International
South Africa is preparing to invest Ramaphosa for a second term as president
Cyril Ramaphosa will be inaugurated as president of South Africa for a second five-year term, in a solemn ceremony attended by about twenty African leaders and that will begin a new stage in the country’s history with an unprecedented Government of national unity.
“We have the investiture in the year in which we celebrate thirty years of freedom and democracy in our nation, which is a very important milestone,” the interim director general of Communications of the South African Government, Nomonde Mnukwa, told local media on Tuesday.
Under the slogan “Thirty years of democracy, collaboration and growth,” the event will be held at the Union Buildings, the headquarters of the Executive in Pretoria, and will be attended by 18 heads of state and government, as well as former presidents and delegations from many countries, according to the authorities.
Among the countries that will send high-level representatives are Namibia, Angola, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Esuatini (former Swaziland), Uganda, Nigeria, Burundi and Egypt, but also China and Cuba, whose vice president, Salvador Mesa, has already arrived in the country.
Representatives of organizations such as the African Union (AU), the UN and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), in addition to Palestine, whose cause has historically been supported by South Africa, will also attend.
After the beginning of the day with a program of cultural events starring local artists, the ceremony will take place in which Ramaphosa will be sworn in before the head of the South African Judiciary, magistrate Raymond Zondo.
During the event, for which the streets surrounding the enclosure will be cut, the National Defense Forces of South Africa (SADF) will carry out a greeting of 21 cannon salvos, accompanied by an Air Force flight, in addition to an inspection and a parade of troops.
Although it is a working day, buses will be chartered so that residents of different provinces can attend the ceremony, who will have to go through strict security controls.
The investiture will be the culmination of a process marked by uncertainty, after the African National Congress (CNA), in power since the establishment of democracy and the end of the racist ‘apartheid’ regime in 1994, lost for the first time the absolute majority in the elections of last May 29.
In those elections, the seventh generals of the country, the CNA achieved 40.18% of the votes, which translates into 159 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly (Lower House of Parliament), an insufficient victory that forced for the first time the historic formation to approach other parties to be able to govern.
That approach was felt last Friday in a marathon first session of the National Assembly after the elections, in which Ramaphosa was elected by 283 votes.
Hours before that election, John Steenhuisen, leader of the Democratic Alliance (AD, liberal center-right), until now the first force of the opposition, announced that he had reached an agreement with the ANC to form a “Government of national unity (GUN)”.
That formula was previously used by the country’s first black president, Nelson Mandela, when he came to power in 1994, when his party enjoyed an absolute majority and started from a position of strength, unlike the current weakness, which prevents him from forming a government alone.
As confirmed by the CNA on Monday, three other political forces have also agreed to join the government alliance: the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP, conservative and nationalist of the Zulu ethnic group), GOOD (social democrat) and Patriotic Alliance (AP, extreme right).
Thus, the investiture will be the starting signal for the formation of a Cabinet that should include members of the other parties of the coalition, although Ramaphosa, 71 years old and fifth president of the country, has not yet revealed the composition of the Executive.
After playing an important role in the negotiations that allowed the dismantling of ‘apartheid’, being a trade union leader and prospering in the private sector, Ramaphosa arrived in 2018 with the promise of change to end the corruption that tarnished the mandate of his predecessor, Jacob Zuma (2009-2018).
However, its popularity decreased due to the persistence of problems such as high unemployment (32.9%), crime, the energy crisis with constant blackouts and the extreme inequality that still weighs on the black population.
International
Marco Rubio considered for Secretary of State in Trump administration, reports say
Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a Cuban-American, is reportedly being considered by President-elect Donald Trump as the next U.S. Secretary of State, according to media outlets such as The New York Times and National Public Radio (NPR) last night.
However, The New York Times noted that Trump could still change his mind at the last minute, but he appeared to be leaning toward Rubio, whom he also considered as a running mate this year. Another potential candidate for Secretary of State is former U.S. Ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.
The Secretary of State serves as the United States’ Foreign Minister and is typically seen as one of the most powerful officials in the U.S. government.
Rubio was elected to the Senate in 2010 and has established himself as a foreign policy hawk, particularly taking hardline positions on China and Iran. He has also been a strong critic of Cuba’s Castro regime, Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, and Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega.
Senator Rubio has appeared quite close to Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, whom he visited in El Salvador in March 2023. Following Bukele’s re-election in February, Rubio encouraged the Salvadoran president to lay the groundwork for prosperity in El Salvador, strengthen democratic institutions, and further curb China’s influence in the country.
International
Sheinbaum pledges support for mexican migrants amid U.S. border enforcement plans
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum assured on Monday that she will “always” defend Mexican migrants in the United States, following U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s appointment of former official Tom Homan as “border czar,” responsible for overseeing “all deportations of illegal foreign nationals back to their countries of origin.”
“We will always defend Mexican men and women on the other side of the border, who are also essential to the U.S. economy,” Sheinbaum stated during a press conference at the National Palace.
When questioned by Mexican media about the appointment of former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tom Homan to oversee U.S. borders under the new administration, Sheinbaum said she would reach out to the president-elect’s team.
“We have data, and we’ll share the information, but it’s also important to establish contact, understand their intentions, and, as much as possible, work toward coordination,” she emphasized.
Her remarks come just hours after the newly elected head of the White House announced on his Truth Social platform that Homan will be in charge of “all borders” in the country, as well as the massive deportations Trump has promised.
International
Le procureur vénézuélien dénonce une campagne visant à présenter les “criminels” comme prisonniers politiques
Le procureur général du Venezuela, Tarek William Saab, a dénoncé lundi une campagne visant à montrer des “criminels” capturés dans le contexte de manifestations post-électorales en tant que prisonniers politiques, et a réitéré que dans le pays “il n’y a pas d’enfants détenus”, comme le dénonce l’opposition majoritaire.
Le chef du ministère public (MP, bureau du procureur) a assuré que, ces derniers jours, cette campagne s’est accrue, dans le but de “mal mettre, nuire et stigmatiser la démocratie vénézuélienne et ses autorités”, ainsi que de faire voir “ceux qui ont commis ces actes, qui sont détenus, comme s’ils étaient des héros”.
“Ces personnes ne sont pas des prisonniers politiques, ce ne sont pas des prisonniers d’opinion, ce sont des criminels qui se sont prêtés à des actions terroristes, criminelles, payées par les soi-disant commandits (…) et pour déclencher une guerre civile au Venezuela”, a déclaré Saab, en référence aux groupes d’organisation politique de l’opposition majoritaire.
En ce sens, il a qualifié d’”antiéthique” que “ces cas se présentent comme s’ils avaient un caractère politique”.
D’autre part, il a assuré qu’”il n’y a pas d’enfants arrêtés”, mais “des adolescents qui, malheureusement, ont avoué” que – a-t-il dit – “ont été utilisés” pour “provoquer ces actes de violence”.
Le procureur vénézuélien défend les forces de sécurité
Selon les chiffres officiels, les manifestations contre la réélection du président Nicolás Maduro lors des élections du 28 juillet ont fait 28 morts, dont deux militaires, et environ 1 000 blessés, pour lesquels plus de 2 400 personnes ont été arrêtées.
“Beaucoup d’entre eux ont reçu des coups de feu, des coups de couteau, des coups”, a déclaré le procureur, qui a assuré que, depuis lors, l’institution n’a pas reçu “une seule plainte” liant l’un de ces décès aux forces de sécurité de l’État, que le PUD accuse de répression.
Selon l’ONG Foro Penal, il y a 1 963 “prisonniers politiques” au Venezuela, dont 1 836 arrêtés après les élections présidentielles, dans lesquelles la principale coalition d’opposition – la Plateforme unitaire démocratique (PUD) affirme que son candidat, Edmundo González Urrutia, a gagné par une large marge.
Sur le total, 69 sont des mineurs âgés de 14 à 17 ans, selon l’organisation, qui affirme enregistrer “le plus grand nombre de prisonniers à des fins politiques connues au Venezuela, au moins au XXIe siècle”.
Les dirigeants de l’opposition et les ONG demandent quotidiennement, via les réseaux sociaux, la libération “immédiate” des détenus pour des raisons “politiques”, parmi lesquels les quelque 170 militants et militants de partis qui, dénoncent-ils, sont derrière les barreaux.
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