International
Cristina Fernández affirms that persecution against her is for seeking social justice
22 mars |
The Vice President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, affirmed on Tuesday that the attacks and persecutions against her by the “judicial party” are due to the fact that progressive sectors seek equality in societies and fight for social justice.
“They do not persecute us because we are populists, or from the left, from the right, or from below or from above,” said the Argentine leader during her participation in the meeting called Popular Will and Democracy – From the Military Party to the Judicial Party, organized by the Puebla Group in Buenos Aires.
“They persecute us because we equalize societies, for social justice, for the right of workers to actively participate in the gross product of what they produce,” added Fernandez de Kirchner, who was president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and who has a court ruling that prohibits her from aspiring to a new electoral candidacy.
She stated that “they will never forgive us for the reconstruction of the economy and what we were able to build in terms of human rights (…) They will never forgive us”.
He maintained that “what the military party was to the popular governments of the 20th century, the lawfare (judicial persecution) is to the national, popular and democratic governments. Exactly the same”.
In this sense, the official denounced that lawfare “cannot be explained without the media. The sentence is written in the media and then a prosecutor or a judge subscribes the accusation or subscribes the sentence”.
Fernandez de Kircher said that, even if she runs the risk of being imprisoned, her main mission is to rebuild a democratic state in the country under the slogan of the Constitution.
“I am not interested in whether we are going to be condemned or if I am going to be disqualified, or if I am going to be imprisoned, I do not care, what matters to me fundamentally is that we return to rebuild a democratic and constitutional State, in which the guarantees established in the Constitution are not a painted cardboard”, she said.
The meeting was attended as members of the Puebla Group by former governors Rafael Correa (Ecuador), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Ernesto Samper (Colombia), José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero (Spain) and José Mujica (Uruguay), who expressed their support to the Argentine Vice-President.
Central America
Guatemala’s Attorney General Consuelo Porras Loses Bid for Constitutional Court Seat
Guatemala’s attorney general, Consuelo Porras, who has been sanctioned by the United States over corruption allegations, lost a key vote on Monday in which a public university selected two of the 10 magistrates for the country’s highest constitutional court. However, she could still seek a seat through another nominating body.
The election of five full magistrates and five alternates to the Corte de Constitucionalidad (CC) is taking place gradually over more than two months and is considered crucial in the ongoing struggle for control of Guatemala’s judiciary, which critics say has long been influenced by a political and economic elite accused of corruption.
According to results announced at a press conference, the governing council of the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala (USAC) rejected Porras, who had applied as either a full or alternate magistrate, and instead chose two candidates aligned with the university rector. The vote was held at a hotel in Antigua, about 35 kilometers from the capital.
Despite the setback, Porras — whose term as attorney general ends on May 16 — could still be nominated to the Constitutional Court by the Corte Suprema de Justicia, which appoints two magistrates. The remaining six are selected by the president, the bar association and Congress.
“It’s always a possibility,” the 72-year-old lawyer said days earlier when asked by reporters whether she would seek nomination through another institution if she lost the USAC vote.
Porras has been sanctioned by Washington and the European Union for allegedly attempting two years ago to block the inauguration of President Bernardo Arévalo and for pursuing legal actions against anti-corruption prosecutors, judges, journalists and social leaders since taking office in 2018.
The USAC vote was controversial because most members of the university’s governing council are serving beyond the expiration of their terms. Students, academics and social activists staged protests against Porras’ candidacy.
International
Florida judge sets 2027 trial in Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against BBC
A federal judge in Florida has scheduled February 2027 for the trial in the lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the BBC, in which he is seeking $10 billion in damages for defamation.
Trump accuses the British broadcaster of airing a misleading edit of a speech he delivered on January 6, 2021, which, he says, made it appear that he explicitly urged his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol in Washington.
The president filed the suit in December in federal court in Florida, alleging defamation and violations of a law governing business practices when the program was broadcast ahead of the 2024 election.
Trump is seeking $5 billion in damages for each of the two claims.
Lawyers for the BBC unsuccessfully asked the court to dismiss the case, arguing that Trump had not suffered a “legally recognizable harm,” since the investigative program Panorama, which included the edited footage, aired outside the United States.
International
Head-of-state diplomacy key to guiding China–U.S. ties, Beijing says
Head-of-state diplomacy plays an irreplaceable strategic guiding role in China–United States relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Thursday during a regular press briefing, when asked about high-level exchanges between the two sides.
Lin added that in a recent phone call, U.S. President Donald Trump once again expressed his intention to visit China in April, while Chinese President Xi Jinping reiterated his invitation.
Both sides remain in communication regarding the matter, the spokesperson said.
Lin noted that the essence of China–U.S. economic and trade ties lies in mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
“Both parties should work together to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, injecting greater certainty and stability into China–U.S. economic and trade cooperation, as well as into the global economy,” he said.
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