Despite backdoor ‘diplomacy’ by US, UNGA once again heard condemnations of US blockade on Cuba
Despite US diplomatic pressure and votes against it from its allies, the overwhelming majority of countries supported Havana’s call to debate the situation on the island.
Ecuadorian Marxist revolutionary and intellectual Mario Unda dies
Unda was known for combining intellectual rigor with political activism throughout his life, which earned him the affection and respect of workers’, peasant, and student organizations, among others.
Fujimori declared winner of Peru’s presidential election
With 100% of the ballots counted, Peru’s highest electoral authority declared a narrow victory for far-right candidate Keiko Fujimori of Fuerza Popular over leftist Roberto Sánchez of Juntos Por el Perú, the political heir to former President Pedro Castillo, who is currently in prison for attempting to convene a Constituent Assembly.
According to the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE), Fujimori secured victory with 50.135%, compared to Sánchez’s 49.865%. This means that Fujimori received 9,223,396 votes, compared to Sánchez’s 9,173,755. In other words, the margin was less than 50,000 votes – one of the narrowest margins in the country’s modern history.
In this regard, Fujimori said on X: “Now that the electoral process has concluded and the results have been announced by the JNE, I accept with deep gratitude the trust that millions of Peruvians have placed in me. A new phase is beginning. We approach it with responsibility, humility, and a deep sense of duty. Every day of this transition process is an opportunity to listen, engage in dialogue, and be prepared for the start of the new administration.”
Following a highly polarizing election campaign, the vote count stretched out over several weeks after the June 7 runoff election, due to the narrow margin between the two candidates. As the first results from urban areas came in, Fujimori took a significant lead, which rapidly declined as votes from rural areas (the historically most impoverished part of the country) came in in favor of Sánchez.
For much of the count, Sánchez led Fujimori by a few thousand votes, but Fujimori managed to regain the lead each time votes from abroad arrived. This, combined with several disputed polling stations in Lima, ultimately gave her a decisive advantage and, in the end, the victory.
Anti-fascist historian Marc Bloch is inducted into France’s National Panthéon
The medievalist scholar was captured by the Gestapo while participating in the French Resistance and was later tortured and executed by firing squad.
Tens of thousands continue search for survivors after Venezuela earthquakes
More than 3,000 foreign rescue workers have joined the herculean task of searching for survivors, while the official death toll has now surpassed 2,000.
Cepeda demands that Colombia’s president-elect renounce his US citizenship
Cepeda claims that the oath De la Espriella took to become a US citizen limits his actions as president. In addition, he asked the president-elect to clarify whether he belongs to a US security agency.
Sánchez claims fraud in the Peruvian presidential election
According to the leftist candidate, the rules for overseas voting (where Fujimori won) were allegedly changed before the runoff. He announced that he will launch a democratic resistance on June 27 against a government he has vowed not to recognize.
US imposes even more sanctions on Cuba
Washington’s latest move will likely deepen the man-made economic crisis that millions of Cubans are currently suffering.