Press review of the Americas

Headlines: Trump's candidacy canceled in Maine

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a caucus rally on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in Coralville, Iowa, U.S. AP - Charlie Neibergall

By: Amélie Beaucour

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After Colorado, Maine has just announced that Donald Trump will not appear on the ballot in its state during the 2024 presidential election. Secretary of State Shenna Bellows invoked the same 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which states that a political insurgent could not run for president, referring to Trump's role in storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

In this small state in the far northeast of the country, there were many reactions in the local press, including violent remarks from the Republican camp in the Boston Globe. Congressman Billy Bob Faulkingham compared Bellows' decision "to the dictatorial practices of the Third World" and recalled that everyone has the right to choose their president according to their conscience and that partisan maneuvering is not welcome.

Another Republican congressman from Maine, Jared Golden, is more measured: "I voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump, I don't think he should be re-elected president of the United States," he says. " On the other hand, we are a state governed by the rule of law and as long as he has not been found guilty, he must be given the opportunity to apply."

Read alsoPresidential election in the United States: after Colorado, Donald Trump deemed ineligible in Maine

Escalation of tensions in the Essequibo

In Venezuela, tensions around the Essequibo border region have escalated. As a British naval ship is set to arrive in Guyanese waters on Friday 29 December, Nicolas Maduro has responded to what he considers a "threat" by sending 5,600 troops to the border with Guyana.

On Thursday 28 December, during a televised address dedicated to the 2023 results of his army, the head of state had very violent words towards the United Kingdom, and took the opportunity to launch the "Domingo Antonio Sifontes 2023" operation. A name that was not chosen at random, according to the newspaper El Universal, since it is the name of a high-ranking Venezuelan officer who had taken over a border post in the Essequibo region from the British in 1895. Resentments between these two countries are indeed very old.

The latest agreement, however, seemed to defuse these tensions, according to Correo Orinoco. Signed in Argyle, a city in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on 14 December, it marked the commitment of Venezuela and Guyana to peacefully resolve their territorial dispute. But the announcement of the arrival of the English ship had the effect of a bombshell in Venezuela.

For their part, the Guyanese are trying to appease their neighbor: "We have no plans to attack Venezuela," the vice president reassured. The Guyana Chronicle in turn recalls that the British ship's objective is above all to fight drug traffickers in the Caribbean. But it is also a question of showing diplomatic support for Guyana, with which the Crown has a historical link: it is the only Latin American country to be a member of the Commonwealth. Another objective is to fight against illegal fishing, which is wreaking havoc since, as the daily reminds us, it costs 26 million tons of fish in Guyana each year, or 23 billion dollars (approximately 21 billion euros).

Read alsoEssequibo: Venezuela sends soldiers to the border, Guyana says it has "no plan" for an attack

Lula's vetoes on the 'poison bill'

Lula on Thursday (December 28th) vetoed a bill that would expand the use of pesticides. He rejected 14 of the bill, which environmental activists have dubbed the "poison bill." The newspaper Folha informs us that this text has been in the pipeline of the Brazilian Congress since 1999. Swept under the carpet several times, it was quietly put back on the agenda during the government transition between Jair Bolsonaro and Lula at the end of last year. Its primary objective is to relax the rules for the registration of new plant protection products, a project that is particularly close to the heart of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Today, it takes the approval of three different authorities before a pesticide can be used. The Ministry of Agriculture wants to be solely responsible for the validation stamp, which would allow it to speed up the procedures. According to him, Brazil's long delays are causing it to lag far behind other agricultural powers, which have more flexible regulations. However, as environmental associations and other members of the government point out, the Ministry of Agriculture does not have sufficiently advanced techniques to analyse all the risks associated with new products. This new text also makes it optional for companies to include warnings on the reuse of the container on bottles, a provision also rejected by President Lula.

Several environmental associations are expressing their dissatisfaction. Already, Lula's vetoes will have to be approved by Congress, and could simply be overturned, as has been the case in the past. Secondly, they criticise the President for having only applied partial vetoes, i.e. only on certain points of the text and not the most important ones. Greenpeace Brazil has already announced that they will appeal, as this law violates the right to life, to health, and regresses the law – which is forbidden by the Brazilian constitution – by reauthorizing products that cause cancer, genetic mutations or fetal malformations.

End of the strike in Canada

The month-long strike by teachers and health workers ended on Thursday (December 28th) after an agreement was reached with the government. The daily La Presse is worried because the details of this agreement are not yet known. The union has reached an agreement in principle, which will have to be ratified in the general assemblies after the holidays. Several teachers have asked to be able to consult the agreement in advance, but this is out of the question, the federation replied.

The Globe and Mail, for its part, gives the floor to parents of students who are not as relieved as one might think: "My main concern," says one of them, "is that teachers and workers in general are paid properly. If the strike were to continue, I would have no problem with it."

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Read on the same topics:

• Press review
• Press review of the Americas
• United States
• Venezuela
• Donald Trump
• Guyana
• Brazil
• Environment
• Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
• Canada