Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

Archives for November 2017

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Bolivia ends all term limits

Evo’s now president-for-life:

A ruling by Bolivia’s Constitutional Court allowing President Evo Morales to stand for a fourth consecutive term in office in 2019 has been described as a “blow to democracy” by his opponents.

The court lifted constitutional limits on re-election arguing that they violated candidates’ human rights.

The BBC lists,

Changes to presidents’ term limits:

  • 1967 constitution: States that presidents can serve a maximum of two terms in office, but not back to back
  • 2009 constitution: Lifts ban on serving consecutive terms, but presidents are still limited to two terms
  • 2016 referendum (rejected by voters): Proposed dropping term limits
  • 2017 constitutional court ruling: Scraps term limits

Since the court ruling applies not only to the president but to all elected officials, Evo’s cronies get to stay on, too.

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Gutierrez, the guy who compared a terrorist to George Washington, won’t seek reelection

Democratic Congressman Luis Gutiérrez Won’t Seek Re-Election

Earlier this month, Gutiérrez joined a group of House Democrats in introducing articles of impeachment against Trump, albeit with little hope of passing, given Republicans’ control of the House.

Gutiérrez is a long-time leftie supporter of convicted terrorist Oscar López Rivera, his “comrade and brother,” who he compared to George Washington:

CONGRESSMAN LUIS GUTIERREZ (D-IL): Like all the great leaders and heroes of the struggle for the fatherland and for their nation. That is where he will be placed. Look, if this were the war for the independence of the United States, of the 13 colonies, Oscar Lopez-Rivera, in the London newspapers, they would have said the same of him that they said of George Washington. Look, the struggle for independence is a struggle that every people has the right to and a responsbility, as Oscar has said, to do.
. . .
Gutiérrez goes on to say that “One day, soon, I hope to be here, in my homeland, fighting (for Puerto Rico’s independence) alongside my brother and leader Oscar López Rivera“.

There are rumors that Gutiérrez may run for governor of Puerto Rico, but you can safely assume that, whether he runs or not, he’ll keep his congressional pension.

UPDATE
Trending at BadBlue.

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MS-13 behead man in Maryland “sanctuary county”

Last September police found in Wheaton Regional Park the body of a man murdered in early Spring. It turns out that Members of an El Salvadorian street gang stabbed a man 100 times, beheaded him and cut out his heart in a park near Washington DC, police say.

Up to 10 members of MS-13 communicated on walkie talkies as they closed in on their victim at a recreational area in Wheaton, Maryland, say officials.

The victim’s “heart had been excised from his chest and thrown into the grave”, according to court records.

US President Donald Trump has vowed to wipe out MS-13.

One of the suspects, 19-year-old Miguel Angel Lopez-Abrego, appeared in court on Wednesday, according to Montgomery Community Media.

He has been charged with first-degree murder and remanded in custody.

He was arrested in North Carolina on 11 November and extradited to Montgomery County, Maryland.

According to the Washington Post, the victim was murdered in early spring, but police only became aware of the killing after a tip-off.

The body was discovered in Wheaton Regional Park on 5 September.

The victim had been buried in a woodland grave prepared before his murder, officials said.

19yr old López-Abrego “is noted as being the first individual to thrust a knife into the chest of the decedent,”

Lopez-Abrego is a citizen of El Salvador, is in the United States illegally and is currently in immigration proceedings, officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Wednesday.

The WaPo reports that this is not an isolated case,

The brutal slaying at the Wheaton park is part of a resurgence of killings in the Washington region that police and prosecutors attribute to MS-13.

In one case, assailants armed with knives lured a 34-year-old to his already-dug grave. A 22-year-old also was taken to a wooded area and ordered to his knees before he was shot in the face. And in another case, an 18-year-old was ambushed near a stream, stabbed and stoned before he died under a bridge of the Capital Beltway.

The Daily Wire points out

The horrific murder took place inside Montgomery County, Maryland, which is a hotbed for MS-13 gang members because it is a sanctuary county — meaning the county does not comply with federal immigration authorities to remove illegal aliens.

Also at the Daily Wire (emphasis added),

In May, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said that a whistleblower came forward and provided documents that proved that the Obama administration knowingly admitted teen MS-13 gang members into the United States and sent them to communities throughout the U.S.

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Puerto Rico doesn’t want reform

Puerto Rico is set to become the world’s worst economy next year (emphasis added)

the island’s economy will shrink by about 8% in 2018, according to a November forecast by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Puerto Rico’s economic mismanagement has been a roadmap for disaster for decades: A welfare state with huge numbers of government sinecures, while neglecting infrastructure.

What could go wrong, has. Two months later: Puerto Rico doesn’t have power, education or economy running again

But Puerto Rico Doesn’t Want Reform.  The governor refuses to implement furloughs and pension cuts mandated by the Promesa (Puerto Rico Oversight Management and Economic Stability Act)  board while asking for $94 billion in aid from Washington for reconstruction costs.

Rather than settle with bondholders and pay (some) of the debt earlier this year,

More unthinkable was ruining the “flat broke” image the commonwealth has been cultivating so it can write down debt and skip the matching requirements necessary to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. It’s also more convenient to tap taxpayers than to borrow money from private entities asking for accountability. This is particularly true for a state-owned monopoly like Prepa, which is as much a political instrument as it is an electricity company.

When critics complained last year that Promesa would alleviate the pressure on island politicians to reform the welfare state, their concerns were pooh-poohed. Congress said Promesa’s “financial management and oversight board” would impose the discipline necessary for reform. Negotiated settlements with bondholders were to be given priority and existing restructuring agreements—like the one between Prepa and its creditors—were to be preserved.

None of this happened.

In a “forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown” move last week, governor Ricardo Roselló announced last week that the bankrupt commonwealth would pay Christmas bonuses to its employees.

Cross-posted at WoW! Magazine.

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Sunday palate cleanser: The Creation

From the church of Jesuits in Lucerne, Switzerland (1992)
Scottish Chamber Orchestra
Peter Schreier – conductor
Soloists:
Edith Mathis – soprano
Christoph Prégardien – tenor
René Pape – bass

Joseph Haydn – The Creation (Die Schöpfung, Hob. XXI: 2)
Oratorio for three solo voices, chorus and orchestra in three parts



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Thankfulness

The Founding Fathers chose their words very carefully.

Read my post, Thankfulness.



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