Latin America in Short: Díaz-Canel Re-elected in Cuba | Controversial Mining Project in Chile

In global news, this week Fox News closed the agreement with the Dominion company, according to which the media conglomerate must pay a multi-million dollar defamation fine. In the region, three relevant news. The first one: the almost automatic re-election of Díaz-Canel in Cuba. On the other hand: the vaccination rate in Latin America happens to be one of the lowest in the world. And finally: Chile approves a controversial mining project. Finally, in sports, Costa Rica gets its first berth for the Paris Olympic Games, while Argentina is chosen by FIFA as host of the U-20 Men's Soccer World Cup. The most relevant news of the week are summarized here.

Fox News pays multi-million dollar defamation fine

The large American news network reached an agreement with the Dominion company in the defamation case. Fox News had to pay 787 million dollars to the company in charge of the voting system in the last US presidential elections. The company based in Toronto Canada and Denver Colorado accused the company owned by Rupert Murdoch of purposely transmitting false information about the company and its actions in the past electoral process that ended with the victory of Democrat Joe Biden over Republican Donald Trump.

The agreement, reached at the last minute before the start of the trial, achieved one of the highest sums in cases of deflation. However, the amount claimed in the trial was 1.6 billion. The agreement also provides that the chain of conservative inclination will not have to retract on air.

Cuba re-elects its president almost automatically

Miguel Díaz-Canel is re-elected as president of the island after a vote by Parliament. These elections have little uncertainty since the country has a unique model system and the leader of the Cuban Communist Party is the one who leads the nation. Díaz-Canel is also secretary of the PCC.

The vote was also attended by former President Raúl Castro, who received numerous praise from the party's political elite, who remember him as the undisputed leader of the revolution.

Díaz-Canel thus assumes his second (and last) 5-year term. Among the challenges that come to the Caribbean island, is overcoming the crisis that the island is experiencing. The president once again blamed the US embargo for the biggest problems facing Cuba. He also asked his compatriots to unite and work on food production, the development of state companies and fight against inflation.

Vaccination in Latin America went from being among the highest to the lowest

One in four boys and girls in the region lack vital vaccines. This figure represents a setback in immunization coverage to the levels of almost 30 years ago, according to UNICEF. “This is the lowest routine vaccination rate in the region in almost 30 years, placing Latin America and the Caribbean below the global average (81%) and just ahead of Eastern and Southern Africa (74%)”. This means that there are about 2.4 million unprotected boys and girls against preventable diseases.

Read also: Moderna's Skin Cancer Vaccine: How will it Work and when will it Be Used?

Chile approves a controversial mining project called Los Bronces

The committee of ministers of the Government of Chile approved the Los Bronces copper exploitation project. This is a $3.5 million project by the mining company Anglo American, which had been rejected by the Environmental Assessment Service due to the environmental impact it could have, especially on air quality. Despite the fact that it included compensation measures and demands for the mining company, the Boric government has received harsh criticism for the decision and mobilizations are expected in rejection by environmental groups and the population. The project is a contradiction for the protection of water, glaciers and the environment in general.

First berth in the Olympics for Costa Rica

Costa Rican surfer Brisa Hennessy Kobara officially qualified for the next Olympic Games to be held in Paris, making her the first Costa Rican athlete to confirm her attendance at these competitions. The athlete from Matapalo got her ticket to the following fairs this week. This quota was obtained thanks to its classification in the 2023 World Tour. Currently, Brisa occupies the 12th position in the global ranking of the World Surf League (WSL), for which it ensured its participation in Paris 2024 and is emerging as one of the great candidates to get a medal for their country.

Argentina is the confirmed venue for the U-20 World Cup

To everyone's surprise, FIFA announced the change of venue for the U-20 Men's World Cup just under a month before the start of the competition. Due to religious and political problems, Indonesia was relegated from its role as host for this important tournament. Instead, FIFA chose Argentina as the new organizing country, after 22 years the Latin American country will host this international tournament. With this confirmed news, the Argentine National Team obtains a direct place in this championship, thus becoming the head of group A.