The day before Mexico’s Independence Day, thousands of protestors took to the streets in Mexico City demanding President Enrique Peña Nieto resign from office. Nieto’s handling of homicides, drug wars, education, the economy and corruption among other things has made him the most unpopular president in a quarter-century, according to the New York Times. The recent closed-door meeting Peña Nieto had with the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump only added fuel to the fire.
Brazil: Former president charged with corruption
Brazilian federal prosecutors filed money laundering and corruption charges against Brazil’s ex-president, Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva, his wife and six others, on Sept. 14. Lula has been accused of involvement in a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal with the state-run oil giant Petrobras. The two-year-old investigation has shown how Lula’s Workers’ Party and its allies gave out overpriced contracts in return for unlawful bribes and funding. Although Lula has denied all the allegations, prosecutors have also accused him of receiving $1.1 million in bribes and a beachfront apartment in Sao Paulo from O.A.S., one of the construction companies at the center of the scandal. Whether or not Lula goes to trial will be decided by Sergio Moro, the judge overseeing the scandal.
Brazil: New president arrives amid ongoing turmoil
For the last 13 years Brazil has been governed by the leftist Worker’s Party, but after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff from office, her vice president, Michel Temer of the centrist Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, has been appointed to the job. Temer, a career politician who has himself been found guilty of violating campaign finance regulations, faces challenges in strengthening the economy and fighting corruption as Brazil’s new president. The removal of Rousseff was seen by many as a de facto coup d’etat and Temer has been widely criticized for choosing a cabinet that is composed of all white males.
Colombia: Peace agreement reached between government and FARC
A federal appeals court in New York has upheld a ruling by a lower court against Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has reached an agreement after four years of negotiations with President Juan Manuel Santos. The “final full and definitive accord” comes after a 52-year-long war, which cost an estimated 260,000 lives and displaced untold millions of people. Colombians will vote on a referendum on Oct. 2, which if approved, would move the leftist FARC guerrillas under the supervision of the United Nations. The agreement calls for the guerillas to surrender their weapons and in exchange, they will be permitted to return to civilian life.