Protests strong in Venezuela (Jan. 23, 2019)

Anti government protests called by Venezuela's political opposition started strong around the country this morning, reports Efecto Cocuyo. The Guardian reports tens of thousands, despite rain in Caracas. One person has already been detained. There were already protests sprouting around the country yesterday, with repressive responses from security forces, reports Efecto Cocuyo. (Seeyesterday's post.)

Today's call to protest is a major test for the opposition, which has been largely irrelevant since it boycotted last year's presidential election in May, writes David Smilde in the Venezuela Weekly. If turnout is big today, it will be the first mass mobilization since 2017, when a crackdown against demonstrators killed 100 people, reports the New York Times.

The opposition has been reinvigorated by 35-year-old Juan Guaidó who swore in as National Assembly president earlier this month. Lawmakers have declared President Nicolás Maduro's government illegitimate, and Guaidó wants to head a transitional government until new elections can be held -- an option increasingly supported internationally.

Already observers note the momentum against the government building with protests earlier this week, notes the Guardian. (See yesterday's post.)

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence declared the country's unwavering support for protesters today -- the strongest backing yet from the Trump administration, reports the New York Times. But Smilde warned against the high-stakes diplomatic move, telling Talk Media News that the opposition would be better served by framing the conflict as between the government and Venezuelan citizens, not the U.S.

Indeed, Maduro responded yesterday that Pence was giving orders to carry out a coup, and ordered "a total revision of relations" with Washington. (AFP)

Protests in several Caracas working class neighborhoods on Monday -- in response to the quashing of an apparent military uprising -- shouldn't be interpreted as overly supportive of the opposition, warns Smilde in the Venezuela Weekly. These protests are more aimed at concrete issues affecting citizens, such as inflation or lack of basic services. Efecto Cocuyo's Luz Mely Reyes reports on the issue.

News Briefs

Nicaragua

• Former Nicaraguan Supreme Court judge Rafael Solis advocates the annulment of ongoing trials against more than 500 political prisoners in Nicaragua and called for the creation of a “Truth Commission in an interview with Esta Semana. (Confidencial)

Guatemala

• Protests last week against President Jimmy Morales's onslaught against Guatemala's U.N. international anti-graft commission, the CICIG, featured indigenous communities who are particularly affected by corrupt and weak institutions in the country. Last year 26 members of indigenous campesino organizations were killed, raising the specter of a human rights crisis, reports NPR.

Colombia

• ELN guerrilla leaders, in Cuba for peace negotiations with the Colombian government, deny any role in a car bomb that killed 21 people last week, reports Reuters. The ELN earlier claimed responsibility for the attack, and the Colombian government has asked Cuba to extradite the 10-person ELN delegation in Havana. (See yesterday's briefs.)

Migrants

• Central American migrants are "victims of inequality and exclusion from political systems that, formally democratic, remain dominated by corruption and organized crime activity," writes Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera in a New York Times Español op-ed focused on how to strengthen democratic institutions in the region.

• Mexico's López Obrador administration is easing passage for Central American migrants headed for the U.S. About 5,600 Central Americans at the Guatemalan border with Mexico are awaiting Mexican humanitarian visas which will allow them to travel without fear of deportation, reports the Wall Street Journal. 

Mexico

• Mexico's murder rate hit a new record last year: 28,816 homicide cases reported, a 15 percent increase over the previous year. (Guardian)

• AMLO and his cabinet skipped the Davos World Economic Forum to focus on graft at home. (Bloomberg)

Brazil

• But, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro went to Davos and pitched his country as a good place for investors -- he also reiterated a commitment to rid Brazil of left-wing ideology and said "our motto is 'God above all things,'" reports the New York Times. The speech was underwhelming, according to the Washington Post, though the Wall Street Journal was less critical. His speech stressed the need to balance environmental concerns with economic, with the balance mostly tilting towards development, alarming climate activists, reports theGuardian. (See yesterday's briefs.)

• But the Davos appearance was overshadowed by a scandal linking Bolsonaro's son Flavio to death squad called the Escritório do Crime, reports the Guardian.

• Members of the Escritório do Crime are suspected in the murder of Rio de Janeiro councillor Marielle Franco last year -- and reports this week reveal that Flavio Bolsonaro employed both the mother and wife of the gang’s alleged leader, a former special forces agent called Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega. (Guardian)

• Two police officers suspected of involvement in Franco's assassination were arrested yesterday, EFE. One had received an honor from Flavio Bolsonaro in 2004, when the president's son was a state legislator.

• Speaking of environmental concerns, the Brazilian government plans to privatize and complete a dictatorship era road through the Amazon, a plan environmentalists say could increase deforestation. (Reuters)

• Bolsonaro's supporters are thrilled by his moves to loosen gun regulations -- and so are manufacturers, reports the Associated Press. (See last Wednesday's briefs.)

• Critics say the move is only likely to increase violence. Interestingly, even gang leaders say that will be the likely effect, reports VICE.

Bolivia

• Bolivian President Evo Morales celebrated 13 years in power yesterday, but intends to continue governing through 2025, reports EFE.

Environment

• Costa Rican sloths' eating habits in the New York Times -- but check it out mostly for the pictures!

Did I miss something, get something wrong, or do you have a different take? Let me know ...

Latin America Daily Briefing