International
Spain and Mexico evoke 85 years of republican exile: “A great day for democracy”
Spain and Mexico remembered this Thursday the 85th anniversary of the arrival of the “Sinaia”, the first ship with Republican exiles that arrived on the Mexican coasts in 1939, as a transcendental milestone in the “fraternal community” between the two countries and a celebration of “democracy.”
“The Sinaia was the first ship of exile, the first ship of hope (…) Today is a great day for democracy,” said the Spanish Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, in his speech.
The event, held at the residence of the Spanish ambassador to Mexico, Juan Duarte, coincided with another June 13, 1939, when the ship arrived on the coast of Mexico in Veracruz with more than 1,500 people on board fleeing the dictatorship of Francisco Franco at the end of the civil war, between 1936 and 1939.
The ceremony was attended, in addition to the Spanish Minister Torres, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Mexican Government, Alicia Bárcena; the Mexican politician and son of President Lázaro Cárdenas (1934-1940), Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, as well as diplomats and representatives of the Spanish exile in Mexico.
It was precisely under the initiative of President Cárdenas that Mexico led to the arrival of Spanish Republicans, and it is estimated that in the period 1939-1942 between 20,000 and 25,000 Spaniards entered Mexico.
“Beyond the pain that has never gone, the exile brought very beneficial elements. He enriched Mexico and Mexico was enriched with the exiles,” said 90-year-old Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas.
The Mexican politician received one of the first diplomas of tribute and recognition given by the Spanish Government during the ceremony for the “indefatigable” work of his father and mother, Amalia Solórzano.
For his part, Bárcena stressed that the “face” of the exiles “was, is and will be fruitful” and consolidated that Spain and Mexico became “a fraternal and supportive community.”
The chancellor also narrated that the ship that left France with 1,598 passengers reached the coasts of Veracruz (Mexico), three weeks later with 1,599 with the birth of a baby on the crossing who was named Susana Sinaia, in memory of the boat and symbol of hope.
Remarking that his was the first visit of a minister of Democratic Memory to Mexico, Torres stressed “the length of exile.”
“How many suitcases bought, how many suitcases thrown away,” he lamented.
In addition to a historical drama, Torres said, it was “a huge loss of talent,” by citing among the figures who arrived in Mexico fleeing the Franco dictatorship the poets León Felipe, Manuel Altolaguirre and Luis Cernuda; as well as the philosophers María Zambrano and José Gaos.
Precisely, among the diplomas given to relatives were the Altolaguirre and Gaos and even some who traveled on board those first Spanish ships when they were barely boys and girls, such as the writer Angeline Muñiz Haberman, who read an emotional poem about the persistence of exile.
As part of the commemoration activities, the Spanish Government designated the historic Spanish Athenaeum of Mexico on Wednesday as the first Place of Memory abroad.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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