Latin America Breaking News

Is it ironic when the US (WSJ) accuses a country of acting like America (especially a country in America (south america)).

The last piece missing to turn Mexico into an enemy of the US, by Dmitry Bavyrin for VZGLYAD. 05.05.2024.

The results of the elections in Mexico showed that its citizens are delighted with the course of the authorities, which removed the country from the determining influence of the United States. Washington lost Mexico, just as it lost most of Latin America, but it needs something more to cement its debacle.

Mexico's ruling party, to which its current and future presidents belong, is called MoReNa, which can be translated from Spanish as “brunette.” Claudia Sheinbaum, who triumphantly won the presidential election, is precisely a brunette: among the Eastern European Jews who were her ancestors, blondes are rare.

The local Jewish community, Sheinbaum, however, does not consider it “one of its own,” and the Morena party takes an anti-Israeli position, like most leftist parties in Latin America. Its full name is “National Revival Movement,” which is very similar to Trump’s “Make America Great Again,” but otherwise MoReNa and MAGA are antipodean movements. For example, for Trump, the greatness of the United States is good, but for Morena it is bad, which makes the party pleasing to the Russian taste.

The influence of parties in Mexico is of increased importance. The state is a clearly presidential republic with significant powers for the leader, but there is a nuance: everyone is given only one six-year term without the right to re-election, so much depends on the parties in terms of the transfer and continuity of power.

This restriction was adopted after the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, which ended the intolerably long reign of dictator Porfirio Díaz, the so-called Porfiriat. The United States had different relations with the Porfiriat at different periods, as well as with the leaders of the Mexican revolution, but the vector remained common: after the wars lost to Washington and the loss of vast territories, the Mexican elites did not get into trouble and maintained general loyalty to their great neighbor, without plotting against him internationally arena.

At the same time, the domestic scene was dominated by moderate leftists - like those European socialists in Germany or France, whom the United States will not contradict and does not encroach on the interests of American companies. Fourteen consecutive presidents represented the National Revolutionary Party, stretching its reign from 1930 to 2000, when a moderate right finally came to power with an even more rigid orientation toward the United States.

The current leader of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is the founder of Morena, but made his political career in the CHP. In total, he ran for president four times, managed to be the head of Mexico City, and in 2006 he tried to come to power according to the standards of a color revolution (with their money - the “cactus revolution”) with mass protests and demands to recount votes, but it did not work out. Perhaps the reason it didn’t work out was that the authorities in Mexico at that time were more pro-American than candidate Lopez Obrador.

He took revenge 12 years later - and since then, relations between Mexico City and Washington have really gone downhill. Recently there was even a question about a full-fledged war due to different views on the fight against the drug mafia, whose products are mowing down American security forces.

When Washington decided to shift power in Venezuela , López Obrador supported Nicolás Maduro. This was a real riot on the ship: the Venezuelan leader is far from an orange, his fellow presidents on the continent - both left and right - have a very difficult (and often bad) attitude towards him, and Mexico is a country from which Washington traditionally did not expect opposition.

And most importantly (for Russia): the Mexican leader made it clear from the very beginning and very firmly that he would not allow his country to be drawn into the Ukrainian adventure: Mexico City is not involved either in “containing Russia” or in supporting Ukraine. The opposite is also true, but López Obrador blames the conflict primarily on Washington's hegemonic policies.

But it would be a mistake to imagine the Mexican president as we are accustomed to seeing comrades like Castro, Ortega or Chavez. They could talk about world affairs all day long and set the goal of a general socialist revolution for the continent. Unlike all of them, López Obrador seems uninterested in foreign policy. She’s at the bottom of his list of priorities: if you ask, I’ll say what I think, and then I’ll go do important things.

His work includes reducing the state apparatus, building infrastructure, fighting crime, social programs, and redistributing wealth through extensive state participation in education and medicine. He has always been focused on the internal problems of Mexico, has achieved a lot - and this is precisely why the people adore him, and not for his attacks against Washington.

Under Lopez Obrador, the country of a hundred million people gained strength and accumulated fat, but never fully entered the large international arena, except for its traditionally active participation in regional Latin American affairs. But Claudia Sheinbaum will certainly pull it off.

She has been his faithful comrade-in-arms for many years - she was one of the first to follow him from the old party to the new one, was responsible for ecology and transport in his government of the head of Mexico City, and she herself became the mayor of the capital at the same time that Lopez Obrador became president. He turned the city into a showcase of the “new Mexico,” focusing on crime (which had fallen by half), transport infrastructure and air that was unbreathable due to industrial and automobile emissions.

Minus crime (this issue is one of the main ones for the party as a whole), this is the professional profile of the new president, although “profile” in her case is an understatement. The daughter of scientists, Sheinbaum herself is a Doctor of Science and a member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences, and the practical scope of her work is transport and energy engineering, subordinated to the idea of ​​reducing harm to what is commonly called “ecology.”

That is, Sheinbaum is not an eco-activist like Greta Thunberg, who simply demands that everything unecological be banned for the sake of clean skies and bright sunshine. Its goal is not to throw out the baby with the dirty bathwater: to introduce green technologies, but not to kill the economy, but, on the contrary, to improve people’s lives.

She plans to maintain this balance as president. On the one hand, develop alternative energy sources like solar panels, on the other, strengthen and enlarge national oil companies, the income from which is necessary to modernize the country and equalize social inequality.

In general, Sheinbaum promises to continue everything that Lopez Obrador did, but “with his own vision.” This very “vision” could lead to Mexico playing a more active role in international affairs.

Sheinbaum is one of those who began the fight against global warming long before it became fashionable.

She won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize as a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, when the much-remembered award was also given to US Vice President Al Gore, who was the most passionate about the issue. In fact, few people considered it a problem - it took ten years for the increase in average annual temperature due to anthropogenic factors to become a hot topic and the mainstream of global politics.

And the fact is that such a policy can only be global: the fight to reduce carbon emissions in one country is equivalent to the fight for the purity of water in one’s swimming pool - it, like the atmosphere, is the same for everyone. If Sheinbaum decides not to concentrate on the country’s internal problems, like her predecessor, but becomes one of the “motors” of the climate agenda, we will hear about Mexico and its president much more often than before.

Unfortunately, in practice this means that Sheinbaum can get in touch with the world liberal elite, the Brussels bureaucracy and politicians like German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, in general, with all those whom Lopez Obrador does not like.

Russia's interest is for Mexico City to play for the Global South team and deepen the conflict with Washington. Ideally, the United States would have its own “Ukraine” on its southern borders, but I don’t want to wish bad things on the Mexicans.

Maybe this is a foregone conclusion: the last two decades have been the time when Latin America emerged from the influence of Washington. He lost control of a huge region where his word had been dominant for almost two centuries. Mexicans are among those peoples whose opposition to the United States is growing literally before our eyes, albeit in contrast to the hundreds of thousands of migrants trying to break through the American border at any cost.

But it is more reliable that in addition to Sheinbaum’s victory, which beat the pro-Washington candidate by almost 30%, Donald Trump also won the election in November . This guarantees that the US conflict with its southern neighbor will worsen.

First, Trump is the enemy of the entire climate agenda. Secondly, he promises to complete the wall and stop migration from Mexico, and this is beneficial to any Mexican authorities, no matter who they are: this “drains” the unemployed, potential dissatisfied people and criminals from the country, for whom moving to the USA is like a career advancement . The conflict between the two neighbors and the triumph of Lopez Obrador is also a consequence of the anti-Mexican policy of Trump’s first term.

The US Democratic Party is satisfied with Latin American migration in volumes that the state can digest, since naturalized Hispanics are mainly their voters. The core of Trump's electorate, on the contrary, expects from him both action and the most harsh, even offensive (and he is a master) accusations against Mexico, while Sheinbaum will be forced to defend her own.

That's great. The aggravation of national contradictions between the United States and Mexico is a stronger guarantee that their conflict will not suddenly be replaced by their own alliance against Russia and China than the promises of one “brunette”, be she even the president or an entire party.

https://vz.ru/world/2024/6/5/1271554.html

Analyst: Mexico-Brazil partnership will lead Latin America with Sheinbaum's triumph and Lula's nod, 05.05.2024.

Claudia Sheinbaum's recent victory in Mexico enthuses Latin American progressives and raises expectations about how she will relate to her neighbors. Analysts stress the importance of Mexico continuing to" look south " and the potential for joint leadership with Brazil.

Although most South American leaders hailed Sheinbaum, one of the most notable comments was that of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who, through a post on X (former Twitter), said he was "very happy with the victory" of the president "for being a progressive woman at the head of the presidency of Mexico".

At the same time, Lula confirmed that he will travel to Mexico later this year to improve trade relations, stressing that "we are the two largest economies in Latin America and we can have a greater flow between entrepreneurs from both countries."

In an interview with Sputnik, Argentine international analyst Cristian Riom and Argentine political scientist and Coordinator of the Puebla Group, Matías Capeluto, agreed that Sheinbaum's six-year term will mark, in principle, a continuity in the policies of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, leader who marked "a turning point" in Mexican foreign policy in favor of Latin American integration.

For Riom, the fact that Lula immediately announced a visit to Mexico shows the importance that the Brazilian government gives to the country as a partner, in a context in which the relationship with Javier Milei's Argentina "faces difficulties".

"The Mexico-Brazil joint will not only be a counterweight to the right in the region, but will also lead Latin America. This is indisputable due to the weight of these countries, both in terms of population and economy," Riom reflected.

For his part, Capeluto recalled that "the harmony between Brazil and Mexico is a novelty that emerged from the governments of López Obrador and Lula", since historically the two countries have entered into "dispute over economic issues".

In the analyst's view, the geopolitical proximity of the two countries can favor "a regional development model based on good coexistence and above all on the reorganization of productive integration schemes in Latin America".

However, Capeluto draws attention to the fact that it is necessary for Latin America to strengthen its economic integration and reinforce commercial exchange within its own region, an area in which it remains little stimulated.

"While the world is moving towards regionalization, Latin America continues to think about the trade of goods and services to other continents and not to its own region," he said.

Capeluto also considered that the president-elect will deepen the "reconstruction" of the relationship between Mexico and Latin America initiated by López Obrador.

In this way, both leaders will become "a very important beacon for Latin American progressivism", marking a path that has managed to "organize the economy, while maintaining a strong presence of the state and a strengthened state in social, education and health issues".

Riom also stressed that Sheinbaum's foreign policy will be marked by" commitment to multilateralism and a strong presence in international forums", in addition to maintaining, as López Obrador did, an"independent stance of the United States in relation to major conflicts such as that of Israel or Ukraine".

Still, the analyst warned that maintaining an "independent" stance from Washington is always one of the biggest challenges for Mexican leaders and will likely be no exception with Sheinbaum.

"For historical, geographical and economic reasons, Mexico is always closely linked to the United States and it has to be very smart to have a policy of geopolitical balance if it wants to follow the ideological agenda that the former president and Sheinbaum have without damaging ties with the United States," he said.

At 61, Claudia Sheinbaum is the first woman president of Mexico, having won the election by 59% of the vote (after counting 95% of the votes). An outstanding scientist and academic, she has a degree in Physics and a PhD in Energy Engineering.

Before running for President, Sheinbaum was mayor of Mexico City, one of the country's most influential political offices and one that is seen as paving the way for the presidency.

Yandex Translate from Portuguese.

https://noticiabrasil.net.br/20240605/analista-parceria-mexico-brasil-vai-liderar-america-latina-com-triunfo-de-sheinbaum-e-aceno-de-lula-34952347.html

Bolivia assures that Brazil can be its partner in the industrialization of lithium together with Russia, 07.10.2024.

SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA (Sputnik) — Brazil can be Bolivia's new partner in the industrialization of lithium, together with Russia, China and India, said the Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Integration, Huáscar Ajata, in an interview with Sputnik.

"Of course, Bolivia is open to attracting partners from multiple parts of the world. Agreements and business intentions have already been signed with China, with Russia. We also look forward to European partners, also from the region. And with the technological level and industrial development that Brazil has, it can be an ideal partner, especially for the electro-mobility industry," he explained.

The rapprochement between the two countries took place at the Bolivia-Brazil Business Forum, held on the occasion of the visit of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (west), on Tuesday, July 9.

Asked about what other products Bolivia can export to Brazil, in addition to natural gas, he replied: "At the moment we have great potential in fertilizers such as urea, ulexite, but Presidents Arce and Lula also spoke of the great agroindustrial potential that Bolivia has. Fruits, grains and cereals, meat. Despite Brazil being an important meat producer, it still requires and Bolivia has a great potential."

During the bilateral meeting, the presidents signed 10 cooperation agreements in areas such as hydrocarbons, electricity, immigration, the fight against drug trafficking, health and fertilizers, among others.

Bolivia has the largest lithium reserve in the world, with 23 million tons, which is located mainly in Uyuni, in the department of Potosi (southwest), according to data from the state-owned company Yacimientos de Litio Boliviano (YLB). Bolivia is looking to install, until 2025, four industrial plants in agreement with companies from China and Russia, with the technology of Direct Lithium Extraction (EDL, by its acronym in Spanish).

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://latamnews.lat/20240710/bolivia-asegura-que-brasil-puede-ser-su-socio-en-industrializacion-de-litio-junto-a-rusia-1156042917.html

Belarus Registers World's First Patented Lung Cancer Vaccine From Cuba, 07.15.2024.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Belarus has registered Cimavax, a groundbreaking Cuban vaccine that trains the immune system to kill lung cancer cells, Cuban Foreign Minster Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla has announced.

"The first therapeutic vaccine against lung cancer, Cimavax, received the sanitary registration in Belarus," the minister said on social media on Sunday.

The Cuban pharmaceuticals industry continues to deliver great results despite restrictions stemming from the United States' embargo, he added.

The Cimavax vaccine, produced by Cuba's Center for Molecular Immunology, is the world's first officially patented and registered vaccine against lung cancer. The treatment allows the immune system to form neutralising antibodies against epidermal growth factor (EGF).

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240715/belarus-registers-worlds-first-patented-lung-cancer-vaccine-from-cuba-1119378750.html

US Sees South America as Testing Ground for Political Spin Techniques - Russia, 08.05.2024.

CARACAS (Sputnik) -The position of recognizing or not recognizing elections in a sovereign country is a manifestation of colonial policy, and Washington continues to view Latin America as its own backyard and testing ground for political spin techniques, Russian Ambassador to Venezuela Sergey Melik-Bagdasarov told Sputnik.

After the announcement of the official election results in Venezuela, Moscow said the Venezuelan opposition should concede defeat. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned third countries against supporting attempts to destabilise the situation inside Venezuela.

"Even before the election in Venezuela, the US hinted that they would not tolerate the reelection of Nicolas Maduro. The very position of recognizing or not recognizing elections in a particular sovereign country is a clear manifestation of colonial policy. The people of Venezuela have made their choice. It must be respected. But it seems that such an approach is alien to Washington," Melik-Bagdasarov said.

He explained that United States believe Latin America to be a testing grounds for election interference methods.

"The United States continues to view the Latin America region as its backyard and a testing ground for political technologies [political spin techniques]. According to President Nicolas Maduro, today we are seeing attempts to repeat the 'Juan Guaido' project with some changes," the Russian diplomat added.

Venezuela’s presidential election was held on July 28, and the National Electoral Council declared Nicolas Maduro the winner.

Washington, without waiting for the results of the vote count and subsequent audit, called on the international community to recognize opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez as the winner of the presidential election in Venezuela. US and EU lawmakers overseeing international relations on Friday threatened Maduro with "responsibility" if he does not voluntarily give up his powers as legitimate head of state.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20240805/us-sees-south-america-as-testing-ground-for-political-spin-techniques---russia-1119640659.html

Today is the 51st anniversary of the most murderous putsch in Chile with the assassination of President elect Salvador Allende, and no mention of it in the international press.
The US Twin Towers incident was no more, no less, than a successful attempt to whitewash the Pinochet coup.
What a shame!

Transport, agriculture and even sports... China's presence in Mexico is growing day by day, 09.20.2024.

The presence of Chinese companies in Mexico in sectors such as transportation, manufacturing, telecommunications, traditional and renewable energies, to mention a few areas, is increasing to levels not seen in the history of relations between the two countries.

In the first eight months of this year alone, bilateral trade between China and Mexico reached 73,9 billion dollars, which represents a year-on-year growth of 11.8%, according to official figures from Beijing, released during a special event of the Senate of the Latin American country to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
The Chinese presence even reaches the sports field, since coach Ma Jin was decisive for Mexican divers to obtain medals at the recent Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

"China is always closely united with the countries of the Global South and firmly supports Mexico's just position of opposing external interference and safeguarding its national sovereignty," Chinese Ambassador to Mexico Zhang Run told the president of the Mexican Senate Gerardo Fernandez Noroña and other senior officials of the current and the next government of Mexico.

According to Run, Chinese photovoltaic and wind energy companies in Mexico have reduced carbon emissions by 14.3 million tons, which is equivalent to the annual carbon dioxide absorption of 650 million trees.

"China's new energy vehicles have also contributed to energy savings and emissions reductions in Mexico. According to statistics, compared to using a traditional vehicle, driving an electric car a year is equivalent to planting 153 trees," he exemplified.

According to official information from Mexico and Beijing, the Chinese company CRRC (China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation) supported the upgrade of line 1 of the Mexico City Metro, while the company Huawei signed a strategic agreement to promote the access of women from indigenous communities to the digital economy.

There is also the Infrared Platform for Earth Observation project, recommended jointly by the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) and the Distinguished Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP), which has been described as one of the first space scientific experimental projects on the Chinese Space Station.

In addition, through the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Beijing has helped the Mexican side to carry out a project to digitalize its agriculture, which has helped the local community to save up to 30% of water and fertilizers in an integrated way.

Another aspect that both nations have highlighted is the growth of tourism, to the extent of making China the largest Asian country of tourists traveling to Mexico.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Tourism of Mexico, from January to July of this year, the number of Chinese tourists who visited Mexico exceeded 114,000, which is an increase of 44% over the same period last year.

"With the opening of two direct flights between China and Mexico and China's 144-hour visa-free transit policy for Mexican visitors, the two-way flow of people between the two countries will reach a new record," said Ambassador Zhang Run.

In addition, last June, Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum, to whom he expressed that the binational ties are in a relevant period "to open new horizons based on the achievements already achieved."

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://noticiaslatam.lat/20240920/transporte-agricultura-y-hasta-deportes-la-presencia-de-china-en-mexico-crece-dia-a-dia-1157650849.html

Sheinbaum stands in solidarity with Petro over election investigation against him, 10.09.2024.

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, expressed solidarity with her Colombian counterpart, Gustavo Petro, for the investigation that the National Electoral Commission (CNE) of the South American country opened against him for exceeding the economic ceilings during the campaign that brought him to the head of the Colombian executive in 2022.

"I want to make public and manifest our solidarity with President Petro. The National Electoral Council, two years after the [Colombian presidential] election, opens an investigation for campaign expenses and, yesterday, [the president of the South American country] calls it a coup d'état," he said at a press conference.

The Mexican head of state said that the investigations against Petro are carried out outside Colombian laws.

"[Petro] is practically the only progressive president of Colombia. We will always [give] our support and solidarity when there is an injustice. It is part of our policy," he stressed.
On October 8, 2024, the Colombian CNE approved, with seven votes in favor and two against, an investigation against the president of that nation for exceeding spending limits during his campaign to relieve Iván Duque of office (2018-2022).

The investigations include the formulation of charges against "the first and second round presidential campaign of the Historical Pact Coalition, represented by the citizens Gustavo Petro, Francisco Petro Urrego, candidate; Ricardo Roa Barragán, campaign manager."

In addition, it involves "Lucy Aydee Mogollón Alfonso, treasurer; María Lucy Soto Caro and Juan Carlos Lemus Gómez, auditors: (and) the political movement Colombia Humana and the Patriotic Union 'UP' political party; for the alleged violation of the electoral campaign financing regime."

According to the newspaper of the South American country El Colombiano, it is an administrative process, which means that the president cannot be removed from office, because this power is exclusive to Congress.
However, the investigation would have administrative scope and, if the alleged irregularities are found, fines would be imposed against the people who managed the election campaign, the manager, the auditor and the treasurer, the Los Angeles Times reported.

In that sense, Petro said that the investigation into his campaign is faking a "coup d'état à la Colombiana"; he considers that this is the first step to remove him from office through the use of state institutions.

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://noticiaslatam.lat/20241009/sheinbaum-se-solidariza-con-petro-por-investigacion-electoral-en-su-contra-1158120935.html

Colombian Vice Foreign Minister denounces coup against democracy to the international community, 10.09.2024.

BOGOTA (Sputnik) — The vice Foreign Minister of Colombia, Jorge Rojas, denounced to the international community the "coup against democracy" that, according to him, represents the decision of the National Electoral Commission (CNE) to open an investigation against the president, Gustavo Petro, and his presidential campaign.

"From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs we have said with full responsibility, but clearly and forcefully, that a coup against democracy is underway. We have made this known to the diplomatic corps accredited in Colombia and to all the governments with which we maintain relations," the diplomatic representative said at a press conference.

Rojas announced that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights will be approached to intervene in the investigation opened by the CNE for allegedly violating the economic ceilings in the 2022 presidential campaign.

"The case has already been presented to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. We are requesting provisional measures for citizen President Gustavo Petro and we have received calls and solidarity demonstrations from several Latin American countries," he added.

The purpose is for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to issue provisional measures, given that it already ruled in favor of Petro when he was dismissed by the Attorney General's Office during his period as mayor of Bogotá.

In addition, replying to Petro's message about an alleged "coup d'état" against him, Rojas insisted that "the jurisdiction that, as a right, assists the president has been ignored. This has led to a process to remove both the president and the vice president."

Additionally, he reiterated that Petro's defense has already requested the Accusations Committee of the House of Representatives, the only entity that, according to the Constitution, can investigate the president, to initiate the corresponding investigation into this case.

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://noticiaslatam.lat/20241009/vicecanciller-de-colombia-denuncia-golpe-contra-la-democracia-ante-comunidad-internacional-1158126345.html

"No to the coup d'état": Call to march in Colombia in defence of Petro, 10.11.2024.

The Colombian president has repeatedly denounced that the opposition intends to remove him.

The different political forces that support the Government of Gustavo Petro in Colombia have called on the country's population to march in a massive way to defend the Presidency of the leader of the Historic Pact, in the face of the pretensions of the Colombian right that plans to give a "coup d'état" to the president.

"If the right wing in Colombia wants to stage a coup against the government of change, then tomorrow, October 11, we will say 'I'm marching against the coup.' See you on the streets! They won't pass! Certain sectors are scared and desperate. Let's go Colombia! No to the coup d'état," said the senator of the Comunes party, Sandra Ramírez, through X.

For her part, the Wayú indigenous leader Karmen Ramírez Boscán, congresswoman of the House of Representatives, pointed out that President Petro's call to mobilize to defend democracy and the triumph of the revolutionary forces must be supported.

"This victory has cost us a lot and we will not allow a few uncompetitive bureaucrats to take away our democratically and cleanly won right at the ballot box, violating International law. No to the coup," she said.

Likewise, the senator of the Historical Pact, María José Pizarro, said: "This Friday from the streets of Colombia we say 'No to the coup d'état.'"

"We'll meet at Plaza de Bolivar from 10:30 in the morning to demonstrate in unity for the defence of democracy and in support of President Gustavo Petro and the people's government," Pizarro added.

Investigation of the CNE

The announcement comes after the National Electoral Council (CNE), composed mostly of opposition magistrates, opened an investigation and accused Petro along with three members of his electoral campaign, for allegedly exceeding the limit of resources allowed for the 2022 presidential elections.

Therefore, in addition to the president, the commission entity agreed to investigate his then campaign manager, Ricardo Roa Barragán; the campaign treasurer, María Lucy Soto Caro; the auditor Juan Carlos Lemus Gómez, and the parties Colombia Humana and Patriotic Union.

The investigating magistrates Benjamín Ortiz and Álvaro Hernán Prada, both linked to opposition parties, recorded a presentation last May in which they refer to alleged violations of electoral ceilings exceeding 5,355 million pesos (about 1.2 million dollars).
The accusations would be based on undeclared funds, ranging from donations and the payment to electoral witnesses, to the disbursement of air transfers and the rental of spaces used for proselytizing events.

Petro's Position

However, Petro has insisted that the CNE has included in its case acts prior to the start of the campaign, an erroneous invoice that was later amended and has made a biased calculation of flight hours, which does not correspond to the methodology established for such cases.

"Only later and under the pressure of some far-right press, and by political decision of those groups, they started another investigative process with a presentation focused on looking for envelopes where there were none with one purpose: [...] to carry out the coup d'état," he said in a post published on September 17.

In those same days, Petro openly denounced that the CNE was trying to outlaw him, because that state entity lacks constitutional powers to investigate him. "To allow constitutional lawlessness is to initiate a coup d'etat," he then said.

To these allegations, he added that his political adversaries, in collusion with "the mafia" – drug trafficking –, were plotting to expel him from power within three months by means of an assassination or an irregular dismissal.

Yandex Translate from Spanish.

https://actualidad.rt.com/actualidad/526137-convocar-marchar-colombia-defensa-petro