Noboa advocates foreign military bases

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has promised to make changes to the country’s constitution to allow foreign military bases to be established in the country. The Ecuadorian constitution has prohibited the presence of foreign military bases or installations for military purposes on Ecuadorian territory since 2008, according to a report Reuters.

“In a transnational conflict, we need a national and international response,” Noboa said in a video recorded at a formerly U.S.-run military base in Manta. In January, amid a surge in criminal violence, Noboa said Ecuador was waging an internal war against drug gangs.

Noboa is running for re-election in February (he won a shortened term last year after snap elections) and yesterday’s announcement is seen as an attempt to be seen as a forceful and active leader despite Ecuador’s ongoing gang violence, the BBC.

Noboa has filed the proposed constitutional amendment with the Constitutional Court, which must approve the amendment before the National Assembly can vote on it, reports Information.

More Ecuador

• The Ecuadorian government has announced a series of eight-hour power cuts each night, citing severe drought as the reason. This has caused water levels to drop, affecting hydroelectric power plants.Reuters)

Venezuela

• A fact-finding mission to Venezuela, commissioned by the UN-backed Human Rights Council, has reported an unprecedented wave of repression in Venezuela following disputed presidential elections in July. The authorities’ response has plunged the country into one of the most “acute human rights crises in recent history,” the report, published yesterday, warned. (Al Jazeera, Associated Press)

• Press watchdog groups describe an unprecedented government crackdown on Venezuelan media, the Committee for the Protection of Journalists.

• Maduro has maintained his grip on power — if he manages to start a new mandate in January, “the result will be a radicalized government with a smaller, tighter core that seeks consolidation as a new hegemonic authoritarianism in the region. … The scenario poses a dilemma for Venezuela’s opposition: persevere in the electoral battle or consider new ways to confront the regime,” writes Benigno Alarcón Deza in America’s Quarterly.

• Venezuela’s main opposition coalition has called on the US to revoke licenses that allow Chevron and other energy companies to operate in Venezuela, hoping to pressure President Nicolás Maduro to negotiate a transfer of power, the Associated Press.

Brazil

• A mayoral candidate for São Paulo, José Luiz Datena, attacked his opponent, Pablo Marçal, with a metal chair during a televised debate, the Washington Post.

• Marçal, a right-wing influencer, referred to allegations of sexual misconduct against Datena, a former TV presenter, and said he was “not even manly enough” to follow through on an alleged threat to punch Marçal, the Associated Press.

• Marçal is in a three-way tie for first place in the polls to lead São Paulo, with the first round of voting scheduled for October 6, the New York Times.

• Brazil is experiencing a wave of “climate terrorism” that takes advantage of high temperatures and low humidity to set fire to large areas, damaging human health, biodiversity and destroying forests, according to Climate Change Minister Marina Silva.Mercopress)

Burn

• Brazilian firefighters battled flames that spread through Brasilia National Park yesterday, engulfing the Brazilian capital in the latest forest fire in a country battling a historic drought, the Associated Press.

• Since July, at least 15 people have been killed in Peru by forest fires and more than 3,000 hectares of agricultural land and natural areas have been burned, the Associated Press.

• Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen has called on farming communities to stop burning grasslands in the Andes and Amazon regions that have caused deadly forest fires, the report said. Reuters.

Cuba

• The Cuban government has cut the weight of its subsidized daily bread ration by a quarter, the latest scarcity amid extreme shortages of food, fuel and medicine that have caused a record-breaking exodus of Cuban citizens, the Cuban government said. Reuters.

Regional

• The International Monetary Fund aims to decide next month whether to change its policy of charging large borrowers extra fees, known as surcharges, it said. BloombergThe burden, which now stands at about $6 billion, is being borne mainly by a handful of countries, including Argentina, Egypt and Ukraine, according to IMF data compiled by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

Argentina

• Amid mounting conflicts with airline unions, Argentine President Javier Milei has declared the aviation sector an “essential service” and ordered airlines to maintain at least 50 percent of flights in the event of work stoppages, reports AFP.

• Currency problems are hampering efforts by Argentine scientists to develop the key isotope lithium-6, which could have nuclear applications, the Buenos Aires Times.

Migration

• Mexico has implemented a policy of busing migrants to the south of the country, temporarily blocking their path north. This year, officials have bused about 10,000 migrants a month south, about double the rate of last year, the Washington Post.

El Salvador

• A journalistic investigation published by Press Community describes a plan by Salvadoran government officials to carry out an espionage operation against journalists, news organizations and political opponents. Journalist Héctor Silva Ávalos said he had access to eight hours of recorded conversations between Alejandro Muyshondt, a former national security adviser to President Nayib Bukele, in meetings with senior government officials, reports The lighthouse.

Coca

• An indigenous company in Colombia that says it acts “in defense of the coca leaf” is asking the country’s government to revoke Coca-Cola’s century-old trademark on the word “coca.” The mechanism has been “abused” by the Coca-Cola Co., it said in a statement, and should be revoked.Washington Post)

• A WOLA podcast with Kendra McSweeney and Fritz Pinnow, part of a team investigating a new trend: the rise of coca cultivation in Central America. They discuss the environmental and market conditions driving coca cultivation in Honduras and Guatemala, and discover that the region has competitive advantages over Colombian coca growers, including more favorable growing conditions.

Bolivia

• Former Bolivian President Evo Morales called on his supporters to take to the streets to protest against his political rival and former ally, current President Luis Arce, who had accused Morales on national television hours earlier of plotting to overthrow him.Associated Press)