International
Argentines remember 2001 ‘great crisis’ and its victims
AFP
Several thousand Argentines on Sunday commemorated the 20th anniversary of the country’s “great crisis,” when the South American nation plunged into social unrest following economic default.
Gathered at the Plaza de Mayo in central Buenos Aires, various organizations, including unions and radical leftist parties, held a “vigil” late into the night.
In some places, participants gave speeches; elsewhere, a documentary or archive images were shown, all in memory of the 39 mostly young victims of the episode’s unrest.
The commemorations will culminate on Monday with a large demonstration, staged by groups that are more center-left, to coincide with the anniversary of then-president Fernando de la Rua giving in to popular pressure, resigning and fleeing the presidential palace via helicopter.
His brief presidency was engulfed by Argentina’s worst-ever economic crisis, a severe recession that set off bank runs and deadly street riots that culminated on December 19-20, 2001.
Of the more than 30 people across the country who were killed in the looting of shops, demonstrations and clashes with police over 48 hours, five were in and around the Plaza de Mayo.
On Sunday, President Alberto Fernandez received parents, friends and family of the 2001 event’s victims at the presidential palace for a tribute and unveiling of a plaque with the 39 victims’ names, which was affixed on entrance gates.
“All the deaths of those days were unjust, there was no justified death,” Fernandez said before unveiling the plaque.
The government also announced this week that a bill would soon be presented to parliament to provide compensation for victims of police repression.
Participants in the Sunday vigil took aim at the Argentine government, which is seeking to renegotiate a $44 billion loan from the IMF, contracted in 2018 under former president Mauricio Macri.
“Here we are begging Washington for an agreement (with the IMF) which will bring us a decade of misery,” said Nestor Pitrola, a trade unionist and president of the Workers’ Party.
“For 20 years, no government has been able to empower Argentina or lift it out of poverty,” he said.
International
Brazil’s Lula wishes Trump a successful term focused on prosperity and peace
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wished the new U.S. President, Donald Trump, a “successful” term that promotes “prosperity and well-being for the U.S. people” and “a fairer and more peaceful world.”
“On behalf of the Brazilian government, I congratulate President Donald Trump on his inauguration,” said the progressive leader on his social media, shortly after Trump took the oath of office at the Capitol in Washington.
Lula, 79, highlighted that the relationship between Brazil and the United States, one of its most important trade partners, is “marked by a history of cooperation, based on mutual respect and historical friendship.”
“Our countries maintain strong ties in various areas such as trade, science, education, and culture. I am confident that we can continue to make progress in these and other areas,” he added.
International
Iran hopes U.S. will adopt realistic approaches under Trump administration
Iran declared on Monday that it hopes the new U.S. administration under Donald Trump will adopt “realistic approaches” toward Tehran and show “respect” for the interests of the countries in the region.
The Republican tycoon will take the oath for his second term as president of the United States on Monday at noon Washington time (17:00 GMT).
“We hope that the approaches and policies of the new U.S. government will be realistic and based on respect for the interests… of the countries in the region, including the Iranian nation,” said the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baqaei, during a weekly press briefing.
During his first term (2017-2021), Trump implemented a “maximum pressure” policy toward Iran.
In 2018, under his administration, the United States withdrew from the international nuclear deal with Iran, concluded three years earlier, which offered Tehran relief from sanctions in exchange for assurances that the country would not seek to acquire nuclear weapons. Tehran denies any such intentions.
In response, Tehran significantly increased its stockpile of enriched materials and raised the enrichment threshold to 60%, approaching the 90% required to produce an atomic bomb, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Tehran, which has expressed a desire to relaunch negotiations to revive the deal, defends its right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop nuclear weapons.
International
Trump to sign executive order recognizing only two sexes
Donald Trump will sign an executive order instructing his administration to “recognize” the existence of only “two sexes,” future White House officials announced on Monday, just before the Republican’s inauguration.
“What we are doing today is defining that the policy of the United States is to recognize two sexes: male and female,” said the official, speaking to the press on the condition of anonymity.
The aim of the decree is “to defend women against the ideological extremism of gender and to restore biological truth within the Federal Government,” the official added, explaining that a person’s sexual identity will be defined solely by the gametes they possess.
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to put an end to the “transgender delusion.”
The elected president also plans to eliminate federal funding for programs supporting diversity in the administration, the same officials from his incoming cabinet stated.
“We are going to end this type of funding, we are going to put an end to these programs,” said one source from the future team, speaking anonymously about antiracism and diversity training courses.
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