- 1 hour ago
16/11/2025
FTS 12.30
*Brazil: People´s Summit concludes in Belem
*UNRWA condemns Israel for restricting humanitarian aid to Gaza
FTS 12.30
*Brazil: People´s Summit concludes in Belem
*UNRWA condemns Israel for restricting humanitarian aid to Gaza
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NewsTranscript
00:00In Chile, this Sunday, citizens head to the polls to elect the successor to President Gabriel Boric,
00:14as well as choosing deputies at the national level and senators in seven regions of the country.
00:19The People's Summit concluded in Brazil with the delivery of its final declaration to COP30 Presidency.
00:34The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees Honra has denounced Israel for limiting the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,
00:43which is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
00:46Hello and welcome to From the South. I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:55We begin with the news.
01:09Polls have opened in Chile this Sunday as citizens vote to elect the successor to President Gabriel Boric.
01:15as well as choosing deputies at the national level and senators in seven regions of the country.
01:21More than 15 million citizens are eligible to elect Boric's successor for the 2026-2030 term.
01:29For this, polling stations open at 8 a.m. local time and will close at 6 p.m., provided there are no voters waiting to cast their ballots.
01:38It will not be until the evening when the first official results are shared.
01:43Eight candidates are competing for the Presidency with a member of the Communist Party and also candidate of the ruling left-wing coalition, Janet Hara, leading in tension polls.
01:54If no presidential candidate obtains more than 50% of the valid votes cast this Sunday, a second round of elections will be held on December 14th.
02:03Also, parliamentary elections are underway to renew all 155 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and elect Senators in several regions as well.
02:13And Chilean President Gabriel Boric in this context cuts his vote on Sunday morning in the 2025 general election that will determine his successor.
02:33Well, the left-wing leader has avoided speaking directly about what will happen to his administration in a potential run-off election.
02:42In statements to the press on Sunday, he reiterated that Chile is a beautiful and exemplary country and I'm sure he is proud of the democratic day,
02:52thus responding to the negative tone used by opposition candidates to criticise the government.
02:58Moreover, Boric used the occasion to encourage citizen participation.
03:10Now we go to Ecuador that is also holding a referendum and popular consultation that include sensitive aspects for national politics and security.
03:19In this context, we invite Dr. Yvonne Tellez, international politics expert.
03:23Hi Yvonne, thank you for joining us today.
03:26Hello Alejandra, happy to be here.
03:30Yvonne, to begin, how would you describe the political and social environment in which this referendum is taking place today?
03:36Well, Ecuador is highly divided, mainly due to the polarization that the same government has been carrying out,
03:50because since President Noboa has been in charge, one of the main characteristics is to exert a kind of a division between those in favor and those against.
04:06And in that context, what the government has done is try to convince the population that those against his ideas or his initiatives are against democracy, against security and against the values that he is withstanding.
04:27So it's a highly polarized, but also a highly misinformed population, a highly misinformed group of people that do not know very well what's the agenda, the current agenda,
04:45because everything has been wrapped in a sense of propaganda, but not in a real political agenda or a real political program that is managing the state.
05:03So this is what we find that this is what we can see in the streets.
05:09There is a divided opinions between those yes and no against the today's poll in Ecuador.
05:16So I think that's the environment.
05:20I also have found, and this is based on research, academic research, that most of the high ages of the population, I'm talking about people 40 years old and above, are more critical of the government.
05:43Those are alleging for those are alleging for and promoting the no vote before the most youngest people and the youngest part of the population who are the most misinformed.
05:58And those are, I think, are the most available for the government propaganda.
06:05And those are the ones that have fallen into this discourse of the yes, of the security of the military bases and all these things that are being decided today.
06:17And Devon, speaking about the content of this process, one of the most controversial points is the possibility of allowing foreign military bases in Ecuador.
06:27On your opinion, what concerns are arising about sovereignty, regional geopolitics and democracy regarding this specific aspect?
06:36Well, I think this question is one of the most sensitive, in fact, because, as you're saying, it's not only a sovereign decision.
06:47We're not talking just about the interests of Ecuador, but geopolitical interests that are being carried out, that are at stake here.
06:59I think, in that sense, there seems to be kind of a moderate position because under these polls or these studies that were being held before today's election, most of the people tended to say no and tended to show that they were going to vote against this one.
07:24What is at stake?
07:25Well, of course, sovereignty, because that means that due to also the closeness that Ecuador and the United States have right now, but also, of course, the fact that Ecuador can be an autonomous country regarding issues that deal with its security concerns.
07:53The other thing is that, of course, of course, we all know that this is not a legitimate interest of favoring Ecuadorians and favoring their security.
08:06But on the other sense, what is being held here is a very strong geopolitical interest to get into the Indo-Pacific Ocean and to kind of restrain China's hegemonic pressure and hegemonic, not just pressure, but just standing here in the Pacific.
08:34So, of course, of course, this goes under the geopolitical interest of the United States, how it is trying to recover its hegemonic power within the Latin America and within the oceans and especially the Pacific Ocean.
08:52What I think is that people are getting or being aware of this because there has been a very strong campaign towards the no, towards explaining what is behind those interests.
09:06Also, because what we've seen historically, and that's also a fact, for example, in Colombia, military bases in our countries do not represent any anything.
09:20I mean, do not constrain drug dealing.
09:26Also, they do not represent any winnings regarding the drug dealing politics.
09:34So it is there's something behind that doesn't deal and doesn't mean anything getting better with its presence.
09:45So the last thing that I want to take into account is that this is prohibited under the Constitution of Ecuador.
09:55So, of course, this is what's being decided today because the idea of stating military bases in Ecuador, again, has to go under a constitutional reform.
10:08And that's what's being decided. That's what the government is trying to do because this is a prohibition under the Constitution.
10:15Also, another of the aspects of this consultation is the elimination of state funds for political parties.
10:22How could this damage small parties and social movements in the country and also representativeness in the country?
10:29Well, there's, of course, I think it's a demand for a technocratic state and a demand for a minimization of the state.
10:44We understand that there have been strong, strong demands of reforming those institutions that sometimes have fallen into corrupt conducts.
11:01But, however, reducing the size of the institutions of the state and reforming, for example, the size of the funds that go for the political parties.
11:18That means that that tends to weaken representation, particularly minorities and rural sectors.
11:27It also increases the dominance of the executive.
11:33That's already a chronic problem in Ecuador.
11:36And that's also that risks pushing parties toward private and also to opaque funding streams and opaque funding systems.
11:49So, even if these measures try to show a little popular support, what they reflect in reality is a technocratic desire to shrink politics.
12:03And that, of course, in the long term would mean the reduction of accountability.
12:10One last question, Yvonne, in general terms, if this consultation is approved as it is proposed, what would be the implications in terms of human rights for Ecuadorians?
12:24Well, I think that's one of the main concerns.
12:28It is indeed because what we've seen is that those measures proposed all tend to weaken the human rights regime, tend to weaken the safeguards and the guarantees that the Constitution offers towards citizens and towards specific groups.
12:52There's a high risk of what could happen.
12:55There's a high risk of what could happen.
12:56We do not know the scenario, but definitely what it is a reality that those measures, all of them, and for who are listening to us, excuse me, who are listening to us at the moment, that means that all of them tend to weaken and to restrain and to reduce.
13:21To reduce the safeguards, the human rights safeguards.
13:28So that's a high risk.
13:31That's a high risk because there's an issue of sovereignty.
13:35There's an issue of the shrinking of the state, and that means that in that sense, all the institutional guarantees that are proposed and that have been at stake in the Constitution and that also have been weakened by the current government that we have tend to lessen the human rights.
14:04The human rights guarantees, the human rights guarantees, the human rights regime.
14:09So it is a high risk for the Ecuadorians.
14:13We hope that those measures do not pass because there's a big sector of society that is worried about the outcome.
14:27That will mean also that the executive will gain more and more power and without guarantee, without constitutional safeguards.
14:37That means the risk of abuse and the risk of a growing authoritarianism.
14:49Thank you very much, Yvonne, for joining us today in this crucial moment for Ecuadorians.
14:54Thank you very much.
14:56We are speaking to Dr. Yvonne Tellez, international politics expert in the context of Ecuador's referendum and popular consultation underway in Ecuador today.
15:06And now, after this special interview, we have a short break coming up.
15:10But first, remember, you can join us on TikTok at Telesur English, where you'll find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
15:17We'll be right back. Stay with us.
15:34Welcome back to From the South.
15:37We go to Brazil.
15:38On its final day, the People's Summit, which took place in parallel with the first week of the United Nations Climate Conference COP30,
15:45concluded with the delivery of its final declaration.
15:48Over 1,100 organizations from around the world participated in this global gathering,
15:54which brought together thousands of activists from all continents in the city of Belém do Pará.
15:59The event aimed to pressure global leaders and negotiators present in Brazil to adopt effective actions in the face of the climate emergency,
16:08which participants argued is largely the responsibility of major transnational corporations.
16:15Among the main demands of the summit, social movements emphasize the need to guarantee the active participation of indigenous peoples in decision-making.
16:25We go to Cuba. The island received 30 tons of food from China to assess victims of Hurricane Melissa in the eastern region of the island.
16:39The supplies will be distributed in the areas most affected by the natural disaster, which, although it did not cause any fatalities, left hundreds of homes completely destroyed in its wake.
16:52During the reception, China stated that the government and people of China expressed their deep solidarity with the victims.
17:01In addition to the six flights carrying food, Cuba will receive three maritime shipments with essential basic supplies, which will arrive at the ports of Santiago de Cuba.
17:19In other topics, in Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro denounced the government of Trinidad and Tobago for its submissiveness to the United States and its staunch support for its crimes in the Caribbean.
17:30The Venezuelan leader rejected the actions of the Government of the Board of Spain, which authorized the Trump administration to conduct military exercises off the coast of Venezuela.
17:40The head of state described the manoeuvres as responsible and emphasized that they represent a threat to peace in the Caribbean.
17:47President Maduro expressed his rejection of the imperialist policies of the U.S. Government, which seeks to impose a puppet regime in Venezuela in order to steal all its national resources and undermine peace throughout Latin America.
18:01The government of Trinidad and Tobago has once again announced irresponsible exercises, lending its waters off the coast of the state of Socre for military exercises,
18:30intending to be threatening to be threatening to a republic like Venezuela, which will not be threatened by anyone.
18:39They say they will do this from Monday to Thursday.
18:44Well, the people of Trinidad and Tobago will see if they continue to endure the use of its waters and its lands to seriously threaten the Caribbean peace.
18:58I am only calling once again to all the people of the eastern states, from the south of Bolívar, of the Tamacuro, Munagas, Sucre, Anzuategui, Nueva Esparta,
19:19in perfect popular military-policial fusion to establish a vigil and a permanent march in the streets with the flag of Venezuela held high.
19:33The great vigil and the great march of the flags, I am calling it here from Caracas.
19:38We're going now to Honduras. The government welcomed the reduction of U.S. tariffs on agricultural products.
19:45The measure reduces export taxes on products such as coffee, meat, cocoa, tomatoes and bananas,
19:52and also eliminates the application of reciprocal tariffs that ranged from 10 to 50%.
19:57In this regard, the Honduran Foreign Ministry emphasized that Washington's decision represents new employment opportunities for Honduran producers.
20:06Also, the products are not entirely tax exempt.
20:09This adjustment establishes lower import rates and eases cost pressures in some commercial sectors.
20:16Also, in Mexico, at least 60 police officers were injured after riots caused by far-right extremists in the capital's Zócalo.
20:32The self-titled March of Generation C traveled through the Mexican capital to the vicinity of the National Executive Headquarters,
20:39where several participants threw objects, destroyed public furniture, and in some places broke down the security fence set up by police forces.
20:49In this regard, sectors have denounced that the protest, which was called under the products of denouncing insecurity,
20:56has received funding from national and international ultra-conservative groups.
21:01In this sense, political and social youth movements have distanced themselves from the mobilization,
21:08asserting that its objective is to destabilize the country.
21:37Let's talk about Palestine.
21:38The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees Honour has denounced Israel for limiting the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip,
21:47which is exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
21:50The United Nations Agency warned that the restrictions imposed by Israel are intensifying the crisis due to the lack of food and medicine.
21:59It also warned that most of the population consumes contaminated water, causing outbreaks of hepatitis, meningitis, intestinal and respiratory diseases,
22:09as well as increasing kidney failure and cancer.
22:12In this regard, the organization condemned the obstacles placed by Israeli forces to providing assistance to Palestinians,
22:19emphasizing that the humanitarian aid received is not sufficient to alleviate the crisis in the territory.
22:34In other information, in France, the major television networks went off the air due to a bomb threat that led to evacuations and police deployment.
22:43An individual called a police station, claiming that he had placed an explosive device in the building of the media company,
22:50where the television networks BFMTV and RMC are based and threatened to blow up the police.
22:59In this context, police rushed to the scene, evacuated the staff and conducted several inspections, but found no bomb.
23:07The authorities stated that if the person responsible for the message is found, they could face up to two years in prison and a heavy fine.
23:16Let's recall that this threat came two days after France commemorated the attacks of November 13, 2015, in which 132 people were killed.
23:27According to the Minister of the Interior, six terrorist attacks have been thwarted in the country so far in 2025.
23:37And like this, we have come to the end of this brief.
23:42Remember, you can find these and many other stories on our website at telesurenglish.net.
23:47Also join us on social media.
23:49We are on Facebook, X, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well.
23:54For Telesur English, I'm Alejandra Garcia. Thank you for watching.
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