11 minute read
South America
Peruvian President Pedro Castillo wearing the presidential sash after the presidential inauguration in Lima, Peru, on July 28. Castillo of Free Peru National Political Party defeated Keiko Fujimori of Popular Force party by a slight margin in the runoff on June 6.
POLITICAL UNREST
PRESIDENTIAL IMPEACHMENTS SWEEP ACROSS SOUTH AMERICA
SCANDALS, CORRUPTION, inffectiveness lead to big votes in Peru, Chile and Ecuador
By Autumn Spredemann
Peru’s Congress filed a motion to impeach President Pedro Castillo on Nov. 25, which political rival Keiko Fujimori and her Popular Force party supported.
Castillo’s administration has been plaguedbyscandalandcorruptioncharges since he took office this summer.
The Nov. 25 impeachment motion makes Peru the third South American nation since October to consider removing its president.
Chile’s President Sebastián Piñera faced impeachment by the lower chamber of the nation’s legislature on Nov. 9 due to his involvement in a questionable acquisition exposed in the Pandora Papers investigation.
The action failed to pass the Senate due to a lack of opposition votes on Nov. 16.
In Ecuador, President Guillermo Lasso faced a congressional investigation for tax evasion, likewise revealed in the Pandora Papers. Former presidential can-
didate Andrés Arauz called for Lasso to resign from office on Oct. 7.
Neither Side Was Happy With Piñera
“People were unhappy with Piñera because of the social unrest situation back in 2019,” South America political analyst and New York University professor Patricio Navia told Insight.
Widespread protests and unrest broke out in Chile in October 2019 over the announcement of an increase in public transit fees.
Both conservatives and liberals were unhappy with the way Piñera handled the government’s response to the upheaval.
In response to his diminished approval ratings following the 2019 protests, Piñera said, “I understand that Chileans are not happy with what has happened. I am not happy either.”
Conservatives felt the president’s response wasn’t effective, and liberals de-
3rd
COUNTRY
THE NOV. 25 impeachment motion makes Peru the third South American nation since October to consider removing its president.
ECUADOR
PERU
8
YEARS
CHILE
FORMER ECUADORIAN
President Rafael Correa was sentenced to eight years for bribery.
Chilean firefighters extinguish burning
buses during clashes between protesters and the police, over the announcement of an increase in public transit fees, in Santiago, on Oct. 19, 2019.
Patricio Navia, political analyst and professor, New York University
cried the use of excessive force by the police against unarmed demonstrators.
AsofSeptember,Piñera’sapprovalrating fell to 26 percent due to unfulfilled voter expectations and ineffectual policies.
“The Pandora Papers were just an excuse [for impeachment],” Navia said.
Peru’s Pandemic Fumble
Peru has the distinction of having the highest per-capita death rate from the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus in the world, which factors into the chaos surrounding Castillo’s impeachment.
Overall discontent with the way the state responded to the pandemic, combined with slow economic recovery and the government’s use of the less-effective Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, cast a shadow over the new president.
The CCP virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus, is the pathogen that causes COVID-19.
Among the official reasons listed by Congress as grounds for Castillo’s removal are the illegal use of public funds by members of the Peru Libre party and the president’s appointment of officials currently under investigation for suspected ties to terrorism.
Parallels Between Ecuador and Peru
Lasso and Castillo both represent egress from the legacy of a stigmatized predecessor.
In the case of Ecuador, Lasso is the first right-wing leader in 14 years and is emblematic of the departure from the corruption and scandals of former democratic socialist President Rafael Correa.
Correa was sentenced to eight years in prison for a bribery scandal in September 2020.
In Peru, Castillo was the only front-runner candidate besides Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of controversial former President Alberto Fujimori, who was accused of crimes against humanity during his tenure and is currently serving a 25-year sentence in prison.
This mentality among voters creates
Patricio Navia, political analyst and professor, New York University
what Navia calls a “rebound effect.”
He highlighted that choosing presidential candidates from a “lesser of evils” perspective doesn’t lay a foundation for stability in any nation.
Undermining Democratic Values
Aside from being an avowed Marxist-Leninist, Castillo’s first speech as president in July singularly addressed a handful of indigenous communities, leaving some Peruvians with the impression he had little interest in repre-
Protesters clash with the police,
demanding Chilean President Sebastián Piñera’s resignation over the government’s economic policies, in Santiago, Chile, on Oct. 29, 2019.
Chilean conservatives felt that
President Sebastián Piñera’s response to widespread protests in 2019 wasn’t effective, and liberals decried the use of excessive force by the police against unarmed demonstrators.
senting the nation as a whole.
This set the tone for what escalated into his impeachment.
ChileanpoliticalscienceprofessorChristopher Martinez says that, paradoxically, presidential failures occur when leaders are forcibly removed from office.
Navia echos this sentiment and believes impeachments and protests undermine the logic of basic democratic values, saying it’s merely a way to circumvent the polls.
“Democratic values and institutions must be respected,” Navia said.
A Common Denominator: Inequality
Peruvian political analyst Alberto Adrianzén said his nation is not only divided by politics, but also by segregation and inequality.
The 20th-century solution to this problem in Latin America was land distribution. Through this method, the economically disadvantaged had a chance to become part of the middle class.
Today, education reform appears to be the modern equivalent and was called a “socialequalizer”bytheNationalInstitute fortheEvaluationofEducationinMexico.
Inequality and instability in Latin American politics go hand in hand, much of which comes from ongoing trust issues between the civilian population and their governments, according to an Inter-American Development Bank study.
Martinez noted that since 1979, one in every six South American presidents has failed to complete their constitutional term.
A group of tourists in front of the Grand Theatre in Bordeaux, France, on Nov. 27. While the Omicron variant of the virus that causes COVID-19 may be more contagious, so far it has not been associated with greater illness or death.
NEW VARIANT
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT OMICRON
Warnings spread fear in spite of little information
By Nathan Worcester
It’s been just days since a new strain of COVID-19 made headlines across the planet.
While the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the new Omicron variant presents a “very high risk,” other scientists, including some with WHO, have stressed that we still have much to learn about the new CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus strain.
Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), told CNN’s “State of the Union” that Omicron is likely “more contagious” than its predecessors. He said there isn’t yet any information indicating it causes worse disease than earlier variants.
Following Omicron-related upheavals in the stock market on Black Friday, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs pushed back against widespread anxiety, arguing that existing treatments will likely keep the new variant in check.
In South Africa, where some of the earliest cases of Omicron have been identified and treated, Dr. Angelique Coetzee of the South African Medical Association told The Daily Telegraph that patients with Omicron have had relatively minor symptoms, albeit ones atypical of COVID-19. 44 CASES “It presents mild disease, with symptoms being sore muscles and tiredness for a day or two detected in not feeling well,” Co-
Europe have etzee said. “So far, all been mild or we have detected asymptomatic. that those infected do not suffer the loss of taste or smell. They might have a slight cough. There are no prominent symptoms. Of those infected, some are currently being treated at home.”
Origins, Spread, and Severity
TheearliestreportsofOmicroncamefrom southern Africa. On Nov. 25, a statement from Botswana’s COVID-19 Task Force announced that a new variant, B.1.1.529, had been detected in four travelers.
A statement on Nov. 26 from the country’s Ministry of Health and Wellness noted that the four individuals, who are foreign diplomats from an unnamed country, initially tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 11. Genomic sequencing later revealed that the travelers had the new variant.
That same day, the WHO announced
Travelers from South Africa are tested for COVID-19 upon arrival at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam on Nov. 30.
that B.1.1.259, or Omicron, was a variant of concern (VOC). The WHO cited the variant’s large number of mutations, adding that “preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs.”
In the days since, Omicron has been detectedacrosstheworld,reachingatleast24 countries as of Dec. 1, according to Forbes.
Recent analyses have suggested it was circulating long before early- to mid-November.
Notably, Nigerian scientists have identified the variant in a sample obtained in mid-October, from a traveler who had returned from South Africa.
While the variant may be contagious, so far it hasn’t been associated with greater illness or death.
All 44 cases detected in Europe were mild or asymptomatic, according to reporting from Bloomberg.
This has led some experts to criticize the media and governments across the world for stirring up fear over the variant.
Coetzee,oftheSouthAfricanMedicalAssociation, has led the charge against what she sees as the over-hyping of Omicron.
“Let me be clear: nothing I have seen about this new variant warrants the extreme action the UK government has taken in response to it,” she wrote in The Daily Mail.
“No one here in South Africa is known to have been [hospitalized] with the Omicron variant, nor is anyone here believed to have fallen seriously ill with it.”
Angelique Coetzee, chair, South African Medical Association
In a Nov. 29 Twitter thread, Dr. Nicholas Christakis of Yale University noted there had been “no reports, yet, of deaths” from Omicron. “We will see such deaths before long,” he said.
So far, even as the Omicron variant reportedly swept South Africa in November, COVID-19 deaths in the country have fallen from recent highs during the country’s winter in July and August.
On Dec. 1, however, WHO’s COVID-19 technical lead, Maria Van Kerkhove, noted an increase in hospitalizations in that country, according to CNBC. The country has simultaneously dealt with a small surge in the Delta variant, which may account for some of the increase in hospitalization.
If Omicron is both more contagious and less severe than earlier variants, its emergence could reflect the trade-off between transmission and virulence. According to this scientific hypothesis, pathogens evolve in the direction of spreading farther while also becoming less damaging to their hosts.
Some scientists think existing therapeutics will probably prove effective against Omicron.
“There’s reason to be optimistic current boosted vaccines will provide meaningful protection against #Omicron,” wrote Scott Gottlieb, a Pfizer director and former Trump official, on Twitter.
Collins, of the NIH, thinks scientists will be better able to comment on the efficacy of existing vaccines against Omicron after two to three more weeks of field and laboratory testing.
Little Knowledge, Big Government Action
Our understanding of Omicron will improve as we learn more about it.
Thankfully, that knowledge could come sooner rather than later—WHO’s Van Kerkhove has said her agency expects to know more about the new variant in days rather than weeks as initially projected, according to Reuters.
Yet despite our limited information on the new variant, as well as early indications that it may not be very severe, the United States and other governments have already reacted strongly, banning travel from southern Africa.
The WHO and other experts have criticized such restrictions, as has the U.S. Travel Association.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser, told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Nov. 28 that it was “too early to say” whether new lockdowns or mandates would be implemented in response to Omicron in the United States.
“We just really need to, as I’ve said so often, prepare for the worst,” Fauci said in that interview.
More and more experts have voiced concerns about the use of lockdowns and similarly sweeping measures. Economist Donald Boudreaux told Insight that such shutdownshave“massive,gigantic,maybe even unprecedented” effects.
Writing in The Daily Wire, Dr. Scott Atlas, a coronavirus adviser under President Donald Trump, said that even if COVID-19 deaths stop rising quickly alongside cases during recurring spikes, “it is unlikely the recurring hysteria and mismanagement by those in power will end so quickly.”
Perspectives
The U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 26.
SAMUEL CORUM/GETTY IMAGES
Foreign Malign Influence in Congress
A group of House Republicans is pushing for transparency about foreign revenues, especially from adversaries of the United States, in the American political system. 45 ✒
