International
Chilean President promises to prioritize social rights and security
June 1 |
The President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, declared today that his government’s roadmap in the next stage will have social rights, public safety and sustainable development as priorities.
During his second Public Account, from the seat of the National Congress in Valparaiso, the President mentioned some achievements of his administration, such as the increase in the minimum wage, the reduction of the working day and the elimination of health payments.
“But we must not be confident, nor relax in the fight against poverty”, said Boric, and called to move towards a country where equality of opportunities is effective, wage equality between men and women is achieved, and universal health and pensions are improved.
The dignitary insisted on the urgency of advancing in Parliament the Pension Reform, which seven months ago was presented in that instance and the vote on the project has not yet begun.
He acknowledged that one of the great scourges of society is the so-called waiting list in hospitals, and reported that in the first year of his government, the time for surgery was reduced by 32.7 percent and the time for specialist consultations by 22 percent.
“This is a great advance, but it is not enough: half of the people still have to wait more than 330 days for surgery and more than 261 days to see a specialist,” he said.
Boric promised to reduce these times by 40 percent by the end of his term, for which additional resources are necessary, one more reason to insist on tax reform.
In his speech to the nation, the President admitted that he had to order his priorities in view of the degree of tensions presented by society, its fears and uncertainties, and the delay of the State in responding to them.
“We have made the fight against crime our first priority, allocating more resources for the police, creating the National Policy against Organized Crime and the Streets without Violence Plan, which is already making progress in reducing crime, dismantling gangs and seizing drugs and weapons,” he said.
He stated that the State of Chile has been affected by this social pandemic for several years.
“It is hard to say it, but in terms of resources, technology and recruitment, crime, crime, drug and arms technology and recruitment, delinquency, drug trafficking and organized crime have modernized much faster than the state did to fight them and protect the population. to fight them and protect the population,” he said.
During the balance, the president reported that his administration increased the budget for security and order by 4.4 percent this year, the first increase after five years of stagnation.
In environmental matters, he mentioned the conclusion of an agreement for a marine protection corridor along the Pacific.
He added that in the coming weeks the Oceans Treaty will be deposited at the United Nations headquarters in New York after 16 years of discussion, and Chile presented its candidacy to become the world capital for its protection.
International
Putin calls U.S.-Russia summit a “mistake” without guaranteed results
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on Wednesday that holding a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump would be a “mistake” without certainty of concrete results, following the cancellation of the planned meeting in Budapest.
“Without a doubt, such a meeting must be well-prepared. For me and the U.S. president, it would be a mistake to treat it lightly and come out of that meeting without the expected outcome,” Putin told local media from the Kremlin.
The Russian leader said the initiative for the summit came from the U.S. side and that he had accepted the proposal. “In our last phone conversation, both the meeting and its location were proposed by the U.S. side. I agreed,” he said.
Putin added that Moscow continues to support dialogue, even in the current context. However, he admitted uncertainty about whether a meeting with Trump could take place later. “Now I see that, in his statement, the U.S. president has decided to cancel or postpone the meeting. Most likely, it is a postponement, since dialogue is always better than confrontation, disputes, or especially war,” he emphasized.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova reaffirmed that Moscow does not consider a resolution to the conflict in Ukraine that does not meet its original demands. “We see no alternative other than achieving the objectives of the special military operation,” Zakharova stated.
Among the conditions Russia has set for resuming dialogue with Washington and other international actors are: ensuring Ukraine’s neutral and non-aligned status, its demilitarization, the removal of elements considered “Nazis,” full respect for the rights of Russian-speaking populations, and unrestricted operation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
International
Colombia ready to replace suspended U.S. support, President Petro asserts
Colombian President Gustavo Petro downplayed on Thursday the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend all economic aid to the country, asserting that the measure “changes nothing” structurally, although he acknowledged potential effects on military resources.
“What happens if they take away our aid? In my opinion, nothing (…) I have never seen a single dollar of aid in Colombia’s budget,” Petro said during a press conference at the Casa de Nariño, a day after Trump publicly announced the suspension of all payments and subsidies to Colombia.
The Colombian leader explained that U.S. funds are not allocated directly to the government but rather to organizations linked to the now-defunct USAID. “U.S. aid is not for the government; it is for the NGOs managed by USAID, that is, for themselves,” he argued.
Petro also questioned the effectiveness of this cooperation, stating that Washington’s decades-long anti-drug strategy has failed by focusing on forced eradication of illicit crops, which, according to him, has perpetuated violence in Colombia. “They have condemned us to violence,” he asserted.
Although he acknowledged that the suspension could create difficulties in the military sector—such as the withdrawal of combat helicopters and limitations in arms supply—he assured that his government is prepared to replace that support with the national budget. “Colombia buys its own weapons,” he emphasized.
International
Cristina Fernández calls Argentina’s legislative elections “decisive” to stop Milei
Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández (2007–2015) described this Thursday as “decisive” the legislative elections taking place this Sunday in Argentina, urging voters to support Peronism as a way to put a “brake” on Javier Milei’s government.
“The brake on Milei starts this Sunday, but the work continues the next day to think about how to get Argentina out of the disaster this government will leave. This October 26 is Milei and permanent austerity, or Argentina, our common home,” Fernández said in a recorded message from her Buenos Aires residence, where she is serving a six-year prison sentence for irregularities in the awarding of road construction contracts during her presidency.
Fernández emphasized that the elections are not only about choosing deputies and senators but also represent “a great democratic opportunity” to “set limits on Milei’s mismanagement.”
“The libertarian experiment has failed, and everyone knows it. People cannot make ends meet, they have to go into debt to pay for electricity, buy food, or medicine,” she added.
The former president also criticized the government for changing the voting system “without proper training, putting transparency at risk,” referring to the introduction of the Single Paper Ballot, which lists all candidates, offices, and political parties on a single sheet.
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