Misión Verdad (2023-08-26). Central American Parliament Expels Taiwan as Observer, Replaces With China. orinocotribune.com The Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) expelled Taiwan as observer and replaced it with the People's Republic of China, after having maintained Taiwan as a permanent observer for more than two decades. | On Monday, August 21, PARLACEN voted 5-1 in favor of expelling Taiwan as an observer and inviting China to take its place. The only PARLACEN member that voted for Taiwan was Guatemala, which is the only Central American country that still recognizes Taiwan as a sovereign state. | The representatives of the six member states of the bloc met in Managua, capital of Nicaragua, and proposed welcoming China as a pa…

Grahame Russell (2023-08-25). Guatemalans Voted to End 69 Years of Corrupt Rule. Will US, Canada Accept It? truthout.org On August 20, 2023, the Semilla Party's Bernardo Arévalo and Karin Herrera were elected president and vice president of Guatemala. This election will bring a formal end to 69 years of anti-democratic, military-backed, corrupt, "open-for-global-business" governments when the transition of power takes place on January 14, 2024. "The Supreme Electoral Tribunal has recognized the results and what the… |

Staff (2023-08-25). Lawsuit Challenges Massive Offshore Lease Sale for Failing to Consider Gulf Communities, Climate. commondreams.org Gulf community and environmental groups sued the Interior Department today to challenge an offshore oil and gas lease sale that would offer up more than 67 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico. The department plans to hold the sale Sept. 27. Lease Sale 261, which the Biden administration canceled in 2021, is the last …

ecns.cn (2023-08-22). Parliament's removal decision applauded. ecns.cn China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said on Tuesday that China welcomed and highly praised the Central American Parliament's decision to remove the Taiwan region as "a permanent observer".

Jeff Abbott (2023-08-22). Bernardo Arévalo Victory Is a Turning Point for Guatemala. progressive.org The president-elect has promised to crack down on corruption and break up monopolies, a welcome sign in a country gripped by a wealthy elite.

Staff (2023-08-22). Centrist Bernardo Arévalo is Guatemala's New President, Venezuela Sends Congratulations. orinocotribune.com Caracas ( As shown in the final report by the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), Arévalo obtained 2,441,661 votes (58.01%), while Sandra Torres of the National Unity of Hope party obtained 1,567,472 votes (37.24%). | On Sunday, Arévalo said that he accepted "with great humility this victory that the people of Guatemala have given us." | According to Guatemala's TSE, the elect…

Laura Salome Canteros (2023-08-22). Bernardo Arévalo will be Guatemala's next President. greenleft.org.au Centre-left candidate Bernardo Arévalo de León from the Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement) won a decisive victory in Guatemala's presidential run-off election on August 20 against the "pact of the corrupt", reports Laura Salome Canteros.

Editor (2023-08-22). The BRICS Have Changed the Balance of Forces, but They Will Not By Themselves Change the World. scheerpost.com By Vijay Prashad / Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research In 2003, high officials from Brazil, India, and South Africa met in Mexico to discuss their mutual interests in the trade of pharmaceutical drugs. India was and is one of the world's largest producers of various drugs, including those used to treat HIV-AIDS; Brazil and South …