LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR a DAILY PUBLICATION of the DIALOGUE Friday, April 3, 2020

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR a DAILY PUBLICATION of the DIALOGUE Friday, April 3, 2020 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR A DAILY PUBLICATION OF THE DIALOGUE www.thedialogue.org Friday, April 3, 2020 BOARD OF ADVISORS FEATURED Q&A TODAY’S NEWS Diego Arria Director, Columbus Group POLITICAL Devry Boughner Vorwerk What Will Almagro Peru, Panama CEO, DevryBV Sustainable Strategies Limit Days Joyce Chang Global Head of Research, Prioritize in His Outside by Gender JPMorgan Chase & Co. Peru and Panama have limited by Paula Cifuentes gender the days that residents can Director of Economic & Fiscal Affairs, Second OAS Term? go outside to purchase essentials Latin America & Canada, Philip Morris International in an effort to slow the spread of Marlene Fernández Covid-19. Corporate Vice President for Page 2 Government Relations, Arcos Dorados Peter Hakim BUSINESS President Emeritus, Inter-American Dialogue Guyana Project Donna Hrinak Output Unaffected President, Boeing Latin America Jon E. Huenemann by Price Shock: Former Corporate and ExxonMobil Government Senior Executive The recent oil price shock has not James R. Jones Luis Almagro last month was re-elected secretary general of the Organization of American Chairman, affected production at the Liza States. // File Photo: Organization of American States. Monarch Global Strategies project in Guyana, according to a Craig A. Kelly spokeswoman for ExxonMobil. Director, Americas International Luis Almagro, who has been secretary general of the Page 3 Gov’t Relations, Exxon Mobil John Maisto Organization of American States since 2015, was re-elect- Director, U.S. Education ed on March 20 to a second five-year term heading the POLITICAL Finance Group Q organization, garnering 23 of the 33 votes cast by member Nicolás Mariscal Morgues at Chairman, states. What does Almagro’s victory mean for the organization and for Grupo Marhnos Capacity in Western Hemisphere relations? What will be Almagro’s priorities during Thomas F. McLarty III Guayaquil, Bodies Chairman, his second term, and are they the correct ones? What is the OAS’ role Lie in Streets McLarty Associates in the region during such challenging times, and to what extent has the Carlos Paz-Soldan Morgues in Ecuador’s largest city Partner, organization’s stature and credibility been affected by its part in recent have been overwhelmed amid the DTB Associates, LLP electoral controversies in countries such as Bolivia? coronavirus pandemic. Bodies lie Beatrice Rangel in the streets of Guayaquil as “no Director, one wants to recover them,” said AMLA Consulting LLC Ronald Sanders, ambassador of Antigua and Barbuda to the Mayor Cynthia Viteri, who herself Jaana Remes Partner, United States: “During Almagro’s first term, the OAS experi- has contracted the virus. McKinsey Global Institute enced bitter division, leaving the organization weak and lack- Page 2 Ernesto Revilla Head of Latin American ing a coherent way forward. Almagro was almost a ‘one item’ Economics, Citi A secretary general, consumed by events in Venezuela and acting in concert Gustavo Roosen Chairman of the Board, with countries that used the organization in furtherance of domestic polit- Envases Venezolanos ical agendas tied to removing the Maduro government. A majority of only Andrés Rozental 18 votes secured his control of the OAS. To operate based only on satisfy- President, Rozental & Asociados ing a majority, however achieved, neglects the interests of all others. The Shelly Shetty OAS will not survive in constant contention, vexation and division. Alma- Managing Director, Sovereigns Fitch Ratings gro’s second term provides him an opportunity to build bridges between member states and to lead a collective hemispheric agenda, which should include tackling climate change and a failing trading system; financing development; and addressing communicable diseases—all of which are integral to maintaining security, democracy and human rights. The latter Viteri // File Photo: City of Guayaquil. Continued on page 3 COPYRIGHT © 2020, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 1 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Friday, April 3, 2020 POLITICAL NEWS that one.” Bukele has taken among the most NEWS BRIEFS aggressive measures in the region in an effort Morgues at Capacity to contain the virus. He closed the country’s Bank of America Expects borders and its international airport on March Larger Contraction in Guayaquil, Bodies 14, before the country had even confirmed its first case of Covid-19. “The world IS NOT for Brazil’s Economy Lie in Streets doing enough to stop the virus. Its advance is Bank of America on Thursday said it expected ruthless, and it has already brought the world’s a deeper economic contraction in Brazil than Guayaquil has emerged as among the Latin most powerful countries to their knees,” Bukele previously forecast because of the Covid-19 American cities hardest hit by the coronavirus tweeted last week. “We’re also not doing pandemic, Reuters reported. The bank said it pandemic, with morgues in Ecuador’s most enough. The worst part is that there are people now expects a 3.5 percent contraction in Latin populous city overwhelmed and bodies in complaining that we’re being too strict. They America’s largest economy, as opposed to the some cases left lying on sidewalks and in the don’t understand anything.” El Salvador has 46 previously expected 0.5 percent contraction. streets, UPI reported Thursday. Other corpses confirmed cases of the disease and two related Bank of America also said it expected Brazil’s have been left unclaimed in hospitals and deaths. currency to weaken to 5.2 reais per U.S. dollar. clinics as fatalities have happened faster than crews can bury the dead. “They’re leaving them Peru, Panama in the villages, they fall in front of hospitals,” Guatemalan Congress Mayor Cynthia Viteri said last week in a video Limit Days Outside message. “No one wants to recover them.” Approves $130 in Monthly Viteri herself is quarantined after she tested Home by Gender Aid to Families in Need positive for Covid-19. Ecuador has 3,163 Guatemala’s Congress early today approved confirmed cases of the disease and 120 deaths Peru and Panama on Thursday limited the monthly aid of 1,000 quetzals (about $130) for related to it. In the region, only Brazil and Chile times men and women can leave their homes families affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, have more confirmed cases. Authorities in as part of each country’s efforts to curb the Prensa Libre reported. The bill, which Pres- Guayaquil say they have collected at least 400 spread of coronavirus, Reuters reported. In ident Alejandro Giammattei proposed, had corpses in recent days, UPI reported. Images Peru, where President Martín Vizcarra has stalled due to problems with the wording after on social media show people coughing outside mandated a strict quarantine, men and women Congress approved it in an emergency session. of overcrowded hospitals in Guayaquil and will only be allowed to go outside on designat- In total, the economic package will give out six some slumped over on the streets, the Miami ed days divided by gender through April 12, billion quetzals per month to families in need. Herald reported. “What’s happened with our health care system?” Viteri said in a posting on Facebook. “Families are wandering the city, We have to get fewer knocking on doors hoping a hospital will take people to be on the Venezuelan Navy Vessel them in, but there are no more beds.” The city streets every day.” Sinks After Deliberately has raided a $10 million fund that was intended — Martín Vizcarra to celebrate Guayaquil’s bicentennial in order to Ramming German Ship buy 50,000 additional testing kits, 40 portable A Venezuelan Navy patrol boat deliberately ventilators and 20 ventilators for intensive care Vizcarra announced Thursday. On Mondays, rammed a German cruise ship in international units, the newspaper reported. Additionally, it Wednesday and Fridays, only men will be able waters and then sank off the South American has brought in four refrigerated trucks to store to leave their homes to stock up. Women can country just after midnight on March 30, Deut- bodies. Leaders elsewhere have taken notice of go out on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. sche Welle reported today. Hamburg-based the dire situation in Guayaquil and are using it No one can leave on Sundays. “We have to get Colombia Cruise Services said the Resolute as a warning. “They said the pandemic wouldn’t fewer people to be on the streets every day,” cruise ship, which was carrying a crew of 32 hit Latin America so hard because we’re used Vizcarra said. Peru has also resorted to calling people but no passengers, was the target of to illnesses, because it’s hot, because the up army reservists in order to enforce the quar- an “act of aggression.” The Venezuelan patrol population is young, etc, etc,” Salvadoran antine measures, given that many Peruvians vessel accused the cruise captain of violat- President Nayib Bukele wrote in a posting on continue to violate them. Vizcarra said earlier ing Venezuela’s territorial waters. After the Twitter. “Look at what’s happening in Ecuador. this week that some 36,000 people had been collision, the Navy boat began taking on water If you don’t see yourself reflected in the mirror arrested for not complying. The Andean nation and went down, but its 44-member crew was of Italy, Spain or New York, look at yourself in has 1,414 confirmed cases and 55 deaths. rescued by another vessel. The cruise ship sustained minor damage. COPYRIGHT © 2020, INTER-AMERICAN DIALOGUE PAGE 2 LATIN AMERICA ADVISOR Friday, April 3, 2020 Meanwhile, Panama’s security minister, Juan FEATURED Q&A / Continued from page 1 Pino, announced that men and women would only be allowed to leave their house during should be strictly applied with no repetition success in his second term may depend less predetermined hours, Metro Libre reported.
Recommended publications
  • Venezuela: Background and U.S
    Venezuela: Background and U.S. Policy (name redacted) Specialist in Latin American Affairs June 14, 2017 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov R44841 Venezuela: Background and U.S. Policy Summary Venezuela is in an acute political, economic, and social crisis. Following the March 2013 death of populist President Hugo Chávez, acting President Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) narrowly defeated Henrique Capriles of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) to be elected to a six-year term in April 2013. President Maduro now has less than 20% public approval, and fissures have emerged within the PSUV about the means that he has used to maintain power, including an aborted attempt to have the Supreme Court dissolve the MUD-dominated legislature. Since March 2017, large-scale protests have called for President Maduro to release political prisoners, respect the separation of powers, and establish an electoral calendar. Instead, Maduro has scheduled July 30, 2017, elections to select delegates to a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution (the opposition is boycotting). Security forces have repressed protesters, with some 70 dead and thousands injured and jailed. Venezuela also faces crippling economic and social challenges. An economic crisis, triggered by mismanagement and low oil prices, is worsening. In 2016, the economy contracted by 18% and inflation averaged 254% according to the International Monetary Fund. Shortages of food and medicine have caused a humanitarian crisis. The Maduro government is struggling to raise the cash needed to make its debt payments and pay for imports. Some economists maintain that Venezuela is at risk of default in 2017.
    [Show full text]
  • M a R C H 2 0 2 0
    M A R C H 2 0 2 0 O A S S E C R E T A R Y G E N E R A L E L E C T I O N PRE-ELECTION REPORT E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y This report presents an overview of the election of the Secretary General of the OAS, which will take place March 20, 2020. Contents: 1. Overview - expect a tight-fought race 2. OAS Secretary General position 3. Election of the OAS Secretary 4. Nominations 5. Candidates: Who are they and what they propose? 6. Mapping of political support 7. The Venezuelan vote 8. Secretaries General over the past 20 years 9. Assistant Secretary General 10. Transparency in the election of the General Secretary 11. Regional challenges and strategic vision O V E R V I E W - E X P E C T A T I G H T - F O U G H T R A C E On March 20, the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) will choose the next head of its General Secretariat, to sit until 2025. Eying re-election is current Secretary General Luis Almagro. He faces stiff competition, however, despite being publicly backed by the US, Brazil and Colombia. Formerly a chancellor of Uruguay in the government of José Mujica, Almagro secured the OAS’ top position in 2015 pledging to promote regional dialogue, and received the near unanimous support of member states. However, his leadership style is seen by many as belligerent, especially over Venezuela, and this, coupled with his closeness to certain governments in the region, has weakened his hand to negotiate.
    [Show full text]
  • The International Criminal Court: Interconnection Between International Bodies in Venezuela
    LCB_24_1_Article_6_Briceno_Correction (Do Not Delete) 3/6/2020 10:19 AM THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: INTERCONNECTION BETWEEN INTERNATIONAL BODIES IN VENEZUELA by Humberto Briceño León* In this Article, I focus on the current International Criminal Court case re- garding Venezuela’s alleged violations of fundamental human rights and other criminal violations of international law. I begin by outlining the situation in Venezuela and the history that led to this state of affairs. I then review the non-judicial and quasi-judicial activities done in the Venezuelan situation by several international bodies and their inter-relation. Next, I address the ICC activities on the Venezuelan case, particularly its latest standards on timely justice and international cooperation. Following that, I give an overview of the institutional international framework focusing on how the interconnection between the disparate international corps could be effective in protecting hu- man rights. Subsequently, I look into some doctrinal approaches to the legal relationship between international courts and national judiciaries, especially the inoperative ones. I conclude by examining the complementarity and subsi- diarity principles working in international human rights and international criminal law, especially in the Venezuelan case. I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 262 II. The Venezuela Situation ....................................................................... 264 III. Activities
    [Show full text]
  • Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic
    OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 45/15 31 December 2015 Original: Spanish INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Report on the Situation of Human Rights in the Dominican Republic 2015 www.iachr.org OAS Cataloging-in-Publication Data Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Report on the situation of human rights in the Dominican Republic. p. ; cm. (OAS. Official records ; OEA/Ser.L/V/II) ISBN 978-0-8270-6523-9 1. Human rights--Dominican Republic. 2. Civil rights--Dominican Republic. 3. Haitians--Civil rights--Dominican Republic. 4. Haitians--Legal status, laws, etc.--Dominican Republic. I. Title. II. Series. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc.45/15 INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Members Rose-Marie Belle Antoine James L. Cavallaro José de Jesús Orozco Henríquez Felipe González Rosa María Ortiz Tracy Robinson Paulo Vannuchi Executive Secretary Emilio Álvarez-Icaza L. Assistant Executive Secretary Elizabeth Abi-Mershed Approved by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on December 31, 2015 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 CHAPTER 1 | INTRODUCTION 21 A. Scope and objectives of the report 21 B. On-site visit to the Dominican Republic and follow up 23 1. Actions after the on-site visit to the Dominican Republic 31 2. Positive actions 34 C. Structure and methodology 36 D. Preparation, approval and follow-up of the report 39 E. Observations of the Dominican Republic on the report 40 CHAPTER 2 | THE RIGHT TO NATIONALITY AND JUDGMENT TC/0168/13 OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT 45 A. General considerations 45 1. Historical background of Haitian migration to the Dominican Republic 52 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Final-Signatory List-Democracy Letter-23-06-2020.Xlsx
    Signatories by Surname Name Affiliation Country Davood Moradian General Director, Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies Afghanistan Rexhep Meidani Former President of Albania Albania Juela Hamati President, European Democracy Youth Network Albania Nassera Dutour President, Federation Against Enforced Disappearances (FEMED) Algeria Fatiha Serour United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Somalia; Co-founder, Justice Impact Algeria Rafael Marques de MoraisFounder, Maka Angola Angola Laura Alonso Former Member of Chamber of Deputies; Former Executive Director, Poder Argentina Susana Malcorra Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Argentina; Former Chef de Cabinet to the Argentina Patricia Bullrich Former Minister of Security of Argentina Argentina Mauricio Macri Former President of Argentina Argentina Beatriz Sarlo Journalist Argentina Gerardo Bongiovanni President, Fundacion Libertad Argentina Liliana De Riz Professor, Centro para la Apertura y el Desarrollo Argentina Flavia Freidenberg Professor, the Institute of Legal Research of the National Autonomous University of Argentina Santiago Cantón Secretary of Human Rights for the Province of Buenos Aires Argentina Haykuhi Harutyunyan Chairperson, Corruption Prevention Commission Armenia Gulnara Shahinian Founder and Chair, Democracy Today Armenia Tom Gerald Daly Director, Democratic Decay & Renewal (DEM-DEC) Australia Michael Danby Former Member of Parliament; Chair, the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Australia Gareth Evans Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Australia and
    [Show full text]
  • Bolivia Faces New Polls in Shadow of Fraud Row
    Bolivia Faces New Polls in Shadow of Fraud Row Crisis Group Latin America Briefing N°43 Bogotá/New York/Brussels, 31 July 2020 What’s new? Bolivia is set to hold a presidential election on 18 October. Besides the challenge of holding the poll amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the legacy of 2019’s disputed poll, which provoked violent unrest and led former President Evo Morales to flee the country, means that both sides mistrust the election system. Why does it matter? In late 2019, an agreement to hold new polls under reformed election authorities curbed unrest. Still, the 2019 vote remains controversial, as does the role of Organization of American States observers, whose statements shaped perceptions of rigging. Amid deep social and political polarisation, another flawed poll could trigger further instability. What should be done? The EU, UN, donor countries, Bolivia’s neighbours and international NGOs should provide technical and political support to the electoral authorities, deploy as robust monitoring missions as is feasible, and press the main political forces to commit publicly to accept results or pursue grievances in the courts, not by protesting. I. Overview On 18 October 2020, a year after a troubled election triggered fraud allegations and deadly unrest culminating in President Evo Morales’ flight from the country, Bolivians are due to return to the polls. Standing in the way of a fair and undisputed vote is the practical hurdle of the COVID-19 pandemic, now raging across much of South Amer- ica and which has already forced election delays. Yet a more fundamental obstacle to ending the bitter aftermath of Morales’ resignation are Bolivia’s political divisions, which have been further embittered by arguments over the 2019 vote and the elec- tion system’s legitimacy more broadly.
    [Show full text]
  • Bolivia's October 2020 General Elections
    INSIGHTi Bolivia’s October 2020 General Elections Updated October 22, 2020 On October 18, 2020, Luis Arce and the leftist Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party won Bolivia’s presidential and legislative elections in a landslide. Arce, former finance minister in the government of President Evo Morales (2005-2019), secured a first-round victory with 54% of the vote. Held nearly one year after Morales’s November 2019 resignation following annulled October 2019 elections that were marred by allegations of fraud, the 2020 elections demonstrated voters’ continued support for the MAS. U.S. officials congratulated Arce on his victory. U.S.-Bolivian relations could be challenging, given tension in relations under Morales and the Trump Administration’s strong support for the conservative interim government. 2020 Election Results After a year of violence and polarization since Morales’s resignation, many observers questioned whether the interim government led by Jeanette Áñez, herself a presidential candidate until September, could convene free and fair elections amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Although some polls suggested Arce could win in the first round, most suggested that a run-off election likely would be necessary and that the anti-MAS candidates could defeat Arce by uniting behind former president Carlos Mesa. As preelection tensions escalated, the interim government warned of “consequences” if MAS supporters protested the results. Election Day proved generally calm, and postelection violence has not occurred. In contrast to the chaos of the 2019 elections, the reconstituted Supreme Electoral Tribunal administered a process that the parties and international election observers deemed generally free and fair.
    [Show full text]
  • The Venezuelan Crisis Is Not Just a out of the Country Means Fewer People Domestic Problem
    All views expressed in the Latin America Policy Journal are those of the authors or the interviewees only and do not represent the views of Harvard University, the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the staff of the Latin America Policy Journal, or any associates of the Journal. All errors are authors’ responsibilities. © 2018 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved. Except as otherwise specified, no article or portion herein is to be reproduced or adapted to other works without the expressed written consent of the editors of the Latin America Policy Journal. Latin America and the Crisis in Venezuela: An Opportunity to Defend Democracy and Human Rights in the Hemisphere By Luis Almagro, Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) The path toward building better democ- region. Our societies must grapple with racies in Latin America is not paved with these challenges on a daily basis. Citizens quick, acclaimed victories. The post- are urging governments to meet their basic colonial national governments that needs, protect their human and funda- were established were based – in several mental rights, and fulfill basic institutional countries – on unstable centers of power, requests. Despite the countless hours weak governance, and discriminatory spent parsing out variables and evaluating ruling classes. The traditional political potential policies, we have still failed to elites were reluctant to build strong insti- take the necessary actions to uproot the tutions, fearing they could risk their future deep-seated sources of these problems. hold on power and privilege. They with- held fundamental rights from their peo- In Latin America, there is one essential ple, believing that social mobility could lesson.
    [Show full text]
  • Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations
    Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations Updated April 28, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R44841 SUMMARY R44841 Venezuela: Background and U.S. Relations April 28, 2021 The crisis in Venezuela has deepened under the authoritarian rule of Nicolás Maduro, who has consolidated power despite presiding over a dire economic and humanitarian Clare Ribando Seelke, crisis worsened by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Maduro, Coordinator narrowly elected in 2013 after the death of Hugo Chávez (president, 1999-2013), and the Specialist in Latin United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) took de facto control of the National American Affairs Assembly, the last independent branch of government, in January 2021. Maduro has resisted U.S. and international pressure to step down and an opposition led by Juan Rebecca M. Nelson Guaidó, the National Assembly president elected in 2015 and once regarded as interim Specialist in International Trade and Finance president by nearly 60 countries. Venezuela’s economy has collapsed. The country is plagued by hyperinflation, severe Rhoda Margesson shortages of food and medicine, and a dire humanitarian crisis that has further Specialist in International deteriorated as a result of gasoline shortages, COVID-19, and U.S. sanctions. Maduro Humanitarian Policy has blamed sanctions for the economic crisis, but many observers cite economic mismanagement and corruption as the main factors. U.N. agencies estimate 5.6 million Phillip Brown Venezuelans have fled the country as of April 2021. Specialist in Energy Policy U.S. Policy The U.S. government ceased recognizing Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate president in January 2019.
    [Show full text]
  • Venezuela: Background and U.S. Policy
    Venezuela: Background and U.S. Policy (name redacted) Specialist in Latin American Affairs May 10, 2017 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov R44841 Venezuela: Background and U.S. Policy Summary Venezuela is in the midst of an acute political, economic, and social crisis. Following the March 2013 death of populist President Hugo Chávez, acting President Nicolás Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) narrowly defeated Henrique Capriles of the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) to be elected to a six-year term in April 2013. Four years later, President Maduro has less than 20% public approval and fissures have emerged within the PSUV about the means that he has used to maintain power, including a recent aborted attempt to have the Supreme Court dissolve the MUD-dominated legislature. Protests are escalating amid calls for the Maduro government to hold the regional elections that Maduro postponed last year rather than convene a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution, as he has proposed. Venezuela also is grappling with crippling economic and social challenges. It faces an increasingly unstable economic crisis, triggered by mismanagement and the global drop in oil prices. In 2016, the economy contracted by some 18% and inflation averaged 254%. In addition, massive shortages of food and medicine have caused a humanitarian crisis. The Maduro government is struggling to make debt payments and seeking loans from Russia, but economists maintain that Venezuela is at risk of default in 2017. International efforts to facilitate dialogue between President Maduro and the opposition have failed, due to the government’s intransigence.
    [Show full text]
  • Bolivia After the 2019 Coup: Economic Policy
    Bolivia After the 2019 Coup: Economic Policy By Miguel Carvalho, Jake Johnston, Joe Sammut, and Mark Weisbrot* June 2021 Center for Economic and Policy Research Tel: 202-293-5380 1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Fax: 202-588-1356 Suite 400 https://cepr.net Washington, DC 20009 * Miguel Carvalho, Ph.D., is a student at the Institute of Economics of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Jake Johnston is a Senior Research Associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). Joe Sammut is a Senior Research Fellow at CEPR. Mark Weisbrot is Co-Director of CEPR. Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction 7 Recent Economic and Labor Market Performance 9 De Facto Government Austerity 9 The Pandemic Response 10 Monetary Policy 10 Fiscal Policy 12 Financing and External Borrowing 16 Economic Impact 19 Labor Market Developments 21 Wages 24 Conclusion 25 References 29 Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank Alex Main, Annee Lorentzen, Dan Beeton, Brett Heinz, Jeremy Ross, and Franklin Serrano. 2 Bolivia After the 2019 Coup: Economic Policy Executive Summary This paper looks at the economy of Bolivia during the de facto government that took power following a military coup in November of 2019 and ruled for one year. The coup overthrew a democratically elected president, Evo Morales, who still had months remaining in the term to which he was elected in 2014. Other reports have documented the violence and human rights violations committed by the de facto regime. The Harvard Law School’s International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) and the University Network for Human Rights (UNHR) found that the killing of civilians by state forces in November 2019 was the second highest it had been in any month for nearly 40 years.1 Two massacres committed by security forces within a week of the de facto government taking power killed at least 22 people, and injured at least 230.2 The IHRC/UNHR report emphasizes the racist nature of the violence, including that all of the victims of these massacres were Indigenous.
    [Show full text]
  • PERMANENT COUNCIL of the OEA/Ser.G ORGANIZATION of AMERICAN STATES CP/CAJP-3463/18 7 May 2018 COMMITTEE on JURIDICAL and POLITICAL AFFAIRS Original: Spanish
    PERMANENT COUNCIL OF THE OEA/Ser.G ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES CP/CAJP-3463/18 7 May 2018 COMMITTEE ON JURIDICAL AND POLITICAL AFFAIRS Original: Spanish REPORT OF THE SPECIAL WORKING MEETING TO STRENGTHEN COOPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT [AG/RES. 2909 (XLVII-O/17)] March 15, 2018 Simón Bolívar Room Organization of American States Washington, D.C. (Document prepared by the Department of International Law) REPORT OF THE WORKING MEETING ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (Document prepared by the Department of International Law) The working meeting on the International Criminal Court was held on March 15, 2018, at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS), in compliance with General Assembly resolution AG/RES. 2909 (XLVII-O/17), “Promotion of International Law,” which required that a high-level dialogue session be held to discuss “among other matters, measures that could strengthen cooperation with the International Criminal Court.” The fourth paragraph of operative section (iii) of that resolution states: “4. To express satisfaction at the cooperation in the area of international criminal law between the OAS and the International Criminal Court; to urge the General Secretariat to continue to strengthen that cooperation and to mark the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute in 2018; and to request the Permanent Council to hold, prior to the forty- ninth regular session of the General Assembly, a working meeting that should include a high- level dialogue session among the permanent representatives of all member states to discuss, among other matters, measures that could strengthen cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
    [Show full text]