The Big Stories to watch this week in LATAM
Money plane crashes in Bolivia, making cops sad, Neo-liberal labor reform in Argentina, and a shootout on the high seas near Cuba
Plane full of money crashes in Bolivian capital, police attack poor people trying to gather it
On Friday a Bolivian Air Force transport plane carrying newly printed currency crashed onto a busy highway near La Paz, the country’s capital.
At least 20 people were killed when the airplane attempted an emergency landing which included crashing into a second nearby busy road.
A number of other vehicles were also damaged in the crash. Shortly afterwards, however, residents in the busy city began to approach the scene to recover the banknotes which had spilled forth from wreckage.
Authorities attacked civilians with tear gas and water cannons in an attempt to push them back from wreckage.
Vice Interior Minister Hernan Paredes claimed that the crows arrived “with a tremendously aggressive attitude wielding sticks and stones” to gather the money.
Authorities then began burning the plane’s 18 tons of banknotes, which they said were being transported to replace older notes. They falsely claimed the bills had no legal value and their possession constituted a crime.
“Look at all the money they burned, there are poor families that need that money,” local resident Marcelino Poma told Reuters. “We need to rise up in El Alto. They took our gasoline subsidy, they hurt our household budgets, now they’re taking all the money out of the country.”
Argentine Senate approves Milei’s rollback of labor rights
Senators in Argentina approved a bill that would allow for standard 12-hour workdays, restrictions on strikes and union organizing, relax hiring and firing rules, and scale back vacation time for workers.
Milei’s bill, which he has dubbed the “labor modernization law”, has inspired weeks of protests, which have often clashed with police.
The President’s supporters claim the reform will spur foreign investment and stimulate economic growth in the country. Milei’s free market reforms have halted runaway inflation in the country, but have also deepened poverty.
Cuba shoots down a speed-boat launched from Florida
At least one US citizen was killed when Cuban officials returned gunfire towards a speedboat launched from Florida, according to US and Cuban officials.
Border guards killed four people and wounded 6 others, who they said were engaged in “a terroristic attack.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said Washington was investigating the “highly unusual” incident. Cuban authorities claimed that most of the passengers on the US-registered boat had “prior records involving criminal and violent activity”.
Rubio has denied that the people onboard were part of any US operation.
Other headlines:
Brazil is, again, experiencing devastating flooding. At least 25 people were killed last week in yearly occurrences, which have become more common as climate change affects weather plans in the Amazonian basin.
Mexico is searching for 23 people who were broken out of prison as part of widespread attacks across the country after officials killed “El Mencho.”
Trump stated he wants a “friendly takeover” in Cuba. In comments to the press, Trump suggested a transition that would be “very positive for the people who were expelled or worse”.“The Cuban government is talking with us, and they’re in a big deal of trouble, as you know. They have no money. They have no anything right now, but they’re talking with us,” Trump told reporters.
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