FTS 14:30 20-08: Venezuelans to vote on community development plans
20/08/2024
FTS 14.30
*Paraguay: police kill Ruling Party deputy Eulalio Gomes in raid
*Israel shells a school housing displaced Gazans
FTS 14.30
*Paraguay: police kill Ruling Party deputy Eulalio Gomes in raid
*Israel shells a school housing displaced Gazans
Transcript
00:00Venezuelan people get ready to go to the polls again on Sunday for the second popular consultation
00:15to define projects of local interest and benefit the communities.
00:21In Paraguay, the deputy of the ruling party Aulalio Lalo Gomez was killed in his home
00:25by members of the police force during a raid.
00:31And the Israeli occupation army committed a new war crime by bombing a school that served
00:37as a shelter for displaced people in the Gaza Strip.
00:45Hello and welcome to From the South.
00:46My name is Belén de los Santos.
00:48I'm from the Tele7 studios in Havana, Cuba.
00:50We'll begin with the news.
00:52Venezuelan people are getting ready to go to the polls again on Sunday in the second
00:56popular consultation to define projects of local interest and benefit the communities.
01:02In this regard, citizens will participate in elections to select the communal projects
01:06that will have priority for their execution in the communities of the country as an exercise
01:12to strengthen the participatory democracy.
01:15The elections will allow the more than 49,000 communal councils of the country to choose
01:21the local development plan to benefit the communities who are working to improve self-management
01:26and social control.
01:28For his part, the minister of communes and social movements, Ángel Prado, stressed that
01:34the Bolivarian government is going for a new victory.
01:44The 49,000 communal councils of the country are attentive to your orientations.
01:49We have already defeated fascism, and now we are going for a new victory.
01:53As you said on Friday, elections in Venezuela again.
01:56This Sunday, we are already preparing for 4,505 communal circuits.
02:01The electoral material has arrived.
02:03The people have already carried out almost 3,600 assemblies.
02:08Until yesterday, according to the lastest report, today the assemblies continue.
02:12First a discussion was made in the communal councils.
02:15Each communal council is proposing three projects.
02:18Then they go to the circuit assembly.
02:20Per circuit there are six or seven, but each communal council brought three proposals.
02:27And on an exclusive interview for Telesur, the minister of communes and social movements
02:31of Venezuela, Ángel Prado, noted that the popular consultation of August 25th will serve
02:37the communal councils to address a social project to provide solutions to the Venezuelan
02:41people.
02:43A communal circuit is integrated by several communal councils.
02:51In this case, each communal council raises three projects.
02:56In its first instance, that is, the communal council then goes to the great assembly of
03:00the circuit, each one with its three projects.
03:04And there you define between six and seven projects that will be submitted to vote, in
03:08this case next August 25th.
03:12After the people will vote for the project they are interested in resolving first, but
03:16there is a second, third project that even has the possibility of having a transfer of
03:20resources to financing if it is not through the presidency of the republic.
03:25It can be a mayor's office, a governor's office or a ministry.
03:30And in Venezuela, President Nicolás Maduro celebrated the exit of Social Network X from
03:35Brazil after the Supreme Court of Justice proved that it inoculates hate messages and
03:39spreads false information.
03:41During the broadcast of his program Con Maduro Más, the Venezuelan president announced that
03:45Elon Musk incited a hate campaign through social networks, summoning Venezuelan influencers
03:51and artists abroad to betray their homeland.
03:55In this sense, the Venezuelan president asserted that the extreme right is no longer based
03:59on political parties, leaders or ideologies, but on influencers who manage a large number
04:05of followers.
04:07President Maduro also celebrated the exit of Social Network X in Brazil and assured
04:13that Latin America will defeat these media campaigns that seek to undermine peace and
04:18the institutionality of the nations of the region.
04:22I have a report that they sent me from Brazil.
04:35Look here I have it.
04:38It is quite long, it turns out that.
04:41A judge of the Supreme Court of Brazil, surname Moraes, applying the law and the laws that
04:48exist in Brazil against false information, hate crimes, which are laws that every country
04:56has the right to approve to defend their society, discovered all the campaigns of hate and lies
05:04which were applied in Brazil in the last election campaign of Elon Musk through X, previously
05:12called Twitter, against Brazilian citizens, as Elon Musk openly supported, in a vulgar
05:19way, violating the laws of Brazil to Jair Bolsonaro, as he later supported the Assault
05:27II power on January 8th.
05:31Then in those investigations the court took precautionary measures, with Twitter, with
05:37X, then Elon Musk, as he gives himself a bravo, seeing that he was lost, before the highest
05:45court of Brazil, announced yesterday that he is leaving Brazil, very good Brazil, excellent,
05:53you have won mental health and peace.
05:58About Elon Musk and about X from Latin America.
06:02Now let's take a short break, but remember you can join us on TikTok, where you will
06:06find news in different formats, news updates and much more.
06:11We'll be right back, stay with us.
06:28Welcome back to From the South.
06:36On Monday, the deputy of the ruling party of Paraguay, Eulalio Lalo Gómez, was killed
06:40in his home by members of the police force during a raid.
06:45The police operation was part of a series of raids carried out in the city of Pedro
06:49Juan Caballero.
06:50One took place in the home of the congressman of the Colorado party and another in the home
06:55of his son, Alexandre Rodrigo Gómez.
06:58In this regard, preliminary information revealed that both had offered resistance, which provoked
07:03an exchange of fire with the authorities.
07:05That resulted in serious wounds to the lawmaker, who passed on the way to the hospital.
07:11Father and son were being investigated for money laundering linked to a Brazilian criminal
07:15organization.
07:22Police officers mounted a raid to inspect and seize evidence related to the punishable
07:27offense of money laundering, association to commit a crime, etc.
07:33While they were on the raid, a confrontation arose, which led to a fatality.
07:38And in the aftermath, Oscar Tuma, lawyer for the Gómez family, denounced alleged irregularities
07:43in the police procedure.
07:46For us, there was no need to carry out that search at three in the morning.
07:55Even though the law foresees that possibility, it foresees it in case of urgency.
07:59It is foreseen in case the person is with the intention of escaping or if a burning
08:03of files is happening, or if there is an attempt to destroy the elements contemplated in the
08:08search warrant.
08:09They could have waited quietly until six in the morning and carry out the procedure in
08:13a normal way, and not enter hooded, breaking doors, to generate, or due to that it ended
08:18up generating, the outcome that we all know.
08:23In the United States, pro-Palestinian activists demonstrated near the National Convention
08:28of the Democratic Party in Chicago to demand an end to the government's arms shipment
08:33to Israel.
08:34This way, activists and members of human rights organizations called for the current administration
08:39to end the policies of support to Israel.
08:42The demonstrators also demanded that the government of President Joe Biden exert pressure on Tel
08:47Aviv to end the genocidal Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza.
08:52The mobilizations were concentrated outside the city's United Center, where the Democratic
08:57National Convention is being held, with the participation of Biden and Vice President
09:02Kamala Harris.
09:12Also in this context, several Democratic National Convention delegates covered their mouths
09:17during the U.S. President Joe Biden's farewell speech on Monday, at the first night of the
09:22party's gathering in Chicago.
09:24With the action, the delegates protested the government's stance on the Israeli genocide
09:29of the Palestinian people in Gaza, while Biden's administration has been funding for 10 months.
09:37Some delegates expressed their open disagreement with the government's actions, including Washington
09:42State Representative Sabrina Day.
09:44Because we wanted to send the message that we don't agree with what Biden has been doing,
09:53and he has been funding genocide of the Palestinian people for 10 months now, and to be quite
10:04honest with you, we knew we had to do something because the people of Gaza need us to amplify
10:11their voices.
10:13My vote is not secure.
10:14I feel very comfortable saying that.
10:15I recognize, you know, as I said, over 80 percent of Democrats agree with me.
10:20Everybody comes here and sees my keffiyeh and they say, we support you, we support your
10:24message.
10:25And so it's now the responsibility of our elected officials, right now President Biden
10:29and Vice President Harris, to listen to all of us.
10:33Everybody here is in agreement.
10:35This is, we don't want to continue killing babies.
10:38We don't want to continue killing women.
10:40And so we need them to listen to us.
10:44And in the Chinese Autonomous Region of Shizang, previously known as Tibet, amid U.S. accusations,
10:50the population positively evaluates the government's policies aimed at bettering their access to
10:55basic infrastructure and services, and preserving the region's cultural and religious values.
11:01From Shizang, Telesur collaborator Mauro Ramos offers more details on the matter.
11:06The Democratic Party has chosen Kamala Harris as running mate.
11:10Minnesota government Tim Walz.
11:12The Democrat was a congressman for six terms since 2006, and is also known for his interest
11:17in China.
11:18Walz was a member of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, a body that claims to
11:22monitor human rights in the Asian country.
11:25The Chinese government has repeatedly expressed strong dissatisfaction and opposition to the
11:29reports released by the commission.
11:32China also has just taken countermeasures on Congressman Jim McGovern, a member of the
11:36commission and a very close ally of Tim Walz.
11:39Because of his actions meddling in China's internal affairs, McGovern will be banned
11:42from doing business or traveling to China.
11:45In recent years, Walz and McGovern have focused on reporting alleged human rights abuses in
11:49Shizang, known as Tibet in the West.
11:52We were invited to be part of a delegation to visit Shizang firsthand.
11:56We spoke with peasants, teachers, and monks from different cities in the Autonomous Region.
12:00As a Tibetan, I can mention two significant actions that the Communist Party of China
12:06took in Xi'an.
12:08Politically, the party freed millions of serfs, granting them food.
12:11Economically, by 2019, all 74 impoverished counties in Tibet had been lifted out of poverty.
12:18Now, we are entering a phase of rural revitalization.
12:21May marked 73 years since the peaceful liberation of Shizang.
12:25At that time, aristocrats, local officials, and high-ranking lamas in monasteries who
12:29represented only about 5% of the Tibetan population owned almost all of the region's wealth.
12:36The other 95% were feudal serfs and enslaved people.
12:39By 2019, 628,000 people had been lifted out of absolute poverty in the 74 counties mentioned
12:47in the Yangtze.
12:48Part of the policy is focused on relocating families from places that are difficult to
12:52access and without base infrastructure or services.
12:56Ziwang Pinzuo, a resident of Siga Village, was one of the relocated Tibetans.
13:02We come from a small village in Medij County, Nyingke.
13:06It used to take five or six days to walk from our village to the county town.
13:11Sometimes when we went to Bom County to buy things, we had to carry everything, whether
13:15big or small, on our backs.
13:18In our hometown, the most common means of transportation to cross the Yarong Zangbo
13:22River was the iron rope.
13:24So, it was obviously difficult to send children to school and for the elderly to see the doctor.
13:30It is fair to say that our quality of life was low.
13:34With the help of the country and the government, we moved to our current home in 2003.
13:38In addition to the different commissions in the U.S. Congress, Human Rights Watch is another
13:42U.S. entity that negatively evaluates these policies in Sijang.
13:47In different reports, the organization claims that the relocations were forced and that
13:51the Tibetan language and culture have been suppressed.
13:54Although the Sijang Autonomous Region has a bilingual education system in Mandarin and
13:59Tibetan, Wang Duo is a primary school teacher who talks about the education offered in schools
14:04in the region.
14:07We are committed to preserving and transmitting our culture.
14:11In our classes, each teacher incorporates this tradition into their classes, sharing
14:16knowledge with everyone.
14:18Whether it is about passing on tradition or learning about it, our goal is to pass this
14:23content on to our students so they can better preserve it in the future.
14:27Wang Duo has been teaching Tibetan for 24 years.
14:30He states that in addition to the language, the teaching of Tibetan calligraphy in schools
14:34is being increasingly prioritized.
14:38In the past, we did not have convenient transportation like today.
14:42The road we used to use to go to school was difficult to walk on.
14:46In the past, we needed ink and paper to practice Tibetan calligraphy, but we did not have it,
14:51so we had to follow tradition and write on wooden tablets.
14:54But now students have good quality paper and ink.
14:58They are very lucky.
15:00Human Rights Watch also accuses China of restricting religious freedom in Sizang.
15:04Buddhism is one of the main religions practiced in China, along with Taoism, Islam, Catholicism
15:09and Protestantism.
15:11Although the state is secular, there are policies to support monasteries and monks due to the
15:15cultural and historical value of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the second-largest branch of the
15:20Tibetan religion in the country.
15:22The government takes care of our monks in various aspects, such as medical care and
15:31social security.
15:33For example, all temples in Sizang, including Changyu Temple, offer a free annual medical
15:40check-up for monks.
15:42The check-up results are kept in the monks' personal records.
15:45Our temple's main source of income comes from our small tea shop and the sale of items
15:50such as butter lamps, barley lamps and tea potters, all made by the temple itself.
15:56These sources of income are usually enough to support each monk.
16:01Barkhor Street and Jokhan Temple are in the center of the old city of Lhasa, the capital
16:05of Sizang.
16:06The temple is under state protection and became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 2000.
16:11More than 90% of the population of Sizang is Tibetan Buddhist.
16:15The Jokhan Temple was built over 1,300 years ago, and the temple receives up to 80,000
16:22people a day on special dates for Tibetan Buddhism.
16:27With the country's strong support, transportation and economy here are relatively developed
16:33compared to before, and there are many more tourists and worshippers than before.
16:39As the internal staff of Jokhan Temple, we monks must maintain and protect this world
16:45cultural heritage, make our own effort to pass it on to the next generation and strengthen
16:51our research on Buddhist knowledge.
17:09Turn on and activate the notification bell to stay up to date on the world's most recent
17:13events.
17:14Final short break, don't go away!
17:39Welcome back to Fakhter from the South.
17:53On Tuesday, the Israeli Occupation Army committed a new war crime by bombing a school that served
17:58as a shelter for displaced people in the Gaza Strip.
18:02In this regard, civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Baral reported that at least 10 people were
18:07killed, including two children, in the strike that targeted Mustafa Hafez School in the
18:13West Gaza City.
18:14Baral added that they are still recovering bodies from the school, whose building collapsed
18:20after being directly hit by a bomb.
18:23In this context, social activists condemned the attack as a violation of international
18:28law, and called it a scholasticide.
18:32It is worth noting that the Israeli army has bombed more than 400 schools, universities
18:38and educational institutions in the Gaza Strip since October 2023.
18:48And also in Palestine, the Israeli genocidal forces killed an 18-year-old teenage boy on
18:54an incursion into the town of Dura in the occupied West Bank.
18:58The Palestinian Al-Arafa News Agency reported that Mahmoud Ibrahim Al-Harouf was shot and
19:05then died in the hospital.
19:06Earlier, occupation forces had stormed the city located in southern Hebron, leading to
19:12clashes during which soldiers fired ammunition, stun grenades and poison gas at the youth.
19:18Since the onset of the genocide in Gaza, the Israeli army skyrocketed its already frequent
19:25attacks on the occupied West Bank, killing 636 Palestinians since then, either at the
19:35hands of Israeli soldiers or as a result of violent raids mounted by Jewish settlers.
19:48And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief.
19:50You can find these and many other stories on our website at www.totalwarenglish.net.
19:54You can also join us on social media.
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20:01For Total War English, my name is Belén de los Santos.