Latin America in Short: Elections in Paraguay | El Niño Looming

The elections in Paraguay will take place this Sunday, April 30. In economic news, Argentina will trade with China in Yuan to deal with the economic crisis. On the other hand, it is official that a strong El Niño phenomenon is coming in the region. In slightly friendlier news, the plan to reverse the decline in vaccination in Latin America begins. Finally, in sports, two good news for Colombia. The first one: it won first place in the weightlifting championship. The second one: the cyclist Santiago Buitrago stands out in Liège-Bastoña-Liège. Here we tell you everything.

Paraguay elects its next president

The South American country will go to the polls this coming Sunday, April 30, to elect the successor to Mario Abdo Benitez. Among the main optional ones, Santiago Peña stands out for the Colorado Party, the pro-government movement; Efraín Alegre of the Authentic Radical Liberal Party; and Paraguayan Cubas of the National Crusade Party.

The former soccer professional and national idol José Luis Chilavert also participates in the voting. As an athlete, he achieved several recognitions in Paraguay and abroad, but as a politician, he has not managed to reach 2 digits in the polls.

The Colorado Party is an electoral phenomenon in the Latin American and World scene. For 76 years, it has only lost one election. His only electoral defeat was in 2008 when Fernando Lugo's Patriotic Alliance for Change managed to defeat Blanca Ovelar from Colorado with 41.19% of the votes, against 31.07%.

Argentina will trade with China in Yuan

The second largest economy in South America announced that it will no longer use the US currency as a trade tool with one of its main trading partners: China. As soon as the logistics are agreed, Argentina will pay for imports from China (Valued at 1,070 million dollars per month) in the Chinese national currency.

In this way, the Asian superpower advances its intentions to unseat the dollar as the world's currency. Beijing wants to weaken the dollar, and thus also escape the severity of US sanctions. This proposal to weaken the North American currency is also shared by its BRICS partners (Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa), as well as countries that have suffered sanctions such as Iran.

For its part, Argentina seeks to reduce the flow of dollars from its international reserve, which has recently been severely hit due to the depreciation of the Argentine peso, inflation and a currency storm.

Also read: Will the BRICS Manage to Push for a Counterbalance Against the Dollar?

A strong El Niño phenomenon is coming

Various international organizations point out that it is very likely that a strong El Niño phenomenon will arrive in June. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO reported that it is expected to cause damage in countries affected by drought such as the Horn of Africa. In addition, it is estimated that it will affect Central America and the Asian Far East, and probably parts of South America. In addition to drought, El Niño can also cause flooding. On the other hand, the spring in Europe is being warmer than usual in several countries and the summer is shaping up to be very hot. For these reasons, contingency plans for food security have begun to be applied around the world, according to the FAO.

"Big Catch Up" begins the plan to reverse the decline in vaccination in the world

During the pandemic, essential vaccination levels were reduced in more than 100 countries. Consequently, there have been worrying outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, polio and yellow fever. The World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, Gavi (Vaccine Alliance), and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with other organizations, have announced the “Big Catch Up” plan. This aims to "raise child vaccination levels, at least to pre-pandemic levels and try to exceed them," according to the WHO. It is expected to reach more than 25 million children. Brazil and Mexico are two Latin American countries that are on the list of the 21 most affected by the lack of childhood immunization.

Colombia: Central American champion in weightlifting

Colombia is increasingly becoming one of the Latin American countries with the most titles in weightlifting. On this occasion, the coffee-growing country took first place in the Central American and Caribbean Weightlifting Championship that was held in the Dominican Republic. The Colombian delegation got a total of 58 medals, of which 28 were gold, 22 silver and 8 bronze. One of the most important weightlifters was Luis Javier Mosquera, the Olympic medalist in Rio 2016 and in Tokyo 2020 he demonstrated his potential by winning three gold medals.

Santiago Buitrago, the big surprise in Liège-Bastoña-Liège

The Colombian cyclist Santiago Buitrago, at just 23 years old, entered the history of national cycling, having an outstanding presentation in Liège-Bastoña-Liège. The young promise demonstrated in the 258 kilometers of this competition all his potential, which led him to stay with the third position of 'La Decana'. This result by Buitrago is essential for cycling, since no Colombian athlete had reached the podium in this race that has been held since 1892. With this magnificent performance, the new 'beetle' climbed 73 places in the UCI ranking, an aspect that makes him the second most important cyclist in the country today.