International

Thousands of followers of Evo Morales enter La Paz and demand his authorization as a candidate

The march led by the former president of Bolivia and official leader, Evo Morales (2006-2019), arrived this Monday in La Paz, after thousands of his followers joined him in the city of El Alto, to demand that he be qualified as a candidate for the 2025 elections, despite having a constitutional ban.

Morales, followed by miners and indigenous sectors in the front row, entered the city headquarters of the Government through the main highway that connects both cities on his seventh day of a walk that began on September 17 from the town of Caracollo, in the Andean region of Oruro, and that President Luis Arce described as a “coup d’état” against him.

The day before, there were some clashes in El Alto, between Morales’ followers and sectors that defend Arce, which left at least a dozen injured, according to the report of the Ministry of Health.

Freddy Mamani, a pro-government deputy related to Morales, reported that the demonstrators led by the former president will concentrate at the entrance of La Paz, near the highway, where they will read several petitions they have for the Arce Government.

“We are not going to threaten anyone, we are not going to enter Murillo Square, we are going to concentrate here where it will be a party to defend Bolivia,” he said in a statement on Radio Kawsachun Coca, half related to Morales.

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President Arce sent several public invitations to Morales to hold a dialogue, however the former president said he did not receive any invitation.

Morales’ followers maintain that it is a march to “save the homeland” in the face of problems such as the shortage of dollars and fuel and the increase in the price of some basic products, and they also demand that the resolutions of a congress of the Movement to Socialism (MAS) held last year – not recognized by the Electoral Court – in which they defined Morales’ candidacy be respected.

The Arce Government considers that the march promoted by Morales is a “coup d’état” that intends to remove him from power so that the head of the Senate, Andrónico Rodríguez, who is related to the former governor, assumes the Presidency of the country.

Morales and Arce have been separated since the end of 2021 due to differences in the State Administration that were deepened in the face of the need to renew the national leadership of the MAS, still in the hands of the former president, something on which the factions loyal to both have not been able to agree.

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International

Despite homicide drop, overall deadly violence remains high in Mexico: study

Violence in Mexico has risen by 70% over the past decade when not only intentional homicides but also femicides, disappearances and other crimes against life are taken into account, the organization México Evalúa said Monday as it presented a report challenging the government’s narrative of a significant drop in crime.

The document, titled “Violence in Mexico, 2015–2025: Data Analysis and Proposals for Peace,” was introduced by México Evalúa’s executive director, Mariana Campos. She explained that the study incorporates five key indicators of “lethal violence”: intentional homicide, negligent homicide, femicide, disappearances and other crimes against life. “How a problem is measured determines how it is addressed,” Campos said, adding that the aim of the report is not to dismiss the federal government’s strategy but to offer a broader view of violent phenomena.

According to the report, more than 72,000 incidents related to lethal violence were recorded in 2025, an increase of 68.2% compared with 2015. While official figures point to a 40% drop in intentional homicides since September 2024 — when Claudia Sheinbaum took office — the organization’s analysis suggests the overall reduction across all indicators is only about 8%.

Armando Vargas, coordinator of México Evalúa’s security program, said the study seeks to make visible all forms of deadly violence. “Although intentional homicide shows a recent decline, other crimes remain high and in some cases are even increasing,” he warned.

In detail, the report says intentional homicides have fallen 22.2% since 2024 but remain 30.7% above 2015 levels. By contrast, negligent homicide — usually linked to accidents — has increased 7.7% since 2015 and shows “anomalous growth” that could reflect problems in the classification of violent deaths.

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The category of “other crimes against life,” which includes incidents that are difficult to classify, has surged 370% over the past decade, with particularly sharp increases in states such as Baja California Sur (6,606%), Baja California (916%), Tabasco (694%) and Sinaloa (88%). According to Vargas, these figures may point to “statistical reclassifications” rather than a real decline in violence.

Femicide has dropped 15.5% since 2024 but still stands 68.5% above 2015 levels, especially in areas marked by impunity and the presence of organized crime, such as Sinaloa and Morelos.

As for disappearances, the report underscores their relevance as a method of concealing crimes. Although the figure has edged down 0.5% since 2024, the increase since 2015 amounts to 213%, with critical hotspots in Sinaloa (150%), Sonora (168%) and Baja California (5,728%).

International

U.S. Health Department says CDC grants no longer match agency priorities

The Department of Health will cut $600 million in funding for four Democratic-led states that had been allocated to public health programs run through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. media reported.

The reductions will affect California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota, removing money from public initiatives as well as partnerships with non-governmental organizations. According to the New York Post, some of the funding will expire as soon as this week, with the remainder set to stop being distributed next week.

The move impacts programs tied to workforce hiring, system modernization and epidemic management, as well as efforts to protect vulnerable communities, The New York Times reported after reviewing an official document detailing the cuts.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health told the newspaper that the reductions are being made because the funds “do not reflect” the agency’s current priorities, even though Congress had already approved them for disbursement.

International

Colombia to Send High-Level Delegation to Ecuador to Ease Trade Tensions

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that, at the instruction of President Gustavo Petro, a high-level delegation will travel to Ecuador in an effort to normalize bilateral relations, which have deteriorated following the imposition of reciprocal tariffs.

“In line with Colombia’s policy of good neighborliness and the spirit of cooperation and integration that guides its foreign policy,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio and Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez.

“Following instructions from the Presidency of the Republic, and as has been publicly reiterated, the Colombian delegation expects to reaffirm Colombia’s offer of support to the Republic of Ecuador to strengthen control over phenomena stemming from transnational organized crime,” the statement said.

The Foreign Ministry noted that the delegation will attend the meeting with a full willingness to engage in dialogue and to seek concrete solutions to the unilateral measures that have affected the longstanding relationship between the two neighboring countries.

Trade tensions between Ecuador and Colombia escalated on January 21, when Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboaimposed a 30% tariff on Colombian products, citing a lack of cooperation in anti-drug efforts. Colombia responded with similar measures and the suspension of energy exports, while Ecuador increased transportation costs for Colombian crude oil.

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Business associations in both countries have warned that the dispute is harming both economies and have called on the governments to resolve their differences through dialogue.