reopen highways and reconnect rural areas.
Armed forces target illegal mines in Northern Ecuador with bombing raids
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