Ecuador's re-elected President Daniel Noboa was sworn in for a new four-year term in Quito, alongside Vice President Maria Jose Pinto. In his inaugural speech, Noboa pledged to advance steadily, “implementing each and every one of the necessary reforms to build a State that is not a burden to society”, in addition to putting “a solid foundation for the growth of employment, investment.”
Venezuela Sunday held regional and legislative elections with a voter turnout of 42.63%. The ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), led by Nicolás Maduro, secured 23 out of 24 governorships, including the newly claimed 160,000 square-kilometer oil-rich Guayana Essequiba, and an 82.68% share of votes for the National Assembly, projecting an absolute legislative majority. The opposition won only the Cojedes governorship. Henrique Capriles secured a legislative seat for the opposition.
The Bolivian Government of President Luis Arce Catacora announced Friday a series of measures to tackle the rise in food prices, fuel shortages, dollar scarcity, and the declining purchasing power of the Bolivian currency.
Bolivia is grappling with a severe fuel crisis, marked by long vehicle lines at petrol stations in major cities like La Paz, El Alto, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz, caused by a partial strike by tanker transporters demanding higher freight rates and logistical delays at the Chilean port of Arica.
Bolivia's Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) has suspended the approval of Senate Speaker Andrónico Rodríguez's candidacy as well as those of other would-be contenders on behalf of the leftist Alianza Popular movement, pending a constitutional ruling on the legal status of the Third System Movement (MTS), a party within the alliance.
A group of 21 diplomats from various countries came under fire Tuesday during an official visit to the Palestinian city of Jenin in the West Bank. The Israeli army fired warning shots at the delegation, which included Uruguayan Ambassador to Palestine Fernando Arroyo, who was unharmed in the incident.
Although former Bolivian President Evo Morales claimed to have registered his candidacy for the Aug. 17 elections, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) disqualified such an application because neither party under which he filed his papers (Evo Pueblo or Pan-Bol) had legal status.
Mexico, Chile, and Uruguay have joined China, the European Union, and Argentina in temporarily suspending chicken imports from Brazil due to an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) detected on a commercial farm in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil’s third-largest chicken-producing state.
Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced Monday the arrest of 38 suspects, including 17 foreigners, for planning to sabotage regional elections with explosive attacks targeting embassies, hospitals, police stations, and public figures from both the ruling Chavismo and opposition.
Former Bolivian President Evo Morales, who has been disqualified from running again for office due to a constitutional cap on mandates, has warned of a potential armed struggle. In this regard, he insisted he was resisting arrest to avoid further bloodshed as his supporters marched onto the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) in La Paz.