Venezuela is preparing to mark the first anniversary of the disputed presidential elections of July 28, 2024, a vote marred by allegations of fraud, repression, and ongoing political tensions. The main opposition coalition, the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD), continues to reject the results that declared Nicolás Maduro president, insisting that the true winner was Edmundo González Urrutia, now living in exile.

The opposition’s campaign was led by María Corina Machado, leader of Vente Venezuela, who, despite being barred from holding public office, threw her support behind González Urrutia after several failed attempts to register alternative candidates, including historian Corina Yoris.

After winning more than 90% of the vote in the opposition primaries of October 2023, Machado was sidelined by a Comptroller General’s resolution that banned her from public office until 2036. In March 2024, she sought to nominate Corina Yoris, but the National Electoral Council (CNE) system blocked her registration — a move widely denounced as a government maneuver.

Ultimately, the Un Nuevo Tiempo (UNT) party’s ballot line was used to register Edmundo González Urrutia, a former ambassador who had been largely unknown in the political arena, but who took on the candidacy with the full support of Machado and the entire opposition coalition.

The Mexican government, through its Foreign Ministry, published new guidelines this Friday in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF) for issuing electronic visas to foreign nationals, aiming to modernize and streamline migration procedures.

In parallel, the National Migration Institute (INM) announced an agreement to simplify administrative processes, particularly for people on the move and asylum seekers.

The new regulations state that the electronic visa can be processed from abroad without having to visit a Mexican consulate.

The document will feature a QR code for validation and will allow foreign nationals to enter Mexico and obtain the status of visitor without permission to engage in paid activities.

According to the publication, this electronic visa “allows the foreign person to present themselves at an international air entry point and request entry into the country from the immigration authority.”

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“If authorized, an Electronic Visa with a QR code will be generated, which the foreign applicant can print and/or download to an electronic device, ensuring that the data matches their passport or travel document,” the agreement reads.

To obtain this visa, applicants must register in the Secretariat’s Electronic Appointment System, upload the required documents, and pay the corresponding fee. The authorization will be subject to security screening and verification by consular authorities.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs may issue visas in electronic format to foreign nationals without a consular interview and without the need for a physical stamp in the passport, in cases where their issuance is deemed appropriate under applicable regulations,” the guidelines specify.

This measure marks a step toward digitizing consular services and responds to the need to facilitate international mobility amid pressures from the migration crisis with the United States.

In a separate DOF publication, the INM issued an agreement to simplify, unify, and make administrative migration processes more transparent.

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This includes eliminating requirements for four procedures related to the issuance of migration documents, obtaining a regional visitor card, regularization for humanitarian reasons, and notifications of changes in marital status, name, nationality, or workplace.

The agreement also shortens maximum resolution times: notifications of personal data changes must now be processed within three days, and migration documents issued in no more than 10 days.

Additionally, improvements were made to certain processes, such as the regional visitor card. The updated regulation reduces requirements and now excludes Brazilian nationals from eligibility, limiting the process to Guatemalan, Honduran, Salvadoran, and Belizean citizens.

Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez raised her voice on Friday in Cali, denouncing that her “Black woman’s body” has been “celebrated, instrumentalized, worn out, and discarded” by the country’s political system.

Speaking at an event marking the International Day of Afro-descendant Women and Girls, Márquez broke more than two months of silence and openly described the deterioration of her relationship with President Gustavo Petro and her gradual exclusion from the executive branch.

“I went from being the political phenomenon, the heroine, to being the traitor,” Márquez declared in a powerful speech that quickly went viral on social media. She said she had been used as a symbol of hope during the presidential campaign, only to later be pushed aside from the center of political power.

Márquez stressed that her role within the Colombian government has been reduced to mere symbolism: “They want us in the picture, but not in the decision-making.” She recalled being tasked with leading the newly created Ministry of Equality — but without resources, structure, or political support, facing what she called a “systematic blockade.”

“They accused me of failing to deliver when I was never given the tools to do so (…) They spread the idea that because I am Black, I must surely steal — without having touched a single peso, they treated me like a criminal,” Márquez added, pointing to the persistent racial stigmas in Colombia’s public administration.

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