Latin America in Short: Fujimori’s Freedom Suspended | Elections in Costa Rica

This week, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has suspended the release of Alberto Fujimori. This Sunday, on the other hand, there will be elections in Costa Rica and the Ticos will elect a new president. In health issues, it is proven that Ivermectin does not reduce hospitalization for COVID-19. On the other hand, the World Water Forum warned about the limited access to this resource in Latin America. Finally, in sports, this week an attendance record was broken for a women's soccer game. All this summarized and explained in our weekly summary.

Release of Alberto Fujimori is suspended

After the request of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the supranational prosecutor of Peru, Carlos Reaño, suspended the release of former president Alberto Fujimori.

Fujimori is serving sentences for crimes related to human rights violations that occurred during his term in office (1990-2000). A few weeks ago, the Constitutional Court had granted the benefit of freedom to the former Peruvian dictator for humanitarian reasons due to his state of health and his advanced age. The Peruvian high court decided this by a vote of 3 in favor and 3 against and was broken by a Fujimori lawyer who was the candidate of the family party of the politician of Japanese origin.

Also read: For What Crimes Has Alberto Fujimori Been Convicted?

Costa Rica elects its new president amid corruption accusations

Next Sunday, April 3, the Ticos will go to the polls to define who will be the successor to Carlos Alvarado. The 2 candidates who entered the second round after receiving the most votes on February 6 are Rodrigo Chaves Robles (Social Democratic Progress) and José María Figueres (National Liberation Party).

In the final stretch, both politicians have accused each other and have left no room to focus on the proposals. Figueres, former president during 1994-1998, has had to explain the financing and the reason for his trip to the Dominican Republic in a private plane.

While Chaves has been accused of improper financing of his campaign for the contribution of $135,000 from a trust that he operated last year and used for campaign payments, which is illegal in the country. Additionally, Chaves has had to face accusations of sexual harassment while working at the World Bank.

Ivermectin does not reduce hospitalization for COVID-19

According to a study carried out by researchers from various countries, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, treatment with ivermectin does not result in a lower incidence of medical admission to hospitalization for COVID-19. This is an important finding, since this antiparasitic drug, also used in animals, has generated great controversy and alerts for health authorities, since its use had become popular among the population as a method against COVID-19. The results of the new study confirm that this drug is not recommended for use against the infection caused by Coronarivus.

In Latin America, 160 million people do not have access to clean water.

From March 22 to 27, the ninth World Water Forum was held in Dakar. The main conclusion of the event is that there is an urgent need to invest in sanitation and access to water worldwide. In fact, 430 million people do not have secure access to this water resource, 160 million are in Latin America and the Caribbean. Franz Rojas, head of CAF's Water and Sanitation Division, assured in an interview for the EFE agency that it is necessary "to triple the current annual investment in water and sanitation, if the goals of the 2030 Agenda are to be met." This is a priority issue, after experiencing a global pandemic that demonstrated how fundamental water is to protect global health.

New world record for attendance at a women's match

In an unprecedented event for women's football, the largest attendance of fans in a League match was recorded. This happened in the match between Barcelona Women and Real Madrid Women, in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The Camp Nou stadium registered a figure of 91,553 spectators. Barcelona easily prevailed against Real, and triumphed 5-2 over Real.