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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 18th 2026 - 21:52 UTC

Politics

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 18:15 UTC

    Early escrutinio stages confirm Colombia's preliminary result with 99.997% coincidence

    Those figures must be confirmed or adjusted by the count process

    Colombia's National Registry reported on Tuesday that there is a 99.997% coincidence between the preliminary results of Sunday's presidential runoff, which gave the victory to Abelardo de la Espriella, and the municipal counts, one of the stages of the process that will lead to the official declaration of the new president. “The preliminary count coincides with the judges' tally by 99.997%,” the body said in a statement.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 18:02 UTC

    De la Espriella says Colombia will join the US-led 'Shield of the Americas' on August 7

    De la Espriella, who received Trump's electoral backing, will come to power with rhetoric aligned with the White House on an iron-fist approach to organized crime and immigration

    Colombia's president-elect, Abelardo de la Espriella, said on Tuesday that the country will join the “Shield of the Americas,” the US initiative against drug cartels, on August 7, when he takes office in place of Gustavo Petro. “From August 7, Colombia will be part of the Shield of the Americas. Colombia will no longer be governed by a government complacent toward narcoterrorism; we will move to combat it as it deserves,” he wrote on the social network X, in response to a congratulation from US War Secretary Pete Hegseth.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 17:26 UTC

    Peru's Sánchez alleges fraud and says he won't recognize a Fujimori government

    Until a few days ago, Sánchez had avoided using the word fraud. This time he held that there are reasons to question the validity of the votes cast abroad

    The presidential candidate of Juntos por el Perú, Roberto Sánchez, hardened his rhetoric on the runoff on Tuesday, alleging an alleged “fraud in progress” and announcing that he will not recognize a possible government of right-wing Keiko Fujimori. At a press conference in Lima, the left-wing candidate also called a protest for Saturday in defense of what he considers the popular will expressed at the ballot box.

  • Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 05:45 UTC

    What to expect from the UK’s likely next prime minister Andy Burnham

    Two distinct levels to Project Andy: Manchesterism and Burnhamism. The former encompasses his policy vision, revolving around the notion of “business friendly socialism” and place-based politics

    By Matthew Flinders, University of Sheffield (*)

    Resigning as UK prime minister and leader of the Labour party, Keir Starmer said he accepted, “with good grace”, that the party does not think he is best placed to lead them into the next general election.

  • Monday, June 22nd 2026 - 18:19 UTC

    Uruguay deepens its search for the dictatorship's disappeared with access to new archives

    The March of Silence crosses Montevideo every May 20 since 1996 under the motto “Where are they?”, seeking truth and justice for the dictatorship's disappeared. Photo: Sebastián Astorga

    Uruguay expanded its policy of searching for those who were detained and disappeared during the dictatorship with the signing of an accord for the treatment, preservation and administration of archives on human-rights violations committed in the country between 1968 and 1985. The agreement, signed on Monday in Montevideo, deepens a strategic pact reached by state bodies in February.

  • Monday, June 22nd 2026 - 18:08 UTC

    Burnham sworn in as MP and enters Labour leadership race with a clear path to No 10

    Burnham could be left without serious challengers, which would speed up the process: each contender needs the backing of 20% of Labour lawmakers to run.

    The former mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, was sworn in on Monday as MP for Makerfield and formally launched his candidacy to lead the Labour Party and, by extension, the British government, hours after Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation. The backing of his most likely rival, former Health Secretary Wes Streeting, cleared his path and consolidated him as the favorite to succeed Starmer.

  • Monday, June 22nd 2026 - 13:24 UTC

    De la Espriella gives a victory speech vowing unity as Cepeda awaits the final tally

    ”The electoral campaign is over, the divisions are over (...) and the supreme hour of service to the homeland begins,” De la Espriella said

    Right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella delivered a victory speech on Sunday in Barranquilla, in which he proclaimed himself the winner of Colombia's presidential runoff according to the preliminary count and called for national unity, while the official tally remained under way and his rival, left-wing senator Iván Cepeda, conditioned recognition of the result on the definitive count.

  • Monday, June 22nd 2026 - 09:26 UTC

    UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigns, clearing the way for Andy Burnham

    The pressure on Starmer intensified after Burnham returned to Parliament by winning the Makerfield by-election, in northern England

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Monday his resignation as leader of the Labour Party, a decision that clears the way for the former mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, to succeed him at the head of the party and the government. Starmer, who announced the move after losing the support of his parliamentary group, will remain as caretaker prime minister until a new leader is chosen.

  • Monday, June 22nd 2026 - 04:30 UTC

    De la Espriella wins Colombia's presidency in the preliminary count as Cepeda awaits the tally

    De la Espriella addressed Colombians with a “message of unity” and promised “absolute respect” for the vote

    Right-wing criminal lawyer Abelardo de la Espriella won Colombia's presidency, according to the preliminary count by the Registraduría, defeating left-wing senator Iván Cepeda by less than a point in the closest runoff in the country's history. With about 99.9% of the tables processed, De la Espriella took 49.66% of the vote against Cepeda's 48.70%, a difference of some 250,000 ballots. The governing-coalition candidate acknowledged the preliminary count but warned that he would not accept the result until the definitive tally, and challenged 33,000 of the 120,000 polling tables; President Gustavo Petro said that “neither can proclaim himself president.”

  • Sunday, June 21st 2026 - 15:39 UTC

    Starmer weighs political future as pressure to resign mounts

    Starmer would be the sixth head of government to leave office in a decade

    British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is weighing his political future as pressure grows within the Labour Party for him to announce his resignation, following Andy Burnham's victory in last week's Makerfield by-election.