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The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Why has Latin American shifted to the right?
The second world war ended with an agreement of coexistence that included the creation of the UN multilateral system and a development model that combined the state, the market and democracy as an arena for political dispute. In Latin America, this was reflected in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (Eclac) model, which promoted protectionism and addressed social issues through fiscal targeting. But in the last quarter of the 20th century, the same postwar organizations imposed a new, market-centered model. Value was replaced by price, trade liberalization was prioritized and social issues were subordinated to the laws of the market. The concentration of capital and the delegitimization of democracy broke the previous consensus. Although progressive governments emerged, they were unable to contain the rise of the new autocratic right, supported by de facto powers such as the media, the church, the military and the technocracy. The crisis of representation led political parties to abandon their bases, leaving room for 'anti-politicians' who found a platform in mainstream media. Meanwhile, the social outlook deteriorated. Inequality, already structural, worsened after 2016 and exploded during the pandemic, reaching a peak of 209 million Latin Americans experiencing poverty by the end of 2020. This inequality delegitimizes democracy. In tandem, progressive governments focused their efforts on reducing discrimination on the basis of gender, race or occupation, rather than combating exclusion on the basis of class. This struggle has been attacked by the right, which labels progressives' defense of minorities as 'wokeism' and accuses it of fragmenting society. But in reality, it is a commitment to collective solidarity. Inequality and discrimination are not mutually exclusive; they complement each other. Nevertheless, these broad ideological shifts have led to the return of the right in the US, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Argentina and Paraguay, which can be understood through the radicalization of political projects, polarization on social networks, lawfare, persistent inequality and discourses of electoral fraud. Media messaging and the emergence of digital silos have taken polarization to the extreme. With the use of artificial intelligence, political messages are segmented according to voters' fears. Social media bombards us with emotions, replacing debates about genuine alternatives with ideological confrontation. These digital bubbles have fabricated virtual leaders at the service of the new right's media conglomerates. Added to this digital invasion is the judicialization of politics. Prosecutors and judges lead conflicts that should be resolved democratically, without respecting due process or the presumption of innocence. The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was judicially excluded in the 2018 elections won by Bolsonaro, who today is being investigated for seeking to prevent Lula's 2023 inauguration. President Gustavo Petro, in Colombia, similarly faces 'soft coup' attempts affecting his ability to govern. With the election of Trump 2.0, the global far right has found an echo chamber in Florida and across the region, with the support of political leaders in the US, El Salvador and Argentina. Trump, who said 'we don't need' Latin America just days into his second term, has ratcheted up anti-Latin American aggression through decisions such as the persecution of migrants, the suspension of aid programs via USAID, the strengthening of sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela, and the absurd territorial claims over Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama canal. All this marks the return of the Uncle Sam of the 1950s and Operation Condor of the 1970s and 80s. In the face of this threat, it is necessary to build a new solidarity-based development model that combines growth, inclusion, and democracy, with broad fronts such as Mexico's ruling Morena party or the leadership of Yamandú Orsi in Uruguay. Latin America must reintegrate regionally as an active part of the global south: réspice similia (look to your neighbors). Sign up to First Thing Our US morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion The Trumpist right wing is promoting deglobalization, abandoning the World Health Organization, denying the climate crisis, and attacking international justice. The model of coexistence resulting from the end of the second world war, although in crisis, must not be replaced by another hegemonic one, but rather through the construction of a new global order consolidated around the principles of social harmony, coexistence and collective economic progress, such as the one defended by China. In this new scenario, Latin America must present itself as integrated, a single voice before the world. The region does not need concentration camps for migrants to understand that we are heading straight to a fascist abyss and that the only antidote to avoid falling into it is, and will always be, progressivism. Ernesto Samper Pizano was president of Colombia from 1994 to 1998
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
People Are Sharing The Biggest Red Flags They Ignored Because Their Partner Was Hot, And I Guess Rose-Colored Glasses Really Are A Thing
Recently, Reddit user u/Tuckeygaming asked, "What is the biggest red flag you ignored because they were hot?" Here's a look at some of the top-voted responses: 1."He literally said, 'Fuck, I'm probably going to wind up seriously hurting you' the first time we got drunk together. A year and some change later, he started an affair with his best friend's fiancée! He called it!" —drunky_crowette Related: 2."She was married, but told me that her marriage had been purely platonic for years and that she was allowed to have lovers. I didn't question it. I should have." —Bravemount 3."He got into a car wreck because he installed a PlayStation in his car and he and his friend were playing it while he was driving." —Rustmutt 4."What I thought was confidence in him slowly became toxic narcissism." —AlbinoGiraffes "In my opinion, learning the difference between confidence, arrogance, and narcissism is one of the most helpful lessons you could learn." —smygartofflor 5."He was dumber than a rock. I swear to Christ, he was the walking inspiration for Derek Zoolander. Walking and screwing were about the only things he could do without breaking something or causing something to go wrong. He attempted to wash (my) dishes with laundry soap, he could not remember where I lived or what apartment I was in (even after coming over five times), and he confused the 4th of July with Presidents Day. He assumed his work schedule was incorrect for scheduling him on Presidents Day, as they must be closed, and he simply did not go in." "I made it through three weeks. If I'd have stayed with him, I'd have had to develop a heroic drinking problem just to cope. Good lord, was he hot though, I seriously didn't want to admit he was also profoundly dumb." —silversatire Related: 6."Said she thought cheating could be used as a power move." —mightybjorn 7."She was always on her phone, but never replied to my texts." —teslatank0 8."He was really attractive and charismatic. He was also a pathological liar, but my friends and I never suspected a thing for months." —Any_Field_8184 Related: 9."Whenever I did something pleasant, romantic, sweet, or loving, he would would treat me like shit. When I would show zero interest in him for being such a dickhead, he would treat me like royalty. Pull out every stop, every trick in the book to romance me and make me forget about it. When I would be sweet back, it turned him off. The more I ignored him and rejected him for being a total asshole, the more he wanted me. It was this weird game. After a while, I grew tired. I didn't want to play anymore." —JizuzCrust 10."I ignored the biggest flashing neon sign warning about my ex that came from a friend of his. She told me, quote, 'He is going to be very hard to love because he is always looking for a fight and thinks he has something to prove.' She said I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I'm just warning you about it. If you think you're up to the task, then go for it, but I just wanted to let you know. I wish I had heeded her warning." —Babyhandgrenade 11."She had cheated on all her exes, but she told me I was special lol." —AdorableProcedure268 12."The complete lack of emotional regulation skills." —None 13."He believed the Necronomicon was real and claimed to have done several incantations from it." —Cthulia Related: 14."Interestingly enough, his ex cornered me at my place of work right as I started hanging out with him, and she WARNED me about him. I brushed it off and wrote her off as crazy. Sure enough, literally everything she said came true. Her warning always lived in the back of my mind and eventually helped me get the nerve to kick him out. I've always wanted to run into her again and thank her and apologize for calling her crazy." —Sassquapadelia 15."Manipulating me into buying things for him, and the way he generally used me for my kindness and generosity." —JasonDomber 16."She was perfectly fine manipulating other guys and bragging about it in front of me. But I was different. I'm an idiot." —lulpwned finally, "I might win this one. He had just been released from prison for the attempted murder of his own mother. Yes, he was that cute." —themonicastone Have you ever dated someone who was SO HOT that you ignored every red flag? Tell us about them in the comments! Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity. Also in BuzzFeed: Also in BuzzFeed: Also in BuzzFeed:
Free Malaysia Today
03-07-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
My silence on Indian issues doesn't mean inaction, says Nurul Izzah
PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar said she has been working with a team over the past year to organise a series of expert-led roundtables focused on long-standing challenges faced by the Indian community. PETALING JAYA : PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar says remaining silent does not mean that she has not been actively addressing the issues affecting Malaysia's Indian community. The former Permatang Pauh MP said she had deliberately chosen to work behind the scenes, placing emphasis on meaningful results over public attention. 'For the longest time, I have chosen to work quietly because I believe in substance before spectacle,' she said in a speech read out by former Klang MP Charles Santiago at a press conference on uplifting the Indian community in the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP). 'What matters the most is not how loudly we speak, but whether our work brings change to those who need it the most.' Nurul Izzah said she has been working with a team over the past year to organise a series of expert-led roundtables focused on long-standing challenges faced by the Indian community, particularly those in the B40 group. The roundtables brought together economists, civil servants, NGOs, and community leaders to develop targeted solutions to issues including school dropout rates, poverty, statelessness, and underemployment. Nurul Izzah also highlighted the launch of a proposed Indian Community Development Framework, developed with Yayasan Iltizam Malaysia and more than 200 civil society actors. The core proposals include a national preschool education policy, the creation of technical and vocational training hubs, an entrepreneurship incubator for women and youth, and a statutory agency for the transparent coordination and delivery of aid. Yesterday, Santiago said the upcoming 13MP would provide a strategic opportunity for the government to address the marginalisation of Malaysian Indians. He said that Indians in Malaysia had lived for too long under the shadow of structural neglect and state-sanctioned second-class citizenship without any meaningful affirmative action to uplift the community. On Friday, the government announced that finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan would take over the economy portfolio following Rafizi Ramli's resignation and lead a revamp of the 13MP. Putrajaya said the revamp was initiated in response to feedback from Cabinet members.
Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Beware the employee activists threatening to bring down British business
This was also true of issues like trans rights, which 64pc of respondents told us they felt 'well prepared' to deal with. But our survey was conducted shortly before the Supreme Court handed down its seminal decision on the meaning of 'sex' under the Equality Act 2010. From the intense public interest the decision has generated, it is reasonable to assume that not all employers may have judged this correctly. Why does any of this matter? Well, for one thing, because getting it wrong can end up in expensive and reputation-damaging litigation that an employer is unlikely to win if they have not been paying attention to their obligations. And if employers already think the Bill is going to drive up business costs, then finding themselves in court won't help. But it also matters because we found that employers are confronting an increasingly politicised workforce where issues that may have no relationship to the workplace itself are becoming topics of intense debate. For every social issue we asked about, from climate change to Israel and Gaza, employers told us it had at least doubled in salience in recent years. And this was particularly likely to be the case if the employer had taken a position on certain issues in the past (say the Ukraine War or Black Lives Matter). We found that once the employer expressed a view on one issue, the more likely they were to be expected to have a position on every issue. This means employers are increasingly being drawn into contentious issues where strongly held views may conflict, and there is a heightened imperative to strike the right balance between competing perspectives. And yet we found that employers are very often getting that balance wrong. Take, for example, the use of social media. Almost 40pc of employers who have a social media policy told us that they routinely reviewed the social media posts of staff and a quarter told us that they had either sacked or disciplined a current member of staff on the basis of something they had written online. Asked why they had taken disciplinary action, and almost 70pc told us that this was because they feared that what the employee had written could cause 'reputational damage' to the business. Around 60pc said it was because it could 'cause offence to other employees', roughly twice the proportion who said they had considered whether it impacted on the employee in question's ability to discharge their professional duties. But from a legal point of view, all of this must be viewed through the prism of the Court of Appeal's landmark decision in Higgs v Farmor's School that was handed down in February of this year. In a decision that was viewed as a vindication of free speech, the Court held that to discipline or dismiss an employee because they had expressed a religious or protected philosophical belief (here, a 'gender critical' view and criticisms of same sex marriage) to which the employer objected, could be unfair and amount to unlawful discrimination. They said it was insufficient to say that other employees had been offended because the employer 'does not have carte blanche to interfere with an employee's right to express their beliefs simply because third parties find those beliefs offensive.' None of which is to say that employees are free to say what they like either. The court described a balancing exercise in which relevant considerations might include whether the comments were made on a professional or personal account, whether guidance had been given about their post, what they had actually said (as opposed to what a third party may have chosen to read into it) and whether their post impacted on their ability to perform their duties. All of which adds up to a tricky situation for employers facing a more politicised (and often polarised) workforce. Protecting one set of views against another not only risks confrontation with members of staff but could also break the law. More than ever, employers need to prepare themselves with sound legal advice, clear internal communications with staff and a robust crisis plan for dealing with these kinds of eventualities. Because getting it wrong in an era defined by employee activism isn't just a management problem, but one that could impact the share price, affect consumer trends or even hit the balance sheet.
NHK
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- NHK
Indonesian hijab-wearing metal band performs in Japan
An all-female, hijab-wearing heavy metal band from Indonesia captivated the audience at their first ever performance in Japan. The trio named Voice of Baceprot was formed in 2014 in West Java. They are known for music that challenges religious and gender norms. Their songs feature anti-war themes and social issues such as women's rights and environmental protection. They have performed internationally, taking part in large-scale music events and touring abroad. The BBC selected the lead singer for its 2024 list of 100 influential women worldwide. On Saturday, the three members appeared at a music festival in Yokohama, near Tokyo, and played about 10 songs. One woman in the audience said the band members are cool and have awesome music and musical skills. She said their performance was stunning and she can still feel the impact. She added she could understand the messages the songs were trying to express. The lead vocalist and guitarist, Firda Marsya Kurnia, said the voices of those who have been excluded need to be amplified, and the band aims to use its music to help that. She added she hopes to return to Japan with more songs.
