ATTACKS ON GUATEMALAN DEMOCRACY CONTINUE – In her most brazen move yet, Guatemalan Attorney General Consuelo Porras has alleged evidence of fraud in the landslide election won by Bernardo Arévalo, calling on the results to be declared “null and void” just one month before Arévalo is set to take office. She has also asked Congress to strip Arévalo of immunity from prosecution and accused him of money laundering and fraud. Earlier this month, the country’s Congress lifted immunity from four electoral judges in retaliation for validating the electoral process; three of the four judges have fled the country. In response to this latest attempt by prosecutors to prevent Arévalo from taking office on January 14, the Biden administration announced visa restrictions on nearly 300 Guatemalan lawmakers, private sector leaders, and their families. “Analysts say the scorched-earth attack against a democratically elected leader in a bid to prevent an orderly transition of power reveals a country on the brink of political crisis,” reports The New York Times. 

AUSTERITY MEASURES IN ARGENTINA – Newly inaugurated far-right President Javier Milei announced deep spending cuts and a sharp devaluation of the country’s currency on Tuesday, initiating a period of austerity that will exacerbate economic hardship. Milie’s economy minister Luis Caputo announced the plan in an 18-minute video, saying, “We will be worse off than now for a few months, especially in terms of inflation.” The new measures include laying off recently hired public sector workers, a freeze on infrastructure projects, cutting energy and transportation subsidies, reducing incomes, cutting funding to the country’s 23 provinces, and halving the number of government ministries. The administration says economic shock measures are necessary after years of fiscal mismanagement. Alongside the measures, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, who was eliminated from the presidential race in the first round, announced new protocols to clamp down on public protest. In a press conference on Thursday, Bullrich said: “We are going to enact order in the country so that people can live in peace. The streets will not be taken. Let it be known that if the streets are taken, there will be consequences."

CHILE TO VOTE ON NEW CONSERVATIVE DRAFT CONSTITUTION – Chileans will vote Sunday on whether to adopt a new draft constitution that would replace the country’s dictatorship-era text. Born from the country’s massive social uprising against inequality four years ago, the new draft is a major disappointment for proponents of the rights of women, Indigenous peoples, LGBTQIA+ communities, migrants, and the poor. Chile’s first attempt at drafting a new charter, largely seen as one of the most progressive draft constitutions in the world, was rejected by voters in September 2022 in the wake of a widespread propaganda and disinformation campaign denouncing the text. The most recent draft was led by the far-right Republican Party, and aims to eliminate abortion rights and instill conservative Catholic moral values. Polls indicate that the new charter is not likely to be approved, in which case the country will maintain the 1980 Constitution implemented by the Pinochet dictatorship. 

ESSEQUIBO DISPUTE – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and Guyanese President Irfaan Ali met in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Thursday, where they agreed not to use force against one another “in any circumstances” or to escalate the conflict over the disputed Essequibo territory (see last week’s newsletter). Tensions rose this month after Maduro held a national referendum on making the oil-rich territory, long under the jurisdiction of Guyana, a new Venezuelan state. In a joint statement, the leaders said the dispute will be resolved in accordance with international law, and the two countries will continue their dialogue in Brazil within the next three months. 

MAYA Q’EQCHI’ HUMAN RIGHTS RULING – The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a judgment today in favor of the Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente in Guatemala, after a 40 year battle to ban an open-pit nickel mine from their territory. The ruling may set a precedent for Indigenous communities across Latin America. A press release from the Indian Law Resource Center states that: “The court also directed the Guatemalan government to order studies of the impact of proposed mining projects on human rights-–before granting approval; to pay the costs and expenses for the government’s 40-year delay in issuing collective title for Agua Caliente’s lands, and to provide monetary compensation for ‘the non-pecuniary damage’ it has caused the community.”