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Electoral Politics

Xiomara Castro Denounces Hijack Of Legislative Power

January 24, 2022 Telesur English. , , ,
The elected president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro (Libertad y Refundación, Libre), denounced this Sunday, outside the National Congress, that a dictatorship is trying to hijack the Legislative Branch in a bid not to respond to the popular mandate. Hundreds of people continue to mobilize in the vicinity of the Parliament in defense of democracy and respect for the popular vote. Addressing the crowds of her supporters, Castro recalled that the elections of November 2021 were to remove from power the dictatorship of the current president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, and banish its unlawful practices. She stressed that on November 28, the people cast their votes and that their will must be respected.

The Disintegrating Façade Of US Democracy

January 20, 2022 Netfa Freeman, Black Agenda Report. , ,
A poll taken in December 2021 reflecting that a majority of “Americans” now “believe that democracy in the United State is in danger of disappearing” accommodates the bipartisan erasure of those colonized by US settler colonialism. Several US news outlets have reported that the Schoen Cooperman Research poll on “U.S. Perceptions of Government” reflects the opinions and concerns of “Americans” at large. The poll reflects that 51-percent of respondents agree with the statement that democracy in the US is at risk of extinction, a position shared almost equally between party affiliations. The sentiment is most acute among the younger generation. However, there is a deeply flawed premise in not just the poll itself but likely in the respondents to it as well.

Should We Disrupt The Democratic Party Or Try To Take It Over?

January 17, 2022 Mark Engler And Paul Engler, Waging Nonviolence. , , ,
When trying to figure out how they should interact with political parties, social movements face a common challenge: Should they push from without or seek to operate from within? Should they act as a destabilizing threat to all politicians, or should they work to build strength within a mainstream party? Frances Fox Piven and Daniel Schlozman are two theorists who stand at opposite poles of this debate. In Piven’s view, movements win by deploying disruptive power from the outside that can polarize the public and create discomfort among politicians. “[M]ovements of mass defiance fired the most important episodes of class and racial reform in the 20th century,” she contends. “This capacity to create political crises through disrupting institutions is … the chief resource for political influence possessed by the poorer classes.”

Chile: Another Good-Sized Nail In Neoliberalism’s Coffin

December 22, 2021 Francisco Dominguez, Public Reading Rooms. , ,
This brings us to a central political issue: what has the October 2019 Rebellion and all its impressively positive consequences posed for the Chilean working class? What is posed in Chile is the struggle not (yet) for power but for the masses that for decades were conned into accepting (however grudgingly) neoliberalism as a fact of life, until the 2019 rebellion that was the first mass mobilization not only to oppose but also to get rid of neoliberalism. The Rebellion extracted extraordinary concessions from the ruling class: a referendum for a Constitutional Convention entrusted legally with the task to draft an anti-neoliberal constitution to replace the 1980 one promulgated under Pinochet’s rule.

Gabriel Boric Victory Speech: ‘I Will Be The President Of All Chileans’

December 20, 2021 Orinoco Tribune. ,
The president-elect of Chile, Gabriel Boric, thanked the people this Sunday, December 19, for their support in the second round of the presidential elections, in which he defeated the extreme right-wing Pinochet-admirer José Antonio Kast, becoming the new president of Chile for the 2022-2026 term.

Peruvian Congress Rejects Impeachment Of President Castillo

December 11, 2021 Brasil De Fato, People's Dispatch. , , ,
Peru’s Congress rejected the initiation of impeachment proceedings against President Pedro Castillo with 76 votes against, 46 in favor and four abstentions. The vacancy motion was proposed by the right-wing caucus, composed of the parties Avanza País, Popular Renewal, and Popular Force of former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori. In order to be admitted, the proposal had to obtain 40% support in the legislature, equivalent to 52 votes. This was the Peruvian president’s third clash with Parliament in only five months in office. The voting process was accompanied by demonstrations of support for the government in front of Congress. “On behalf of my government I am thankful that the vote of Congress prioritized Peru over all interests. Brothers and sisters, let us put an end to the political crises and work together to achieve a Peru that is just and based in solidarity.

2021: Political Turning Point In Central America And The Caribbean

December 4, 2021 Mision Verdad, Orinoco Tribune. , ,
With the background noise of migration to the United States and the recent victory of Xiomara Castro de Zelaya, Central America and the Caribbean are at a turning point that will play an important role in the years to come in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region comes from processes of civil wars, historical colonization and systematic impoverishment; however, the facts are woven with this historical thread in which democracy and human rights are used in the interest of the hegemonic narrative to intervene and capture geostrategic resources. Three of the multiple processes taking place are described below.

Sandinistas Won A Landslide Victory Because They Uplifted The Poor

December 1, 2021 Yader Lanuza, Covert Action Magazine. , , ,
As predicted by multiple polls, the Sandinistas, led by Daniel Ortega, won a resounding victory on the November 7th elections in Nicaragua. The elections were a referendum on the path that the Sandinista government has taken the country, which is grounded on large investments in social programs that have benefited people, especially the most disadvantaged, in every nook and cranny of the national territory. Support for the reelection of the Sandinista government was astounding. Of the entire patron electoral (eligible voters), about 65% came out to vote and, of those, about 75.9% voted for the FLSN (Sandinista National Liberation Front) alliance ticket. The victory of Sandinistas generated expected attacks, which seek to delegitimize the newly elected government in Nicaragua.

Castro’s Victory Spells End Of US-Backed ‘Narco-Politics, Neoliberalism’

December 1, 2021 Morgan Artyukhina , Sputnik News. , , ,
Castro’s victory is just the latest in a year of leftist victories in Latin America, including Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, Pedro Castillo in Peru, and Luis Arce in Bolivia, all of which represent significant setbacks for the US’ agenda in the region. "There will be no more abuse of power in this country," Castro said in an unofficial victory speech on Sunday. “Today, the people have made justice. We have reversed authoritarianism.” With 40% of votes counted, she held a commanding lead of 53.3% over her chief rival, National Party candidate Nasry Asfura, who Sputnik News journalist Wyatt Reed described as the “handpicked successor to Juan Orlando Hernandez,” the right-wing president whose two election victories were widely marred by fraud.

The Latin American Left Is Ready For 2022

December 1, 2021 Pablo Navarrete, Novara Media. , , ,
Latin America, the 21st century’s leading region for progressive victories, is in the midst of a leftist resurgence. A new “pink tide” is commencing, with the left holding office in a number of countries and challenging for power in upcoming presidential elections. Kicking off a collection of articles on Latin America’s left, we present an overview of the continent’s war between progressive and conservative forces as flashpoints loom from Chile to Brazil. The original pink tide of leftist electoral victories began in the early 2000s, reaching a climax between 2006 and 2007. Evo Morales assumed the presidency in Bolivia in January 2006, Hugo Chávez was re-elected in Venezuela in December 2006, and in January 2007 Rafael Correa took office in Ecuador.

Xiomara Castro Leading By Wide Margin In Honduras Elections

November 29, 2021 Telesur English. , , ,
Leading over Nasry Asfura, current mayor of the capital city Tegucigulpa and PAN candidate, as well as Yani Rosenthal, candidate for the Liberal Party, Castro is on track to become the first woman president of the Central American nation, and the first leftist leader of the country since her husband Manuel 'Mel' Zelaya was ousted in a U.S.-backed coup in 2009. With 16.01% of the votes vounted, representing nearly 3 million total votes, the Libre Party victor has secured 53.44% of the vote, whereas Asfura obtained 34.01% and Rosenthal 9.23%, whereas other candidates picked up the remaining 4%. Still to be announced by Honduras' National Electoral Council (CNE) is the breakdown of the vote for the 20 representatives to the Central American Parliament, 128 representatives to the National Congress, and the local leaders of 298 municipal corporations, which will be announced in the coming hours.

Thousands March Against Right-Wing Maneuver To Impeach Pedro Castillo

November 29, 2021 Tanya Wadhwa, People's Dispatch. , , ,
On November 25, Peruvian opposition legislators from three right-wing parties, presented a motion in Congress that seeks to remove socialist President Pedro Castillo from office. The motion, which alleged “moral incapacity” of the head of state to govern, was presented with the signatures of 28 legislators of the Popular Force, Popular Renewal, and Go on Country parties. The motion will go to a vote in Congress scheduled for December 7 and will need 52 votes from the 130 legislators for impeachment procedures to begin. If it manages to receive support to begin debate in Congress, a final vote to oust Castillo, would require 87 votes, which is an unlikely scenario. The ruling Free Peru (PL) party, with the support of the progressive Together for Peru party and the Purple Party, has the endorsement of 45 legislators.

Elections In Honduras: Ending Twelve Years Of Neoliberalism

November 28, 2021 Giorgio Trucchi, Public Reading Rooms. , , ,
On November 28, more than 5 million Hondurans will be asked to elect the President of the Republic, 128 deputies to the National Congress, 20 to the Central American Parliament, 298 mayors and more than 2 thousand municipal councillors. As the election date approaches, the political atmosphere has become polarized, conflict has intensified and social tension grown. No one has forgotten the violent repression of 2017 against those who protested against the gross electoral fraud that prolonged the agony of the current government regime. At that time, more than thirty people lost their lives violently and these crimes have remained in total impunity.

Violence And Intimidation Leave Bloody Imprint On Honduran Elections

November 24, 2021 Zoe Alexandra, People's Dispatch. , , ,
On Sunday, November 28, 5.5 million Hondurans will participate in the general elections to elect the president, 128 deputies to the National Congress, 298 mayors, and 20 deputies to the Central American Parliament. The electoral process has been strongly criticized by members of the opposition and human rights organizations inside and outside Honduras due to the serious violation of the basic rights of the political opposition and the right of the people to a peaceful and legal electoral process.

Venezuela: Chavismo Wins Governorships In 20 Of 23 States

November 23, 2021 Telesur English. , , ,
Venezuela's National Electoral Council (CNE) President Pedro Calzadilla reported a 41.80 percent turnout in Sunday's Subnational elections. Having counted 90.21 percent of the ballots cast in the elections, Calzadilla reaffirmed that the elections took place in a peaceful environment. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidates hold leads in 20 out of 23 states for the governor's race. Meanwhile, the opposition coalition United Democratic Table (MUD) candidates secured a lead in the Cojedes and Zulia states. Neighbors Force (FV) party secured the other governor post for opposition sectors in the Nueva Esparta State. "Nothing disturbed the electoral process ... International observers move freely throughout the country to verify the electoral process... It is a victory for the humble people, the noble people of Venezuela, who have endured a brutal war," President Nicolas Maduro stressed.
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