In the spotlight: protest movement against the policies of the President of Ecuador

Police face protesters in Quito on October 26, 2021, who took to the streets to protest economic measures put in place by the government.

© AFP / CRISTINA VEGA RHOR

Text by: Stefanie Schüler Follow

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A few thousand people marched on Tuesday, October 26 in Quito, and roadblocks were erected in several provinces of Ecuador at the call of indigenous organizations to denounce the economic policy of the government of President Guillermo Lasso. In the capital, the demonstration organized by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), trade unionists and students brought together 1,500 people.

El Comercio

flies to the aid of the Head of State. The newspaper accuses the opposition of wanting to polarize the country with arguments as ignorant as they are irresponsible. For the editorialist, the opposition has only one objective: to return to power, and not the good of the country. The newspaper

El Universo

claims from the demonstrators that they think of the holidays of All Saints. For the feast of the dead, Ecuadorians go to see their families and visit cemeteries. “ 

In the midst of the economic crisis, this internal tourism is welcome. The protesters should postpone their mobilization or at least not prevent the journey of their fellow citizens with roads blocked by barricades,

 ”writes

El Universo

.

La Hora

instead believes that “ 

when minority demands are ignored or overshadowed by the myriad of tasks that saturate the president's agenda, speaking out

- without violence

- may be the only way to get fair attention.

A healthy democracy is never silent, but always noisy,

 ”the newspaper concludes.

Brazil

: parliamentary commission of inquiry approves damning report on Bolsonaro's responsibility in the Covid-19 pandemic

In Brazil, the Senate commission of inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic approved its damning report: 1,200 pages that hold Jair Bolsonaro personally responsible for the more than 600,000 deaths from the virus. The commission recommends the indictment of the Brazilian president for nine crimes, including “ 

crimes against humanity

 ”, explains the daily

O Globo

. But the Brazilian press is under no illusions. " 

It is now up to justice to make Jair Bolsonaro pay for his crimes which claimed the lives of so many Brazilians,

 " writes

La Folha

. Only here is: " 

the Attorney General is close to the president

 ".

Haiti sinks into crisis, Washington sends special forces to free American hostages

In Haiti, we still have no news of the 17 hostages, including 16 Americans and a Canadian, kidnapped 13 days ago by the armed gang 400 Mawozo.

The White House announced the sending of a " 

significant number of American special forces in Haiti to release them

 ", reports the

Miami Herald

.

The announcement was made yesterday by the National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, who specifies that these agents will work hand in hand with the Haitian authorities.

In the meantime, the mobilization to protest against insecurity and the shortage of fuel is now entering its third consecutive day. According to the publications on Twitter this Wednesday morning, the streets of Port-au-Prince and the main provincial towns remain deserted. Armed gangs are blocking access to oil terminals, recalls the

Alterpresse

agency

. The generators that produce the bulk of the country's electricity are dry. Hospitals must reduce their services, shops and schools are closed, the media forced to limit their distribution and the main mobile telephone company, Digicel, is also affected: of its 1,500 relay points, more than 400 are no longer operational . Hundreds of thousands of users are affected.

Canada

: Trudeau unveils his new government

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled his new government on Tuesday.

One of the highly commented appointments was that of Steven Guilbeault.

This former environmental activist becomes Minister of the Environment.

The Prime Minister wants to show that the challenge of climate change is at the top of his political agenda

 ," analyzes

The Star

.

However, the daily remains dubious: " 

on his old post at the Ministry of Heritage, Steven Guilbeault did not shine at all,

 " recalls the daily.

Of the 38 ministers in the Trudeau government, only nine are newcomers. " 

We take the same and start again

 ," quips the

Toronto Sun

. For the editorial

writer

of

Le Devoir

, Justin Trudeau “ 

has placed his women and men of confidence in key positions. The Prime Minister

 ”, estimates the Quebec newspaper,“ 

acts as if he had nothing more to lose

 ”. The daily

La Presse

, on the contrary, welcomes the promotion of several women to key positions: in Foreign Affairs, Defense and Finance. " 

An undeniable sign that women are now pulling the strings of power in Ottawa

 ", rejoices the columnist.

US

: expert panel recommends vaccination against Covid-19 for children ages 5 to 11

years

"The only 

thing missing is the final agreement from the Center for Disease Prevention and America will finally be ready to launch the vaccination campaign in children,

 " announces the

Wall Street Journal

.

The daily specifies that the Pfizer vaccine, administered to the little ones, will be less dosed than that intended for adults but 90% effective.

“ 

Extending vaccinations to younger people will obviously protect society as a whole,

 ” writes the

Washington Post

. “ 

Children transmit the virus at school and at home. Vaccinating millions of children will therefore help reduce the overall impact of the pandemic. But the main reason for authorizing vaccines for young children is not altruistic in nature with the goal of protecting vulnerable people

; it is to protect the children themselves

 ", estimates the columnist who continues:" 

since the start of the pandemic, the Covid-19 has been diagnosed in at least 1.8

million American children between 5 and 11

years old . Over

8,600

children were hospitalized, a third of them in intensive care, and tragically 143

young children died. The decision to vaccinate this age group puts an end to false claims that the coronavirus does not affect young children. And it was about time,

 ”says the

Washington Post

.

Yet many parents in the United States are still hesitant to have their children vaccinated. While in Mexico, on the contrary, more and more parents are demanding in court the right to obtain vaccines for their children, many of whom suffer from chronic diseases. A court has ordered the Mexican government to open up Covid vaccines to young children. But President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador argues that doubts persist about the long-term side effects of these vaccines in children, reports The

New York Times

. Many Mexican doctors criticize their government for using this pretext to hide the fact that there are not enough doses. Only 47% of the Mexican population is now vaccinated.

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  • Newspaper

  • Ecuador

  • Guillermo Lasso

  • Brazil

  • Jair Bolsonaro

  • Coronavirus

  • Haiti

  • Canada

  • Justin trudeau

  • United States

  • Mexico

  • Vaccines