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Brazil’s Bolsonaro backtracks on ‘menstrual poverty’ row

AFP

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro signed a decree Tuesday providing for free menstrual supplies for low-income women and girls, five months after drawing criticism for vetoing a similar measure.

The far-right leader signed the executive order at a ceremony on International Women’s Day, two days before Congress was due to vote on overriding his veto.

Bolsonaro blocked the earlier legislation in October, arguing there was no funding to provide free menstrual supplies for more than five million low-income women and girls.

The new decree will be funded by a budget of 130 million reais ($26 million), according to the health ministry, but will reach fewer people — an estimated 3.6 million.

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“Menstrual poverty” is a major issue in Brazil, where women unable to afford tampons and pads often resort to scraps of cloth, diapers, bread or whatever else they can find when they get their periods.

A lack of menstrual supplies keeps one in four girls home from school each month, according to a 2021 report by a United Nations Foundation program called Girl Up.

Bolsonaro has been criticized for a history of remarks condemned as anti-women, including telling a congresswoman in 2014 she was “not worth raping” because she was “too ugly.”

“When we speak of women, we must also speak of the family…. Respect above all, and the preservation of family values,” he said at Tuesday’s signing ceremony.

“You are beyond essential, you are indispensable for the future of this great nation. May you continue participating more and more with us in building it.”

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He added that if women decided, “we would have no wars in the world.”

Bolsonaro is also due to speak Thursday at a privately organized event on promoting women’s participation in politics.

However, it has been hit by backlash, as well, over the fact that all five speakers invited are men, including two of the president’s ministers.

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Central America

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Block Return of Deported Salvadoran

The Trump administration on Monday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a lower court order requiring the return of a Salvadoran migrant who was mistakenly sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador, despite having legal protection from deportation.

The U.S. government has until Monday to bring Kilmer Armado Ábrego García back to the United States, as ordered by Judge Paula Xinis in a Maryland court.

According to The Washington Post, the administration argues it lacks authority to comply because Ábrego García is currently in Salvadoran custody.

The U.S. had appealed Judge Xinis’ ruling to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, but the court declined to act immediately—prompting the administration to take the case to the Supreme Court. In its filing, the government stated that “the Constitution entrusts the President, not federal district courts, with the conduct of foreign diplomacy and the protection of the nation from foreign terrorists, including through deportation.”

Ábrego García, a resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and married to a U.S. citizen, came under scrutiny in 2019 after an informant claimed he was a member of the MS-13 gang (Mara Salvatrucha).

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Although he was initially slated for deportation, a judge later granted him a stay of removal after he requested asylum, according to the lawsuit.

Nevertheless, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him on March 12, claiming his status had changed, and sent him to a detention center in Texas.

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International

Teachers in Southern Mexico Bring Education to Stranded Migrant Children

Teachers in southern Mexico have created a program to provide classes for migrant children stranded in the region, following a year-over-year increase of over 70% in irregular migration among minors—many of whom lose months or even years of education during their journey toward North America.

In Tapachula, the largest Mexican city bordering Central America, three teachers offer preschool, elementary, and secondary education through the Chiapas State Migrant Education Program (Pemch).

This initiative has been replicated in key municipalities across Chiapas, including San Cristóbal de Las Casas, the capital Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Palenque, Comitán, and other border towns. Currently, there are around 1,345 migrant students and a total of 35 teachers working across farms and shelters.

Pablo Arriaga Velázquez, a teacher with the migrant education program in Tapachula, told EFE that the project was born in response to the large number of migrant minors, as enrolling them in regular schools is often difficult.

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Central America

Mulino and Orsi Highlight Shared Vision After Panama Joins Mercosur as Associate State

The Presidents of Panama, José Raúl Mulino, and Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi, highlighted on Monday the path of integration both countries have undertaken in areas such as trade and the defense of democracy, following a meeting held at the Panamanian government headquarters.

In a brief statement to the press, both leaders emphasized that Panama and Uruguay share many values and are working together across different sectors. They also underlined a renewed connection following Panama’s accession last December to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) as an Associated State.

“Panama has begun a new era of looking southward, seeking opportunities not only for work, business, and friendship, but also for regional integration in a positive sense. Today, I believe we have taken a decisive step in that direction,” said President Mulino.

The Panamanian leader stressed that his country and Uruguay “have much in common” and share “important values in terms of democracy, respect for institutions, and the rule of law—principles that must always be strengthened, no matter how much effort it takes.”

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