Politics and Government

Subterms

    More stories

    • 113 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      ¿Trump o DeSantis? Los evangélicos hispanos entre dos opciones

      by

      Aunque Donald Trump es el único republicano que ha anunciado su candidatura a la presidencia, el gobernador de Florida también es un contendiente posible. Un enfrentamiento entre los dos podría hacer que los evangélicos latinos emitan un voto determinante.MIAMI — El gobernador de Florida, Ron DeSantis, todavía no ha anunciado que contenderá a la presidencia. Pero entre los bloques de electores de derecha que lo apoyan para que participe en las elecciones primarias de 2024 se encuentran algunos de sus más grandes seguidores: los cristianos evangélicos hispanos.No es que se opongan al expresidente Donald Trump, el único republicano que ya se ha declarado candidato. Pero un enfrentamiento entre los dos titanes de la derecha podría hacer que los evangélicos latinos emitan un voto pendular determinante en Florida, lo cual potenciaría su influencia y centraría una enorme atención nacional en sus iglesias, su política y sus valores.“Si hay elecciones primarias, no hay duda de que habrá fragmentación en el movimiento conservador y de que eso será cierto también para los evangélicos hispanos”, dijo el reverendo Samuel Rodriguez, pastor en Sacramento, California, y presidente de la Conferencia Nacional de Liderazgo Cristiano Hispano. “Conocemos los valores que mantenemos y las políticas que queremos. La pregunta que surge es: ¿quién los reflejará de verdad?”.El grupo de Rodriguez celebró una reunión el mes pasado en Tampa, Florida, con cientos de pastores de todo Estados Unidos, donde los asistentes dijeron que entre cada sesión se hablaba más de política que de las Escrituras.La conversación se resumía a una elección: ¿Trump o DeSantis?Son pocos quienes ya tienen una respuesta, lo que no es sorprendente, dado que falta más de un año para las primeras votaciones de la campaña de 2024. Pero hablar de 2024 (de Trump, quien pasó años cortejando a los evangélicos, y de DeSantis, quien se ha inclinado por las batallas culturales que atraen a muchos cristianos conservadores) mostró tanto las mayores expectativas entre los líderes evangélicos hispanos en Florida como su deseo de demostrar la fuerza de su cristianismo, ahora abiertamente politizado.“Tiene que ver con la moral y hay un partido en este momento que refleja nuestra moral”, dijo Dionny Báez, un pastor de Miami que encabeza una red de iglesias. “No podemos tener miedo de recordarle a la gente que tenemos valores por los que los republicanos están dispuestos a luchar. Tengo la responsabilidad de dejar claro en qué creemos. No podemos seguir haciendo de eso un tabú”.Desde hace mucho tiempo, los evangélicos hispanos han tenido una influencia enorme en Florida, donde los latinos conforman casi un 27 por ciento de la población y el 21 por ciento de los ciudadanos que pueden votar. Aunque los superan los hispanos que son católicos romanos, los evangélicos son mucho más proclives a votar por republicanos. En general, los votantes hispanos en el estado favorecieron a los republicanos por primera vez en décadas en las elecciones de medio mandato de noviembre.DeSantis se fue acercando a los evangélicos hispanos a medida que aumentaba su perfil a nivel nacional.Cuando el año pasado promulgó una ley que prohíbe los abortos después de las 15 semanas de gestación, lo hizo en Nación de Fe, una enorme iglesia evangélica hispana en el condado de Osceola. Declaró el 7 de noviembre, un día antes de las elecciones de medio mandato, como el “Día de las Víctimas del Comunismo”, lo cual hacía referencia no solo a los cubanos en el estado, sino a los inmigrantes venezolanos y nicaragüenses, que han contribuido a llenar los bancos de las iglesias evangélicas de Florida. Sus asesores de campaña hablaron en varias ocasiones con pastores hispanos, para cultivar un apoyo que muchos esperan que DeSantis intente capitalizar en una campaña presidencial.Claro que Trump también puede recurrir a sus leales: Rodriguez habló en su toma de posesión en 2017 y otros líderes evangélicos hispanos lo respaldaron.Simpatizantes latinos de Trump en un mitin en Miami en noviembre. Desde el ascenso político del expresidente en 2016, los republicanos han ganado terreno entre los votantes latinos en Florida.Scott McIntyre para The New York TimesPero DeSantis podría complicar la ecuación en las futuras elecciones primarias republicanas en 2024 debido a la concentración y considerable influencia de los evangélicos hispanos en Florida. Muchos ven a DeSantis como un héroe de la pandemia, ya que lo elogian porque no exigió el cierre de las iglesias ni hizo obligatoria la vacunación.Una batalla por las lealtades evangélicas hispanas solo consolidaría aún más su importancia en Florida y más allá, a medida que se organicen y traten de ejercer el poder con mayor eficacia.En Miami y otros lugares, las iglesias evangélicas hispanas abarcan desde pequeños establecimientos comerciales hasta megaiglesias con bandas de seis músicos y cafeterías con todos los servicios. Ciudadanos estadounidenses de segunda y tercera generación rezan junto a inmigrantes recién llegados de Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba y la República Dominicana. Las misas suelen celebrarse en español, aunque muchos fieles son bilingües y desean que sus hijos hablen inglés y español.Muchos no votaron sino hasta la última década y su primer voto fue por Trump en 2016 o 2020. Su estilo político ha servido de modelo para algunos pastores evangélicos latinos que han avivado la ira por las restricciones del coronavirus. Según los pastores, la asistencia a las iglesias aumentó durante la pandemia.En Segadores de Vida, una iglesia evangélica en Southwest Ranches, al oeste de Fort Lauderdale, donde más de 6000 fieles asisten a los servicios dominicales, el reverendo Ruddy Gracia ha subido al púlpito para criticar las restricciones de la pandemia que cerraron iglesias en otros estados y para menospreciar las vacunas contra la COVID-19, exhortando a los congregantes a confiar en la inmunidad divina.En una entrevista, Gracia dijo que sus prédicas sobre política habían atraído a más miembros, muchos de los cuales, añadió, compartían sus dudas sobre el rumbo económico, político y espiritual de Estados Unidos.“Los principios de los liberales en Estados Unidos son malos según las normas bíblicas, no según mis normas —la Biblia—, y eso antes no era así”, dijo Gracia. “Somos ultraconservadores. Así que cada vez que subimos al púlpito o hablamos, en realidad estamos hablando de política”.Gracia, quien emigró de la República Dominicana cuando era joven y ahora tiene 57 años, se describe a sí mismo como “anticuado” en sus ideas sobre el liderazgo, y pasa tiempo leyendo sobre emperadores y generales famosos. Eso influyó en sus opiniones sobre DeSantis y Trump, dijo.“Siempre he sido un gran admirador de las agallas y de ser agresivo, y ambos tienen ese comportamiento de verdadero líder”, dijo, reflexionando en voz alta sobre si los dos rivales republicanos podrían presentarse en una candidatura conjunta. “Veo en estos dos hombres un empuje y una tensión que son extremadamente necesarios en el tipo de mundo en el que vivimos hoy”.Daniel Garza, director ejecutivo de Libre, un grupo conservador centrado en los hispanos, dijo que había asistido a iglesias evangélicas de todo el país y se había dado cuenta de que los pastores hablaban de manera más abierta de política desde el púlpito. “Siempre hemos tenido una familiaridad, pero lo que vemos ahora es una especie de intimidad que no se había visto en el pasado”, dijo.Los evangélicos siguen siendo una minoría entre el electorado latino, pero las encuestas muestran que son mucho más propensos a votar por republicanos que los católicos o aquellos que no tienen una afiliación religiosa, aunque no son un bloque monolítico de votantes.A menudo están más abiertos a relajar algunas normas migratorias que los líderes republicanos e incluso algunos de los que apoyaron a Trump se desanimaron por sus mensajes antiinmigrantes.Báez celebró un bullicioso servicio en la iglesia H2O de Miami. “Tiene que ver con la moral y hay un partido en este momento que refleja nuestra moral”, dijo en una entrevista.Saul Martinez para The New York TimesCuando Trump comenzó su acercamiento a los evangélicos en su campaña de reelección de 2020, lo hizo en el Ministerio Internacional el Rey Jesús, una enorme congregación hispana de Miami. El pastor de la iglesia, Guillermo Maldonado, aseguró a sus miembros, entre los que hay un gran número de inmigrantes indocumentados de Centroamérica y el Caribe, que no tenían que ser ciudadanos estadounidenses para asistir al mitin.Algunos líderes evangélicos hispanos sienten escalofríos ante la idea de que el grupo represente un bloque de voto unificado que favorezca automáticamente a los republicanos. Los evangélicos hispanos son más proclives a elegir a los demócratas que los evangélicos blancos, señalan. Aun así, incluso esos líderes se muestran entusiastas a la hora de describir al grupo como un voto indeciso por excelencia que no está totalmente comprometido con ninguno de los dos partidos.“Ser evangélico no es una denominación política”, dijo Gabriel Salguero, pastor en Orlando que dirige la Coalición Nacional Evangélica Latina y mantiene sus preferencias políticas en privado por una cuestión de principios. “Se trata de nuestra fe en Cristo y nuestro compromiso con el Evangelio. Así que no ponemos nuestra confianza en la política, pero deberíamos participar”.En todo el país, muchos líderes evangélicos hispanos han adoptado hablar más explícitamente de política en sus sermones.Báez, pastor de la red de iglesias, evitó durante años cualquier mención a la política cuando su púlpito estaba en Filadelfia. Consideraba que su papel en aquel momento estaba por encima de la política. Incluso, rara vez votaba.Pero desde que se mudó a Florida en 2019 y comenzó una nueva congregación que se reúne en un antiguo club nocturno en el centro de Miami, casi nunca duda en hablar sobre temas políticos.Báez bautizando a una integrante de la iglesia durante un servicio en H20 Miami. Después de evitar la política durante muchos años, dijo, ahora rara vez duda en hablar del tema.Saul Martinez para The New York TimesBáez ha contado a los feligreses su decisión de dejar de permitir que sus hijos pequeños vean películas de Disney. Dijo que la compañía había ido demasiado lejos en su apoyo a los derechos de las personas trans, y aplaudió la ley aprobada el año pasado por DeSantis y los republicanos del estado que restringe la instrucción en las aulas sobre orientación sexual e identidad de género.Báez también se ha opuesto abiertamente a las escuelas que educan a los niños sobre la identidad de género.“Ningún profesor debería hablar a los niños pequeños sobre la sexualidad; déjame a mí como padre hacer eso”, dijo, y agregó que se dio cuenta por primera vez de la cuestión durante los debates de la llamada ley de los baños hace años. “Nos hemos pasado a las opiniones extremas al respecto. Tenemos que respetar a los padres, no imponer un punto de vista”.Cada domingo, Báez celebra un bullicioso servicio en H2O Miami, como se conoce a la iglesia, con cientos de personas reunidas alrededor de mesas para cantar junto a una banda de rock cristiano, levantando las manos en señal de alabanza. Cuando terminan los servicios, de dos horas de duración, los feligreses se abrazan y se reúnen al borde del escenario para pedir a Báez y a su esposa que pongan sus manos sobre ellos en oración.Al igual que otros líderes evangélicos hispanos, Báez cuenta con un gran número de fieles simpatizantes tanto en Estados Unidos como en América Latina y casi un millón de seguidores en las redes sociales. Aparece con frecuencia en la televisión en español, por lo general centrándose en mensajes optimistas de esperanza en lugar de menciones explícitas a Jesús o a los valores conservadores.“Hay una razón por la que la mayoría de los latinos son liberales: es lo que ven en la televisión”, dijo mientras desayunaba en el jardín de su casa en Miramar, un suburbio a media hora al norte de Miami. “Queremos dar una visión alternativa a eso”.Jennifer Medina es una reportera de política estadounidense y cubre las actitudes políticas y el poder con énfasis en el oeste de Estados Unidos. Originaria del sur de California, ha pasado varios años cubriendo la región para la sección Nacional. @jennymedina More

    • 100 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      What Will Last Year’s Wins Mean for Democracy

      by

      Last year’s democratic wins could have big implications.Imagine if the U.S. and its allies had reacted less aggressively to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Without Western weapons to bolster its defenses, Ukraine could have fallen. Without Western sanctions, Russia might have felt little economic pressure. Such inaction would have sent a message: Western powers won’t stand up for other democracies.At one point, that scenario seemed plausible. After all, it’s what happened when Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and after Russia invaded Georgia in 2008.Why am I writing about this now? Because the West’s enduring rally around Ukraine exemplifies an important trend from 2022 that could influence future global events: “This was the year liberal democracy fought back,” as Janan Ganesh wrote in The Financial Times.For years, democracies have become less representative. Some have fallen into authoritarian rule. Freedom House, which tracks the health of the world’s democracies, has called the decline a “long democratic recession.” But in 2022, small-d democrats fought back not just in Ukraine but also in Brazil, the U.S. and even authoritarian countries like Iran and China.It’s far too early to declare 2022 a turning point. Yet democracy experts, who are often a pessimistic group, are feeling more optimistic. “I tend to be the skunk at the garden party,” said Michael Abramowitz, president of Freedom House. “But I do think the story of the last year has been, if hopeful isn’t the right word, at least more mixed.”Today’s newsletter will look at how 2022 gave democracy a boost and the potential ramifications for the world.Fighting backIn several countries, people stood up against antidemocratic forces that had grown for years.In Brazil, former President Jair Bolsonaro, elected in 2018, initially suggested that he would reject the results if he lost re-election. But after he was defeated, Bolsonaro accepted a peaceful transition to the presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was sworn in on Sunday. Bolsonaro also criticized what he called an attempted “terrorist act” after police stopped one of his supporters from setting off a bomb in Brasília.In Iran, protests have continued for months against the country’s authoritarian government after a 22-year-old woman died in the custody of the morality police. They are the longest-running anti-government protests since the Islamic revolution of 1979, according to the BBC.In China, resentment over the country’s strict zero-Covid policies spilled over into unusually widespread protests that at times questioned the legitimacy of Xi Jinping’s rule. The Chinese government responded with a crackdown but also eased the Covid policies, partially giving in to the public’s demands.The demonstrations also revealed something bigger: Chinese propaganda has long argued that the country’s one-party model is more effective and efficient than the competitive systems of Western democracies. But China’s handling of Covid and the resulting economic downturn and public outcry show how the government blunders and causes big crises.The U.S. avoided some potential threats to democracy, too. Election deniers who lost midterm races accepted the results. Donald Trump, who continues to falsely question the outcome of the 2020 election, also saw his political prospects damaged after many of his endorsed candidates lost in the midterms.Looking aheadOne good year does not mean that the global democratic recession is over, experts cautioned.With support for Ukraine, “we are now seeing a fatigue,” said Jennifer McCoy, a political scientist at Georgia State University. Westerners could pull back support if it means dealing with higher energy prices for much longer, she added. “It is a question: How long will populations continue to sacrifice for this cause?”There are still other points of concern. India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has overseen a deterioration in civil liberties, and the country’s independent news media has slowly collapsed. Indonesia passed a law last month restricting free speech. Israel’s new government could threaten judicial independence. In Hungary, Prime Minister Viktor Orban won re-election after manipulating the rules in his favor. Coup attempts in Peru and Guinea-Bissau also exposed the fragility of democratic rule.But given the past few years of bad news, even a mixed year can be a welcome reprieve. “It was a much better year than it could have been — but from a very low bar,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow at Carnegie’s Democracy, Conflict and Governance Program.It’s hard to say where any of this will go. But 2022 showed that democrats can fight back.Related: A slice of the U.S. electorate broke with its own voting history to reject extremist Republican candidates — at least partly out of concern for the political system.THE LATEST NEWSCongressRepresentative Kevin McCarthy, left.Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesRepresentative Kevin McCarthy of California, the Republican leader, is struggling to lock down the votes he needs to become House speaker today.Who could succeed if McCarthy fails? These are the Republicans to watch.Nancy Pelosi, the outgoing speaker, leaves a legacy that will be difficult to match.Brazilian authorities say they will revive a 2008 fraud case against Representative-elect George Santos.N.F.L. Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest after being hit during a game last night.Joshua A. Bickel/Associated PressDamar Hamlin, a 24-year-old safety for the Buffalo Bills, is in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest during a Monday-night game, the team said.Medical personnel revived Hamlin’s heartbeat, the Bills said.The game — against the Cincinnati Bengals — was postponed. Read the latest on The Athletic.Other Big StoriesUkrainian soldiers fire a mortar round toward in the Donetsk region.Nicole Tung for The New York TimesA Ukrainian attack killed dozens of Russian soldiers in the occupied Donetsk region, Moscow said, in one of the war’s deadliest single strikes against Russia.Trump saw the push to overturn the 2020 election as a financial opportunity and tried to trademark the phrase “Rigged Election,” according to the Jan. 6 committee’s final documents.A storm could bring ice storms, snow and tornadoes to the Midwest and the South.The actor Jeremy Renner had surgery and is in critical condition after a snow plowing accident, his representative said.The number of new U.S. citizens hit its highest annual mark in 15 years.OpinionsAmericans’ confidence in Congress will diminish if the House fails to elect a speaker on the first ballot, Brendan Buck writes.An unfairly arduous college admissions process means that many teenagers with mental health conditions end up at lower-quality schools, Emi Nietfeld says.MORNING READSJuan TamarizIbai Acevedo for The New York TimesMaestro: He made Spain the magic capital of the world.Astronomy: Expect solar eclipses this year. (Sync your calendar to never miss one.)Relationship quiz: How strong are your bonds?Alt-country music: Margo Price has a contrarian streak.Cloud storage: Keep a copy of your memories.Advice from Wirecutter: Browse the most popular kitchen tools.Lives Lived: Jeremiah Green was one of the founding members of Modest Mouse, an indie rock band known for its textured and wide-ranging sound. Green died at 45.SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETICThe 70-point club: The Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell became the sixth N.B.A. player to score 70 or more points in a contest with his 71-point, 11-assist outing against the Bulls. Cotton Bowl: Tulane pulled off a last-minute comeback win over U.S.C. and sealed the best season-to-season turnaround in F.B.S. history. ARTS AND IDEAS Jon Bois said he was “making sports documentaries for people who don’t watch sports.”Lila Barth for The New York TimesStatistics as riveting cinemaThe writer-director Jon Bois makes documentaries about seemingly unremarkable sports teams, but his films stand out. They’re full of graphs, charts and diagrams, bordering on scientific, Calum Marsh writes in The Times. Bois hopes to appeal to viewers who don’t watch a lot of sports.“I was one of the weird kids who actually liked high-school algebra,” Bois told The Times. “The ability to condense sports into a bar graph or a pie chart or a scatter plot — in a way, you can watch a thousand games in 10 seconds. It’s like a little time warp.”PLAY, WATCH, EATWhat to CookJulia Gartland for The New York TimesA giant crisp and buttery almond croissant is easy to pull off.What to WatchWes Bentley deploys his knowledge of life’s difficulty in his role in “Yellowstone.”Where to GoIsland hopping in the Grenadines.Now Time to PlayThe pangrams from yesterday’s Spelling Bee were ineffective and infective. Here is today’s puzzle.Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Per person (four letters).And here’s today’s Wordle. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. — GermanP.S. Alaska became a state on this day in 1959.Here’s today’s front page. “The Daily” is about McCarthy’s bid for speaker.Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson and Claire Moses contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. More

    • 125 Shares99 Views

      in Elections

      Lula asume la presidencia de Brasil, con Bolsonaro en Florida

      by

      Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tomó posesión como el nuevo presidente de Brasil. Mientras tanto, el expresidente Jair Bolsonaro, quien enfrenta investigaciones, se refugia en Orlando.El presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva tomó las riendas del gobierno brasileño el domingo en una elaborada toma de posesión, que contó con una caravana de automóviles, un festival de música y cientos de miles de seguidores que llenaron la explanada central de Brasilia, la capital del país.Pero faltaba una persona clave: Jair Bolsonaro, el presidente saliente de extrema derecha.Se suponía que Bolsonaro iba a entregar a Lula la banda presidencial el domingo, un símbolo importante de la transición pacífica del poder en un país donde mucha gente aún recuerda los 21 años de una dictadura militar que terminó en 1985.En cambio, Bolsonaro se despertó el domingo a miles de kilómetros de distancia, en una casa alquilada propiedad de un luchador profesional de artes marciales mixtas a unos cuantos kilómetros de Disney World. Enfrentado a varias investigaciones por su gestión, Bolsonaro voló a Orlando el viernes por la noche y planea permanecer en Florida durante al menos un mes.Bolsonaro cuestionó durante meses la confiabilidad de los sistemas electorales de Brasil, sin pruebas, y cuando perdió en octubre, se negó a reconocerlo inequívocamente. En una especie de discurso de despedida el viernes, rompiendo semanas de un silencio casi absoluto, dijo que trató de impedir que Lula asumiera el cargo, pero fracasó.“Dentro de las leyes, respetando la Constitución, busqué una salida”, dijo. Luego pareció animar a sus partidarios a seguir adelante. “Vivimos en una democracia o no vivimos”, dijo. “Nadie quiere una aventura”.Una multitud de simpatizantes saluda a la comitiva del presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, y su esposa, Rosângela da Silva, tras su toma de posesión en Brasilia el domingo.Dado Galdieri para The New York TimesEl domingo, Lula subió la rampa de acceso a las oficinas presidenciales con un grupo diverso de brasileños, entre ellos una mujer negra, un hombre discapacitado, un niño de 10 años, un hombre indígena y un trabajador de una fábrica. Una voz anunció entonces que Lula aceptaría la banda verde y amarilla del “pueblo brasileño”, y Aline Sousa, una recolectora de basura de 33 años, tomó el papel de Bolsonaro y colocó la banda al nuevo presidente.En un discurso ante el Congreso el domingo, Lula dijo que combatiría el hambre y la deforestación, levantaría la economía e intentaría unir al país. Pero también apuntó contra su predecesor, diciendo que Bolsonaro había amenazado la democracia de Brasil.“Bajo los vientos de la redemocratización, solíamos decir: ‘Dictadura nunca más’”, dijo. “Hoy, después del terrible desafío que hemos superado, debemos decir: ‘Democracia para siempre’”.El ascenso de Lula a la presidencia culmina una asombrosa remontada política. En su día fue el presidente más popular de Brasil, y dejó el cargo con un índice de aprobación superior al 80 por ciento. Luego cumplió 580 días en prisión, de 2018 a 2019, por cargos de corrupción relacionados con aceptar un departamento y renovaciones de empresas de construcción que licitaban contratos gubernamentales.Después de que esas condenas fueran anuladas porque el Supremo Tribunal Federal de Brasil dictaminó que el juez del caso de Lula había sido parcial, se postuló de nuevo para la presidencia, y ganó.Lula, de 77 años, y sus partidarios sostienen que fue víctima de una persecución política. Bolsonaro y sus partidarios dicen que Brasil tiene ahora un criminal como presidente.Cientos de miles de personas acudieron a Brasilia —la capital extensa y planificada que fue fundada en 1960 para albergar al gobierno brasileño—, muchos de ellos vestidos con el rojo vivo del izquierdista Partido de los Trabajadores de Lula.Simpatizantes del Presidente Lula vitorean durante su toma de posesión.Dado Galdieri para The New York TimesDurante el fin de semana, los pasajeros de los aviones cantaron canciones sobre Lula, los juerguistas bailaron samba en las fiestas de Año Nuevo y, por toda la ciudad, se oyeron gritos espontáneos desde balcones y esquinas, anunciando la llegada de Lula y la salida de Bolsonaro.“La toma de posesión de Lula tiene que ver sobre todo con la esperanza”, dijo Isabela Nascimento, de 30 años, una desarrolladora de software que acudió a las festividades el domingo. “Espero verlo representando no solo a un partido político, sino a toda una población: todo un grupo de personas que solo quieren ser más felices”.Sin embargo, en otras partes de la ciudad, miles de partidarios de Bolsonaro permanecieron acampados frente a la sede del ejército, como lo han estado desde las elecciones, muchos diciendo que estaban convencidos de que los militares evitarían que Lula asumiera el cargo el domingo.“El ejército tiene patriotismo y amor por el país y, en el pasado, el ejército hizo lo mismo”, dijo el sábado Magno Rodrigues, de 60 años, un mecánico y conserje retirado que da discursos diarios en las protestas, refiriéndose al golpe militar de 1964 que dio paso a la dictadura.Magno Rodrigues, de 60 años, mecánico y conserje retirado, ha pasado las últimas nueve semanas acampado frente al cuartel general del ejército brasileño, durmiendo en una tienda de campaña sobre una estrecha colchoneta con su esposa.Dado Galdieri para The New York TimesRodrigues ha pasado las últimas nueve semanas durmiendo con su esposa en una tienda de campaña en un colchón pequeño. Ofreció un recorrido por el campamento, convertido en una pequeña aldea desde que Bolsonaro perdió las elecciones. Cuenta con duchas, servicio de lavandería, estaciones de recarga de teléfonos celulares, un hospital y 28 puestos de comida.En gran medida, las protestas no han sido violentas —con más rezos que disturbios—, pero un pequeño grupo de personas ha incendiado vehículos. El gobierno de transición de Lula había dado a entender que los campamentos no se tolerarían durante mucho más tiempo.¿Cuánto tiempo estaba Rodrigues dispuesto a quedarse? “El tiempo que haga falta para liberar a mi país”, dijo. “El resto de mi vida si es necesario”.La ausencia de Bolsonaro y la presencia de miles de manifestantes que creen que la elección fue robada ilustran la profunda división y los enormes desafíos que enfrenta Lula en su tercer mandato como presidente del país más grande de América Latina y una de las mayores democracias del mundo.Lula presidió el auge económico de Brasil entre 2003 y 2011, pero el país no estaba tan polarizado entonces y los vientos económicos eran mucho más promisorios. La elección de Lula culmina una ola izquierdista en América Latina, en la que desde 2018 seis de los siete países más grandes de la región eligieron a líderes de izquierda, impulsados por una reacción contra los mandatarios en el poder.Una gran multitud se reunió para la toma de posesión el domingo en la capital de Brasil.Silvia Izquierdo/Associated PressLa decisión de Bolsonaro de pasar al menos las primeras semanas de la presidencia de Lula en Florida muestra su inquietud sobre su futuro en Brasil. Bolsonaro, de 67 años, está vinculado a cinco investigaciones separadas, entre ellas, una sobre la divulgación de documentos relacionados con una investigación clasificada, otra sobre sus ataques a las máquinas de votación de Brasil y otra sobre sus posibles conexiones con “milicias digitales” que difunden desinformación en su nombre.Como ciudadano común, Bolsonaro perderá ahora la inmunidad procesal que tenía como presidente. Algunos casos en su contra probablemente serán trasladados del Supremo Tribunal Federal a las cortes locales.Algunos de los principales fiscales federales que han trabajado en los casos creen que hay pruebas suficientes para condenar a Bolsonaro, particularmente en el caso relacionado con la divulgación de material clasificado, según un alto fiscal federal que habló bajo condición de anonimato para discutir investigaciones confidenciales.El domingo, Lula dijo al Congreso que Bolsonaro podría enfrentar consecuencias. “No tenemos ningún ánimo de revancha contra quienes intentaron someter a la nación a sus planes personales e ideológicos, pero garantizaremos el imperio de la ley”, dijo. “Quien erró responderá por sus errores”.Es poco probable que la presencia de Bolsonaro en Estados Unidos pueda protegerlo de ser procesado en Brasil. Aun así, Florida se ha convertido en una especie de refugio para los brasileños conservadores en los últimos años.Comentaristas prominentes de algunos de los programas de entrevistas más populares de Brasil tienen su sede en Florida. Un provocador de extrema derecha que se enfrenta a la detención en Brasil por amenazar a jueces ha vivido en Florida mientras espera una respuesta a su solicitud de asilo político en Estados Unidos. Y Carla Zambelli, una de las principales aliadas de Bolsonaro en el Congreso de Brasil, huyó a Florida durante casi tres semanas después de que fuera filmada persiguiendo a un hombre a punta de pistola en la víspera de las elecciones.El expresidente Jair Bolsonaro, tercero desde la derecha, llegando a votar en Río de Janeiro en octubre. El viernes partió hacia Estados Unidos.Maria Magdalena Arrellaga para The New York TimesBolsonaro planea permanecer en Florida de uno a tres meses, lo que le da cierta distancia para observar si el gobierno de Lula impulsará alguna de las investigaciones en su contra, según un amigo cercano de la familia Bolsonaro que habló bajo condición de anonimato para discutir planes privados. El gobierno brasileño también autorizó a cuatro ayudantes a pasar un mes en Florida con Bolsonaro, según un aviso oficial.El sábado, Bolsonaro saludó a sus nuevos vecinos en la entrada de su casa alquilada en Orlando, muchos de ellos inmigrantes brasileños que se tomaron selfis con el presidente saliente. Luego fue a comer a un KFC.No es infrecuente que ex jefes de Estado vivan en Estados Unidos para ocupar cargos académicos o similares. Pero no es habitual que un jefe de Estado busque refugio en Estados Unidos ante un posible enjuiciamiento en su país, especialmente cuando el país de origen es un aliado democrático de Estados Unidos.Bolsonaro y sus aliados argumentan que es un objetivo político de la izquierda brasileña y, en particular, del Supremo Tribunal Federal de Brasil. Han abandonado en gran medida las afirmaciones de que las elecciones fueron amañadas debido al fraude electoral, pero en su lugar ahora afirman que fueron injustas porque Alexandre de Moraes, un juez del Supremo Tribunal que encabeza el organismo electoral de Brasil, inclinó la balanza a favor de Lula.Un campamento de partidarios de Bolsonaro se ha convertido en una pequeña ciudad frente al cuartel general del ejército en Brasilia.Dado Galdieri para The New York TimesDe Moraes fue un actor activo en las elecciones, al suspender las cuentas de redes sociales de muchos de los partidarios de Bolsonaro y conceder a Lula más tiempo en televisión debido a declaraciones engañosas en los anuncios políticos de Bolsonaro. De Moraes ha dicho que necesitaba actuar para contrarrestar las posturas antidemocráticas de Bolsonaro y sus partidarios. A algunos juristas les preocupa que haya abusado de su poder, al actuar a menudo de forma unilateral en formas que van mucho más allá de las de un típico juez del Supremo Tribunal.Aun así, Bolsonaro se ha enfrentado a críticas generalizadas, tanto en la derecha como en la izquierda, por su respuesta a su derrota electoral. Después de insinuar durante meses que rebatiría cualquier derrota, encendiendo a sus partidarios y preocupando a sus críticos, se mantuvo en silencio y se negó a reconocer públicamente la victoria de Lula. Su gobierno llevó a cabo la transición mientras él se alejaba de los focos y de muchas de sus funciones oficiales.El sábado por la noche, en su discurso de despedida a la nación, incluso su vicepresidente, Hamilton Mourão, un general retirado, dejó clara su opinión sobre los últimos momentos de Bolsonaro como presidente.“Líderes que deberían tranquilizar y unir a la nación en torno a un proyecto de país han dejado que su silencio o su protagonismo inoportuno y dañino creen un clima de caos y desintegración social”, dijo Mourão.Jack Nicas es el jefe de la corresponsalía del Times en Brasil, que abarca Brasil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay. Antes cubría tecnología desde San Francisco. Antes de unirse al Times, en 2018, trabajó durante siete años en The Wall Street Journal. @jacknicas • Facebook More

    • 100 Shares179 Views

      in Elections

      Lula Becomes Brazil’s President, With Bolsonaro in Florida

      by

      Brazil inaugurates its new president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, on Sunday. Facing investigations, former President Jair Bolsonaro has taken refuge in Orlando. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took the reins of the Brazilian government on Sunday in an elaborate inauguration, complete with a motorcade, music festival and hundreds of thousands of supporters filling the central esplanade of Brasília, the nation’s capital.But one key person was missing: the departing far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro.Mr. Bolsonaro was supposed to pass Mr. Lula the presidential sash on Sunday, an important symbol of the peaceful transition of power in a nation where many people still recall the 21-year military dictatorship that ended in 1985.Instead, Mr. Bolsonaro woke up Sunday 6,000 miles away, in a rented house owned by a professional mixed-martial-arts fighter a few miles from Disney World. Facing various investigations from his time in his office, Mr. Bolsonaro flew to Orlando on Friday night and plans to stay in Florida for at least a month.Mr. Bolsonaro had questioned the reliability of Brazil’s election systems for months, without evidence, and when he lost in October, he refused to concede unequivocally. In a sort of farewell address on Friday, breaking weeks of near silence, he said that he tried to block Mr. Lula from taking office but failed.“Within the laws, respecting the Constitution, I searched for a way out of this,” he said. He then appeared to encourage his supporters to move on. “We live in a democracy or we don’t,” he said. “No one wants an adventure.”A crowd of well-wishers greeted the motorcade of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and his wife, Rosangela da Silva, after his swearing-in in Brasília on Sunday.Dado Galdieri for The New York TimesOn Sunday, Mr. Lula ascended the ramp to the presidential offices with a diverse group of Brazilians, including a Black woman, a disabled man, a 10-year-old boy, an Indigenous man and a factory worker. A voice then announced that Mr. Lula would accept the green-and-yellow sash from “the Brazilian people,” and Aline Sousa, a 33-year-old garbage collector, played the role of Mr. Bolsonaro and placed the sash on the new president.In an address to Congress on Sunday, Mr. Lula said that he would fight hunger and deforestation, lift the economy and try to unite the country. But he also took aim at his predecessor, saying that Mr. Bolsonaro had threatened Brazil’s democracy.“Under the winds of redemocratization, we used to say, ‘Dictatorship never again,’” he said. “Today, after the terrible challenge we’ve overcome, we must say, ‘Democracy forever.’”Mr. Lula’s ascension to the presidency caps a stunning political comeback. He was once Brazil’s most popular president, leaving office with an approval rating above 80 percent. He then served 580 days in prison, from 2018 to 2019, on corruption charges that he accepted a condo and renovations from construction companies bidding on government contracts.Brazil’s New PresidentLula Returns: Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva takes the reins of Latin America’s largest nation 20 years after his first presidential term. He will lead a country that has drastically changed.Bolsonaro Flees: Jair Bolsonaro, the departing far-right president, has taken refuge in Orlando as he faces various investigations from his time in his office.Climate Challenges: Mr. Lula, who made climate a cornerstone of his campaign, has pledged to protect the Amazon rainforest. Here are his other plans to tackle climate change.Lessons in Democracy: The United States and Brazil both had presidents who attacked their elections. But their responses — and the aftermaths — differed greatly.After those convictions were thrown out because Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that the judge in Mr. Lula’s case was biased, he ran for the presidency again — and won.Mr. Lula, 77, and his supporters maintain that he was the victim of political persecution. Mr. Bolsonaro and his supporters say that Brazil now has a criminal as president.In Brasília, hundreds of thousands of people streamed into the sprawling, planned capital, founded in 1960 to house the Brazilian government, with many dressed in the bright red of Mr. Lula’s leftist Workers’ Party.Supporters of President Lula cheered during his inauguration.Dado Galdieri for The New York TimesOver the weekend, passengers on arriving planes broke into rally songs about Mr. Lula, revelers danced to samba at New Year’s Eve parties and, across the city, spontaneous cries rang out from balconies and street corners, heralding Mr. Lula’s arrival and Mr. Bolsonaro’s exit.“Lula’s inauguration is mainly about hope,” said Isabela Nascimento, 30, a software developer walking to the festivities on Sunday. “I hope to see him representing not only a political party, but an entire population — a whole group of people who just want to be happier.”Yet elsewhere in the city, thousands of Mr. Bolsonaro’s supporters remained camped outside the army headquarters, as they have been since the election, many saying they were convinced that at the final moment on Sunday, the military would prevent Mr. Lula from taking office..css-1v2n82w{max-width:600px;width:calc(100% – 40px);margin-top:20px;margin-bottom:25px;height:auto;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;font-family:nyt-franklin;color:var(–color-content-secondary,#363636);}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){.css-1v2n82w{margin-left:20px;margin-right:20px;}}@media only screen and (min-width:1024px){.css-1v2n82w{width:600px;}}.css-161d8zr{width:40px;margin-bottom:18px;text-align:left;margin-left:0;color:var(–color-content-primary,#121212);border:1px solid var(–color-content-primary,#121212);}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){.css-161d8zr{width:30px;margin-bottom:15px;}}.css-tjtq43{line-height:25px;}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){.css-tjtq43{line-height:24px;}}.css-x1k33h{font-family:nyt-cheltenham;font-size:19px;font-weight:700;line-height:25px;}.css-1hvpcve{font-size:17px;font-weight:300;line-height:25px;}.css-1hvpcve em{font-style:italic;}.css-1hvpcve strong{font-weight:bold;}.css-1hvpcve a{font-weight:500;color:var(–color-content-secondary,#363636);}.css-1c013uz{margin-top:18px;margin-bottom:22px;}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){.css-1c013uz{font-size:14px;margin-top:15px;margin-bottom:20px;}}.css-1c013uz a{color:var(–color-signal-editorial,#326891);-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;font-weight:500;font-size:16px;}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){.css-1c013uz a{font-size:13px;}}.css-1c013uz a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}What we consider before using anonymous sources. Do the sources know the information? What’s their motivation for telling us? Have they proved reliable in the past? Can we corroborate the information? Even with these questions satisfied, The Times uses anonymous sources as a last resort. The reporter and at least one editor know the identity of the source.Learn more about our process.“The army has patriotism and love for the country, and in the past, the army did the same thing,” Magno Rodrigues, 60, a former mechanic and janitor who gives daily speeches at the protests, said on Saturday, referring to the 1964 military coup that ushered in the dictatorship.Magno Rodrigues, 60, a former mechanic and janitor, has spent the past nine weeks camped outside the Brazilian Army headquarters, sleeping in a tent on a narrow pad with his wife. Dado Galdieri for The New York TimesMr. Rodrigues has spent the past nine weeks sleeping in a tent on a narrow pad with his wife. He provided a tour of the encampment, which had become a small village since Mr. Bolsonaro lost the election. It has showers, a laundry service, cellphone-charging stations, a hospital and 28 food stalls.The protests have been overwhelmingly nonviolent — with more praying than rioting — but a small group of people have set fire to vehicles. Mr. Lula’s transitional government had suggested that the encampments would not be tolerated for much longer.How long was Mr. Rodrigues prepared to stay? “As long as it takes to liberate my country,” he said. “For the rest of my life if I have to.”The absence of Mr. Bolsonaro and the presence of thousands of protesters who believe the election was stolen illustrate the deep divide and tall challenges that Mr. Lula faces in his third term as president of Latin America’s biggest country and one of the world’s largest democracies.He oversaw a boom in Brazil from 2003 to 2011, but the country was not nearly as polarized then, and the economic tailwinds were far stronger. Mr. Lula’s election caps a leftist wave in Latin America, with six of the region’s seven largest countries electing leftist leaders since 2018, fueled by an anti-incumbent backlash.A large crowd gathered for the inauguration on Sunday in Brazil’s capital.Silvia Izquierdo/Associated PressMr. Bolsonaro’s decision to spend at least the first weeks of Mr. Lula’s presidency in Florida shows his unease about his future in Brazil. Mr. Bolsonaro, 67, is linked to five separate inquiries, including one into his release of documents related to a classified investigation, another on his attacks on Brazil’s voting machines and another into his potential connections to “digital militias” that spread misinformation on his behalf.As a regular citizen, Mr. Bolsonaro will now lose the prosecutorial immunity he had as president. Some cases against him will probably be moved to local courts from the Supreme Court.Some top federal prosecutors who have worked on the cases believe there is enough evidence to convict Mr. Bolsonaro, particularly in the case related to the release of classified material, according to a top federal prosecutor who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential investigations.On Sunday, Mr. Lula told Congress that Mr. Bolsonaro could face consequences. “We have no intention of revenge against those who tried to subjugate the nation to their personal and ideological plans, but we will guarantee the rule of law,” he said. “Those who have done wrong will answer for their mistakes.”It is unlikely that Mr. Bolsonaro’s presence in the United States could protect him from prosecution in Brazil. Still, Florida has become a sort of refuge for conservative Brazilians in recent years.Prominent pundits on some of Brazil’s most popular talk shows are based in Florida. A far-right provocateur who faces arrest in Brazil for threatening judges has lived in Florida as he awaits a response to his political asylum request in the United States. And Carla Zambelli, one of Mr. Bolsonaro’s top allies in Brazil’s Congress, fled to Florida for nearly three weeks after she was filmed pursuing a man at gunpoint on the eve of the election.President Jair Bolsonaro, third from right, arriving to vote in Rio de Janeiro in October. On Friday he left for the United States.Maria Magdalena Arrellaga for The New York TimesMr. Bolsonaro plans to stay in Florida for one to three months, giving him some distance to observe whether Mr. Lula’s administration will push any of the investigations against him, according to a close friend of the Bolsonaro family who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private plans. The Brazilian government has also authorized four aides to spend a month in Florida with Mr. Bolsonaro, according to an official notice.On Saturday, Mr. Bolsonaro greeted his new neighbors in the driveway of his rented Orlando house, many of them Brazilian immigrants who took selfies with the departing president. He then went to a KFC to eat. It is not uncommon for former heads of state to live in the United States for posts in academia or similar ventures. But it is unusual for a head of state to seek safe haven in the United States from possible prosecution at home, particularly when the home country is a democratic U.S. ally. Mr. Bolsonaro and his allies argue that he is a political target of Brazil’s left and particularly Brazil’s Supreme Court. They have largely dropped claims that the election was rigged because of voter fraud but instead now claim that it was unfair because Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice who runs Brazil’s election agency, tipped the scales for Mr. Lula.An encampment of Mr. Bolsonaro’s supporters has turned into a village outside the army headquarters in Brasília.Dado Galdieri for The New York TimesMr. Moraes was an active player in the election, suspending the social-media accounts of many of Mr. Bolsonaro’s supporters and granting Mr. Lula more television time because of misleading statements in Mr. Bolsonaro’s political ads. Mr. Moraes has said he needed to act to counter the antidemocratic stances of Mr. Bolsonaro and his supporters. Some legal experts worry that he abused his power, often acting unilaterally in ways that go far beyond that of a typical Supreme Court judge.Still, Mr. Bolsonaro has faced widespread criticism, on both the right and the left, for his response to his election loss. After suggesting for months he would dispute any loss — firing up his supporters and worrying his critics — he instead went silent, refusing to acknowledge Mr. Lula’s victory publicly. His administration carried out the transition as he receded from the spotlight and many of his official duties.On Saturday night, in his departing speech to the nation, even his vice president, Hamilton Mourão, a former general, made clear his views on Mr. Bolsonaro’s final moments as president.“Leaders that should reassure and unite the nation around a project for the country have let their silence or inopportune and harmful protagonism create a climate of chaos and social disintegration,” Mr. Mourão said. More

    • 125 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      Mark Meadows Won’t Face Voting Fraud Charges in North Carolina

      by

      The state attorney general said there was “not sufficient evidence” to bring charges against Mr. Meadows or his wife, Debra Meadows.Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff in the Trump White House, will not face voter fraud charges after officials determined that he did not fraudulently register to vote and cast a ballot in North Carolina during the 2020 presidential election, the state attorney general said on Friday.The attorney general, Josh Stein, said there was “not sufficient evidence” to bring charges against Mr. Meadows or his wife, Debra Meadows.The State Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation and found that because Mr. Meadows was “engaged in public service” in Washington, he was qualified for a residency exception, officials said. Under North Carolina law, if a person moves to Washington or other federal territories for government service, then the individual will not lose residency status in the state.The couple also signed a yearlong lease, which was provided by their landlord, for a Scaly Mountain, N.C., residence listed on their voting registration, prosecutors said, and cellphone records showed Mrs. Meadows was in the area in October 2020.Mr. Meadows was a North Carolina member of Congress until March 2020, when he went to work in the White House. Then, six weeks before the 2020 election, the couple registered to vote using the address of a modest, three-bedroom mobile home with a rusted roof in Scaly Mountain.Law enforcement officials in Macon County, a rural community in the mountains of western North Carolina, became aware of questions surrounding Mr. Meadows’s voter registration in early March after The New Yorker revealed that he had registered to vote at a residence where he did not live.The North Carolina Department of Justice then asked the State Bureau of Investigation to investigate if any laws were broken.Before he registered to vote at the Scaly Mountain home, Mr. Meadows had voted in 2018 from a home in Transylvania County, N.C., and in 2016 from Asheville, N.C., according to North Carolina records.“My office has concluded that there is not sufficient evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt against either Mr. or Mrs. Meadows, so my office will not prosecute this case,” Mr. Stein said in a statement. “If further information relevant to the allegations of voter fraud comes to light in any subsequent investigation or prosecution by authorities in other jurisdictions, we reserve the right to reopen this matter.”Ben Williamson, a spokesman for Mr. Meadows, declined to comment on Friday.Despite cases of voter fraud being rare, Mr. Meadows has been one of the primary speakers boosting former President Donald J. Trump’s false claims of election fraud both before and after the 2020 election.During an August 2020 interview on CNN, Mr. Meadows warned of fraud in voting by mail and said people are able to register to vote in multiple places at once, leading to fraud. More

    • 138 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      Aung San Suu Kyi Gets 33 Years in Prison in Myanmar

      by

      Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has faced a series of charges since being detained in a coup in early 2021. Her trials came to an end on Friday, capping months of legal proceedings.Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, was found guilty of corruption on Friday and sentenced to seven years in prison, almost two years after she was first detained by the military in a coup.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, 77, a Nobel laureate, had already begun serving a 26-year prison sentence in connection with more than a dozen charges she has faced since being detained. The additional sentence she received on Friday makes it likely that she will remain behind bars for the rest of her life, unless the junta reduces her sentence to house arrest, overturns its own ruling, or falls from power. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers plan to appeal, according to a source familiar with the proceedings.Friday’s verdict, delivered in a courtroom that sits inside a prison in the capital, Naypyidaw, was expected to draw international condemnation.“The verdicts were unsurprising — this was purely a show trial,” said Richard Horsey, a senior adviser on Myanmar for the International Crisis Group. “As with the coup itself, the regime’s objective has been to silence Aung San Suu Kyi and remove her from the political landscape.”There is widespread speculation in Myanmar that the junta wanted to finish Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s trials by the end of the year so that it could focus on another goal: installing Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader behind last year’s coup, as president when the country holds its next general election in mid-2023. A shadow government established by ousted civilian leaders after the February 2021 coup is immensely popular but has been unable to compete politically against the military or to gain international recognition. General Min Aung Hlaing’s military-backed party is almost certain to win the next election.Myanmar has been racked by violence since the coup. Protests erupted across the country as the junta’s opponents mounted a civil disobedience movement and national strike. The military responded with brutal force, shooting and killing protesters in the streets. Thousands of armed resistance fighters have continued to battle the Tatmadaw, as the army in Myanmar is known, using guerrilla tactics and training in the jungle.A protester with an image of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon, Myanmar, weeks after the military coup in February 2021.The New York TimesLast week, the United Nations’ Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the junta’s rights abuses in the aftermath of the coup and demanding the release of political prisoners. Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is one of more than 16,000 people who have been arrested since the coup for opposing military rule, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. The group says more than 13,000 of them are still detained.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been charged with a series of crimes by the junta, including corruption, election fraud, inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 protocols. A number of other government leaders have also stood trial in recent months, and the regime has executed some pro-democracy activists as it continues to crack down on opponents.The military-controlled Election Commission first brought election fraud charges against Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2021, about a year after her political party won in a landslide. During that trial, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials were accused of manipulating voter lists to secure their victory over the military-backed party. She has denied all of the charges against her.Friday’s sentencing pertained to a set of charges separate from the election-fraud case. She was found guilty of five counts of corruption that caused a loss of state funds. Prosecutors had argued that Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not follow the proper protocols when she rented one helicopter and bought a second, sometime between 2019 and 2021.While the junta has insisted that the charges against Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi are not politically motivated, the military has long considered her a threat and sought to minimize her influence in Myanmar, said U Kyee Myint, a human rights lawyer in Yangon, Myanmar’s largest city.A United Nations Security Council meeting this month in New York during a vote on a draft resolution calling for an immediate end to violence in Myanmar and the release of political prisoners.Ed Jones/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images“As long as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in politics, the military will never win,” Mr. Kyee Myint said. “That’s why long-term prison terms are imposed — to remove Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s influence in politics.”Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of Gen. Aung San, the country’s independence hero, who was assassinated when she was 2 years old. As an adult, she was one of many people who spent years in jail for their political opposition to the military junta that seized power in 1962 and ruled the country for decades.In 1991, she won a Nobel Peace Prize for her nonviolent resistance to the generals who had locked her up, turning her into an icon for global democracy. She eventually began a power-sharing arrangement with the military when her party, the National League for Democracy, won its first landslide election victory in 2015. Because the country’s military-drafted Constitution bars her from the presidency, she named herself foreign minister and state counselor, positions that gave her broad executive authority.By the time she was detained in 2021, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi had lost some of her luster, in large part because she had downplayed the army’s murderous campaign against Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority, who have been forced to flee the country by the hundreds of thousands. But Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi still has legions of devoted followers in a country now ruled by General Min Aung Hlaing.“I think Min Aung Hlaing wanted Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to suffer and die in prison, so he sentenced her to a long prison term,” said Daw Nge Nge Lwin, the owner of a gas station in Yangon and the aunt of a student activist who has been detained at the city’s notorious Insein prison. “But Daw Aung San Suu Kyi ruled the country with love and is loved by the people. I don’t think she’s someone who will die, depressed, in prison.”Renaud Egreteau, an expert on civil-military relations in Myanmar and a professor at the City University of Hong Kong, said that he expected her reputation to endure for years among her followers.Just as protesters carried banners featuring images of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s father decades after his assassination, he said, “We can assume that her own portrait will continue to be used as a call to collective action and protest against those holding illegitimate power, regardless of her own action.”“She is still the matriarchal figure that invokes resistance against the army,” Professor Egreteau added. “I doubt a farcical trial can change that.”People protesting as security forces blocked off the parimeter around NLD headquarters, in Yangon, Myanmar, in February.The New York TimesSince being detained in 2021, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to speak only with her lawyers. They have been banned from speaking to the news media during the trials. Earlier this year, the country’s military-backed Supreme Court announced that it would auction off the residence where she spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during the previous military regime.“A time may come when the military sees advantages in allowing Suu Kyi to move to some form of house arrest, or even grant access to her for international envoys,” Mr. Horsey said. “But that time is not now, and the decision may fall to a postelection, military administration.” More

    • 113 Shares129 Views

      in Elections

      Aung San Suu Kyi Trial in Myanmar Nears End

      by

      The prosecution of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has drawn international condemnation. The latest set of corruption charges could put her in prison for the rest of her life.Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s ousted civilian leader, is expected to appear in court on Friday to receive the last of several verdicts handed down to her by the military regime, capping off a secretive 13 months of trial proceedings during which the 77-year-old Nobel laureate has already been sentenced to decades in prison.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in a coup in February 2021. Since that time, the junta has charged her with a series of crimes, including corruption, election fraud, inciting public unrest and breaching Covid-19 protocols. Friday’s verdict stemmed from a set of corruption charges related to what prosecutors argue was Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s improper purchase of one helicopter and rental of another.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and her political party won the November 2020 election in a landslide. Independent international observers declared the results free and fair. But less than three months after her election victory, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi was detained by the military, a move that has drawn international condemnation.Since the military seized power on Feb. 1, 2021, Myanmar has been racked by violence. Protests erupted across the country as the junta’s opponents mounted a civil disobedience movement and national strike. The military responded with brutal force, shooting and killing protesters in the streets. Thousands of armed resistance fighters have continued to battle the Tatmadaw, as the army in Myanmar is known, using guerrilla tactics and training in the jungle.Last week, the United Nation’s Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the junta’s rights abuses in the aftermath of the coup.The military-controlled Election Commission first brought election fraud charges against Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi in November 2021. During that trial, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other senior government officials were accused of manipulating voter lists to secure their victory over the military-backed party.Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has denied all of the charges against her. The United Nations and other international organizations have demanded her freedom, though the junta has insisted that the charges are not politically motivated and has refused to let Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi speak with global leaders who have visited Myanmar in recent months.By Friday, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi had already begun serving a 26-year prison sentence in connection with more than a dozen charges she has faced since the coup. In the most recent case, prosecutors argued that an investigation found Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi did not follow the proper protocols when she rented one helicopter and bought a second, some time between 2019 and 2021.The latest verdicts come as the military seeks to minimize Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s influence in Myanmar, said U Kyee Myint, a human rights lawyer based in Yangon, Myanmar. Despite the regime’s efforts, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is still revered by many in the country.“As long as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is in politics, the military will never win,” Mr. Kyee Myint said. “That’s why long-term prison terms are imposed — to remove Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s influence in politics.”Earlier this year, the country’s military-backed Supreme Court announced that it would auction off Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence, where she spent nearly 15 years under house arrest during a previous military regime. Since being detained in 2021, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to speak only with her lawyers. They have been banned from speaking to the news media during the trials. More

    • 113 Shares169 Views

      in Elections

      Israel’s Hard-Line Government Takes Office, Testing Bonds With Allies

      by

      Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition will likely test ties with the United States and Europe, amid fears that it will undermine the country’s democracy and stability.Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister of Israel for a sixth time.Amir Levy/Getty ImagesJERUSALEM — Israel’s new government was sworn in on Thursday, returning Benjamin Netanyahu to power at the head of a right-wing and religiously conservative administration that represents a significant challenge for the country on the world stage.Mr. Netanyahu’s governing coalition will likely test Israel’s ties with the United States and Europe, amid fears that his coalition partners will undermine the country’s liberal democracy and its stability. Mr. Netanyahu dismissed those concerns in a speech in Parliament before a vote of confidence and the swearing-in of his ministers.“There is a broad consensus among us about most of the challenges we face, though certainly not about all of them,” he said. “I hear the constant lamentations of the opposition about ‘the country being over’ and ‘the end of democracy.’ Members of the opposition, losing in elections is not the end of democracy — it is the essence of democracy.”The makeup of Mr. Netanyahu’s government and the policies it has pledged to pursue have raised concerns about increased tensions with Palestinians, the undermining of the country’s judicial independence and the rolling back of protections for the L.G.B.T.Q. community and other sectors of society.Mr. Netanyahu’s return as prime minister for a sixth time comes at a critical moment for Israel as it faces fundamental challenges: Iran’s drive to acquire nuclear weapons; growing international criticism of its handling of the occupied West Bank; and a global tide of antisemitism.The coalition has been clear in its manifesto — hammered out in agreements with various parties as ministries were handed out — about what it intends to do.It has declared the Jewish people’s “exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel” and pledged to bolster Jewish settlement in the West Bank — explicitly abandoning the internationally recognized formula for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Peace talks have been on hiatus for years.Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its manifesto have raised concerns about increased tensions with Palestinians and protections for L.G.B.T.Q. people.Abir Sultan/EPA, via ShutterstockThe new government is also pressing for an overhaul of the judiciary that Mr. Netanyahu — currently on trial on corruption charges — and his supporters insist will restore the proper balance between the branches of government. Critics say the move would curb the power of the independent judiciary, damaging Israel’s democratic system and leaving minorities more vulnerable.Mr. Netanyahu’s past coalitions have been balanced by more moderate parties, but this time, he had to rely more heavily on far-right parties to form a government. That could complicate Israel’s relations with perhaps its most important ally, the United States, and with American Jews, who have been among Israel’s strongest supporters abroad.What to Know About Israel’s New GovernmentNetanyahu’s Return: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, is set to return to power at the helm of the most right-wing administration in Israeli history.The Far Right’s Rise: To win election, Mr. Netanyahu and his far-right allies harnessed perceived threats to Israel’s Jewish identity after ethnic unrest and the subsequent inclusion of Arab lawmakers in the government.Arab Allies: Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right allies have a history of making anti-Arab statements. Three Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel in 2020 appear unconcerned.Worries Among Palestinians: To some Palestinians, the rise of Israel’s far right can scarcely make things worse. But many fear a surge of violence.President Biden on Thursday said in a statement that he looked forward to working with a prime minister “who has been my friend for decades, to jointly address the many challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region, including threats from Iran.”But Mr. Biden also hinted at possible sources of tension with the new government, like L.G.B.T.Q. rights and conflicts with Palestinians. He said “the United States will continue to support the two state solution and to oppose policies that endanger its viability.”Thomas R. Nides, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, said the administration would respond to the Israeli government’s actions rather than coalition deals that may not materialize.“We’ve been told over and over by Prime Minister Netanyahu that he has his hands on the wheel and wants to be the prime minister of everyone,” he said in an interview. “He’s a very talented and very experienced prime minister. We want to work closely with him on mutual values we share, and at this point not get distracted by everyone else. So the focus is on the prime minister and the prime minister’s office.”Another concern for many Jews in the United States who identify with more liberal streams of Judaism is the new government’s policies on religion, which give more weight to strict Orthodox demands. Particularly distressing to many Jews outside Israel, the coalition has promised to restrict the Law of Return, which currently grants refuge and automatic citizenship to foreign Jews, their spouses and descendants who have at least one Jewish grandparent, even though they may not qualify as Jewish according to strict religious law.“We are profoundly concerned about the intentions of this government and we are taking their promises and agenda very seriously,” said Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the Union for Reform Judaism, the largest Jewish denomination in the United States.The coalition partners, he said, also want to narrow who is counted as a legitimate Jew in the Jewish homeland. The “Who is a Jew” debate has surfaced before, but this time, Rabbi Jacobs said, Israelis whose extreme views excluded them from the establishment in the past hold key positions in the government.An ultra-Orthodox man voting in Bnei Brak, Israel, last month. The government’s platform reflects numerous Orthodox demands that liberal Jews in the United States have objected to.Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times“Israel doesn’t get to decide alone,” he said of Jewish identity. “In some ways, these policies are meant to push us away. But the result is that we are going to lean in harder because of the importance of the state of Israel in all our lives.”Hundreds of American rabbis have signed an open letter protesting the government proposals.The policies of the new government could also have repercussions with Arab states, even as Israel has in recent years forged diplomatic ties with countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco.King Abdullah II of Jordan said in an interview with CNN on Wednesday that he was “prepared to get into a conflict” if Israel tries — as some coalition members hope — to change the status of a Jerusalem holy site revered by Muslims and Jews, over which Jordan has custodianship. Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994.Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party has emphasized the parts of the government’s policies aimed at deepening and expanding Israel’s peace and normalization deals with Arab countries, and he has spoken of Saudi Arabia as his next goal.But other clauses of the coalition’s platform talk of promoting Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank and further entrenching Jewish settlement in the heart of the land Palestinians have envisaged as their state.Bezalel Smotrich, the ultranationalist new finance minister who ultimately wants to annex the West Bank, will also serve as a minister within the defense ministry responsible for agencies dealing with the construction of Jewish settlements and civilian life in the occupied territories. That is likely to increase tensions with Israel’s allies abroad who place a premium on keeping the two-state option alive.Bezalel Smotrich, right, the new ultranationalist finance minister with Itamar Ben-Gvir, the national security minister, in Parliament on Thursday. Pool photo by Amir CohenThe Biden administration “is going to do everything possible to minimize friction and focus on areas of agreement,” said Daniel B. Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and now a fellow at the Atlantic Council. “But friction will be impossible to completely avoid over issues related to the Palestinians, the future of two states and possibly the holy sites and the status of the Arab citizens of Israel.”European allies have so far taken a wait-and-see stance similar to the Biden administration’s. Christofer Burger, the spokesman of the German Foreign Office in Berlin, said Wednesday that bilateral relations with Israel “remain unchanged.”But he noted the Israeli plan to retroactively authorize West Bank settlements built without government permission, saying, “We expect the new Israeli government to refrain from such unilateral moves that would undermine the basis of a negotiated two-state solution.”Some Israeli diplomats have taken a stand against the new government. Israel’s ambassador to France, Yael German, resigned on Thursday, stating in a letter that she could “no longer continue to represent policies so radically different from all that I believe in.”And more than a hundred retired Israeli ambassadors and senior Foreign Ministry officials took the extraordinary step of signing a letter to Mr. Netanyahu this week expressing their “profound concern” at the potential harm to Israel’s strategic relations.“The letter was not politically motivated but was written out of pragmatic concern for how you prevent weakening Israel’s standing in the international arena,” said Jeremy Issacharoff, a signatory and former ambassador to Germany.For many Palestinians, the hard-line government is merely exposing what they have said all along about Israel’s true intentions.“Its annexationist agenda of Jewish supremacy is now very blunt and clear,” Husam Zomlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, said by phone. “The two-state solution was never a Palestinian demand,” he said, “but an international requirement that we have accepted. Now, publicly, this government does not endorse the idea of partition. That’s the heart of it.”Israel’s new national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, who was convicted in the past of inciting racism and support for a terrorist group, has been given expanded powers over the police and additional forces to fight crime in Arab communities.The coalition has also vowed to amend the current anti-discrimination law, which applies to businesses and service providers, allowing them to refuse to provide a service contrary to their religious beliefs in a way that critics say could lead to discrimination against the L.G.B.T.Q. community or others.Mr. Netanyahu seemed to address that fear through Amir Ohana, a Likud member who on Thursday became the first openly gay speaker of the Parliament, and thanked his life partner and their two children from the podium during the inauguration ceremony. Mr. Netanyahu made a point of being photographed sitting next to Mr. Ohana and his family at a toast afterward.Yet an ultraconservative, anti-gay minister has been given wide powers over some programs taught in public schools and the ultra-Orthodox parties in the coalition have secured copious funding for adults who choose full-time Torah study over work.“This is unlike anything we have seen before,” Mr. Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador, said. “The majority of the coalition and many of its dominant members with a lot of leverage over the prime minister subscribe to a worldview that defines issues of national and Jewish identity, religion and state and democracy unlike any previous Israeli right-wing government.”Jim Tankersley More