Brutal Domestic Violence Among The Elite In Argentina

Black and Blue Argentina Argentine authorities have accused former President Alberto Fernández of physically and psychologically abusing his former partner and former First Lady Fabiola Yáñez during his term in office, a case that has sparked outrage in the Latin American nation, the New York Times reported. Last week, prosecutors said the former Peronist leader had done “grievous bodily harm” and made “coercive threats” against Yáñez. They alleged that he repeatedly slapped his partner and, in one instance, punched her in the face, leaving her a black eye. Court documents also showed that Fernández allegedly kicked Yáñez in the stomach, despite suspecting she might be pregnant. Yáñez also claims Fernández controlled her movements and forced her to have an abortion in 2016, when abortion was illegal in Argentina. The allegations came to light through photos found on the phone of Fernández’s former secretary, María Cantero, during an investigation into an unrelated embezzlement case. These photos, showing Yáñez with a black eye and bruised arm, were leaked to the media, prompting her to file a judicial complaint against Fernández and give interviews detailing the abuse. Cantero testified that Yáñez was a victim and confirmed the authenticity of a number of chat messages between her and the former first lady, according to the Buenos Aires Times. However, she maintained that she never directly witnessed physical violence. The allegations prompted anger and condemnation across Argentina, including from both political allies and opponents of Fernández. Fernández has denied all allegations, countering that he has “never hit a woman.” He acknowledged that he and Yáñez had arguments, but denied claims of violence. The scandal has also increased public scrutiny against the former president, who remains deeply unpopular over his handling of the country’s economic crisis. His successor, Javier Milei, has criticized Fernández for ineffective government spending on domestic violence initiatives.

Milei Is Bringing The Army Back To Life In Argentina

Javier Milei is splurging on the army Many Argentines are asking why Argentinian soldiers perform during military parade. Photograph: Getty Images Aug 22nd 2024 Save Share Give Listen to this story. Enjoy more audio and podcasts on iOS or Android. Self-proclaimed anarcho-capitalists ought to be sceptical of large standing armies. President Javier Milei of Argentina seems to relish them. Even as he tightens the government purse, he has committed to raising defence spending from 0.5% of GDP to 2% over the next eight years. He vows to “restore the prestige” of the army and transform it into a hi-tech force. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think-tank, Argentina spends less on defence as a share of GDP than any other country in South America. Almost 90% of the armed forces’ budget is used to pay salaries and pensions for its 72,000 members. Little money is left over to maintain clapped-out ships, aircraft and vehicles. Mr Milei is increasing spending in part to deepen ties with the United States. Since taking over from a left-wing government in December, he has shunned China and Russia. In April he scrapped a deal to purchase Chinese-made fighter jets and instead agreed to buy 24 used F-16 jets from Denmark for $300m (the United States contributed $40m to support the purchase). Argentina has also asked to become a “global partner” of NATO, which would grant it better access to co-operation and training with Western armed forces. But Mr Milei’s moves are fraught. Lavishing funds on the army is no easy sell as health and education budgets are cut. The bigger problem is that Argentines do not know what the point of their army is anymore. Mr Milei shows no desire to fight Britain over the Falkland Islands and Argentina is on good terms with its neighbours, despite occasional diplomatic spats. Mr Milei has suggested using the armed forces against internal threats, such as gangs. Yet the idea is unpopular in a country which was ruled by a bloody military dictatorship from 1976 to 1983. The president and his allies regularly downplay the horrors of that period. In June six legislators from his coalition visited former soldiers in jail for committing crimes against humanity during the junta. While boosting military spending, Mr Milei should not forget the lessons of the past. ■ Sign up to El Boletín, our subscriber-only newsletter on Latin America, to understand the forces shaping a fascinating and complex region. Explore more Argentina

Brasil Kicks The Platform X Out!

Moderating Freedom Brazil The social media platform X will close its offices in Brazil, its owner Elon Musk announced over the weekend, a move that comes amid escalating tensions between Musk and Brazilian authorities over content regulation and the spread of misinformation, Agence France-Presse reported. Musk and the company said they are shutting operations in the South American nation, alleging that Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes “threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we do not comply with his censorship orders.” X representatives added that the closure was necessary “to protect the safety of our staff,” but said the service will remain available to Brazilian users. The announcement marks the culmination of an ongoing legal and political battle between the firm and de Moraes, who has been pursuing the regulation of online content in Brazil. In April, the judge ordered X to remove accounts spreading disinformation and hate speech, including those of supporters of former populist President Jair Bolsonaro. Analysts told the Wall Street Journal that the orders were linked to a Supreme Court investigation into right-wing individuals involved in the January 2023 attack on Congress, which President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has called a coup attempt. Musk has refused to comply with the court’s order, calling them an attack on free speech. His defiance prompted de Moraes to also order a probe into Musk for possible obstruction of justice and other charges related to online disinformation campaigns. Musk, who describes himself as a “free speech absolutist,” has been at odds with governments around the world over his hands-off approach to content moderation since acquiring X in October 2022. Musk dismantled much of the platform’s content moderation infrastructure, which has led to clashes with officials in multiple countries, including Brazil and those in the European Union. Despite X’s exit, Musk remains a popular figure in Brazil, partly because of his Starlink satellite service that has expanded Internet access in rural and remote areas. But this popularity contrasts with the growing concerns among Brazilian authorities about his influence. The Starlink service has come under scrutiny from Brazilian regulators, including investigations that its rapid growth and dominance as Brazil’s satellite internet provider could crowd out the competition. Share this story

The People Of Venezuela COntinuie To REsist Maduro

Ganamos Venezuela Tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets around the world over the weekend, demanding that authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro recognize the results of last month’s election they say he lost. In the capital Caracas and other cities across Venezuela, in the United States, Australia, South Korea, Madagascar and elsewhere, Venezuelans carried flags that featured their candidate, Edmundo González, who reportedly won twice as many votes as Maduro, flags that read, “Ganamos” (we win), NBC News reported. The protests were organized by the opposition, calling on Maduro to step down and the world to recognize its historic election win on July 28. Some like the US have already answered that call, saying González won the election, while the European Union is withholding its recognition of Maduro until he releases the election results in full. But so far, Maduro, and the election commission he controls, insist that he won the election with 51 percent of the vote, while refusing to release the full results. Instead, he has cracked down on the protests – 24 people have already been killed and more than 2,400 people have been arrested since the election, added National Public Radio. Social media and communication apps such as WhatsApp have been monitored and tampered with. Doesn’t matter, say protesters. On Saturday in Caracas, demonstrators shouted, “We are not afraid.” “Today the world knows what we Venezuelans are made of … we awakened a country,” opposition leader María Corina Machado, said in a video message Saturday morning. “They try to scare us, to divide us, to paralyze us, but they cannot.” Maduro, who deployed police against the demonstrators on Saturday, has held office since 2013 after the death of his mentor, socialist Hugo Chávez. He has undermined the country’s economy while destroying its democracy, explained the Council on Foreign Relations. Chávez, who was enormously popular, leveraged his country’s wealth to help the poor. The bloated state that he created bred corruption and mismanagement, however. Maduro expanded the system rather than used Venezuela’s oil wealth to grow sustainable economic development, while staying in power through repression, his hold on the police and military, and rigged elections. As a result, almost 8 million people have fled the country, with more saying they are planning to leave if the political and economic situations don’t improve. Analysts told the Guardian that Venezuela under Maduro now has two paths forward. The country could become like Nicaragua, where President Daniel Ortega has seized total control of society through violence and repression, or Romania, where frustrated citizens started a revolution that ended the harsh and failing communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. Nicaragua appears to be Maduro’s preferred model. He has called for security forces to use an “iron fist” against protesters who took to the streets to call for fair elections, wrote Agence France-Presse. And the repression after this election has been worse than anything people have seen in decades, according to the New York Times. Western leaders have condemned Maduro but have offered few changes to sanctions they have already slapped on the South American country, Reuters reported. His allies – China, Iran, and Russia – are key to his survival, but they haven’t been as forthcoming with aid or business opportunities as they were in the past, argued World Politics Review. Maduro might have nobody else to rely on but the men with guns around him. That’s because, the protesters say, he doesn’t seem to have the people anymore. “We are here reminding those who have confiscated power that they have to release it – the people have chosen, and we won,” Maria Vallera, a retired 80-year-old in the crowd, told the Washington Post. “It’s a dictatorship, what we have here. He refuses to recognize what the people want. He knows he has lost the people.” Share this story

Mexico's Dirty War 25 Years Later

Truth Commission Documents 25 Years of State Violence During Mexican Dirty War On Oct. 3 1968, army troops escort a group of young men from Mexico City's Plaza de las Tres Culturas, the scene of bloody clashes. Photo courtesy Fábrica de Periodismo Human Rights Abuses in Mexico “Systematic and Widespread”; “Not the Work of a Few 'Bad Apples'” Truth Commission Recommends Declassification of U.S. Dirty War Records Published: Aug 19, 2024 By Kate Doyle and Claire Dorfman For more information, contact: 202-994-7000 or nsarchiv@gwu.edu Subjects Cold War – General Human Rights and Genocide Regions Mexico and Central America Project Mexico MEH artwork "Justice and memory for those who are no longer here.” Artwork courtesy of MEH. Mexico City, Mexico, August 19, 2024 - From 1965 to 1990, the Mexican State was responsible for “systematic and widespread” human rights abuses “against broad sectors of the population,” according to the recently published report of a truth commission on Mexico’s dirty war. On Friday, August 16, after nearly three years of investigation, the Commission for Access to Truth, Historical Clarification and the Promotion of Justice for Grave Human Rights Violations committed between 1965 and 1990 (COVEHJ in Spanish) presented Fue el Estado (1965-1990), the first of two planned reports on the 25-year dirty war period. Commissioners Abel Barrera Hernández, David Fernández Dávalos, and Carlos A. Pérez Ricart revealed their findings at the Centro Cultural Universitario Tlatelolco in Mexico City. The commissioners accused the Mexican State of unleashing a violent counterinsurgency campaign against perceived opponents—not only armed guerrillas, but a range of dissident groups the government believed threatened the political, economic, and moral stability of Mexico’s ruling party. During their presentation, the commissioners were accompanied on stage by human rights defenders and activists, who read excerpts from some of the 1,079 testimonies given by survivors during the commission’s investigations. Fue el Estado consists of five volumes totaling 3,510 pages. Among the report’s findings, investigators identified 8,594 victims of 11 distinct types of grave human rights violations, recorded 46 previously unreported massacres, and identified 591 individuals and 59 state institutions as responsible for human rights violations during the dirty war. The COVEHJ was established through Presidential Decree on October 6, 2021, as a result of an agreement between the Mexican government and collectives of activists, historians, relatives, and victims of state repression. Two teams within the Mechanism for Truth and Historical Clarification (MEH in Spanish), the investigative body created by the COVEHJ, conducted extensive archival research and collected testimonies from victims throughout the country. The reports produced by the two MEH teams seek to clarify this violent period, as well as provide recommendations for the Mexican government to address the ongoing struggle for justice for victims. The second report, from the team led by Eugenia Allier Montaño, will be released in September. Fue el Estado stresses the importance of access to declassified U.S. documents and recommends that the Mexican government request a large-scale declassification of additional U.S. secret archives from the dirty war period. The commissioners urged the incoming government of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum—who will take office on October 1—to make the request a priority. The National Security Archive’s Mexico Project has worked with the MEH teams to access and evaluate archival U.S. records since 2022. Project Director Kate Doyle and Assistant Director Claire Dorfman curated a special collection of declassified U.S. documents and provided expert analysis to support the investigations. In the coming weeks, the Archive will publish an Electronic Briefing Book with a selection of these dirty war documents along with English translations of key sections of the commission's two reports. Read the Fue el Estado (1965-1990) report here.

Dangerous Peruvian Gang Leader Arrested In The U.S.

Gianfranco Torres-Navarro Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, the alleged head of the notorious "Los Killers" gang, is wanted for a series of killings in Peru(U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) By Reanna Smith 07:55 ET, Aug 16 2024 A reputed Peruvian gang leader linked to 23 murders in Peru, was nabbed Wednesday in New York by US immigration officials. Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, the alleged head of the notorious "Los Killers" gang, wanted for a series of killings back home, was apprehended in Endicott, New York, roughly 145 miles from the Big Apple, according to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's announcement on Thursday. He is now detained at a federal holding center near Buffalo, awaiting an immigration court date. Torres-Navarro, 38, slipped into the US undetected across the Texas-Mexico border on May 16. Infamous MS-13 killer who rampaged through wealthy D.C. suburbs receives life in prison He is now detained at a federal holding center near Buffalo, awaiting an immigration court date He is now detained at a federal holding center near Buffalo, awaiting an immigration court date(National Police of Peru) He was caught that very day and slapped with a notice to appear before immigration authorities, ICE detailed. US authorities sprung into action to detain Torres-Navarro after getting wind on July 8 of his wanted status in Peru. "Gianfranco Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities, and we won't allow New York to be a safe haven for dangerous noncitizens," declared Thomas Brophy, who heads the enforcement removal operations at ICE's Buffalo field office. ICE agents also clamped down on Torres-Navarro's girlfriend, Mishelle Sol Ivanna Ortiz Ubillus, identified by Peruvian law enforcement as his accomplice. She's currently in custody at a Pennsylvania processing facility, per ICE's Online Detainee Locator System. As of now, online records for the detention of Torres-Navarro and Ortiz Ubillus do not list attorneys available for comment. Peru's justice system confirmed to The Associated Press that it has issued an international arrest warrant for Torres-Navarro and his partner Ortiz-Ubilluz on July 3. Col. Franco Moreno, the head of Peru's High Complexity Crime Investigations Division, revealed to the AP Thursday that they have been tracking phone calls, geolocations, and messages from Torres-Navarro and his gang of at least 10 members. "He is a highly dangerous criminal who believed he was untouchable and responsible for 23 murders, including other gang leaders who ended up dead along with their families, all in order to increase his criminal leadership," Moreno stated. According to Peruvian authorities, Torres-Navarro is the leader of a notorious criminal organization known as "Los Killers de Ventanilla y Callao" that has used violence to deter rivals seeking to infringe on its main business of extorting construction companies. Torres-Navarro reportedly fled Peru after the murder of retired police officer Cesar Quegua Herrera and the shooting of a municipal employee at a restaurant in San Miguel in March, as reported by Peruvian media. Plans to build bulletproof glass playgrounds with face ID to protect children from gang shootings Young couple ambushed and shot dead by violent gang while leaving church in Haiti Six alleged members of "Los Killers," which was formed in 2022 in an area along the Pacific coast where Peru's main port is located, were arrested in a series of raids in June and charged with homicide, contract killing, and extortion, according to the National Police of Peru. Torres-Navarro, once a member of the notorious Los Malditos de Angamos gang, has been linked to 23 murders, earning him the moniker "Gianfranco 23," according to Peru's Public Prosecutor's Office. Despite previous efforts to bring him to justice, Torres-Navarro managed to dodge accountability for his alleged crimes. In 2019, while evading law enforcement, he was sentenced in absentia to a decade behind bars for illegal weapons possession. However, he continued to elude capture until 2021 when authorities finally nabbed him at a toll checkpoint near Lima. His incarceration was short-lived; after being acquitted, he walked free last December. Following his release, the violence of "Los Killers" escalated, culminating in a shooting in San Miguel, as reported by Peruvian officials. Gianfranco's girlfriend, Ortiz Ubillus, is not only his romantic partner but also plays a key role in "Los Killers" as his lieutenant and cashier, say the authorities. Her TikTok account, with a substantial following, flaunts their opulent lifestyle, complete with designer wear, luxury getaways, and gun range activities. Follow The Mirror US Facebook

Guyana Is Striking It Rich The Right Way

Getting Rich, Right Guyana Past efforts at reforming the constitution of Guyana have yielded little change. Now, however, as the small South American nation prepares to dole out the benefits from new oil drilling, advocates say the recently empaneled Constitution Reform Commission must create a new political and economic order. “A political system that gives the government – with a one-seat majority in the legislature – unrestrained control over natural resources breeds political discontent and instability,” wrote Americas Quarterly. Dubbed the “New Qatar,” after the oil-rich emirate in the Persian Gulf, Guyana is blessed with offshore oil reserves of more than 11 billion barrels, making it a leading oil producer in terms of per capita growth. Last year, the country’s gross domestic product increased by a third, the Guardian reported. This year, similar growth is expected. Formerly a poor country, people are receiving $5,000 public cash grants, parcels of land to build houses and university scholarships. Oil companies, knowing how important Guyanese oil is for their bottom lines, are fighting over who benefits the most from the reserves, too, added Reuters. But, despite the oil boom, many Guyanese folks are still struggling with poverty, noted the World Bank. The influx of cash, meanwhile, sparked inflation that caused prices of sugar, oranges, cooking oil, and peppers to more than double last year alone, while individual workers’ wages have remained stagnant, the Associated Press reported. A major test of knowing whether or not oil riches have spread throughout the country’s economy will be whether or not emigrants return to the country, argued the St Kitts and Nevis Observer in an editorial. Half of the country’s population lives and works elsewhere in order to make ends meet. Others also wonder about other repercussions. As National Geographic explained, Guyana’s natural wilderness is one of the continent’s best-kept secrets. Could a growing energy sector imperil this resource, the nascent basis of a tourist economy that could otherwise help balance out the country’s dependence on oil? In the New York Times, Rutgers University English and journalism professor Gaiutra Bahadur also pointed out how Guyana’s capital Georgetown faces serious challenges due to climate change and rising sea levels – but has little choice, it seems, than to develop carbon-based industries to survive. Also, how might the new economic climate impact the drug trafficking networks operating throughout Guyana and South America? Authorities recently captured a submarine in a jungle waterway with the capacity to haul up to three tons of cocaine, for instance, CBS News wrote. Now, analysts say the country has a unique and amazing chance: To get rich in the right way.

Peru-Absolution By Decree

Absolution By Decree Peru The Peruvian government enacted a new law over the weekend that would bar the prosecution of crimes against humanity committed before 2002, a move that would benefit a convicted former president and other military officials accused of abuses committed during Peru’s internal armed conflict between 1980 and 2000, the Associated Press reported. Peruvian lawmakers passed the bill last month, prompting criticism from human rights organizations that it would thwart ongoing investigations over the massacres perpetrated during the conflict that killed around 69,000 people, while 21,000 others disappeared. Observers explained that the legislation would impact around 550 victims and 600 cases, including probes and judicial processes that would be archived or dismissed by statutes of limitations. One of the key beneficiaries of the law is former President Alberto Fujimori, who governed Peru between 1990 and 2000. Fujimori was sentenced in 2009 on charges of human rights abuses over the killing of 25 people, including a child, by army death squads between 1991 and 1992. At the time, the government described the murders as part of an anti-terrorist operation. The 85-year-old former leader is also facing trial over the killing by soldiers of six farmers in a separate case from 1992. The bill’s passing prompted the Inter-American Court of Human Rights – the highest regional court in this matter – to order Peruvian President Dina Boluarte, congress and the judiciary to annul the draft law because it violates international law. Despite the court’s order, the bill was passed Friday – although it did not receive any comments from Boluarte. The United Nations criticized the government’s move, saying the legislation “contravenes the country’s obligations under international law and is a troubling development, amid a broader backlash against human rights and the rule of law in Peru,” Agence France-Presse added.

Maduro Attempts To Crush The Opposition

A Campaign of Terror Venezuela Venezuela’s attorney general on Monday launched an investigation into opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzáles and opposition leader María Corina Machado, accusing them of inciting the armed forces to disobey the government, after the pair called on them to halt actions against protesters demonstrating against President Nicolás Maduro’s attempt to remain in office via electoral fraud, the Associated Press reported. Top prosecutor Tarek William Saab, a close Maduro ally, based his decision on an open letter shared by the two opposition politicians hours earlier, asking the military and the police to stand “on the side of the people.” Saab also accused Machado and Gonzáles of undermining the election process by announcing a different election winner “than the one proclaimed by the National Electoral Council, the only body qualified to do so.” The probe will look into alleged crimes of usurpation of functions, spreading false information, and incitement to insurrection, among other charges. The letter came after a week of deadly clashes between security forces and demonstrators following a ruling by the electoral body, also made up of Maduro loyalists, declaring the incumbent had won the July 28 presidential election. Machado and her allies released their own voting tallies, which showed that Gonzáles had dealt Maduro a knockout blow – a claim later confirmed by the Washington Post, which estimated that the opposition candidate had “likely received more than twice as many votes” as the president. “It was an electoral avalanche,” Machado and Gonzáles wrote, calling on the police and the military to stop their support for Maduro. Around two dozen people were killed in the crackdown on protests over the past week. The opposition did not react to Saad’s accusations and probe, CNN noted. Machado and Gonzáles have gone into hiding, fearing that they’ll be arrested or killed. The United States and the European Union have called the elections fraudulent and pleaded for calm. “We are calling on the authorities to stop this, this campaign of intimidation of the opposition and judicial intimidation,” said the EU, which earlier refused to recognize the electoral body’s results. Share this story

Venezuela-Show Me The Numbers

Show Me the Numbers Venezuela Mass demonstrations continued across Venezuela over the weekend, part of street protests that erupted nationwide following the July 28 presidential win of incumbent Nicolás Maduro amid accusations of fraud and irregularities, Merco Press reported. Last week, Venezuela’s electoral authority declared Maduro the winner of the vote with around 51 percent of the vote, while opposition candidate Edmundo González received 46 percent of the vote. But Maduro’s opponents have said they have proof that the opposition won handily. Thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against the results, prompting authorities to launch a violent crackdown that has seen more than 2,000 people detained and 11 killed, Reuters wrote. On Saturday, opposition leader María Corina Machado, whose candidacy to run for president was disqualified, joined the rallies in the capital Caracas, claiming that Maduro’s regime has lost its legitimacy and described July 28 as a milestone marking the transition to democracy in Venezuela. Machado’s participation in the weekend protests was significant because she had been in hiding over fears for her life. Critics and international election observers, such as the US-based Carter Center, have labeled the vote undemocratic because of irregularities and a lack of transparency, adding that the detailed polling data has not been released. Venezuela’s government is also facing international pressure over the results and its subsequent crackdown. Over the weekend, leaders from seven European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, called for the Venezuelan authorities to publish the detailed vote counts to ensure transparency, Politico added. Meanwhile, a number of countries, including the United States, Argentina and Costa Rica, have recognized González as the rightful winner. However, Venezuela’s allies, such as Russia and China, have congratulated Maduro on winning his third term. The Venezuelan president has accused demonstrators of being part of a US-backed coup attempt and vowed “maximum punishment” for those involved. In an effort to quell unrest, Maduro asked the country’s supreme court to do an audit of the presidential vote. Still, opponents and foreign observers have protested the decision, warning that the court is too close to the government to produce an independent review, according to the Associated Press. Share this story

Peru-Long Memories

Long Memories Peru Peru’s prosecutor’s office dismissed a genocide case against President Dina Boluarte while filing a complaint against her and other officials for the killing of anti-government protesters, Reuters reported Tuesday. The case centers on an incident that follows Boluarte’s accession to the nation’s top job in December 2022, which was marked by mass demonstrations across the country, sparked by the premature resignation of President Pedro Castillo. A government crackdown on the protests killed more than 40 people and left dozens of others injured – the worst death toll in Peru’s democratic history. The office opened the genocide inquiry in January 2023, after weeks of violent scenes in the streets of Lima and other major cities including Juliaca. There, helicopters were filmed dropping tear gas canisters, while on the ground police often shot demonstrators in the head, body, or back, Le Monde reported at the time. The president’s attorney, Joseph Campos, welcomed the prosecution’s decision to shelve the genocide case, saying there were no elements to justify “such a serious classification,” reported El Peruano. The protesters’ violent behavior triggered a constitutional duty to control the demonstrations, Campos added. Meanwhile, the office filed a constitutional complaint against Boluarte for alleged homicide and injuries in the same demonstrations, where it said “grave violations of human rights” occurred, Bloomberg reported. Peru’s parliament will have to review the complaint because it regards a sitting president. Campos expressed hope that lawmakers will dismiss it, too. Besides the violence of the 2022-2023 protests, Boluarte’s tenure has been marred by an investigation for illegal enrichment, locally dubbed Rolexgate because it involved her purchasing Rolex watches she seemingly could not have afforded. Boluarte has denied all wrongdoing. The president, whom Le Monde described as “out of touch with the people,” has a disapproval rate in voter surveys of nearly 90 percent, TeleSur reported.