A region on fire
Lula da Silva's government plans to invest some US$94 million to deal with the fires raging throughout the country, according to a senior official of the Palácio do Planalto. The environmental crisis has had a harsh impact on strategic ecosystems such as the Amazon rainforest and Pantanal—a critical wetland—, and agricultural areas, and has affected the normal development of the lives of many communities, both because of the threat to their homes and the reduction of air quality. It has an inclement drought as its main cause, but it is also believed or suggested that fires have been set by criminal or opposition groups. Dozens of brigadiers are working hard to counteract the advance of the flames using airplanes and helicopters, with little incentive as far as immediate weather forecasts are concerned: the Brazilian capital has been dry for more than 140 days. Lula acknowledged that the country was not ready to face this scenario. Other South American nations such as Paraguay and Bolivia are facing similar scenarios. Source of both images I share just below.
MERCOSUR/EU agreement; meat production in Brazil
This Tuesday, the Brazilian president said that he will insist on Brussels that the bloc does not apply interesting environmental legislation prohibiting the importation of agricultural products coming from deforested areas after 2022, which would threaten South American export possibilities—not only Brazil's—in items such as meat, cocoa, and coffee. This demand from Brasilia is related to a stalled trade agreement between the European Union and MERCOSUR, a regional bloc that, in addition to the South American giant, also includes Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Lula maintains that the legislation in question is a pretext for the Europeans to hide a protectionist measure and that it also violates the sovereignty of the countries. It is true, however, that deforestation—largely uncontrolled—to expand cattle ranching and other production is an unresolved problem in the region. By 2025, Brazil is expected to produce national record levels of chicken and pork, with a slight decline in beef. Exports of all three types of meat will exceed 10 million tons, confirming the country as a formidable supplier of meat.
SourceVenezuela
Developments around the oil-rich nation kicked off early Tuesday with a devastating communiqué from a United Nations ad hoc group analyzing the country's democratic governance. “During the period covered by this report, and especially after the presidential elections of July 28, 2024, the [Venezuelan] State reactivated and intensified the harshest and most violent mechanisms of its repressive apparatus,” the experts say in their report reviewed by AP. According to their findings, the arrest of about 160 minors, some with disabilities, is confirmed. “We are facing a systematic, coordinated and deliberate repression by the Venezuelan government, which response to a conscious plan to silence any form of dissidence”, they criticize, warning the international community in dialogue with EFE that "this situation should not be normalized nor should [people] give up demanding justice". The escalation of the political crisis there is due to the murky electoral process administered by Chavismo, in which the competent authorities have not backed up with disaggregated information the victory granted to Nicolás Maduro.
Miraflores arrests another American accused of being part of an alleged plot
Veteran Chavista leader Diosdado Cabello, still newly installed as Minister of the Interior—in a triumphant and also feared return to executive power—announced already on Tuesday afternoon the arrest of a fourth U.S. citizen who would be linked to an alleged plot to commit violent acts that included the assassination of high-ranking Bolivarian officials. “Another citizen of North American origin was captured, at this moment, who we had been following. He was captured here in Caracas taking pictures of electrical installations, of oil installations, of military units, to his bad luck”, said Cabello. There are several detainees for this plot denounced by Chavismo, among them now four Americans—one of them an active military officer, a very interesting fact in any case—, two Spaniards, and a Czech.
Cabello shows a rifle allegedly seized from the participants of the plot denounced (source).Responding to requests for information from their respective countries, the Minister of the Interior said that Venezuela respects human rights and that they “are safeguarded by the authorities [...] in a safe place”. The Venezuelan government alleges that US and Spanish intelligence agencies are involved in the plot, but without showing sound evidence. In a rather strange development after having jointly negotiated the departure of former presidential candidate Edmundo González to Madrid, relations between Miraflores and the Moncloa have soured to such an extent that this Tuesday in the Venezuelan parliament a draft agreement was presented urging the executive to evaluate a total rupture of relations, an event that adds up to harsh statements by the red chancellor.
And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.
