The Latin American Report # 655

The current head of the House of Nariño has not enjoyed an easy term. Between the failure of his policy of appeasing guerrillas and illegal armed groups in general, the instability of his ministerial cabinet, and his clashes with the justice system. In the latter case, one of the main points of contention is the sourcing of his campaign funding during the 2022 presidential election, and its overall volume.

This past Thursday, Petro rejected the sanction from the Colombian electoral authority against his campaign for irregular financing and violation of spending limits, alleging the supposed partisan—that is, opposition—nature of the institution. Six of the nine members of the National Electoral Council agreed that Petro exceeded the spending cap by about 940,000 dollars and received money from illicit sources. "We do not accept that administrative decision. It is the opposition fining us," Petro defended.

Meanwhile, in the troubled department of Cauca, a high-ranking military officer assigned to the Army's Anti-Narcotics Brigade was shot and killed.

Update on Venezuela

The psywar continues 👇. Amidst everything, Venezuela's air operations have been severely reduced following a cautionary alert from the US aviation authority to aircraft flying over the South American nation and the southern Caribbean Sea. Several airlines decided to reschedule or suspend flights passing through Venezuela, but the Miraflores Palace subsequently implemented its own measures. For example, concessions were revoked for the airlines Avianca, Iberia, Gol, TAP, Latam Colombia, and Turkish Airlines.

Bolivia

This past Tuesday, Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz eliminated the so-called Tax on Large Fortunes, a measure criticized yesterday by Oxfam. "Exempting the wealthiest group from paying taxes while evaluating adjustments to social spending and a contraction in public investment is a signal of wrong priorities and upholding privileges," alerted the NGO.

For the new head of the Great House of the People, this tax, which had been applied for about five years to those with assets exceeding 4.3 million dollars, was deterring investments. However, according to Oxfam, these taxes "help balance tax systems that are excessively concentrated on consumption and allow for the financing of public goods that benefit society as a whole."

Imprisoned, prosecuted, and convicted ex-presidents: a true Latin American epidemic

Following the sentence of over 11 years in prison handed down yesterday against former Peruvian president Pedro Castillo, and the 14-year sentence the past Wednesday against also Peruvian Martín Vizcarra, the cancer of corruption gnawing at the region is confirmed. The Peruvian Supreme Court convicted Castillo for his clumsy attempt to dissolve Congress during a political crisis about three years ago, while Vizcarra was sentenced for having received about 700,000 dollars in bribes while he was governor of Moquegua. This EFE article details the serious problem in Latin America in general.

This is all for today’s report.