The Latin American Report # 650

In Honduras, sustained institutional disorder is eroding confidence both inside and outside the country ahead of the elections next Sunday, November 30. It is no longer just that the highest officials of the National Electoral Council and the Supreme Electoral Court work along party lines, but even the Armed Forces are demanding a role that is not constitutionally theirs. The country, mired in an eternal, chronic crisis of corruption, which also splashes (or drenches) the ruling party, seems like one of the worst places in the world right now to hold a transparent election, amid cross-accusations of fraud and political violence between the main candidates.

This almost certainly points to that typical recent scenario where the losers do not concede defeat, and thus certainly becomes quite difficult for any impartial observer to determine the quality of all parties' arguments. In this sense, a former electoral official states that the new thing here is to introduce the narrative of fraud before the election is even held. Only three candidates have a real chance of contending for the title, with no clear favorite and without any of them having outlined a solid plan to move the country forward beyond campaign rhetoric.

Paraguay

The prison system continues to emit very worrying signals in the South American nation, after the death yesterday of two inmates from an alleged intoxication with medication or other substances, according to a statement from the Ministry of Justice cited by EFE. Beyond this event, and as it is usual in the region, the gangs control the prisons, where overcrowding is largely caused by the abuse of pre-trial detention; at the end of last year, this was the condition of more than half of the inmates. For example, the Emboscada penitentiary center houses four times the number of prisoners it was designed for. A state of emergency has been in effect since December 2023 following a riot led by the country's largest criminal organization, which is set to expire in the upcoming month of December.

Brazil

As @preparedwombat advanced yesterday Saturday in his daily informative effort, Odds and Ends, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was detained and taken to the headquarters of the Federal Police Superintendency in the capital, due to an admitted attempt to tamper with his electronic ankle monitor, on the eve of beginning to serve his 27-year sentence. The controversial Brazilian politician was under a reinforced house arrest regime after sustained clashes with the Supreme Court, and particularly with Judge Alexandre de Moraes, who ordered his arrest yesterday. Bolsonaro, who used a soldering iron to manipulate the tracking device, will be held "in a special room of about 12 square meters, equipped with a single bed, private bathroom, window, television, air conditioning, and a small refrigerator," according to information gathered by EFE from Brazilian media. His lawyers allege he faces health problems, an argument used to agitate his electoral base.

This is all for today’s report.