NORTH AMERICA

Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), recently announced his bid for another 5-year term at the helm of the world’s oldest and most influential regional organization. His re-election would be a major setback for good governance in the region. Hemisphere’s chief regional organization has been hobbled by pro-Trump leadership.

There’s no doubt that after the blue skies and sunshine of December 1st, there are already clouds on the horizon. But the role of an engaged citizen cannot be to simply cross your arms and watch the storm roll in while saying “I told you so”. Giving President López Obrador the benefit of the doubt is to replicate the old styles of rulers who demanded unconditional support for their actions and cloaked themselves in authoritarian power and self-praise. Seeing treachery before it happens ignores the need for facts-based judgement and closes doors.

The US Senate committee held a hearing to decide whether it would pass on the nomination of judge Brett Kavanaugh to a vote on the Senate floor. Millions of Americans saw one of the most shameful moments in modern US history. The showdown between the privileged white man groomed for power and a sexual abuse victim struggling to be believed were a prime example of that part of Trumpian American society that is not only post-truth, but also post-moral.

After a major defeat in the first round, the Brazilian Workers’ Party and progressives are pinning their waning hopes on a second-round miracle for candidate Fernando Haddad.

Mexico will soon have a new president. As millions of Mexicans prepare for what they hope will be a new era, a large part of the ruling class—on both sides of the border—is nervously trying to figure out a way to avoid or co-opt the results of the popular vote.

“Doors were starting to open, some that had been closed for more than 60 years. Until Donald Trump arrived.¨ How are the Cuba-US. Relations after governments changes?

The era of Trump marks a change that replaces the construction of hemispheric agendas with mere demands that other nations back up the U.S. government in its war policies, and an attitude of intolerance and aggression toward political situations that prevail in other countries of the region that contributes nothing to resolving them.