COHA

On June 29, Radio Negro Primero, a community-based station in Venezuela, and affiliates, will examine the jailing and prosecution of Peru’s constitutional president, Pedro Castillo. The program, Battle of Ideas, hosted by William Camacaro (Senior Analyst for COHA) and Mary Dugarte (Venezuelan Journalist), will feature distinguished panelists: Roger Waters (renowned musician and human rights defender), Lilia Paredes de Castillo (wife of President Castillo), and Walter Ayala (constitutional lawyer and former Minister of Defense for President Pedro Castillo).

Pedro Castillo’s 2021 presidential victory marked a historic shift: a rural schoolteacher and union leader, propelled by Peru’s rural poor, Indigenous communities, and working-class voters, defeated Keiko Fujimori by just over 44,000 votes. Although he won by a narrow margin, his win nevertheless signaled a rupture with Lima’s political elite and a call for reform.

From the outset, his administration was besieged. A right-wing Congress, dominated by Fujimoristas, obstructed his agenda and launched three impeachment attempts in 18 months. Cabinet instability—dozens of ministerial changes in his first year—reflected both internal tensions and external obstructionism.

On December 7, 2022, facing imminent removal, Castillo announced the dissolution of Congress and called for new elections. Lacking institutional support, he was swiftly arrested and charged with rebellion, conspiracy, and abuse of authority. The stakes are high. Prosecutors are seeking a 34-year sentence. After his ouster, Dina Boluarte took office with right-wing backing, unleashing state violence against protesters—predominantly Indigenous and rural—that human rights groups have condemned as serious violations.

Critics argue Castillo’s case exemplifies the weaponization of legal tools to neutralize progressive leadership. For example, the vague constitutional clause of ‘moral incapacity’ was invoked during the impeachment process in lieu of a legitimate legal rationale. Moreover, his legal defenders maintain that his trial, now underway in a highly politicized climate, is marred by procedural irregularities and prolonged detention.

Castillo’s removal reveals the fragility of Peru’s democratic institutions when faced with demands for structural change. This episode also reflects a broader pattern in Latin America: the criminalization of leftist leaders who challenge entrenched power. Castillo’s plight is not just legal—it’s part of an ongoing struggle against oligarchic resistance to a politics of liberation.

Zoon Link: https://mailchi.mp/7dd44aa5e764/peru-pedro-castillo-a-kidnapped-president

A View from Afar – In this podcast, political scientist Paul Buchanan and Selwyn Manning examine political events taking shape in South America.

In particular, Buchanan and Manning detail how there is a presidential run-off election in Colombia this Saturday and examine the outcomes of recent elections in Chile, Nicaragua, Honduras and Peru.

Paul takes us through the political landscape and highlights what this means for populism, left-right ideologies and for the South American continent and its respective political partners.

For example; in this episode Buchanan and Manning examine the so-called Pink Tide of (supposed) indigenous socialism started by Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales – and what relevancy this has had with regard to the Summit of Americas.

And, with respect to the Summit of Americas, this event is used as a test of how far the United States has fallen as a global leader.

QUESTIONS:
What is the latest emerging from the political hot-bed of South America?
What are the political trends there with populism, pragmatism, and left-right ideologies?
Why has the Summit of Americas been regarded as a fiasco and how does this impact on the United States’ reputation?

You can comment on this debate by clicking on one of these social media channels and interacting in the social media’s comment area. Here are the links:

• Facebook.com/selwyn.manning
• Youtube
• Twitter.com/Selwyn_Manning

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top  Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.

A View from Afar: Selwyn Manning and Paul Buchanan present this week’s podcast, A View from Afar, where they analyse New Zealand’s national security strategy.

There has been no defence white paper since the John Key National-led governments and no comprehensive review of New Zealand’s strategic priorities, nor assessment of the region’s threat landscape both internal and external.

Now, with hybrid threats like cyberwarfare and terrorism adopting an “intermestic” (international and domestic) characteristic due to on-line recruitment and radicalisation, the perceived need is to develop a holistic national security strategy that addresses defence, security and intelligence needs of the 2020 decade.

But what does this all mean for New Zealand’s defence forces, intelligence community, and cyber-defence agencies?

ALSO: World Watch – The latest/recent round of elections in places like Peru, Mexico and Israel can be viewed as referendums on neoliberalism and national populism.

For example: You can see how Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted Donald Trump-like rhetoric to describe his opponents.

A similar style has been used by the right wing in Peru as well as in Brazil.

The Peru election pits a socialist native Indian against Peru’s former dictator Fujimori’s daughter. She is a neoliberal conservative.

Both national populism and various socialist approaches have something in common: both ideologies reject neoliberal economic theory in principle and in fact.

With the left most likely to win the elections in Peru, and considering the challenges that Peru faces (including a pandemic where Covid-19 has raged through its communities positioning Peru as having suffered the highest recorded death rates in the world) the question begs, has neoliberalism run its course?

WE INVITE YOU TO PARTICIPATE WHILE WE ARE LIVE WITH COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS IN THE RECORDING OF THIS PODCAST:

You can comment on this debate by clicking on one of these social media channels and interacting in the social media’s comment area. Here are the links:

• Facebook.com/selwyn.manning
• Youtube
• Twitter.com/Selwyn_Manning

If you miss the LIVE Episode, you can see it as video-on-demand, and earlier episodes too, by checking out EveningReport.nz or, subscribe to the Evening Report podcast here.

The MIL Network’s podcast A View from Afar was Nominated as a Top  Defence Security Podcast by Threat.Technology – a London-based cyber security news publication.

Threat.Technology placed A View from Afar at 9th in its 20 Best Defence Security Podcasts of 2021 category. You can follow A View from Afar via our affiliate syndicators.