International
Justin Trudeau’s star goes out among the Canadian population and his own party
After 10 years in power, Justin Trudeau’s star is dying at high speed: the electorate has turned their backs on him and, within his Liberal Party, more and more voices want him to resign to avoid a catastrophe in the elections scheduled for October 2025.
For months, the polls have all told the same story. Justin Trudeau is an unpopular prime minister and the Liberal Party is heading for a painful loss in the upcoming general election that may relegate him to third place in the lower house of Parliament.
What do the polls say?
The average of polls currently places the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, with 42.5% of voting intention, while Trudeau’s Liberal Party is 19 points below, with 23.2%.
And what is worse for the critical voices within the Liberal Party, the lack of ideas and the immobility of the Justin Trudeau Government in the face of the problems that afflict the country anticipate that the next few months more Canadian will turn their backs on them.
Some even fear that the situation experienced in the 2008 elections will be reproduced when the Liberal Party, then in opposition and led by the intellectual Michael Ignatieff, was reduced to 34 deputies of the 308 seats that the Lower House of Parliament then had.
“It has been behind in the polls for some time now. That is not a huge problem when the elections are far away so the party gave Trudeau room to try to improve the situation because there was time left,” Andrew McDougall, professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, explained to EFE.
“But now there is only one year left before the next election. So the pressure has increased and the party is getting more and more impatient,” he added.
Justin Trudeau swept the 2015 general election
Paradoxically, Justin Trudeau took the leadership of the Liberal Party after the 2008 election disaster. Son of former minister and former liberal leader Pierre Trudeau, one of the most transcendental politicians in the modern history of Canada, he met expectations and in 2015 swept the general elections, becoming the twenty-third first minister of the country.
And also, paradoxically, one of the main proposals that brought him to power in 2015 was to open the country’s borders to receive more refugees and immigrants, both for economic reasons and to recover the founding spirit of Canada as a host country.
True to his promises, one of his first acts as prime minister after winning in 2015 was to go to Toronto airport to personally receive Syrian refugees.
Canada has changed
Ten years later, the North American country has changed. In 2015, Canada received 300,000 immigrants. Since then, the figure has not stopped growing. In 2022 there were 431,645, 16% more than in 2021. In 2023 there were 465,000. This year they will reach 485,000. From 2025, 500,000 per year.
Thanks to these migration levels, Canada is the G7 country with the highest population growth, with 2.7% per year. It is the highest level since 1957, when the explosion of post-war births and immigration placed the rate at 3.3%.
The problem for Justin Trudeau is that the country has not been able to absorb these levels of immigration. There are literally not enough housing for a population that in nine months between July 2023 and April 2024 grew by one million people.
Nor have basic services such as health care been able to keep up with the growth rate.
Trudeau acknowledged on Thursday that he was wrong and has announced that he will reduce the number of immigrants that Canada will receive by up to 27% in the next three years.
“We didn’t get the balance right,” he agreed.
“We are going to stabilize the growth of our population so that all levels of government have time to recover, to make the necessary investments in health, housing and social services. To accommodate more people in the future,” he added.
The question now is whether he will have time to recover the aura that has kept him in power since 2015, especially within the Liberal Party.
“Trudeau insists that he is the best person to lead the party, that no one would do it better. Most politicians believe they are the best to lead their formations. So I’m not surprised that Trudeau resists leaving power,” McDougall explained.
Central America
El Niño could intensify global climate risks, warns World Meteorological Organization
Latin American countries, one of the regions in the world most affected by El Niño, must “take extreme precautions” and make use of so-called “climate intelligence” to mitigate the most severe impacts of the phenomenon, the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Celeste Saulo, told EFE on Tuesday.
With a 90% probability, El Niño is expected to return in the second half of this year, and a strong intensity cannot be ruled out.
As a result, the phenomenon could trigger intense rainfall and flooding in some areas, while causing droughts in others, leading to direct impacts on communities and a wide range of economic sectors, including fishing and agriculture.
Saulo said countries in the region have improved their scientific and institutional capacity to monitor and respond to El Niño, as well as to understand how it interacts with other climate variables, including those linked to climate change, in order to better forecast “more or less severe impacts.”
When describing likely consequences in South and Central America, the Argentine scientist first referred to the “Coastal El Niño,” as the phenomenon is known in Peru and Ecuador.
She explained that this event brings increased rainfall and ocean warming, which strongly affects the fishing industry.
She added that northern South America, Central America, and northeastern Brazil are typically exposed to below-normal rainfall or drought conditions. In past extreme episodes, El Niño has even affected the operational capacity of the Panama Canal and created serious water access and management challenges during severe droughts.
In contrast, southeastern South America—including southern Brazil, Paraguay, northern and northeastern Argentina, and Uruguay—can expect above-average rainfall, increasing the risk of flooding, severe storms, and landslides.
Given the potential for fear and misinformation among populations, Saulo urged people to “trust the institutions responsible for meteorological information,” stressing that national meteorological services are the official and authoritative sources in each country.
“These are the ultimate responsible authorities and the voices of expertise,” she emphasized.
The most recent El Niño episode occurred between 2023 and 2024 and was among the five strongest ever recorded, contributing to record global temperatures.
The WMO chief noted that climate models remain uncertain about the intensity of the next El Niño, though more accurate forecasts are expected in the coming weeks.
While climate change has not been proven to increase the frequency or intensity of El Niño events, scientists do know that both can interact and amplify extreme weather impacts, potentially leading to natural disasters.
Although Latin America is often heavily affected, El Niño impacts can also be felt in North America, the Caribbean, central and eastern Africa, parts of Asia, and Australia.
Central America
Argentina Falls to Lowest Rating in Global Workers’ Rights Index Under Milei Administration
Argentina and Panama have joined Ecuador among the world’s 10 worst countries for workers’ rights, according to a report released Monday by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The three Latin American nations appear alongside Belarus, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria, Tunisia and Turkey in the latest edition of the Global Rights Index, which evaluates the protection of labor rights around the world.
According to the ITUC, Argentina entered the list this year after being downgraded to Category 5, marking its second consecutive year of declining ratings.
“Argentina joins the list of the 10 worst countries for workers this year after falling to Category 5, following a second consecutive year of deterioration in its rating,” the organization stated.
The report argues that working conditions and the environment for trade unions have become increasingly restrictive under the administration of President Javier Milei.
“Conditions for workers and trade unions have become increasingly repressive and hostile under the far-right government of President Javier Milei,” the study said.
The ITUC also highlighted Argentina’s implementation of an anti-blockade protocol aimed at maintaining public order during road blockades. According to the report, the measure authorizes what it describes as the indiscriminate use of police force.
The organization noted that Argentina’s rating has worsened for a second consecutive year, placing the country in Category 5, the lowest level assigned in the index and the worst rating Argentina has ever received.
“This represents an abrupt and unprecedented decline from Category 3 to Category 5 in just two years,” the report stated.
Category 5 includes countries where workers’ rights are considered “not guaranteed.” According to the ITUC, the downgrade reflects a shift from recurring labor rights violations to a situation in which workers are no longer assured basic protections.
The annual index assesses issues such as freedom of association, collective bargaining rights, the right to strike and legal protections for workers and trade unions.
The report’s findings place renewed international attention on labor conditions in several countries, particularly in Latin America, where Argentina, Panama and Ecuador now rank among the most challenging environments for workers’ rights.
International
OAS Election Mission to Monitor Claims of Political Interference by Colombia’s President
The Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) has pledged to follow up on allegations regarding the alleged involvement of Colombian President Gustavo Petro in political campaigning ahead of Sunday’s presidential election.
The announcement was made by presidential candidate Claudia López after a meeting with the head of the OAS Electoral Observation Mission, former Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernández.
According to a statement released by López’s campaign, the OAS mission listened to the concerns raised by the candidate and committed to monitoring the complaints she has submitted to both national and international organizations.
The mission also reiterated its commitment to overseeing the electoral process to help ensure that the will of Colombian voters is respected throughout the election.
“We have turned to international forums and technical observation missions to warn that Colombian democracy cannot be left at the mercy of fear or undue pressure,” López, the former mayor of Bogotá, said following the meeting.
López has repeatedly expressed concerns about what she describes as political interference in the electoral process and has called on national and international institutions to closely monitor the conduct of the campaign.
The OAS observation mission is one of several international bodies deployed to Colombia to monitor the presidential election, which is taking place amid heightened political tensions and intense competition among candidates from across the ideological spectrum.
The election is expected to be closely watched both domestically and internationally as Colombians choose whether to continue with the country’s first left-wing administration or shift toward a new political direction.
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