Americas press review
In the spotlight: review of a landmark measure to cancel part of the US student debt
Campus of the University of San Jose, California © CC0 Pixabay/David Mark
Text by: Eliott Brachet Follow
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It was a campaign promise from Democratic candidate Joe Biden: to erase up to $20,000 in sums borrowed by American students.
In the United States, more than 43 million of them are heavily indebted to finance their university course,
recalls the
New York Times
.
The problem is that several conservative states have asked the Supreme Court to block this reform,
explains
the Los Angeles Times
.
The reform would cost the US state up to $400 billion over 30 years.
The daily The Hill publishes a report
on the mobilization of dozens of students gathered on Monday evening in front of the Supreme Court building, while the nine wise men of the highest judicial body in the country, in majority won over to the Republicans, were preparing to examine this highly political issue.
These young students, facing the cold and the rain, in their survival blankets, were determined to put pressure on this audition.
"
This reform is the most important for our generation
," says Kayla, who went into debt over $20,000 to study political science.
“
Education is paramount for social and racial justice, but it still remains locked in an ivory tower
“, delivers another defender of the reform interviewed by
The Hill
.
Quoted in the Boston Globe
, President Joe Biden said he was "
confident
", the reform "
will continue its course
", he hopes.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule by next summer.
“New sheriff” in Florida against Disney
In the United States, the press is also returning to the aftermath of the bickering between Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, and the Disney amusement parks.
"
There's a new sheriff in town
," said Ron DeSantis,
as quoted by the
Miami Herald
.
The Florida daily
deciphers the governor's decision to remove the special status enjoyed by Disney theme parks in his state.
“
Today, the lucrative business of the enchanted kingdom is finally coming to an end
,” continued Ron DeSantis, during what seems to be the last episode of his crusade against Disney, which he accuses of indoctrinating children on the LGBT+ issues.
The
Politico
newspaper recalls
that the ex-boss of Disney, had spoken out publicly against a law, promoted by DeSantis aiming to banish from teaching in primary school all subjects relating to gender and sexual orientation.
This position had angered the conservative, champion of the hard right who could be one of the possible Republican contenders for the race for the White House.
The American press also returns to this White House decision which orders American federal agencies to ban the TikTok application from their devices within 30 days.
The United States is following in the footsteps of the European Commission, which made a similar decision for its employees a few days earlier.
The ban also comes a day after the Canadian government decided to ban TikTok from mobile devices provided to its staff.
The National Post
headlines about the “
unacceptable level of risk to the privacy and security of the country
”.
According to the daily, the data collection methods of the TikTok application, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, could make systems vulnerable to cyberattacks.
The newspaper
The Globe and Mail
recalls
that this decision comes as China is accused of interference in the re-election of Justin Trudeau in 2021, and potentially as early as 2019, according to revelations by journalists from the daily.
Sovereignty declarations and immigration
Before the deputies of the National Assembly in Santo Domingo, the Dominican President, Luis Abinader, proposed a great national agreement to adopt "
effective state policies
" in the face of the crisis in Haiti.
He has made himself the cantor "
of the defense and protection of national sovereignty
",
reports the newspaper
Listin Diario
.
"The problems of Haiti must be solved in Haiti
", he declared in particular.
Luis Abinader has made the construction of the fence on the Haitian border one of his priorities: 54 kilometers have already been erected in 2022 in densely populated areas and the works should be finished next May according to Listin
Diario
.
In 2022, 171,000 Haitians were sent home, boasted Luis Abinader, double the previous year,
recalls the daily
El Caribe
.
For its part,
El Diario
Libre
, gives voice to the opposition
, which denounces the comments and electoral positions of Luis Abinader who would like to run for a second term in the elections scheduled for 2024.
Migration issues have also made headlines in the Chilean press.
Santiago sends soldiers to its northern border to fight illegal immigration.
“
Chile is militarizing its border”
with Peru and Bolivia,
headlines the
Pagina12
newspaper .
The army will not be allowed to use its weapons, but the military will be able to carry out identity checks and make arrests during this operation which is supposed to last 90 days.
Radio Universo gave the floor to a mayor from the north of the country
, Javier Garcia, judging this measure to be "
derisory
" when "
nearly 400 people cross every day
" the border at more than 3,700 meters above sea level.
In the regions of Arica, Parinacota or Tarapaca, these are mainly families from Venezuela, Haitians, Colombians or Peruvians, explains
Pagina12
.
The
Emol newspaper
gave the floor to the Minister of the Interior, Carolina Toha, who went to the field.
"
50 years after the coup d'etat
[of General Pinochet, editor's note]
, we have a left-wing government in La Moneda
[the presidential palace, editor's note]
and I believe that it is our duty to all of us to show that the relationship between Chilean society and its armed forces are now based on a constitutional mandate and on laws approved by a democratically elected parliament
,” she said.
In Colombia, a first reshuffle for Petro
"
First crisis
" or "
first reshuffle
": the Colombian press, very polarized, returns to the speech of Colombian President Gustavo Petro who announced Monday to dismiss three ministers.
The latter, starting with the Minister of Education, Alejandro Gaviria, formerly in Health under ex-President Juan Manuel Santos, had criticized internally the reform of health, pensions and social security proposed by the government,
details the
Semana
newspaper .
These ministers represent the right wing, or liberal, of the government formed by Gustavo Petro,
explains
La Silla Vacia
, which sees in it a "
miscalculation
" on the part of Petro, driven by "
his paranoia and his impulsiveness
".
“
Health is a right and not a business.
The private sector is welcome, but cannot prevent or limit this right
”, for his part insisted the Colombian president,
quoted by the center-left newspaper
El Espectador
.
“
The objective is simple, even if the how and the means of achieving it are complex: we simply seek that any patient can be taken care of
“, Continued the ex-guerrilla, who became president in August 2022, defending body and soul his reform.
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