teleSUR (2021-12-23). Venezuela To Vaccinate 90% Of Its Population To Face Omicron. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced that the first seven COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant were detected in citizens who traveled abroad and recently returned to the states of Miranda, Lara and Caracas. | RELATED: | "It was inevitable that Omicron would arrive in Venezuela. Therefore, we reiterate the call to reinforce biosecurity measures and vaccination. We continue working to care fo…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-23). Chubut governor repeals mining law after days of protest. peoplesdispatch.org After five days of anti-mining protests across Argentina's Chubut province, the provincial governor repealed the law that paved the way for mega-mining in the province, and gave the call for a plebiscite to decide on this matter…

Atilio A. Boron (2021-12-23). Chile — Abriendo las grandes alamedas. globalizacion.ca Pasó casi medio siglo. En el medio una atroz dictadura que torturó, mató, desapareció y exilió a cientos de miles de chilenas y chilenos. Aparte saqueó el país y enriqueció a los jerarcas del régimen, comenzando por el propio Augusto…

Emir Sader (2021-12-23). Chile — El cielo por asalto de los "cabros" globalizacion.ca Conocí a los nuevos "cabros", como le dicen en Chile a los jóvenes, hace dos años, en Valparaíso. Estaban Jorge Sharp, alcalde de la ciudad —lo cual, por sí solo, ya era una gran novedad- Giorgio Jackson y Gabriel Boric,…

Alborada Online (2021-12-23). Video: Reflections on Chile's presidential election. greenleft.org.au Alborada Online presents an analysis of Chile's December 19 presidential election results and the historic victory of left candidate, Gabriel Boric.

Editor (2021-12-22). Chris Hedges on the Persecution of Julian Assange (Video). scheerpost.com In July 2010, Wikileaks published Cablegate, one of the biggest leaks in the history of the US military, including evidence for war crimes and torture. Julian Assange, the founder and spokesman of Wikileaks, immediately found himself a target, accused of hacking, and later sexual assault. He spent the next seven years in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearful that he would be extradited to Sweden to face the accusations of assault and then sent to US. In 2019, Assange was handed over to the British police. On the same day, the US demanded his extradition. He faces up to 175 years in prison for…

Staff (2021-12-22). Venezuela Denounces 'Irrational' Judgment of British Supreme Court (Venezuelan Gold Case). orinocotribune.com The government of Venezuela, through a statement issued on Monday, December 20, expressed its strong rejection of the illegal and biased verdict issued by the United Kingdom's Supreme Court of Justice preventing the Venezuelan government from recovering its international reserves deposited in the Bank of England (BoE). | The statement, which was posted on social media by Venezuelan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Félix Plasencia, states: "The Supreme Court of Justice of the United Kingdom has been subordinated to the mandate of the British Executive, leaving in evidence the absence of separation of branches of the g…

Staff (2021-12-22). Venezuela and Turkey Agree to Strengthen Cooperation Projects. orinocotribune.com This Tuesday, December 21, President Nicolás Maduro reported that he had a pleasant phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to consolidate the cooperation agreements that both nations develop in different areas. | "We talked about the great challenges for the coming years and the need to advance in all areas of cooperation for shared development. Venceremos!" says the tweet shared by the president. |

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-22). Red Current, Pink Tide: A Visit to El Maizal Commune in Venezuela. libya360.wordpress.com Chris Gilbert The local high school marching band provided one last show before retiring from the communal festivities. Image credit: Katrina Kozarek, "El Maizal Commune: 11 Years Building the Communal Horizon," Venezuela Analysis, Mar 7, 2020. In 2018, gruesome images of people stoning cattle began to circulate through Venezuela's social networks. The videos came from…

teleSUR (2021-12-22). Venezuelans Start Campaign To Elect Barinas State Governor. telesurenglish.net On Wednesday, Venezuelan political organizations began their campaigns for the election of governor in Barinas, the state where late Commander Hugo Chavez was born. | RELATED: | From Dec. 22 to Jan. 6, candidates will be able to carry out political acts in compliance with the provisions set forth in the Electoral Processes Law and its regulations. | Then, on Sunday, January 9, the people of Barinas will elect th…

teleSUR (2021-12-22). IMF Admits That Program With Argentina Failed Its Objectives. telesurenglish.net The loan for 57 billion dollars that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) granted to Argentina in 2018, record in its history, was "absurd" and "was not used for anything good", considered this Wednesday the Argentine Minister of Economy, Matín Guzmán. | People wait to pick up food in a dining room in La Matanza, 30 km from the City of Buenos Aires on December 15, 2021…

_____ (2021-12-22). Chile: Another Good-Sized Nail In Neoliberalism's Coffin. popularresistance.org 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 a…

Pablo Abufom (2021-12-22). Boric Win in Chile Is "Huge Victory" for Social Movements. zcomm.org Boric has vowed to fight for progressive social reforms and overhaul the neoliberal economic policies left by the U.S.-backed dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet…

Editor (2021-12-22). Relief for Boric's victory. Uncertainty regarding the social democratization of his discourse. mronline.org At 35 years of age, Gabriel Boric is the youngest president-elect (he will be 36 when he takes office on March 11) and the most voted in Chilean history, with an unprecedented 55% of electoral participation.

teleSUR (2021-12-22). Chile: The Direction of the Boric Government's Foreign Policy. telesurenglish.net One of the questions about the future president-elect of Chile, Gabriel Boric, is what his foreign policy will be, in a context of a greater number of progressive and leftist governments in the continent, at the same time that there is a distance between some of them, and a global dispute that also impacts this part of the world. | In Santiago, hundreds of thousands flocked onto the streets to celebrate Gabriel Boric's victory.

teleSUR (2021-12-22). The Chilean State Violated the Rights of 846 Municipal Teachers. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) condemned the Chilean State for not complying with due diligence in the payment of a special assignment of 846 teachers from the Chañaral, Chanco, Pelluhue, Parral, Vallenar, and Cauquenes municipalities. | RELATED: | "The processes of execution of the sentences handed down in favor of the 846 teachers who condemned the Municipalities to pay a special allowance, w…

teleSUR (2021-12-22). Colombians Reject Approval of 'Citizen Security Law'. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, the Colombian Senate approved President Ivan Duque's Citizen Security Law, which criminalizes social protest and toughens penalties against citizens who are accused of repeating crimes in public spaces. | RELATED: | The Colombian Presidency seeks to give "greater tools to judges to punish violent citizens who disturb tranquility," Interior Minister Daniel Palacios said, adding that the law aggravates pun…

teleSUR (2021-12-22). UN Confirms 73 Killings of Human Rights Defenders in Colombia. telesurenglish.net On Tuesday, the United Nations Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) confirmed that at least 73 human rights defenders were murdered in Colombia in the first eleven months of 2021. | RELATED: | "The OHCHR analized 191 homicide complaints. Of these, it verified 73 cases, 35 cases are in the verification process, and 83 cases are inconclusive," the UN agency said. | The highest number of murders by department (31) was re…

Editor (2021-12-22). Chris Hedges on the Persecution of Julian Assange (Video). scheerpost.com In July 2010, Wikileaks published Cablegate, one of the biggest leaks in the history of the US military, including evidence for war crimes and torture. Julian Assange, the founder and spokesman of Wikileaks, immediately found himself a target, accused of hacking, and later sexual assault. He spent the next seven years in asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fearful that he would be extradited to Sweden to face the accusations of assault and then sent to US. In 2019, Assange was handed over to the British police. On the same day, the US demanded his extradition. He faces up to 175 years in prison for…

Staff (2021-12-22). Venezuela and Turkey Agree to Strengthen Cooperation Projects. orinocotribune.com This Tuesday, December 21, President Nicolás Maduro reported that he had a pleasant phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to consolidate the cooperation agreements that both nations develop in different areas. | "We talked about the great challenges for the coming years and the need to advance in all areas of cooperation for shared development. Venceremos!" says the tweet shared by the president. |

Ana Perdigón (2021-12-21). UK Imperialism Tightens its Grasp on Venezuela's Gold. orinocotribune.com The case of the Venezuelan gold seized by the United Kingdom continues to develop as the UK Supreme Court ruled earlier today that the case should now be referred to the Commercial Court. The UK Supreme Court stated that it could not contradict the decision of the country's Executive, which alarmingly—and in a contradictory fashion—continues to recognize former deputy Juan Guaidó as "interim president." | The UK Supreme Court explained in its ruling that the UK courts cannot contradict the government, which claims to recognize the self-proclaimed president and not the Constitutional President, Nicolás…

Victoria Torres (2021-12-21). The End of Neoliberalism in Latin America?: Return of the Left. orinocotribune.com Without seeming like déjà vu, presidential candidates supported by progressive and left-wing parties and movements are regaining power on the Latin American continent. Everything indicates that it may be the end of neoliberalism once again. | The domino effect has reached Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and more recently Chile, where the people have placed their hopes of progress on the new leftist presidency of Gabriel Boric, despite the hesitation by many on the left towards his statements on foreign policy. | Commander Hugo Chávez, alongside Fidel Castro, managed, at the beginni…

Peoples Dispatch (2021-12-21). Venezuela condemns British Supreme court ruling to maintain blockade on gold. peoplesdispatch.org The Central Bank of Venezuela has been engaged in a legal battle to recover 31 tons of public gold deposited at the Bank of England…

Staff (2021-12-21). Venezuela Mourns Earle Herrera, Mentor for Journalists & Remarkable Chavista. orinocotribune.com Through his Twitter account, Venezuelan Minister for Communication and Information Freddy àëáñez announced the passing of prominent journalist and remarkable Chavista Earle Herrera. "I am very sorry for the death of Earle Herrera, an institution in journalism, a lucid man and faithful to ideas," wrote àëáñez. "His articles accompanied us with humor and intelligence on sunny and rainy days, and now with his silence he will continue to demand more from us. Until we meet again, maestro." | Born in El Tigrito, Anzoátegui state, on April 23, 1949, Herrera was an outstanding professor at the Central Universit…

Patricia Ferrer (2021-12-21). President Maduro Congratulates Chile's Next President Gabriel Boric. orinocotribune.com Gabriel Boric was elected as president of Chile by the Apruebo Dignidad coalition. The 35-year old former student leader is the youngest president in the history of the country. In his term as a deputy, and during his campaign, Boric raised the issues of inclusion, decentralization and equal rights as cornerstones of his electoral campaign but questioned Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, repeating a familiar US and European imperialist narrative. | When the results were announced, Boric was immediately congratulated by his counterparts through the region. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro celebrated the election…

Roselena Ramirez (2021-12-21). Mexican Cartels Blamed for Increased Violence in Ecuador's Prisons. america.cgtn.com Ecuador was left reeling when at least 120 inmates were killed in a Guayaquil jail. Local gangs linked with Mexican drug cartels were behind the slaughter in what is believed to be a fight over territory. The riot was the worst prison massacre in Ecuador's …

WSWS (2021-12-21). Brazil flying blind in Omicron surge as Bolsonaro attacks child vaccinations. wsws.org Preparing a response to the Omicron variant that will be a full-blown catastrophe, Bolsonaro announced plans to require medical prescriptions for child vaccinations.

Staff (2021-12-21). Gabriel Boric Win in Chile Is "Huge Victory" for Social Movements That Fought Off Far-Right Threat. democracynow.org Former student activist and leftist Gabriel Boric will become Chile's youngest president after easily defeating the far-right candidate José Antonio Kast with over 55% of the vote. Boric has vowed to fight for progressive social reforms and overhaul the neoliberal economic policies left by the U.S.-backed dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. We speak with Chilean writer Pablo Abufom and feminist activist Javiera Manzi, who say Boric's victory signals an opening for progressive policy in Chile and Latin America more broadly.

Amy Goodman (2021-12-21). Social Movements in Chile Fend Off Far Right Threat With Gabriel Boric's Victory. truthout.org Former student activist and leftist Gabriel Boric will become Chile's youngest president after easily defeating the far-right candidate José Antonio Kast with over 55% of the vote. Boric has vowed to fight for progressive social reforms and overhaul the neoliberal economic policies left by the U.S.-backed dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. We speak with Chilean writer Pablo Abufom and feminist activist Javiera Manzi, who say Boric's victory signals an opening for progressive policy in…

Brian Perez-Canto (2021-12-21). Chilean people reject fascist candidate Kast in presidential election. liberationnews.org Jose Antonio Kast — avowed supporter of the fascist Pinochet regime and son of a Nazi military officer — was defeated by progressive candidate Gabriel Boric in Sunday's runoff election to become the next president of Chile.

WSWS (2021-12-21). Chile's pseudo-left president-elect Gabriel Boric promises to work with far right. wsws.org Boric's government will be modeled in large measure on Spain's Podemos-Spanish Socialist Workers Party PSOE coalition, composed of thoroughly corrupt, pro-capitalist stooges.

Internationalist 360 ∞ (2021-12-21). A New Chile, Integrated in Latin America. libya360.wordpress.com Marco Teruggi The expectation of Chileans is that not only things will change in their country, but also the integration with their neighbors and the continent. A progressive agenda abroad. Santiago dawned calm, with blue skies after a long night. Gabriel Boric's presidential victory, quickly acknowledged by his opponent José Antonio Kast, quelled any speculative…

Roselena Ramirez (2021-12-21). Colombian Locals Make Rehabilitation of Trafficked Monkeys their Life's Work. america.cgtn.com According to the United Nations, one of the top 5 most profitable illicit businesses on the planet is illegal wildlife trafficking. It ranks 4th after narcotics, weapons, and human trafficking. One Colombian community in the Amazon is making a difference by rehabilitating orphaned monkeys that have …