>>1932229 (Thread begins here)

Colombia

https:// www.yahoo.com/news/colombia-resume-aerial-spraying-destroy-coca-crop-204843897.html

Water Crisis in Venezuela

http:// www.foxnews.com/world/2018/06/26/venezuelas-wealthy-beat-water-crisis-drilling-private-wells.amp.html

Meanwhile in Mexico.

Mexico's Coming Presidential Shakeup

Less than a week before Mexico’s elections, there is little doubt who will be the next president.

by Ana Quintana

Less than a week before Mexico’s elections, there is little doubt who will be the next president. Barring any major development, leftist populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) is projected to win by a wide margin of 52 percent. In second place with 26 percent is Ricardo Anaya, representing a coalition of the center-leaning National Action Party (PAN) and leftist Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). Trailing in third is the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) candidate Antonio Meade, with only 19 percent.

This is not AMLO’s first time running for the presidency. Back in 2012, he lost to current president, Enrique Peña Nieto (EPN), by 7 points, and in 2006 by less than 1 percent, leading his followers to believe the election was stolen. At over 50 percent of the expected vote, there is little holding him back from moving into Los Pinos.

AMLO’s own statements have raised concerns about the future of Mexico under the populist leader. His aggressive stance against the free market have worried investors, who are delaying commitments. Likewise, his proposal to grant amnesty to drug traffickers raises concerns about U.S.-Mexico cooperation on countering crime and drugs.

His plan to combat corruption, a central tenet of his campaign, has yet to be announced even days before the election. He has a particular hostility towards the energy sector, and his vow to review all existing energy contracts is interpreted as a threat to the industry.

Yet AMLO’s popularity is soaring among the majority of Mexicans, who are tired of the two-ruling party’s inability to stem corruption, poverty and violence.

1/2

>>1944019

For seventy-one years, the PRI dominated Mexican politics and maintained power through patronage networks in both the public and private sector. The transition to the PAN in 2000 did little to correct the imbalances. Politicians maintained power sharing agreements with organized criminal groups, allowing both to flourish.

Related

It's Time to Fix the Top Problem Plaguing Mexico

Did Sessions Really Commit Perjury?

The GOP Is Dead. The GOP Rises Again.

These practices remain common and embolden criminality. Fourteen current or former governors are under investigation for corruption, including one who embezzled $2 billion in public funds. In a country where nearly half of the 122 million people live in poverty---with 7.6 percent living in extreme poverty—the optics are unfortunate.

2017 was the most violent year in Mexico’s history, with 29,000 homicide victims, equal to 20 victims per 100,000 people. In the crime-ridden states of Colima and Guerrero, the numbers are far higher . Colima registers 93.6 homicides for every 100,000 people and 64.26 in Guerrero. In comparison, the U.S. homicide rate is 5 per every 100,000 citizens. The U.S. State Department advises U.S. citizens against travel to these states as “armed groups operate independently of the government in many areas of Guerrero.”

Despite numerous media reports, President Donald Trump and the U.S.-Mexico relationship is not a feature of these elections. Mexico’s election is solely driven by domestic factors. In some ways, there are parallels between AMLO’s rise and Trump’s election. While they are ideologically different, AMLO’s policies (much like Trump’s) resonate with a majority of voters who have been overlooked by the economic and political elite.

Mexicans see their government as caring more about their international image than serving their own people. While EPN promoted human rights and gender equality at international forums, domestic levels of violence continued surging. In September 2014, forty-three students were abducted and their remains buried by a criminal group working for a corrupt mayor. That case remains unsolved nearly four years later. In total, more than 30,000 Mexicans remain missing, and 100,000 were killed in the ongoing war against drugs.

In respect to the U.S.-Mexico relationship, while there is little indication that AMLO will be hostile to U.S. interests, we should expect bilateral cooperation to change. AMLO is a nationalist and focused on addressing domestic problems. The U.S. should anticipate a reduction in cooperation on regional challenges that don’t directly concern Mexico. We should expect Mexico to draw down their leadership on the Venezuela crisis, as AMLO’s foreign minister in waiting told me in a meeting.

U.S.-Mexico cooperation on immigration and addressing Central America’s challenges could potentially evolve as well. Considering bilateral cooperation on countering crime and drugs is in the Mexican interest, it should remain steady. AMLO’s perception on immigration could become a challenge for the Trump administration. If a new NAFTA deal is reached before he takes office in December, he has vowed to renegotiate it.

The stakes are high for whoever is elected on the first of July. Mexico’s spiraling violence and corruption have made the country unlivable for many. Regardless of who is elected, few things are more important for the U.S. and Mexico than maintaining strong ties.

Ana Quintana is a senior policy analyst in The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies specializing in Latin American issues.

2/2

http:// nationalinterest.org/feature/mexicos-coming-presidential-shakeup-26414

Another One Bites the Dust

2 more bishops in Chile resign over sex abuse scandal as Pope Francis cleans house

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

JUN 28, 2018 | 7:25 AM

| VATICAN CITY

2 more bishops in Chile resign over sex abuse scandal as Pope Francis cleans house

Catholics worship at the San Mateo cathedral in Osorno, Chile, on June 17, 2018. (Fernando Lavoz / Associated Press)

Pope Francis on Thursday accepted the resignations of two more Chilean bishops, the latest fallout from a sex abuse scandal whose scope and gravity were initially underestimated by the pontiff.

Last month, all 31 of Chile's active bishops offered to quit for collectively failing to protect children from pedophile priests.

The Vatican announced that Francis allowed Bishop Alejandro Goic Karmelic of Rancagua and Bishop Horacio del Carmen Valenzuela Abarca of Talca to resign, bringing to five the total number of resignations accepted so far.

In the Rancagua diocese, 14 priests have been accused of having had sex with minors. Goic had served as head of the Chilean church's child protection commission.

Francis had already accepted the resignation of Bishop Juan Barros of Osorno, once a top aide to Chile's most notorious predator priest. Originally Francis had been a staunch defender of Barros, dismissing objections from many of Chile's faithful, including some church officials, who said the bishop was unfit for the office because he ignored abuse by the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

The Vatican in 2011 had sentenced Karadima to a life of penance and prayer for his sex crimes. Karadima had been a charismatic preacher with connections to some of Chile's elite. Barros denied assertions from victims that he had witnessed abuse by Karadima.

Barros twice offered to resign his post, but Francis steadfastly defended him. Then the pontiff radically changed his view after he invited to the Vatican abuse survivors, including one who had lobbied the Vatican for years to take action.

Two Vatican investigators, a Maltese archbishop and a Spanish priest, have reported their extensive findings to the pontiff. Their report exposed a scandal implicating several religious orders as well as evidence that the Chilean church hierarchy systematically covered up or minimized abuse, including pressuring church investigators to discredit those making abuse accusations.

Scandals revealing systematic abuse and cover-ups have stained the Catholic church in other countries as well, including the United States and Ireland. As more cases have been exposed during his papacy, Francis has come to denounce what he calls a "culture of abuse and cover-up" in the Catholic church.

Criminal probes have been launched in several countries in addition to the church's own housecleaning.

In Chile, prosecutors have launched raids on church offices, including in the diocese of Rancagua.

http:// www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-chile-bishops-pope-francis-20180628-story.html?outputType=amp

Practically. Only exist Two politic ways. Liberal or Commie in Latin America

Mexico’s presidential election: Investors need to know these key factors

Published: June 30, 2018 5:44 p.m. ET

Amlo stands to win, tilting Mexico both to the left and the unknown

Getty Images

Election Day is Sunday.

By

ANNEKEN

TAPPE

Sunday’s presidential election will give Mexico a new leader, and with unorthodox candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador leading in the polls, market participants are preparing for what his administration could mean for Mexican assets and already tense relations with the U.S.

“It would be a huge surprise if there was an upset and AMLO didn’t win," said Graham Stock, emerging-market sovereign strategist at BlueBay Asset Management, calling the candidate by his acronymic nickname, and expecting calm trading in the Mexican peso USDMXN, +1.0432% come Monday. The peso is a popular emerging market currency play, thanks to the Bank of Mexico’s high overnight interest rate of 7.75%.

Others are less optimistic, arguing that even if there’s little suspense around the outcome of the election, uncertainties surrounding the next government remain.

“I do think that the peso will sell off some on Monday,” said Christian Lawrence, senior FX strategist at Rabobank. “It might not go to 21.50 right away, but that level is in reach.” The dollar last bought 19.6694 pesos, down 0.3% on Friday. Since the start of the year, the peso is little changed but in negative territory, according to FactSet, while the iShares MSCI Mexico ETF EWW, +0.47% was down 5.5%. The Mexican 10-year government bond LMBMKMX-10Y, -0.54% last yielded 7.566%, close to a two-month-low on Friday. Yields and prices move in opposition to each other.

Check out: Here’s what currency traders should remember when dealing with geopolitical risk

Lopez Abrador, who has twice run for president and is the former mayor of Mexico City. This time, he’s running at the head of a party he founded. In many ways, he is seen as Mexico’s answer to the populist wave emerging around the world, albeit from a starkly left-leaning perspective. “Mexico hasn’t turned to the left since the 1980s,” Stock told MarketWatch. Now investors are worried what that could mean for Mexican assets, given that the country is a huge beneficiary of foreign direct investment.

Mexico, Canada and the U.S. have been in renegotiation talks regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement since August 2017, seemingly with no end in sight

Some believe that Lopez Obrador will be more practical as a leader than he is given credit for: “He ran a pretty orthodox Mexico City government during his time,” Stock said. “The danger is that Amlo is less predictable with issues like Nafta, although he said he would continue the line of negotiation that Mexico has gone down.”

“I find it hard to believe that he’ll just be moderate,” Lawrence said, who also said federal transfers shored up Mexico City’s finances during Lopez Obrador’s tenure.

“Unfortunately, Amlo appears set to reverse some of Mexico’s recent economic reforms, potentially setting back the country’s economy,” said Eric Lascelles, chief economist at RBC Global Asset Management.

If victorious, it will come down to what Lopez Obrador says in his would-be acceptance speech and then, during first few days in office, he wouldn’t assume until December, market participants said. He would likely get penalized by the markets if he started his term off with too aggressive a stance, Stock said.

Local Mexican businesses have already been big dollar DXY, -0.89% buyers in the lead up to the election, Stock added, to protect themselves against such a slump in the peso.

Don’t miss: The dollar won’t win the ‘triple crown’ in 2018, Pimco says

“Mexican corporates have been hedging out their positions, while foreign investors haven’t done that. That might mean that foreigners have a more sanguine view of a left-leaning government, or that they view the peso as cheap either way,” he said.

During the next president’s term, four out of five seats on Mexico’s central bank’s board of governors will come up for reappointment. This will play out over the next six years, with the first in 2019, Lawrence said.

“If Amlo goes the friends and family route with his appointments, investors might start worrying about Banxico’s independence,” he said of the central bank. “While this is no immediate concern, Mexico’s big share of foreign investors could be spooked by an inner circle appointment.”

https:// www.marketwatch.com/story/investors-need-to-know-these-key-factors-about-mexicos-presidential-election-2018-06-27?siteid=bigcharts&dist=bigcharts

>>1959231

ISIS is already in Latin America….particularly in the area around Iguazu…boarder between brazil, argentina, and paraguay…very large contingent there…

>>1976898

Preparing the Chaos are doing..