International

Guatemalans in the U.S. denounce bias in candidate registration in their country’s elections

March 18 |

Guatemalans in the United States are concerned about the transparency and credibility of the elections in their country, with only a few days left before the deadline to register to vote abroad, on March 25.

A little more than 100,000 Guatemalans in the U.S. could vote in the next general elections on June 25. But Carlos Lam, leader of the Guatemalans Without Borders Association, told the Voice of America that to date the number of his countrymen in the United States eligible to vote does not reach 100,000.

In Washington, a group of Guatemalans working to achieve a greater number of registrations met this week to fine tune details of the strategy of “mobilization” of their countrymen in the final stretch of registration in the metropolitan area of the U.S. capital.

Lam said that with the Platform of Guatemalans Abroad they have tried to increase the number of registered voters.

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Guatemala’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), which is organizing the elections, plans to set up six voting centers in the U.S., and this will be the only country outside Guatemala where people can vote, Lam said.

The TSE has said that the process is progressing successfully and that thanks to the registration campaigns, inside and outside the country, “the registration of the registered population, as of March 12, is 9,206,866 citizens”.

Lam and other activists point out that the electoral process began to lose credibility due to alleged irregularities in the registration of candidates.

“We have seen with great concern the partiality of the TSE regarding the registration of candidates,” he said.

Lam pointed out that peasant leader Thelma Cabrera and former human rights ombudsman Jordán Rodas, two attractive figures among indigenous peoples and the opposition, “were denied participation as presidential candidates”.

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Thelma Cabrera is an indigenous leader and human rights defender who with the Movement for the Liberation of the Peoples (MLP) won in the 2019 presidential elections more than 400,000 votes, 10% of the votes cast in the first round, which placed her in fourth position.

Jordan Rodas, who in August 2022 completed his mandate as Human Rights Ombudsman, joined the MLP as Cabrera’s running mate.

The binomial was rejected by the TSE in a first ruling on January 28. After a review and appeal before the Constitutional Court, it was rejected again.

The TSE has not given explanations about the refusal to register the candidates except for the “invalidity” in the validity of the termination of one of the candidates, which was promoted by one of the magistrates, local media reported.

The TSE did not respond to a request for comment from Voice of America on the candidate registrations.

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Concerns about lack of transparency have permeated the citizenry, Lam explained, and residents abroad are following closely and there have been multiple protests against the TSE.

The platform of Guatemalans Abroad has denounced inconsistencies in the process, including the refusal to register certain candidates while others, including questionable figures, have been approved.

International

Paraguay summons Brazilian ambassador over Itaipú espionage scandal

Paraguay summoned the Brazilian ambassador in Asunción on Tuesday to demand “explanations” and called its own representative in Brasília for consultations following Brazil’s acknowledgment of an espionage operation. The Brazilian government, led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, attributed the operation to the previous administration.

The surveillance effort aimed to uncover Paraguay’s position in now-suspended negotiations with Brazil regarding the pricing of electricity from the binational Itaipú hydroelectric plant, according to reports in the Brazilian press.

The Brazilian government “categorically denied any involvement in the intelligence operation,” stating in a Foreign Ministry communiqué on Monday that the espionage was carried out under former President Jair Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2023).

“The operation was authorized by the previous government in June 2022 and was annulled by the interim director of the (state intelligence agency) ABIN on March 27, 2023, as soon as the current administration became aware of it,” Brazil’s government asserted.

Paraguay’s Foreign Minister Rubén Ramírez announced that Brazilian Ambassador José Antonio Marcondes de Carvalho was summoned “to provide detailed explanations” regarding the operation. Additionally, Paraguay recalled its diplomatic representative in Brasília “to report on aspects related to the intelligence activity conducted by Brazil regarding Paraguay’s government affairs.”

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International

Elon Musk to step down as government advisor, per Trump insiders

President Donald Trump has informed his inner circle that Elon Musk will be stepping down from his role as a government advisor, according to a report by Politico today.

Citing three individuals close to Trump, Politico states that the president is pleased with Musk’s leadership at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), where he has implemented significant budget cuts. However, both have agreed that it is time for Musk to return to his businesses and support Trump from a different position outside the government.

A senior administration official told Politico that Musk will likely maintain an informal advisory role and continue to be an occasional visitor to the White House. Another source warned that anyone thinking Musk will completely disappear from Trump’s circle is “deluding themselves.”

According to the sources, this transition is expected to coincide with the end of Musk’s tenure as a “special government employee,” a temporary status that exempts him from certain ethics and conflict-of-interest regulations. This 130-day period is set to expire in late May or early June.

International

Milei vows to make Argentina so strong that Falkland Islanders “choose” to join

Argentine President Javier Milei reaffirmed his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands (known as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) and praised the role of the nation’s armed forces during a ceremony marking the “Veterans and Fallen Soldiers of the Malvinas War Day,” commemorating 43 years since the 1982 conflict with the United Kingdom.

Argentina continues to assert sovereignty over the islands, arguing that Britain unlawfully seized them in 1833.

“If sovereignty over the Malvinas is the issue, we have always made it clear that the most important vote is the one cast with one’s feet. We hope that one day, the Malvinas residents will choose to vote with their feet and join us,” Milei stated.

“That is why we aim to become a global power—so much so that they would prefer to be Argentine, making deterrence or persuasion unnecessary. This is why we have embarked on a path of liberation, working to make Argentina the freest country in the world and once again the nation with the highest GDP per capita on the planet,” he added.