International
Legislators related to Evo Morales prevent the Arce report in Parliament, which qualifies it as an “act of vandalism”
The pro-government parliamentarians of the wing related to the former Bolivianpresident EvoMorales (2006-2019) violently prevented this Friday the installation of the legislative session in which the country’s president, Luis Arce, was to present a management report. Arce launched harsh criticism of former president Morales for the “vandal act” carried out by parliamentarians.
The Bolivian vice president, David Choquehuanca, who also presides over the Legislative Assembly, was preparing to begin the parliamentary session when a group of deputies and senators of the governmental Movement to Socialism (MAS) related to Morales violently approached the main stand.
The parliamentarians of the so-called ‘evista’ wing or close to the former governor destroyed a floral arrangement placed in front of the platform and threw tomatoes and water at Choquehuanca, while the vice president’s security team tried to cover him with a jacket.
Choquehuanca finally left the place and the session did not come to be installed, so now some official information is expected about the place from where Arce will give his management report.
An “act of vandalism”
The president regretted that there had to be “another vandalistic act starring the Evista bench,” that is, of parliamentarians related to Morales, “in the Legislative Assembly.”
“The ‘evismo’ again demonstrates with its actions that it has no will to dialogue or to depose its violent attitudes that are causing so much damage to our country,” said Arce, who has been distanced from Morales since the end of 2021.
The ruler said he felt “other people’s shame” for what happened which, he added, “will be registered as one of the most shameful chapters in the history” of the Bolivian Legislature.
He also expressed his condemnation of the “aggressions” suffered by Choquehuanca and the “arcist” parliamentarians or related to his government and offered an apology “to the Bolivian people and the international community” for these events.
“What we have seen today is not what we Bolivians are, nor does it represent popular feeling. What the world has witnessed today is a group of followers of Evo Morales, who continues to damage our country by imposing an unconstitutional candidacy and by seeking impunity in their judicial processes,” he said.
Arce accuses ‘evismo’ of seeking “impunity” in cases against Morales
Luis Arce accused the relatives of former president Evo Morales of causing “damage” to the country to “impose an unconstitutional candidacy and for seeking impunity in their judicial proceedings,” in reference to the investigations into human trafficking and rape that weigh against the former president.
“What we have seen today is not what we Bolivians are, nor does it represent popular feeling. What the world has witnessed today is a group of followers of Evo Morales, who continues to damage our country by imposing an unconstitutional candidacy and by seeking impunity in their judicial processes,” he said.
The dispute between Arce and Morales
The day before, the Deputy Minister of Communication, Gabriela Alcón, guaranteed that Arce will present her report, as the Constitution indicates, and will also give a message to the population “at a complicated time” after the 24 days of roadblocks completed by Evo Morales’ followers in the face of a criminal process against him.
Arce will give his report from Plaza Murillo on a newly assembled platform for the suspension of the legislative session.
Arce and Morales have been distanced since the end of 2021 due to differences in the state administration, the need to renew the national leadership of the MAS, still in the hands of the former president, and the definition of the official candidacy for the 2025 general elections.
The ruling party fight deepened after a criminal investigation against Morales was known in a case of human trafficking and rape that the former governor considers to be a “political persecution” to leave him out of the electoral contest and for which his followers blocked roads for 24 days.
The last year of Arce
Arce begins on this day his fifth and last year of management in the midst of this struggle in his party and also of an economic crisis reflected in the lack of dollars and fuel and the increase in the price of some basic products.
On the social network X, Morales reiterated his criticisms against Arce and maintained that at the end of his fourth year of administration, he “trayed the Bolivian people.”
“He had the commitment to raise the economy and sank it, the commitment to respect institutionality and destroyed it, the commitment to be transparent and was corrupted. In addition, he divided and pre-pre-ended the leadership leaders of social movements,” he questioned.
He also considered that the “only objective” of the Arce Government is to “proscribe the MAS and disqualify Evo” as a candidate for 2025.
“They will go down in history as the worst of governments,” the former governor added.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
International
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
he Vatican’s post offices and select collector shops began selling special edition stamps this week to mark the period between the death of Pope Francis and the election of his successor.
Known as “Sede Vacante” stamps, they feature an image used on official Vatican documents during the interregnum between popes — two crossed keys without the papal tiara. These stamps went on sale Monday and will remain valid for postal use only until the new pontiff appears at the window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.
Until then, they can be used to send letters, postcards, and parcels. “Once the new pope is elected, the stamps lose their postal validity, but their collectible value rises,” said Francesco Santarossa, who runs a collectors’ shop across from St. Peter’s Square.
The Vatican has issued the stamps in four denominations: €1.25, €1.30, €2.45, and €3.20. Each is inscribed with “Città del Vaticano” and “Sede Vacante MMXXV” — Latin for “Vacant See 2025.”
International
Conclave to choose pope Francis’ successor could begin in early may
The conclave, which in the coming weeks must choose the successor to Pope Francis, will strictly follow a precise protocol refined over centuries.
The 135 cardinal electors, all under the age of 80, will cast their votes four times a day — except on the first day — until one candidate secures a two-thirds majority. The result will be announced to the world through the burning of the ballots with a chemical that produces the eagerly awaited white smoke, accompanied by the traditional cry of “Habemus Papam.”
The start date for the conclave could be announced today, as the cardinals are set to hold their fifth meeting since the pope’s passing. Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich suggested it could begin on May 5 or 6, following the traditional nine days of mourning. According to German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the conclave could last only “a few days.”
Although the late Argentine pontiff appointed the majority of the cardinal electors, this does not necessarily ensure the selection of a like-minded successor. Francis’ leadership style differed significantly from that of his predecessor, Benedict XVI, a German theologian who was less fond of large public gatherings. It also marked a contrast with the popular Polish pope, John Paul II.
The Argentine Jesuit’s reformist papacy drew strong criticism from more conservative sectors of the Church, who are hoping for a doctrinally focused shift. His tenure was marked by efforts to combat clerical sexual abuse, elevate the role of women and laypeople, and advocate for the poor and migrants, among other causes.
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
Vatican releases special “Sede Vacante” stamps ahead of papal transition
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