International
Puerto Rican voters in the US do not forget the insult to Puerto Rico by casting their vote
Life in El Barrio, the traditional Puerto Rican neighborhood of New York, took place this Tuesday with businesses open and almost empty like their streets, unlike polling centers where the flow of voters did not stop, a large number of them ‘boricuas’ who, when casting their vote, did not forget the insult to their country that a Republican supporter made at a rally last October 27.
“That offended me, that’s not said,” Juan, 67, told EFE, accompanied by his brother William, 68, who, in a wheelchair and having trouble speaking, moved his head giving him the reason. (they referred to the qualifier of Puerto Rico as a “floating garbage island” pronounced by a comic ‘headline’ at a Trump rally in New York).
Both were born in Puerto Rico and today voted for the Democratic presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, like many other residents of El Barrio, where no surprises are expected with the results, at least there.
However, voters interviewed by EFE expressed their concern about the country’s overall results in the face of an electoral race against Republican Donald Trump, which has been characterized by its very narrow margins.
Annoyance for comments
These were the second elections as a citizen for the Mexican Maricruz Eduardo, who said at the exit of the polling station that she supported Harris because she believes in the power of women. “I am one of them,” she said, “by raising four children alone in New York, with whom she emigrated only with a Mexican peso “that they gave me when she was going to come.”
Eduardo said she was upset with Trump’s comments against immigrants because, he recalled, she worked hard to get her children ahead as a seamstress and then as a caregiver at home. “I want women to win!” he said.
The presidential elections in centers visited by EFE in the Bronx and Harlem have attracted a large number of people, who alone or accompanied by relatives, in wheelchairs or with canes, came early to cast their vote.
“Many people have come, even people who had not voted before” although they are registered to vote, commented a worker from El Bronx.
In El Barrio it was no different. Congressman Adriano Espaillat also voted there, who attended with a delegation of Dominican legislators whom he invited to observe the process in the district he represents and that includes Harlem.
“I was surprised by the level of voting today because many already voted early. Hispanics have gone out to vote in large numbers,” he said, and assured that at the end of the election “there will be surprises.”
He expressed “optimistic” that in the seven ‘hinge’ states, which are key to the results, they end up leaning towards Harris.
Passions and divisions
Trump’s candidacy provokes passions among his followers and has divided even families, a community activist from Hispanic Harlem told EFE, who was outraged by the comments of the Republican comedian who called Puerto Rico an “garbage island” and who cannot understand “how a Puerto Rican can vote for Trump.
Margarita even spoke about Trump and the Republicans’ position of opposing abortion by recalling that she had to undergo one because her five-month-old fetus had died. “I had access to health services,” which not many women have in states where they have passed very restrictive anti-abortion laws that have already cost the lives of some women, she says.
While in Midtown, the head of a polling center, Michael Bushman, explained that unlike other years, today there have been fewer queues, since in the nine days of early voting “many people came.”
New York began allowing early voting in 2019.
“Before early voting existed, queues formed that went around the block, but since people have nine days to vote in advance, there are no queues. Today, there is a constant but fluid movement. Voters don’t have to wait an hour or two,” says Bushman.
In total, 1,089,328 residents of the city voted in advance, a number slightly lower than in the 2020 presidential elections, when more than 1.1 million people voted before election day.
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
Caracas shuts embassy in Oslo without explanation following Machado’s Nobel win
Sheinbaum: Urgent to restore access to towns cut off by heavy rains
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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