INTERAMERICAN WATCH
Newsletter
(Editor: Casto Ocando)
Peru
1. Peru’s Castillo swears in new prime minister after clashes, in bid to calm political instability
Mirtha Vasquez, a left-wing former head of Congress, replaced Guido Bellido as new primer minister of Peru. Vasquez is not a member of Castillo’s Free Peru political party, but of the left-wing Broad Front, which has made envorinmental concerns a key issue.
(Reuters)
The move is likely to be popular with investors, who ditched Peruvian assets when Bellido was named, but angered senior members of Castillo’s own socialist Peru Libre party. Waldemar Cerron, party spokesman and a Peru Libre congressman, described the new cabinet appointments as an act of treachery.
2. Peru markets jubilant after cabinet reshuffle
Peru’s sol jumped 1% on Thursday, while stocks surged 5% and bonds rallied after a more moderate prime minister was appointed in an official partial cabinet reshuffle by President Pedro Castillo.
The cabinet shake-up included a new energy and mines minister, with Eduardo Gonzalez stepping in to replace Ivan Merino. Gonzalez, an engineer, is an expert in hydroelectric power. The Castillo administration postponed talks that had been set for 6 October with the six-member Camisea Consortium concerning its 40-year contract for gas and gas liquids production at two jungle blocks. The previous cabinet chief, Guido Bellido, had threatened nationalization of the blocks, with a combined 8.25 trillion ft3 in proven reserves, if the consortium led by Argentina’s Pluspetrol did not negotiate.
(Argus)
3. Peru’s Castillo confirms pro-market Julio Velarde as president of Central Bank
Velarde has been in the position since 2006, and is credited for steering one of Latin America’s most stable economies. Velarde’s confirmation is being interpreted as evidence of Castillo’s moving to the center, for the time being.
4. Castillo appoints as Minister of the Interior a lawyer who defended his party in corruption cases
Luis Roberto Barranzuela Vite, who since January 5th, 2021 is a founding partner of the Noblecilla Olaechea, Barranzuela & León Law Office. This fact would go unnoticed if it were not for the fact that this firm has sponsored leftist Congressman Guillermo Bermejo, former Prime Minister Guido Bellido, the Peru Libre (PL) party and the founder of that political group, Vladimir Cerrón.
(El Comercio in Spanish)
5. U.S. 4th Fleet, Peru, complete multi-national silent forces exercise
SIFOREX, conducted Sept. 19-24, is a Peruvian-hosted naval exercise that focuses on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) proficiency. It provides a unique opportunity for naval forces to conduct ASW operations against multiple submarines in a complex environment. Peruvian forces included four ships, two submarines, two fixed wing aircraft and two helicopters. In addition, Colombia and Mexico both provided ships and helicopters, while Australia, Ecuador, Germany, Italy, and Spain, sent exercise observers.
(Southcom)
6. DEA documents in Italian courts show how Peruvian cartels supply a third of the cocaine trade in Europe
The DEA documents described the ‘super drugs cartel’ controlled by criminals in the Netherlands, Bosnia and Italy as one of the world’s fifty largest drug cartels, with a virtual monopoly of the Peruvian cocaine trade. The documents said the ‘super drugs cartel’ controlled around a third of the cocaine trade into Europe – with the main point of access through Dutch ports.
Argentina
7. Argentine judge dismisses case against ex-President Fernandez over her alleged cover-up of Iran’s role in the 1994 bombings
An Argentine judge on Thursday dismissed the case against former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner over an alleged cover-up of Iran’s possible role in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center that killed 85 people.
(Reuters)
Reactions:
An embarrassing verdict
The dismissal of the former president (and current Vicepresident) because of the Pact with Iran is an explicit sample of the “delivery” justice that dictates sentences not according to the law but tailored to the accused.
(Clarin in Spanish)
The complete arguments
The Federal Oral Court 8, made up of judges María Gabriela López Iñíguez, Daniel Obligado and Juan Michilini, determined that there was no crime in the case of the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran. Here the complete arguments of the Magistrates.
(Pagina12 in Spanish)
8. Narcos in Argentina: Sicarios for hire in the Rosario province kill for $150 apiece
(Clarin in Spanish)
Bolivia
9. “Summit for Democracy” forms opposition unity bloc and ratifies strike on October 11 against Luis Arce’s government
Opposition organizations in Santa Cruz announced a new pro-democracy bloc of unity “to face the attempt to take away our rights” and fight “to prevent the consolidation of a dictatorship or the return of dictators” in Bolivia.
(Los Tiempos in Spanish)
10. Evo Morales’ right hand man: “The media ‘are the new coup actors’ who manipulate public opinion”
Juan Ramón Quintana, former Minister of the Presidency and Evo Morales’ most trusted advisor, accused the Bolivian media of playing a role in the circumstances that led to Morales’ dismissal from power.
(La Razon in Spanish)
11. Members of Morales’ Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS) has to pay to the party in order to become public officers
The new statute of the ruling Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), which will be applied as of this month, closes ranks around the leadership of Evo Morales and establishes a regime of “voluntary” contributions for public servants who depend on an administration controlled by the party.
(El Deber in Spanish)
Ecuador
12. Ecuador Counters Illegal Fishing with Help from Canada, US
The Canadian and U.S. governments are supporting Ecuador’s efforts to counter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, by improving the monitoring and preservation of the region’s ecosystems.
(Dialogo)
13. Correísmo reinvents itself in Ecuador with a new acronym, different color and the same leadership of convicted Rafael Correa
Under the name of Citizen Revolution, the former president’s party tries to recover lost political capital.
(El Pais in Spanish)
The Region
14. Poll: Less than half of Latin Americans support Democracy
A collapse of 8% on average in the economy, 50 million more poor people and a deep crisis of confidence in the institutions: Latin America suffered in 2020 the scourge of the coronavirus pandemic. While inequalities and the risk of governments turning towards authoritarian regimes grow, only 49% of the population supports democracy and just 6% say that there is full democracy in their country.
(Clarin in Spanish)
