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Welcome to WTF is Going on in Latin America & The Caribbean, a PopularResistance broadcast featuring hot news out of the region with host Teri Mattson. Each weekly episode features a country and/or issue related to the affects of U.S. foreign, economic and/or military influence and intervention in the hemisphere of The Americas. Our guests include academics, policy-makers, journalists as well as activists recognized for their groundwork within local communities and movements.

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean broadcasts Thursdays at 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET on multiple live platforms including: CODEPINK YouTube Live, TheConvoCouch and Facebook Live via PopularResistance.org You can also find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Telegram and RadIndieMedia.com

WTF is Going on in Latin America & the Caribbean broadcasts in partnership with CODEPINK, Common Frontiers, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, Friends of Latin America, InterReligious Task Force on Central America, Massachusetts Peace Action and Task Force on the Americas. Learn more about how to become a WTF Broadcast Partner here.

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Contact:
Teri Mattson – terimattson2017@gmail.com

Ecuador’s President Dissolves National Assembly Triggering Early Elections

Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso dissolved the National Assembly by decree on May 17 bringing forward legislative and presidential elections and heading off an attempt by opposition politicians to impeach him.

Opposition politicians wanted to impeach Lasso over accusations he disregarded warnings of embezzlement related to a contract at state-owned oil transportation company Flopec, charges the president denies.

A majority of lawmakers had backed a resolution accusing Lasso of allowing the corrupt contract to continue after taking office in 2021, although a congressional oversight committee, which heard testimony from opposition lawmakers, officials, and Lasso’s lawyer, said in its report it did not recommend impeachment.

Whatever Happened To That Plane?

On May 3, 2023, the Argentinian press reported a US prosecutor requested the US Justice Department to order the definitive execution of the seizure order of Emtrasur’s Boeing 747-300. The plane arrived in Argentina in June 2022 in what was supposedly a routine cargo flight. Nonetheless, the airplane, its cargo and its crew raised the alarms across Argentina, and it was seized by local authorities. Shortly after, US authorities got involved claiming the sale of the aircraft by the Iranian state carrier Mahan Air to Venezuela’s Conviasa was a clear violation of the US Export Control Laws. Almost a year has passed; the crew has been released, but the plane remains grounded in Buenos Aires.

The Country Is Not For Sale

On May 3, Democratic U.S. lawmakers urged the U.S. Trade Representative and State Department to eliminate investor-state dispute settlement provisions from current and future trade deals and to intervene on behalf of Honduras against a U.S. company’s nearly $11 billion claim against the country.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Trade Representative Katherine Tai, 33 lawmakers said that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems in trade deals constitute a “problematic corporate handout” that violates countries’ sovereignty and democratic rights.

ISDS mechanisms enable multinational corporations to sue the governments of foreign trading partners for profits they claim have been forfeited as a result of domestic policies designed to protect workers, consumers, and ecosystems.

Guatemalan Political Crisis; Critics Slam June Elections Disqualifications

Campaigning began in earnest last month for Guatemala’s general elections, with political messaging filling the streets, local broadcasts and social media. But less than three months before the June 25 vote, concerns are mounting among national and international observers over the integrity of the process.

At least 30 political parties are set to contest the upcoming elections, with more than 22,000 candidates registered to run for the presidency, congress, regional parliament and councils across the country. But Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal, which governs elections, has blocked several opposition candidates from running on “dubious grounds.”

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Visits Brazil

Russia’s minister of foreign affairs, Sergei Lavrov, arrived in Brasília on Monday for talks with his Brazilian counterpart, Mauro Vieira, in the latest of a series of bilateral encounters likely to ruffle the US.

Lavrov arrived just as Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, returned from a state visit to China, and both missions are part of a diplomatic reset Lula has pursued since returning to power this year, as he strives to recover Brazil’s international reputation after his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, dismantled Brazil’s established tradition of cooperation.  For Brazil, that means rebuilding and maintaining ties with all partners, regardless of geopolitical tensions elsewhere.

Burying 200 Years Of The US Monroe Doctrine

The Monroe Doctrine, first articulated by U.S. President James Monroe on December 2, 1823, is a United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the United States. The doctrine was central to American foreign policy for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The doctrine remains in place today as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy towards Latin America and the Caribbean and no longer exclusively applies to European powers.

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Urgent End Of Year Fundraising Campaign

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Keep independent media alive. 

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