Latin America In Short: Chile Says Yes To Gay Marriage and Boca Juniors Is Champion

Many celebrate this week the approval of equal marriage in Chile. In terms of economy, the Evergrande company is officially declared in "default". On environmental issues, studies show that forest fires were of particular concern this year. On the other hand, the WHO affirms that the vaccine against COVID-19 gives immunity for up to six months after the second dose is applied. Finally, in sports, Boca Juniors is the champion of the Argentine Cup. All of this explained in our weekly roundup.

Chile joins the countries that allow equal marriage

The Andean country becomes the seventh country in the region to approve marriage between same-sex couples. This week, with 21 votes in favor, 8 against and 3 abstentions, the Chilean congress approved in a majority way this initiative that had been promoted for the first time in 2017 under the presidency of the social democrat Michelle Bachelet and that happens today in the last days of the right-wing Sebastián Piñera.

Evergrande finally enters "Default"

According to the rating agency Fitch, the Chinese construction giant, Evergrande, entered a historic "default", which means that it could not pay part of its debt. The company's credit amounts to US $ 300,000 million, which makes it the most indebted company in the world. Although the company or the Chinese government have not yet confirmed the news, it was known since last week how difficult it would be for Evergrande to meet payments on time.

Also read: China Evergrande crisis: how does the threat of bankruptcy affect Latin America?

Wildfires in 2021 left 1,760 megatons of carbon

According to data collected by the Global Fire Assimilation System (GFAS), in 2021 around 1,760 megatons of carbon were emitted due to forest fires that occurred around the world. It should be noted that these emissions were much higher in regions located in the eastern and central Mediterranean and in North Africa, North America and Europe. This is due to the conditions that these dry and hot regions have, conditions enhanced by climate change, which increases the probability of forest fires, loss of vegetation and wildlife.

July is the month with the most forest fires, precisely in the dry and summer season. Also, that was the month in which there were more megatons of carbon emitted: 378, in total.

Immunity of vaccines against COVID-19 lasts 6 months

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently called a press conference and assured that the vaccine against COVID-19 can provide immunity for 6 months after the second dose is applied. It was expected that during the press conference the situation about the new Omicron variant would be further clarified, but the organization's spokesperson, Kate O'Brien, said that it is still too early to give information regarding how vaccines react to the variant, so it would be necessary to wait until there is enough information to give a verdict.

Boca was champion of the Argentine Cup

Boca Juniors was crowned champion against Talleres de la Copa Argentina. The Xeneize team won Talleres de Córdoba on penalties. The game was highly contested in the middle of the field and the options were distributed in the first half, but neither team achieved anything concrete in regulation time. In the end, a 0-0 lead to penalties at the Unique Mother of Cities Stadium in Santiago del Estero. In the penalty shootout, Héctor Fertoli failed to collect and Boca Juniors were crowned champion, closing the year with a title. Thus, Boca accumulated his title number 71.