By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

 

BRASILIA, Brazil

Brazil’s government is increasing the pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro has come under fire following the imprisonment of his government’s opposition because the Venezuelan government has continued to delay setting the date for Venezuela’s Parliamentary election, which should be held sometime this year.

President Maduro and his government’s popularity has decreased significantly since taking office two years ago, and current polls put Venezuelan opposition candidates ahead of Maduro. The opposition sees the election as a chance to capitalize on Maduro’s diminishing popularity.

Members of the opposition have expressed concern that the delay in scheduling the election is a sign that the election will not happen at all.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira met with Venezuelan officials this week, urging Venezuela to call the elections “as soon as possible and [to hold them] within the legal time frame.”

In a May 5^th vote, the Brazilian Senate passed a “no-confidence” vote against President Maduro and his government. Some Brazilian officials have publicly spoken out against President Maduro, especially what they have referred to as the “arbitrary detention” of Venezuelan opposition members.

The vote was passed despite opposition from the Workers’ Party, the ruling party in the Brazilian Parliament. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, a member of the Workers’ Party has called on Venezuela to set the date for the Parliamentary election.

President Rousseff has faced criticism for not taking a stronger stance against Maduro, with whom her Workers’ Party keeps close ties with. Brazilian centrist PSDB opposition party leader Aecio Neves has said: “A nation that has a president who was once a political prisoner cannot keep silent when it sees a neighboring country almost 90 political prisoners.” According to the New York Times, Rousseff was held prisoner for three years starting in 1970 by the Brazilian military dictatorship.

Rousseff refused to meet with the wives of two prominent imprisoned opposition members, Mitzy Capriles and Lilian Tintori, during their visit to Brazil on the 7^th. She did send a letter to the two, promising that Brazil was working “tirelessly” to find a solution. The two women met with members of the Brazilian Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee during their visit. Capriles’ and Tintori’s husbands have been imprisoned as dissidents for over 14 months.

For more information please see:

The New York Times – Leader’s Torture in the 70’s Stirs Ghosts in Brazil – 4 August 2012

PanAm Post – Brazil’s Senate Tells Maduro to Defend Human Rights – 6 May 2015

Folha De S.Paulo – Wife of Venezuelan Opposition Leader Expects Tough Stance from President Rousseff – 7 May 2015

Reuters – Brazil increases pressure on Venezuela to set election date – 7 May 2015

The Sydney Morning Herald – Brazil increases pressure on Venezuela to set election date, free political prisoners – 8 May 2015

Latin American Herald Tribune – Rousseff: Brazil is “Tirelessly” Seeking Solution to Venezuelan Crisis – 9 May 2015

 

 

 

 

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay — A 10-year-old girl in Paraguay has been denied an abortion that could save her life.  The girl, who is more than five months pregnant, was allegedly raped by her stepfather.

The child was admitted to the hospital with stomach pains when doctors discovered that she was 22-weeks pregnant.

Amnesty international is called on Paraguay’s government to allow the child to get the abortion for the sake of her health.  The mother also requested that the child be allowed to have an abortion, due to the high risk nature of the pregnancy.

The mother’s request was also denied by officials, as abortion is illegal in the South American country.  The girl’s mother is now in custody facing charges of breaching duty of care and being an accomplice of sexual abuse.

Guadalupe Marengo, America’s deputy director at Amnesty International, said Paraguay’s “restrictive” abortion law is in violation of international law.

“Forcing the girl to continue with the pregnancy would prolong the horror”, he said. “The physical and psychological impact of forcing this young girl to continue with an unwanted pregnancy is tantamount to torture.”

Health Minister Antonio Barrios told Paraguay’s ABC newspaper that a psychologist along with doctors were providing care to the girl.

“[T]here are no indications that the girl’s health is at risk… we are not from any point of view, in favor of terminating a pregnancy,” Barrios was quoted as saying.

Paraguayan health authorities have said that even if the abortion were allowed, they would not go ahead because it could be risky for the girl at such a late stage in pregnancy.

The Catholic church in Paraguay has weighed in on the debate, noting human life is sacred, and it starts at conception.

This isn’t Paraguay’s first run in with a domestic abuse pregnancy.  According to health statistics, 680 Paraguayan girls between 10 and 14 years old gave birth in 2014.

Two births a day occur among girls aged 10 to 14 in Paraguay, and many are the result of sexual abuse by relatives and stepfathers, according to the government.

For more information, please see: 

Reuters – Pregnant 10-year-old rape victim denied abortion in Paraguay –  5 May 2015

The Telegraph – Girl, 10, raped by stepfather, denied abortion in Paraguay – 30 Apr. 2015

CNN – Group presses Paraguay to allow abortion for raped girl, 10 – 4 May 2015

the guardian – To make a 10-year-old give birth isn’t just horrifying – it’s life threatening – 5 May 2015

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

QUITO, Ecuador — On Wednesday, Ecuadorian law makers overwhelmingly approved a bill that would allow for the legal recognition of civil unions in the South American country.

The measure was approved 89-1 and seeks to amend part of the country’s civil code.

El Comercio, an Ecuadorian newspaper, reported the measure would allow LGBT couples to receive “the same rights and obligations of a marriage” in terms of pensions, purchasing a home together and other benefits. It would also eliminate the requirement that couples must wait two years before entering into a civil union and demonstrate that they had lived together during this period.

The proposal would also apply to unmarried straight couples.

This union is open to couples of all sexual orientations.  The Civil Code specifies that this union is “not considered as marriage” and must be between “two people of legal age.”

The move furthers the rights of same-sex couples by annulling the prior requirement of having to prove a relationship of two years to be recognized in a civil union.  Yolanda Herrera, a lawyer who has worked in various LGBTQ causes explained to teleSUR English, “There are legal loopholes that are up in the air, like the affiliation of the child of a same-sex couple that decides…to have children.”

She added,“Today, those two mothers cannot (both) be registered, or in the case of surrogate mothers for two fathers, they cannot register their children. Only the person that gives birth (will be registered)”.

She explained that this creates legal issues as “when the couple splits up, (the registration) will only be maintained by one of these people.”

“It is a major achievement,” Diane Rodríguez, president of Silueta X Association, an Ecuadorian LGBT advocacy group, told the Washington Blade after the vote.

Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has 30 days to sign or veto the measure.

Though, same-sex couples will have legal recognition gays and lesbians remain unable to adopt children.

Ecuador is among the growing list of Latin American countries that have extended legal recognition to same-sex couples.

Gays and lesbians are able to marry in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico City and a handful of other Mexican states.

For more information, please see:

Washington Blade – Ecuadorian lawmakers approve civil unions bill – 23 Apr. 2015

telesur – Civil Unions Approved by Ecuador’s National Assembly – 27 Apr. 2015

Pink News – Ecuador just approved same-sex civil unions – 28 Apr. 2015

GayStar News – Ecuador’s National Assembly approves gay civil unions bill – 28 Apr. 2015

By Delisa Morris

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile– Just in time for Earth Day Volcano Calbuco erupted last night in Chile for the first time in more than four decades.  The sudden eruption sent a thick plume of ash and smoke several kilometers into the sky.

By night, almost 4,000 people had been moved from the area, an evacuation radius of 20 kilometers was established and schools in the area and the classes were cancelled in surrounding towns, authorities noted.

Chile’s Onemi emergency office declared a red alert following the sudden eruption at around 6 p.m. local time.  Calibuco lies about 1,000 km south of the capital, Santiago, near the tourist town of Puerto Varas.

President Michelle Bachelet is scheduled to travel to the affected area on Thursday.

According to Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo there were no reports of deaths, missing persons or injuries.  Penailillo urged residents to evacuate the area and warned of possible lahars, a mix of water and rock fragments that flow down a volcano’s slopes and river valleys.

The column of ash and smoke is being pushed northeast towards Argentina, by winds.

“In this situation, with the eruption column so high, the main risk is that it collapses, falls due to gravity because of its own weight and causes a pyroclastic flow,” Gabriel Orozco, a vulcanologist with Chile’s geological and mining service, said on local TV.

Video courtesy of Informaciones Chile

A pyroclastic flow is a superheated current of gas and rock that can destroy nearly everything in its path and travel at speeds upwards of 200 to 300 kilometres per hour.

The volcanic ash has caused flights to be cancelled in Argentina and Chile due to the ash making it dangerous to fly.  The ash can cause damage to an airplane.

Canadian-born Trevor Moffat, who lives in Ensenada, some 10 kilometres from the volcano, said the eruption happened without warning. Volcano Calbuco’s last known eruption was in 1972 and the most recent major eruption happened in 1961.

“It sounded like a big tractor trailer passing by the road, rattling and shaking, guttural rumbling … we left everything there, grabbed my kid, my dog, got in the car with my wife,” said Moffat, who was driving to nearby Puerto Varas at the time.

“All the neighbours were outside, a lot of young people crying. Armageddon-type reaction.”

For more information, please see:

CBC News – Calibuco Volcano Eruption in Chile Forces Evacuation of 4,000 People from the Region – 23 Apr. 2015

LA Times – Hiker Found as Ash from Calibuco Volcano Closes Borders in Chile – 23 Apr. 2015

Aljazeera – Thousands Evacuated as Chile Volcano Erupts – 23 Apr. 2015

Reuters – Flights Canceled as Ash Cloud Pours from Chile Volcano – 23 Apr. 2015