Peru’s president, Martin Vizcarra, announcing the dissolution of Congress at the government palace in Lima, Sept. 30, 2019 (Peruvian presidential press photo by Andres Valle via AP).
There is no shortage of high-stakes, bitter political battles across the globe today. Few, though, can compete with the drama unfolding now in Peru, where a standoff between the president and the opposition-controlled Congress has suddenly erupted into an unprecedented constitutional crisis. On Monday, President Martin Vizcarra dissolved Congress, and Congress responded by suspending Vizcarra on the grounds of his “permanent moral incapacity,” swearing in Vice President Mercedes Araoz as his replacement. No one is quite sure which move was legal. If the president’s dissolution of Congress is valid, then the Congress was not entitled to remove Vizcarra. If the [...]
Kenyan Finance Minister Henry Rotich, right, and his principal secretary, Kamau Thugge, at a court hearing in Nairobi, Kenya, July 23, 2019 (AP photo by Khalil Senosi).
Henry Rotich, Kenya’s finance minister, was arrested on corruption charges in late July—the highest-profile target yet in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s anti-graft drive. Rotich and other senior Kenyan officials have pleaded not guilty to multiple counts of fraud, abuse of their office and other allegations stemming from the misuse of funds in two planned hydroelectric dam projects. Kenyatta came into office in 2013 vowing to prioritize tackling Kenya’s endemic corruption, but critics point out that his efforts have yet to yield any high-profile convictions. The case against Rotich is a potential sign of renewed seriousness, but it could also be complicated [...]
At a protest against President Juan Orlando Hernandez, a sign reads “Resign JOH” in Spanish, Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Aug. 6, 2019 (AP photo by Elmer Martinez).
For the third time in four years, Hondurans are calling for the resignation of President Juan Orlando Hernandez, decrying him as a “narco dictator.” In early August, Hernandez was named in a 44-page court filing by the U.S. Southern District of New York, which alleges he funded his 2013 election campaign with $1.5 million in drug trafficking money. Hondurans have poured into the streets since the charges were announced, joining a protest movement against Hernandez that is entering its fifth month. Demonstrations kicked off in the spring against unpopular reforms his government proposed to health care and education. The U.S. [...]
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