Mexico in talks with mining companies about lithium
Thu, January 12, 2023
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday the government is in talks to persuade companies that have started lithium mining projects in Mexico to give up their plans.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador did not say what the talks involved or whether the companies would be offered compensation. But he made it clear that whatever they might be allowed to mine — or help the government mine — they wouldn't be permitted to produce lithium on their own.
In 2022, Mexico nationalized lithium mining and extraction, with a state-run company having exclusive rights to mine the metal used in electric car batteries and other devices.
López Obrador said that “one or two” companies had started projects, though they had not obtained all necessary permits, such as for water use of environmental impact statements.
He said the government is “seeking to reach an agreement with them” to accept the new framework. But he acknowledged the matter may end up in the courts.
“The lawyers are looking into it. We are going to talk to these companies, but the concessions have not been legalized,” the president said, vowing that “we are going to defend what belongs to the nation” if the firms take the case to court.
The Mexican government has no experience in mining lithium.
Only one lithium mine in Mexico, operated by a Chinese company in the northern state of Sonora, is anywhere close to starting production.
That operation, Bacanora Lithium, appears to be Mexico’s only viable private lithium mine and had been expected to start production in 2023. It is owned by Chinese lithium giant Ganfeng International.
At one time, the government had said the eight concessions for mining lithium already granted in Mexico would be respected as long as they were well on the way to producing the metal.
Friday, January 13, 2023
MINING IS NOT GREEN
Burning Man latest foe of 'green energy' project in Nevada
SCOTT SONNER
Thu, January 12, 2023
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Add Burning Man to the list of plaintiffs challenging one of the growing number of “green energy” projects in the works in Nevada.
Lithium mines aimed at boosting production of electric vehicle batteries and geothermal power plants that tap underground water to produce renewable energy are at various stages of planning and development in the nation’s top gold mining state.
Environmental groups, Native American tribes and ranchers are among those who’ve filed lawsuits over the past two years seeking to block individual projects.
They say that while they support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to help combat climate change, the commercial developments on public land in Nevada were approved illegally and will have their own environmental and cultural consequences.
Now, the group that stages perhaps the most famous counterculture event in the world is among those facing off against the U.S. government over geothermal exploration in the Nevada desert where 70,000 free spirits known as “Burners” gather every summer.
The San Francisco-based Burning Man Project and four co-plaintiffs filed the new lawsuit in federal court in Reno this week accusing the Bureau of Land Management of breaking environmental laws in approving Ormat Nevada Inc.’s exploratory drilling in the Black Rock Desert 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Reno.
Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Friends of Black Rock/High Rock Inc. and two local residents of Gerlach joined the suit that says the agency’s environmental review of the exploration project ignored potential harms that could come from a large-scale geothermal project.
“Ormat’s exploration project will lay the foundation for turning a unique, virtually pristine ecosystem of environmental, historical and cultural significance into an industrial zone, and permanently alter the landscape,” the lawsuit says.
Ormat Vice President Paul Thomsen said the lawsuit has no merit.
The Bureau of Land Management has no comment on the lawsuit, agency spokesman Brian Hires said in an email to The Associated Press.
The drilling is planned within the Black Rock National Conservation Area, home to the festival where themed tent villages and avant-garde art exhibits sprout from a barren desert basin that was once the floor of an ancient lake.
Clothing is optional, but participation is required at the psychedelic celebration of art, music and sometimes anarchy itself as aging hippies, Silicon Valley executives and other curiosity seekers gather around drum circles and pagan fire rituals.
Or, as the lawsuit says, where attendees “over the course of eight days, camp and participate in a unique experimental community.”
“The ethos and culture of the event are rooted in the Ten Principles of Burning Man,” including “radical inclusion,” gifting, self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility and “Leaving No Trace,” the lawsuit explains.
The lawsuit said Ormat has attempted to evade analysis of the geothermal power plants' potential negative effects on the environment by segmenting the project, which limits BLM’s review to only the first stage of its plans: exploration.
“However, this first stage merely confirms where the resources are located to inform future industrial scale geothermal energy development," the suit said. “Once the exploration project begins, it will be impossible to stop the effects of the entire geothermal production project.”
The exploration project calls for 19 test wells and pads, associated facilities and 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) of improved and new access roads.
The proposed wells would be adjacent to a number of unique hot springs that are relied upon by the local community for tourism. The springs also are ecologically significant because they're “interconnected with each other, the ecosystem and the pristine landscape of the region,” the suit said.
“After participating in the public process and seeing no movement on our concerns, we filed this lawsuit to help ensure the impacts from the proposed project are minimized, and that Ormat is a good corporate citizen in this environmentally sensitive, economically vulnerable area of northern Nevada,” said Adam Belsky, Burning Man Project’s general counsel.
Thomsen said in an email that Ormat “looks forward to prevailing in the lawsuit and continuing its contribution to Nevada’s green energy, zero emissions future, which will offset some of the copious amounts of fossil fuels the Burning Man Project annually emits in the Black Rock Desert.”
Burning Man latest foe of 'green energy' project in Nevada
SCOTT SONNER
Thu, January 12, 2023
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Add Burning Man to the list of plaintiffs challenging one of the growing number of “green energy” projects in the works in Nevada.
Lithium mines aimed at boosting production of electric vehicle batteries and geothermal power plants that tap underground water to produce renewable energy are at various stages of planning and development in the nation’s top gold mining state.
Environmental groups, Native American tribes and ranchers are among those who’ve filed lawsuits over the past two years seeking to block individual projects.
They say that while they support reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to help combat climate change, the commercial developments on public land in Nevada were approved illegally and will have their own environmental and cultural consequences.
Now, the group that stages perhaps the most famous counterculture event in the world is among those facing off against the U.S. government over geothermal exploration in the Nevada desert where 70,000 free spirits known as “Burners” gather every summer.
The San Francisco-based Burning Man Project and four co-plaintiffs filed the new lawsuit in federal court in Reno this week accusing the Bureau of Land Management of breaking environmental laws in approving Ormat Nevada Inc.’s exploratory drilling in the Black Rock Desert 120 miles (193 kilometers) north of Reno.
Friends of Nevada Wilderness, Friends of Black Rock/High Rock Inc. and two local residents of Gerlach joined the suit that says the agency’s environmental review of the exploration project ignored potential harms that could come from a large-scale geothermal project.
“Ormat’s exploration project will lay the foundation for turning a unique, virtually pristine ecosystem of environmental, historical and cultural significance into an industrial zone, and permanently alter the landscape,” the lawsuit says.
Ormat Vice President Paul Thomsen said the lawsuit has no merit.
The Bureau of Land Management has no comment on the lawsuit, agency spokesman Brian Hires said in an email to The Associated Press.
The drilling is planned within the Black Rock National Conservation Area, home to the festival where themed tent villages and avant-garde art exhibits sprout from a barren desert basin that was once the floor of an ancient lake.
Clothing is optional, but participation is required at the psychedelic celebration of art, music and sometimes anarchy itself as aging hippies, Silicon Valley executives and other curiosity seekers gather around drum circles and pagan fire rituals.
Or, as the lawsuit says, where attendees “over the course of eight days, camp and participate in a unique experimental community.”
“The ethos and culture of the event are rooted in the Ten Principles of Burning Man,” including “radical inclusion,” gifting, self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility and “Leaving No Trace,” the lawsuit explains.
The lawsuit said Ormat has attempted to evade analysis of the geothermal power plants' potential negative effects on the environment by segmenting the project, which limits BLM’s review to only the first stage of its plans: exploration.
“However, this first stage merely confirms where the resources are located to inform future industrial scale geothermal energy development," the suit said. “Once the exploration project begins, it will be impossible to stop the effects of the entire geothermal production project.”
The exploration project calls for 19 test wells and pads, associated facilities and 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) of improved and new access roads.
The proposed wells would be adjacent to a number of unique hot springs that are relied upon by the local community for tourism. The springs also are ecologically significant because they're “interconnected with each other, the ecosystem and the pristine landscape of the region,” the suit said.
“After participating in the public process and seeing no movement on our concerns, we filed this lawsuit to help ensure the impacts from the proposed project are minimized, and that Ormat is a good corporate citizen in this environmentally sensitive, economically vulnerable area of northern Nevada,” said Adam Belsky, Burning Man Project’s general counsel.
Thomsen said in an email that Ormat “looks forward to prevailing in the lawsuit and continuing its contribution to Nevada’s green energy, zero emissions future, which will offset some of the copious amounts of fossil fuels the Burning Man Project annually emits in the Black Rock Desert.”
Doctors say men are getting more vasectomies amid abortion restrictions nationwide
Jayla Whitfield-Anderson
·National Reporter
Thu, January 12, 2023
Doctor and patient. (Getty Images)
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that protected abortion rights, medical professionals say they have seen a drastic increase in vasectomies.
Vasectomies offer a form of permanent birth control for men, and roughly 500,000 are performed every year in the United States.
“There was an increase of basically 100% in the number of vasectomies from the moment Roe v. Wade was overturned,” Dr. Esgar Guarin, the co-founder of SimpleVas Medical Clinic, told Yahoo News.
Guarin, a doctor in Des Moines, Iowa, who trained in maternal, child and reproductive health, says interest from male patients in learning more about the procedure increased after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe.
“Within only 48 hours, we signed up 50% of the patients that we normally sign up in a month, just immediately after June 24, and that trend continued,” he said.
In November, a Planned Parenthood office in St. Louis also noted a spike in vasectomies in an interview with Live Action. “Since the Dobbs decision, we have seen an increasing number of male-bodied people coming and requesting this service [vasectomies],” Dr. Margaret Baum of Planned Parenthood said. “We performed 142 vasectomies in 2021. Already this year, we’ve done close to 200 in 2022.”
But doctors say this isn't the only major event that has pushed men to seek a permanent form of contraception.
“During the Great Recession, there was a marked increase in requests for vasectomies, because people felt that the economy was such that they couldn't afford to have children,” Marc Goldstein, professor of reproductive medicine and urology at Weill Cornell Medical College, told Yahoo News.
Between 2007 and 2009, an estimated 150,000 to 180,000 additional men received a vasectomy, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
“And we're seeing exactly the same thing happening now,” Goldstein said. “We've seen a doubling or tripling overall in the number of vasectomies, and they marked a drop in the number of reversals since Roe v. Wade.”
Abortion rights activists at a protest in Los Angeles on June 24, 2022.
“There has never been a single death from a vasectomy ever. In tubal ligation every single year in this country alone, 25 to 30 women die from getting a tubal ligation, because it requires a general anesthetic,” Goldstein said.
Since vasectomies have rarely been the popular choice, women have often carried the burden of preventing pregnancies.
“Women and people who can get pregnant are largely expected to prevent pregnancy on their own for 30 years or more. And there's not enough public recognition for how hard that is,” Krystale Littlejohn, associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, told Yahoo News. “Responsibility for preventing pregnancy shouldn't be a stopgap effort for men, and it shouldn't be something that is done periodically. It is a long-term commitment to their partners and to themselves.”
Doctors suggest that men could step up more often. “It's sad to see that it took restricting the rights of an individual to choose about her own body for the counterparts to say, 'You know what, I probably should be doing something, because I cannot rely on the very last option, because it's no longer available,'” Guarin said.
Jayla Whitfield-Anderson
·National Reporter
Thu, January 12, 2023
Doctor and patient. (Getty Images)
After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 landmark case that protected abortion rights, medical professionals say they have seen a drastic increase in vasectomies.
Vasectomies offer a form of permanent birth control for men, and roughly 500,000 are performed every year in the United States.
“There was an increase of basically 100% in the number of vasectomies from the moment Roe v. Wade was overturned,” Dr. Esgar Guarin, the co-founder of SimpleVas Medical Clinic, told Yahoo News.
Guarin, a doctor in Des Moines, Iowa, who trained in maternal, child and reproductive health, says interest from male patients in learning more about the procedure increased after the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned Roe.
“Within only 48 hours, we signed up 50% of the patients that we normally sign up in a month, just immediately after June 24, and that trend continued,” he said.
In November, a Planned Parenthood office in St. Louis also noted a spike in vasectomies in an interview with Live Action. “Since the Dobbs decision, we have seen an increasing number of male-bodied people coming and requesting this service [vasectomies],” Dr. Margaret Baum of Planned Parenthood said. “We performed 142 vasectomies in 2021. Already this year, we’ve done close to 200 in 2022.”
But doctors say this isn't the only major event that has pushed men to seek a permanent form of contraception.
“During the Great Recession, there was a marked increase in requests for vasectomies, because people felt that the economy was such that they couldn't afford to have children,” Marc Goldstein, professor of reproductive medicine and urology at Weill Cornell Medical College, told Yahoo News.
Between 2007 and 2009, an estimated 150,000 to 180,000 additional men received a vasectomy, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.
“And we're seeing exactly the same thing happening now,” Goldstein said. “We've seen a doubling or tripling overall in the number of vasectomies, and they marked a drop in the number of reversals since Roe v. Wade.”
Abortion rights activists at a protest in Los Angeles on June 24, 2022.
(Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)
Doctors note a slight increase in the number of patients younger than 30 with no children seeking a vasectomy, with the largest increase among in men in their mid- to late 30s.
“We saw a bump up of about 20% to 25% from 35- to 37-year-old men who had decided not to have any children in years prior, but had done nothing about it, and were purely relying on the partner for their contraception,” Guarin said.
As abortion rights are restricted nationwide, experts say vasectomies do not provide a replacement for access to abortion.
“Contraception is an integral part of ensuring reproductive justice, freedom and autonomy, but it always has to exist with access to other pregnancy outcomes, including access to abortion,” Katrina Kimport, professor of reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, told Yahoo News.
Even though medical professionals say vasectomies are cheaper, safer and faster, more women get their tubes tied. Vasectomies are an outpatient procedure with a low risk of complications and take less than an hour to complete.
“Tubal ligation and other procedures for women are options, but they usually have a higher risk of complications and may cost more,” Dr. Nicholas Toepfer, a UCHealth urologist, said in a UCHealth article.
Doctors note a slight increase in the number of patients younger than 30 with no children seeking a vasectomy, with the largest increase among in men in their mid- to late 30s.
“We saw a bump up of about 20% to 25% from 35- to 37-year-old men who had decided not to have any children in years prior, but had done nothing about it, and were purely relying on the partner for their contraception,” Guarin said.
As abortion rights are restricted nationwide, experts say vasectomies do not provide a replacement for access to abortion.
“Contraception is an integral part of ensuring reproductive justice, freedom and autonomy, but it always has to exist with access to other pregnancy outcomes, including access to abortion,” Katrina Kimport, professor of reproductive sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, told Yahoo News.
Even though medical professionals say vasectomies are cheaper, safer and faster, more women get their tubes tied. Vasectomies are an outpatient procedure with a low risk of complications and take less than an hour to complete.
“Tubal ligation and other procedures for women are options, but they usually have a higher risk of complications and may cost more,” Dr. Nicholas Toepfer, a UCHealth urologist, said in a UCHealth article.
“There has never been a single death from a vasectomy ever. In tubal ligation every single year in this country alone, 25 to 30 women die from getting a tubal ligation, because it requires a general anesthetic,” Goldstein said.
Since vasectomies have rarely been the popular choice, women have often carried the burden of preventing pregnancies.
“Women and people who can get pregnant are largely expected to prevent pregnancy on their own for 30 years or more. And there's not enough public recognition for how hard that is,” Krystale Littlejohn, associate professor of sociology at the University of Oregon, told Yahoo News. “Responsibility for preventing pregnancy shouldn't be a stopgap effort for men, and it shouldn't be something that is done periodically. It is a long-term commitment to their partners and to themselves.”
Doctors suggest that men could step up more often. “It's sad to see that it took restricting the rights of an individual to choose about her own body for the counterparts to say, 'You know what, I probably should be doing something, because I cannot rely on the very last option, because it's no longer available,'” Guarin said.
IF YOU DON'T WANT THE CUT
Taliban ban on women workers hits vital aid for Afghans
A Save the Children midwife provides Zarmina, 25, who is five months pregnant, with a pre-natal check-up in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022.
A Save the Children midwife provides Zarmina, 25, who is five months pregnant, with a pre-natal check-up in Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022.
(Save the Children via AP, File)
RIAZAT BUTT
Wed, January 11, 2023
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Last June, a team of female doctors and nurses drove six hours across mountains, dry riverbeds and on unpaved roads to reach victims of a massive earthquake that had just hit eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people.
When they got there, a day after the earthquake hit, they found the men had been treated, but the women had not. In Afghanistan’s deeply conservative society, the women had stayed inside their tents, unable to come out to get medical help and other assistance because there were no women aid workers.
“The women still had blood on them,” said Samira Sayed-Rahman, from the aid agency International Rescue Committee. It was only after she met local elders to tell them about the arrival of a female medical team that women came out to get treatment. “That’s not just the situation in emergencies; in many parts of the country, women don’t go out to get aid,” she said.
It’s an example, Sayed-Rahman said, of how vital women workers are to humanitarian operations in Afghanistan — and shows the impact that will be felt after the Taliban last month barred Afghan women from working in non-governmental organizations.
The ban, announced Dec. 24, forced a widespread shutdown of many aid operations by organizations that said they cannot and would not work without their female staff. Aid agencies warn that hundreds of thousands are already hurt by the halt in services and that, if the ban continues, the dire and even deadly consequences will spiral wider for a population battered by decades of war, deteriorating living conditions and economic hardship.
Aid agencies and NGOs have been keeping Afghanistan alive since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The takeover triggered a halt in international financing, a freeze in currency reserves and a cut-off from global banking, collapsing the already fragile economy. NGOs have stepped into the breach, and providing everything from food provisions to basic services like health care and education.
After the ban, 11 major international aid groups along with some smaller ones suspended their operations completely, saying they cannot operate without their women workers. Many others have reduced their work dramatically. A post-ban survey of 151 local and international NGOs found that only about 14% were still operating at full capacity, according to U.N. Women.
U.N. agencies have continued working – most vitally to largely maintain the food lifeline that is keeping millions of Afghans out of starvation. Despite the ban, the World Food Programme provided food staples or cash transfers for food to 13 million people in December and the first week of January — more than a quarter of Afghanistan’s population of some 40 million.
The extent of the ban’s implementation and enforcement is unclear. In some places, some women have been able to continue working in the field.
Still, the impact is already great, agencies say.
The International Rescue Committee, which has suspended all its operations, estimates that around 165,000 people missed out on its health services between Dec. 24 and Jan. 9. It warned of an increase of death and disease because of the ban and an increased burden on Afghanistan’s health system, which it said is “already fragile, near-to-collapse, and NGO-dependent.”
IRC supports more than 100 health facilities in 11 provinces, including 30 mobile health teams, in some cases delivering lifesaving help to remote areas that had no humanitarian aid of any kind.
“It’s the only healthcare that some women have access to,” said Sayed-Rahman of the mobile teams. “Parts of Afghanistan still don’t have hospitals, clinics or other medical facilities. With each day that passes, the suspension has a huge impact on the amount of aid being delivered.”
IRC also helps families displaced by war and natural disaster, providing clean water, tents, cash and other necessities. Overall, IRC programs helped 6.18 million people between 2021-2022 — more than double the number in the previous one-year period.
While the bulk of food aid has continued to flow, important nutritional programs have stopped.
Save The Children is among the agencies that completely suspended its activities on Dec. 25. As a result, tens of thousands have not received nutritional support.
Last month before the ban came into effect, Save the Children helped nearly 30,000 children and nearly 32,000 adults with nutrition, including providing calorie- and vitamin-packed peanut paste to babies and children and porridge for women. The halt has also interrupted cash transfers to 5,077 families, who received one round of money in December but none of the further planned rounds - funds they rely on for food and other supplies.
Child malnutrition numbers are high and rising in Afghanistan, with a 50% increase over the past year. Around a million children under the age of 5 will likely face the most severe form of malnutrition this year, according to U.N. figures. Almost half of Afghanistan’s 41 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure between November 2022 and March 2023, including more than 6 million people on the brink of famine, according to the World Food Programme.
“Children’s lives (in Afghanistan) are hanging in the balance,” said Keyan Salarkia from Save the Children.
“If you don’t get the right type of food in the first 100 days, then that has a knock-on effect for the rest of your life,” he said. In cases of severe acute malnutrition, after 10 days “you start slipping into loss of life,” he said.
Salarkia said the ban will affect almost everyone in Afghanistan one way or another. Save the Children was also providing classes for children, immunization and child protection. Its cash grants helped families feel they didn’t have to sell their children into marriage or labor. Without that support, more children will be married off or forced to work.
“The ripple effects of this will be huge, which is why we hope to see it reversed as soon as possible.”
Salarkia recalled the impact when Save the Children briefly stopped work for security reasons after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. The pause only lasted a couple of weeks, but workers on mobile health teams said some children they had seen regularly before never returned.
“That’s how quickly the situation changes,” he said.
RIAZAT BUTT
Wed, January 11, 2023
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Last June, a team of female doctors and nurses drove six hours across mountains, dry riverbeds and on unpaved roads to reach victims of a massive earthquake that had just hit eastern Afghanistan, killing more than 1,000 people.
When they got there, a day after the earthquake hit, they found the men had been treated, but the women had not. In Afghanistan’s deeply conservative society, the women had stayed inside their tents, unable to come out to get medical help and other assistance because there were no women aid workers.
“The women still had blood on them,” said Samira Sayed-Rahman, from the aid agency International Rescue Committee. It was only after she met local elders to tell them about the arrival of a female medical team that women came out to get treatment. “That’s not just the situation in emergencies; in many parts of the country, women don’t go out to get aid,” she said.
It’s an example, Sayed-Rahman said, of how vital women workers are to humanitarian operations in Afghanistan — and shows the impact that will be felt after the Taliban last month barred Afghan women from working in non-governmental organizations.
The ban, announced Dec. 24, forced a widespread shutdown of many aid operations by organizations that said they cannot and would not work without their female staff. Aid agencies warn that hundreds of thousands are already hurt by the halt in services and that, if the ban continues, the dire and even deadly consequences will spiral wider for a population battered by decades of war, deteriorating living conditions and economic hardship.
Aid agencies and NGOs have been keeping Afghanistan alive since the Taliban seized power in August 2021. The takeover triggered a halt in international financing, a freeze in currency reserves and a cut-off from global banking, collapsing the already fragile economy. NGOs have stepped into the breach, and providing everything from food provisions to basic services like health care and education.
After the ban, 11 major international aid groups along with some smaller ones suspended their operations completely, saying they cannot operate without their women workers. Many others have reduced their work dramatically. A post-ban survey of 151 local and international NGOs found that only about 14% were still operating at full capacity, according to U.N. Women.
U.N. agencies have continued working – most vitally to largely maintain the food lifeline that is keeping millions of Afghans out of starvation. Despite the ban, the World Food Programme provided food staples or cash transfers for food to 13 million people in December and the first week of January — more than a quarter of Afghanistan’s population of some 40 million.
The extent of the ban’s implementation and enforcement is unclear. In some places, some women have been able to continue working in the field.
Still, the impact is already great, agencies say.
The International Rescue Committee, which has suspended all its operations, estimates that around 165,000 people missed out on its health services between Dec. 24 and Jan. 9. It warned of an increase of death and disease because of the ban and an increased burden on Afghanistan’s health system, which it said is “already fragile, near-to-collapse, and NGO-dependent.”
IRC supports more than 100 health facilities in 11 provinces, including 30 mobile health teams, in some cases delivering lifesaving help to remote areas that had no humanitarian aid of any kind.
“It’s the only healthcare that some women have access to,” said Sayed-Rahman of the mobile teams. “Parts of Afghanistan still don’t have hospitals, clinics or other medical facilities. With each day that passes, the suspension has a huge impact on the amount of aid being delivered.”
IRC also helps families displaced by war and natural disaster, providing clean water, tents, cash and other necessities. Overall, IRC programs helped 6.18 million people between 2021-2022 — more than double the number in the previous one-year period.
While the bulk of food aid has continued to flow, important nutritional programs have stopped.
Save The Children is among the agencies that completely suspended its activities on Dec. 25. As a result, tens of thousands have not received nutritional support.
Last month before the ban came into effect, Save the Children helped nearly 30,000 children and nearly 32,000 adults with nutrition, including providing calorie- and vitamin-packed peanut paste to babies and children and porridge for women. The halt has also interrupted cash transfers to 5,077 families, who received one round of money in December but none of the further planned rounds - funds they rely on for food and other supplies.
Child malnutrition numbers are high and rising in Afghanistan, with a 50% increase over the past year. Around a million children under the age of 5 will likely face the most severe form of malnutrition this year, according to U.N. figures. Almost half of Afghanistan’s 41 million people are projected to be acutely food insecure between November 2022 and March 2023, including more than 6 million people on the brink of famine, according to the World Food Programme.
“Children’s lives (in Afghanistan) are hanging in the balance,” said Keyan Salarkia from Save the Children.
“If you don’t get the right type of food in the first 100 days, then that has a knock-on effect for the rest of your life,” he said. In cases of severe acute malnutrition, after 10 days “you start slipping into loss of life,” he said.
Salarkia said the ban will affect almost everyone in Afghanistan one way or another. Save the Children was also providing classes for children, immunization and child protection. Its cash grants helped families feel they didn’t have to sell their children into marriage or labor. Without that support, more children will be married off or forced to work.
“The ripple effects of this will be huge, which is why we hope to see it reversed as soon as possible.”
Salarkia recalled the impact when Save the Children briefly stopped work for security reasons after the Taliban takeover in August 2021. The pause only lasted a couple of weeks, but workers on mobile health teams said some children they had seen regularly before never returned.
“That’s how quickly the situation changes,” he said.
Toyota motors pushes zero-emission goals by converting old models
To accelerate the global move toward sustainable vehicles, Toyota is suggesting simply replacing the inner workings of vehicles already on the roads with cleaner technology
AP | January 13, 2023
Toyota motors pushes zero-emission goals by converting old models
To accelerate the global move toward sustainable vehicles, Toyota is suggesting simply replacing the inner workings of vehicles already on the roads with cleaner technology like fuel cells and electric motors.
"I don't want to leave any car lover behind," Chief Executive Akio Toyoda said Friday, appearing on the stage at the Tokyo Auto Salon, an industry event similar to the world's auto shows.
The message was clear: Toyota Motor Corp wants the world to know it hasn't fallen behind in electric vehicles, as some detractors have implied.
Japan's top automaker, behind the Lexus luxury brands and the Prius hybrid, is highlighting its clout: It has all the technology, engineering, financial reserves and industry experience needed to remain a powerful competitor in green vehicles.
Toyoda told reporters it would take a long time for all the cars to become zero emission, as they only make up a fraction of the vehicles being sold. Changing old cars to go green, or "conversion," was a better option, he said.
Toyoda, the grandson of the company founder and an avid racer himself, was also hoping to debunk the stereotype that clean cars aren't as fun as regular cars.
At Toyota's Gazoo Racing booth, the maker of the Lexus luxury models and Camry sedan showed a video of its triumph at world rallies, as well as the battery-electric and hydrogen-powered versions of the Toyota AE86 series including the Toyota Corolla Levin, to underline what Toyoda called its "conversion" strategy.
The auto industry is undergoing a transformation because of growing concerns about climate change. Automakers are often blamed as the culprits.
Toyoda said ecological efforts in the auto industry were starting to be appreciated in many nations, but he felt less appreciated in Japan.
Toyota has dominated the industry with its hybrid technology, exemplified in the Prius, which has both an electric motor and gasoline engine, switching back and forth to deliver the most efficient ride. That has often been seen as reflecting its reluctance to go totally electric.
Battery electric vehicles make up about 20 per cent of the auto market, despite the hullabaloo about relative newcomers like Tesla and even Dyson. Europe remains ahead of the US and Japan in the move toward electricity.
And so is it unfair to categorise the Japanese automakers as green laggards?
For one, the scarcity of certain components like lithium could drive up the prices of EVs, and consumers may stick with hybrids, says Matthias Schmidt, chief auto analyst at Schmidt Automotive Research.
"If this was 2025, and you asked that same question, I would say the Japanese OEMs have missed the boat. But seeing it's 2023, and the likes of Toyota are beginning their BEV roll-out, their timing is likely bang on schedule," he said
To accelerate the global move toward sustainable vehicles, Toyota is suggesting simply replacing the inner workings of vehicles already on the roads with cleaner technology
AP | January 13, 2023
Toyota motors pushes zero-emission goals by converting old models
To accelerate the global move toward sustainable vehicles, Toyota is suggesting simply replacing the inner workings of vehicles already on the roads with cleaner technology like fuel cells and electric motors.
"I don't want to leave any car lover behind," Chief Executive Akio Toyoda said Friday, appearing on the stage at the Tokyo Auto Salon, an industry event similar to the world's auto shows.
The message was clear: Toyota Motor Corp wants the world to know it hasn't fallen behind in electric vehicles, as some detractors have implied.
Japan's top automaker, behind the Lexus luxury brands and the Prius hybrid, is highlighting its clout: It has all the technology, engineering, financial reserves and industry experience needed to remain a powerful competitor in green vehicles.
Toyoda told reporters it would take a long time for all the cars to become zero emission, as they only make up a fraction of the vehicles being sold. Changing old cars to go green, or "conversion," was a better option, he said.
Toyoda, the grandson of the company founder and an avid racer himself, was also hoping to debunk the stereotype that clean cars aren't as fun as regular cars.
At Toyota's Gazoo Racing booth, the maker of the Lexus luxury models and Camry sedan showed a video of its triumph at world rallies, as well as the battery-electric and hydrogen-powered versions of the Toyota AE86 series including the Toyota Corolla Levin, to underline what Toyoda called its "conversion" strategy.
The auto industry is undergoing a transformation because of growing concerns about climate change. Automakers are often blamed as the culprits.
Toyoda said ecological efforts in the auto industry were starting to be appreciated in many nations, but he felt less appreciated in Japan.
Toyota has dominated the industry with its hybrid technology, exemplified in the Prius, which has both an electric motor and gasoline engine, switching back and forth to deliver the most efficient ride. That has often been seen as reflecting its reluctance to go totally electric.
Battery electric vehicles make up about 20 per cent of the auto market, despite the hullabaloo about relative newcomers like Tesla and even Dyson. Europe remains ahead of the US and Japan in the move toward electricity.
And so is it unfair to categorise the Japanese automakers as green laggards?
For one, the scarcity of certain components like lithium could drive up the prices of EVs, and consumers may stick with hybrids, says Matthias Schmidt, chief auto analyst at Schmidt Automotive Research.
"If this was 2025, and you asked that same question, I would say the Japanese OEMs have missed the boat. But seeing it's 2023, and the likes of Toyota are beginning their BEV roll-out, their timing is likely bang on schedule," he said
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GLOBALIZATION IS OUTSOURCING
Exclusive-Chinese EV maker BYD to build Vietnam component plant - sources
BYD sign at Auto Shanghai show
Thu, January 12, 2023
By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio
HANOI (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD Auto Co plans to build a plant in Vietnam to produce car parts, three people with knowledge of the plan told Reuters, in a move that would reduce the company's reliance on China and deepen its supply chain in Southeast Asia as part of a global expansion.
The investment in northern Vietnam would exceed $250 million, one of the people said, expanding parent BYD Co's presence in Vietnam, where its electronic unit produces solar panels.
The move underscores a wider trend by manufacturers to reduce their exposure to China amid trade tensions with the United States and production disruptions caused by Beijing's previous COVID-19 lockdowns.
BYD declined to comment.
The Xian-based carmaker, which outsold rival Tesla Inc in EVs by more than two to one in China last year, has been expanding elsewhere in Asia, including Singapore and Japan, and Europe.
Backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, BYD makes both plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles. Like Tesla, BYD controls much of its supply chain, including battery production, a strategy that sets it apart from established automakers.
The company announced in September it would build an EV assembly plant in Thailand with annual capacity of 150,000 cars from 2024.
By investing in Vietnam, BYD is looking to add capacity, control costs and diversify production from its operations in China, where demand has been strong.
Talks are underway to select a site for the Vietnam plant, said the sources, who declined to be named because the discussions are confidential. One said construction was planned to start by mid-year.
DOUBLING FOOTPRINT
It was not immediately clear what components BYD would build in Vietnam and whether it would include batteries or battery packs.
BYD's planned investment and a $400 million project by digital display maker BOE reported by Reuters this week would equal more than a quarter of the $2.5 billion Chinese companies invested in Vietnam all of last year.
U.S. corporations such as Apple Inc and their suppliers, such as Taiwan's Foxconn and China's Luxshare, have also been seeking alternative production hubs, with neighbouring Vietnam one of the main options.
BYD is looking to lease 80 hectares (200 acres) of industrial land, more than doubling its footprint in Vietnam, where its electronic unit rents 60 hectares, a second source said.
The Vietnam plant will export components to the assembly plant to be built in Thailand, one source said.
The operation in Vietnam could also serve the local market, mostly through maintenance services and spare parts for BYD vehicles imported from China, one source said.
That would pose a direct challenge to VinFast, a Vietnamese EV maker that began selling cars in 2019 and plans to expand in the United States and Europe.
In December the U.S. Commerce Department found that units of BYD and other Chinese companies were circumventing decade-old U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar cells and panels.
If finalised in May, that finding would mean those companies would be subject to duties on products made in Vietnam and some other Southeast Asian countries.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi; Additional reporting by Zoey Zhang; Editing by William Mallard)
Exclusive-Chinese EV maker BYD to build Vietnam component plant - sources
BYD sign at Auto Shanghai show
Thu, January 12, 2023
By Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio
HANOI (Reuters) - Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker BYD Auto Co plans to build a plant in Vietnam to produce car parts, three people with knowledge of the plan told Reuters, in a move that would reduce the company's reliance on China and deepen its supply chain in Southeast Asia as part of a global expansion.
The investment in northern Vietnam would exceed $250 million, one of the people said, expanding parent BYD Co's presence in Vietnam, where its electronic unit produces solar panels.
The move underscores a wider trend by manufacturers to reduce their exposure to China amid trade tensions with the United States and production disruptions caused by Beijing's previous COVID-19 lockdowns.
BYD declined to comment.
The Xian-based carmaker, which outsold rival Tesla Inc in EVs by more than two to one in China last year, has been expanding elsewhere in Asia, including Singapore and Japan, and Europe.
Backed by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, BYD makes both plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles. Like Tesla, BYD controls much of its supply chain, including battery production, a strategy that sets it apart from established automakers.
The company announced in September it would build an EV assembly plant in Thailand with annual capacity of 150,000 cars from 2024.
By investing in Vietnam, BYD is looking to add capacity, control costs and diversify production from its operations in China, where demand has been strong.
Talks are underway to select a site for the Vietnam plant, said the sources, who declined to be named because the discussions are confidential. One said construction was planned to start by mid-year.
DOUBLING FOOTPRINT
It was not immediately clear what components BYD would build in Vietnam and whether it would include batteries or battery packs.
BYD's planned investment and a $400 million project by digital display maker BOE reported by Reuters this week would equal more than a quarter of the $2.5 billion Chinese companies invested in Vietnam all of last year.
U.S. corporations such as Apple Inc and their suppliers, such as Taiwan's Foxconn and China's Luxshare, have also been seeking alternative production hubs, with neighbouring Vietnam one of the main options.
BYD is looking to lease 80 hectares (200 acres) of industrial land, more than doubling its footprint in Vietnam, where its electronic unit rents 60 hectares, a second source said.
The Vietnam plant will export components to the assembly plant to be built in Thailand, one source said.
The operation in Vietnam could also serve the local market, mostly through maintenance services and spare parts for BYD vehicles imported from China, one source said.
That would pose a direct challenge to VinFast, a Vietnamese EV maker that began selling cars in 2019 and plans to expand in the United States and Europe.
In December the U.S. Commerce Department found that units of BYD and other Chinese companies were circumventing decade-old U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar cells and panels.
If finalised in May, that finding would mean those companies would be subject to duties on products made in Vietnam and some other Southeast Asian countries.
(Reporting by Phuong Nguyen and Francesco Guarascio in Hanoi; Additional reporting by Zoey Zhang; Editing by William Mallard)
China's BYD to launch luxury electric sedan in India this year
Auto Expo 2023 in Greater Noida
Wed, January 11, 2023
By Praveen Paramasivam and Aditi Shah
GREATER NOIDA, India (Reuters) - BYD will launch its third passenger electric vehicle in India by the fourth quarter of this year, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric carmaker said during an auto show on the outskirts of New Delhi on Wednesday. The all-wheel drive luxury sedan, BYD Seal, will have a range of 700 kilometres. The company also plans to double its dealer network in the country in 2023, it added.
BYD launched its first passenger car in India in October, an electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV), with a plan to corner 40% of the country's electric car market by 2030. The carmaker plans to sell 15,000 units of the Atto 3 e-SUV this year in India, where it has already invested over $200 million, and will set up local manufacturing in due course.
BYD's push comes as the Indian government continues to maintain tight scrutiny over investments from China and has sought to limit investments from Beijing after a 2020 clash between soldiers from the two countries on their disputed Himalayan border.
Electrification is gathering momentum in India, where domestic companies like Tata Motors, India's top-selling EV maker, and Mahindra & Mahindra are lining up affordable EV models while global players like BYD and Kia Motor are bringing in premium cars.
India is set to become the world's third-largest market for passenger and other light vehicles, displacing Japan, according to a forecast by S&P Global Mobility.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Writing by Chris Thomas;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Auto Expo 2023 in Greater Noida
Wed, January 11, 2023
By Praveen Paramasivam and Aditi Shah
GREATER NOIDA, India (Reuters) - BYD will launch its third passenger electric vehicle in India by the fourth quarter of this year, the Warren Buffett-backed Chinese electric carmaker said during an auto show on the outskirts of New Delhi on Wednesday. The all-wheel drive luxury sedan, BYD Seal, will have a range of 700 kilometres. The company also plans to double its dealer network in the country in 2023, it added.
BYD launched its first passenger car in India in October, an electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV), with a plan to corner 40% of the country's electric car market by 2030. The carmaker plans to sell 15,000 units of the Atto 3 e-SUV this year in India, where it has already invested over $200 million, and will set up local manufacturing in due course.
BYD's push comes as the Indian government continues to maintain tight scrutiny over investments from China and has sought to limit investments from Beijing after a 2020 clash between soldiers from the two countries on their disputed Himalayan border.
Electrification is gathering momentum in India, where domestic companies like Tata Motors, India's top-selling EV maker, and Mahindra & Mahindra are lining up affordable EV models while global players like BYD and Kia Motor are bringing in premium cars.
India is set to become the world's third-largest market for passenger and other light vehicles, displacing Japan, according to a forecast by S&P Global Mobility.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam; Writing by Chris Thomas;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Tata Motors looks to expand electric car portfolio, add pricier models
Auto Expo 2023 in Greater Noida
Wed, January 11, 2023
By Aditi Shah and Praveen Paramasivam
GREATER NOIDA, India (Reuters) - Tata Motors plans to expand its electric car portfolio with new models and higher price points, its managing director said on Wednesday, as it looks to cement its lead as the top selling electric vehicle (EV) company in India.
The carmaker will also offer a choice of ranges for its EVs so it can address the needs of multiple buyers, including shorter ranges for city use, Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and its EV subsidiary told Reuters on the sidelines of India's Auto Expo car show.
"Customer needs are getting very individualistic. Going ahead we will maintain our growth momentum and work towards further strengthening our portfolio," said Chandra.
The company showcased 12 cars, including five electric models, and 14 trucks, including ones powered by hydrogen fuel cells, as it looks to deepen its clean vehicle push.
The cars included electric versions of its popular Harrier and Sierra SUVs as well as a concept car based on its new electric vehicle platform which is expected to be launched in late 2025, Chandra said.
With sales of 50,000 electric cars, Tata dominates India's EV market, helped by government subsidies and high import tariffs, and has outlined plans to launch 10 electric models by March 2026.
India's car market is tiny compared to its population, with electric models making up just 1% of total car sales of about 3 million a year, but the government wants to grow this to 30% by 2030.
"The transition to electric mobility in India will happen much faster than we are imagining. We are confident that we chose the right strategy," N Chandrasekaran, Tata Motors' chairman, said during the event.
Tata Motors' pole position has also come from working with other Tata group companies like Tata AutoComp which supplies EV parts like batteries and motors, and Tata Power which is setting up charging stations in cities and along highways.
The carmaker is looking at opportunities to produce and source more parts like battery cells and motors locally and is also studying potential export markets for its electric cars, Chandra said.
Tata, India's third-largest carmaker, in 2021 raised $1 billion from TPG for its EV unit at a $9 billion valuation. Chandra said it currently has sufficient funds to meet its expansion needs.
(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Auto Expo 2023 in Greater Noida
Wed, January 11, 2023
By Aditi Shah and Praveen Paramasivam
GREATER NOIDA, India (Reuters) - Tata Motors plans to expand its electric car portfolio with new models and higher price points, its managing director said on Wednesday, as it looks to cement its lead as the top selling electric vehicle (EV) company in India.
The carmaker will also offer a choice of ranges for its EVs so it can address the needs of multiple buyers, including shorter ranges for city use, Shailesh Chandra, managing director of Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and its EV subsidiary told Reuters on the sidelines of India's Auto Expo car show.
"Customer needs are getting very individualistic. Going ahead we will maintain our growth momentum and work towards further strengthening our portfolio," said Chandra.
The company showcased 12 cars, including five electric models, and 14 trucks, including ones powered by hydrogen fuel cells, as it looks to deepen its clean vehicle push.
The cars included electric versions of its popular Harrier and Sierra SUVs as well as a concept car based on its new electric vehicle platform which is expected to be launched in late 2025, Chandra said.
With sales of 50,000 electric cars, Tata dominates India's EV market, helped by government subsidies and high import tariffs, and has outlined plans to launch 10 electric models by March 2026.
India's car market is tiny compared to its population, with electric models making up just 1% of total car sales of about 3 million a year, but the government wants to grow this to 30% by 2030.
"The transition to electric mobility in India will happen much faster than we are imagining. We are confident that we chose the right strategy," N Chandrasekaran, Tata Motors' chairman, said during the event.
Tata Motors' pole position has also come from working with other Tata group companies like Tata AutoComp which supplies EV parts like batteries and motors, and Tata Power which is setting up charging stations in cities and along highways.
The carmaker is looking at opportunities to produce and source more parts like battery cells and motors locally and is also studying potential export markets for its electric cars, Chandra said.
Tata, India's third-largest carmaker, in 2021 raised $1 billion from TPG for its EV unit at a $9 billion valuation. Chandra said it currently has sufficient funds to meet its expansion needs.
(Reporting by Aditi Shah; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Dead billionaires whose foundations are thriving today can thank Henry VIII and Elizabeth I
Nuri Heckler, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, University of Nebraska Omaha
Nuri Heckler, Assistant Professor of Public Administration, University of Nebraska Omaha
LAND OF THE ORACLE OF OMAHA
THE CONVERSATION
Henry VIII had his eye on property
In a recent working paper that I wrote with my colleague Angela Eikenberry and Kenya Love, a graduate student, we explained that this debate goes back to the court of Henry VIII.
Henry VIII ruled England from 1509 to 1547. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Rule Against Perpetuities developed in response to political upheaval in the 1530s. The old feudal law made it almost impossible for most properties to be sold, foreclosed upon or have their ownership changed in any way.
At the time, a small number of people and the Catholic Church controlled most of the wealth in England. Henry VIII wanted to end this practice because it was difficult to tax property that never transferred, and property owners were mostly unaccountable to England’s monarchy. This encouraged fraud and led to a consolidation of wealth that threatened the king’s power.
As he sought to sever England’s ties to the Catholic Church, Henry had one eye on changing religious doctrine so he could divorce Catherine of Aragon, and the other on all the property that would become available when he booted out the church.
After splitting with the church and securing his divorce, he enacted a new property system giving the British monarchy a lot more power over wealth and used that power to seize property. Most of the property the king first took belonged to the church, but all property interests were more vulnerable under the new law.
Henry’s power grab angered the wealthy gentry, who launched a violent uprising known as the “Pilgrimage of Grace.”
After quelling that upheaval, Henry compromised by allowing the transfer of property from one generation to the next, but did not allow people to tell others how to use their property after they died. The courts later developed the Rule Against Perpetuities to allow people to transfer property to their children when they turned 21 years old.
At the same time, wealthy Englishmen were encouraged to give large sums of money and property to help the poor. Some of these funds had strings attached for longer than the 21 years.
Elizabeth I codified the rule
Elizabeth I, Henry VIII’s daughter with his ill-fated wife Anne Boleyn, became queen after his death. She used her reign to codify that previously informal charitable exception. By then it was the 1590s – a tough time for England, due to two wars, a pandemic, inflation and famine. Queen Elizabeth needed to prevent unrest without raising taxes even further than she already had.
Queen Elizabeth I ruled England from 1558 to 1603. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Elizabeth’s solution was a new law decreed in 1601. Known as the “Statute of Charitable Uses,” it encouraged the wealthy to make big charitable donations and gave courts the power to enforce the terms of the gifts.
The monarchy believed that partnering with charities would ease the burdens of the state to aid the poor.
This concept remains popular today, especially among conservatives in the U.S. and U.K.
The charitable exception today
When the U.S. broke away from Great Britain and became an independent country, it wasn’t always certain that it would stick with the charitable exception.
Some states initially rejected British law, but by the early 19th century every state in the U.S. had adopted the Rule Against Perpetuities.
In the late 1800s, scholars started debating the value of the Rule Against Perpetuities, even as large foundations took advantage of Elizabeth’s philanthropy loophole. As of 2022, my co-authors and I had found that 40 U.S. states have ended or limited the rule and that every jurisdiction, including the District of Columbia, permits eternal control over donations.
Although this legal precept has endured, many scholars, charities and philanthropists question whether it makes sense to let foundations hang onto massive endowments with the goal of operating in the future in accordance with the wishes of a long-gone donor rather than spend that money to meet society’s needs today.
With such issues as climate change, spending more now could significantly decrease what it will cost later to resolve the problem.
Still other problems require change that is more likely to come from smaller nonprofits. In one example, many long-running foundations, including the Ford, Carnegie and Kellogg foundations, contributed large sums to help Flint, Michigan, after a shift in water supply brought lead in the tap water to poisonous levels. Some scholars argue this money undermined local community groups that better understood the needs of Flint’s residents.
Another argument is more philosophical: Why should dead billionaires get credit for helping to solve contemporary problems through the foundations bearing their names? This question often leads to a debate over whether history is being rewritten in ways that emphasize their philanthropy over the sometimes questionable ways that they secured their wealth.
Some of those very rich people who started massive foundations were racist and antisemitic. Does their use of this rule that’s been around for hundreds of years give them the right to influence how Americans solve 21st-century problems?
This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Nuri Heckler, University of Nebraska Omaha.
Read more:
A brief history of the mortgage, from its roots in ancient Rome to the English ‘dead pledge’ and its rebirth in America
Philanthropists seeking to fix big problems must tread carefully – here’s how they can make their efforts more compatible with democracy
THE CONVERSATION
Thu, January 12, 2023
Automaker Henry Ford's name endures on the foundation formed from his fortune. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
More than 230 of the world’s wealthiest people, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, have promised to give at least half of their fortunes to charity within their lifetimes or in their wills by signing the Giving Pledge. Some of the most affluent, including Jeff Bezos – who hadn’t signed the Giving Pledge by early 2023 – and MacKenzie Scott, his ex-wife – have declared that they will go further by giving most of their fortunes to charity before they die.
This movement stands in contrast to practices of many of the philanthropists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Industrial titans like oil baron John D. Rockefeller, automotive entrepreneur Henry Ford and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie established massive foundations that to this day have big pots of money at their disposal despite decades of charitable grantmaking. This kind of control over funds after death is usually illegal because of a you-can’t-take-it-with-you legal doctrine that originated 500 years ago in England.
Known as the Rule Against Perpetuities, it holds that control over property must cease within 21 years of a death. But there is a loophole in that rule for money given to charities, which theoretically can flow forever. Without it, many of the largest U.S. and British foundations would have closed their doors after disbursing all their funds long ago.
As a lawyer and researcher who studies nonprofit law and history, I wondered why American donors get to give from the grave.
Automaker Henry Ford's name endures on the foundation formed from his fortune. Hulton Archive/Getty Images
More than 230 of the world’s wealthiest people, including Elon Musk, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, have promised to give at least half of their fortunes to charity within their lifetimes or in their wills by signing the Giving Pledge. Some of the most affluent, including Jeff Bezos – who hadn’t signed the Giving Pledge by early 2023 – and MacKenzie Scott, his ex-wife – have declared that they will go further by giving most of their fortunes to charity before they die.
This movement stands in contrast to practices of many of the philanthropists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Industrial titans like oil baron John D. Rockefeller, automotive entrepreneur Henry Ford and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie established massive foundations that to this day have big pots of money at their disposal despite decades of charitable grantmaking. This kind of control over funds after death is usually illegal because of a you-can’t-take-it-with-you legal doctrine that originated 500 years ago in England.
Known as the Rule Against Perpetuities, it holds that control over property must cease within 21 years of a death. But there is a loophole in that rule for money given to charities, which theoretically can flow forever. Without it, many of the largest U.S. and British foundations would have closed their doors after disbursing all their funds long ago.
As a lawyer and researcher who studies nonprofit law and history, I wondered why American donors get to give from the grave.
Henry VIII had his eye on property
In a recent working paper that I wrote with my colleague Angela Eikenberry and Kenya Love, a graduate student, we explained that this debate goes back to the court of Henry VIII.
Henry VIII ruled England from 1509 to 1547. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Rule Against Perpetuities developed in response to political upheaval in the 1530s. The old feudal law made it almost impossible for most properties to be sold, foreclosed upon or have their ownership changed in any way.
At the time, a small number of people and the Catholic Church controlled most of the wealth in England. Henry VIII wanted to end this practice because it was difficult to tax property that never transferred, and property owners were mostly unaccountable to England’s monarchy. This encouraged fraud and led to a consolidation of wealth that threatened the king’s power.
As he sought to sever England’s ties to the Catholic Church, Henry had one eye on changing religious doctrine so he could divorce Catherine of Aragon, and the other on all the property that would become available when he booted out the church.
After splitting with the church and securing his divorce, he enacted a new property system giving the British monarchy a lot more power over wealth and used that power to seize property. Most of the property the king first took belonged to the church, but all property interests were more vulnerable under the new law.
Henry’s power grab angered the wealthy gentry, who launched a violent uprising known as the “Pilgrimage of Grace.”
After quelling that upheaval, Henry compromised by allowing the transfer of property from one generation to the next, but did not allow people to tell others how to use their property after they died. The courts later developed the Rule Against Perpetuities to allow people to transfer property to their children when they turned 21 years old.
At the same time, wealthy Englishmen were encouraged to give large sums of money and property to help the poor. Some of these funds had strings attached for longer than the 21 years.
Elizabeth I codified the rule
Elizabeth I, Henry VIII’s daughter with his ill-fated wife Anne Boleyn, became queen after his death. She used her reign to codify that previously informal charitable exception. By then it was the 1590s – a tough time for England, due to two wars, a pandemic, inflation and famine. Queen Elizabeth needed to prevent unrest without raising taxes even further than she already had.
Queen Elizabeth I ruled England from 1558 to 1603. The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Elizabeth’s solution was a new law decreed in 1601. Known as the “Statute of Charitable Uses,” it encouraged the wealthy to make big charitable donations and gave courts the power to enforce the terms of the gifts.
The monarchy believed that partnering with charities would ease the burdens of the state to aid the poor.
This concept remains popular today, especially among conservatives in the U.S. and U.K.
The charitable exception today
When the U.S. broke away from Great Britain and became an independent country, it wasn’t always certain that it would stick with the charitable exception.
Some states initially rejected British law, but by the early 19th century every state in the U.S. had adopted the Rule Against Perpetuities.
In the late 1800s, scholars started debating the value of the Rule Against Perpetuities, even as large foundations took advantage of Elizabeth’s philanthropy loophole. As of 2022, my co-authors and I had found that 40 U.S. states have ended or limited the rule and that every jurisdiction, including the District of Columbia, permits eternal control over donations.
Although this legal precept has endured, many scholars, charities and philanthropists question whether it makes sense to let foundations hang onto massive endowments with the goal of operating in the future in accordance with the wishes of a long-gone donor rather than spend that money to meet society’s needs today.
With such issues as climate change, spending more now could significantly decrease what it will cost later to resolve the problem.
Still other problems require change that is more likely to come from smaller nonprofits. In one example, many long-running foundations, including the Ford, Carnegie and Kellogg foundations, contributed large sums to help Flint, Michigan, after a shift in water supply brought lead in the tap water to poisonous levels. Some scholars argue this money undermined local community groups that better understood the needs of Flint’s residents.
Another argument is more philosophical: Why should dead billionaires get credit for helping to solve contemporary problems through the foundations bearing their names? This question often leads to a debate over whether history is being rewritten in ways that emphasize their philanthropy over the sometimes questionable ways that they secured their wealth.
Some of those very rich people who started massive foundations were racist and antisemitic. Does their use of this rule that’s been around for hundreds of years give them the right to influence how Americans solve 21st-century problems?
This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Nuri Heckler, University of Nebraska Omaha.
Read more:
A brief history of the mortgage, from its roots in ancient Rome to the English ‘dead pledge’ and its rebirth in America
Philanthropists seeking to fix big problems must tread carefully – here’s how they can make their efforts more compatible with democracy
Bill Gates Says He'll Eventually Sell Everything He Owns to Fund His Philanthropies
Nikki Main
Thu, January 12, 2023
Bill Gates is donating a majority of his wealth to his philanthropy
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he will donate a vast amount of his fortune to his philanthropic endeavors including much of the farmland he currently owns. Gates is currently the seventh richest man in the world with a net worth of $103.6 billion according to Forbes, and he’s now pledging to give away most of his billions.
Gates founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, in 2000 which aims to tackle things like poverty, inequity, and infectious diseases. He and his ex-wife also founded the Giving Pledge alongside Warren Buffet in 2010, which asks the richest people in the world to donate their wealth to charitable causes in their will or over the course of their life.
However, in a question posted to his Ask Me Anything page on Reddit on Wednesday, one user questioned if it was “contradictory to be a humanitarian and then accumulate most scarce resource-land under one?”
The question refers to the roughly 275,000 acres of farmland Gates owns in the U.S. as of last year but he told the Reddit user that he plans to give most of it away. His acreage is tracked by Land Report 100 which keeps tabs on the most prolific landowners in the country.
Gates responded, writing “I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn’t some grand scheme involved - in fact, all these decisions are made by a professional investment team.”
He clarified that he intends to sell the land in addition to his remaining wealth, writing, “Everything I own will be sold as money moves into the Foundation.” He continued, “In the meantime, my investment group tries to invest in productive assets including farmland although that is less than 4% of the total.”
In July, Gates first announced he planned to give the majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation despite the fact that it would knock him off the world’s richest people list.
Gates donated a total of $20 billion to the foundation last year and in a Twitter post, he said, “I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.”
Nikki Main
Thu, January 12, 2023
Bill Gates is donating a majority of his wealth to his philanthropy
Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he will donate a vast amount of his fortune to his philanthropic endeavors including much of the farmland he currently owns. Gates is currently the seventh richest man in the world with a net worth of $103.6 billion according to Forbes, and he’s now pledging to give away most of his billions.
Gates founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with his then-wife, Melinda French Gates, in 2000 which aims to tackle things like poverty, inequity, and infectious diseases. He and his ex-wife also founded the Giving Pledge alongside Warren Buffet in 2010, which asks the richest people in the world to donate their wealth to charitable causes in their will or over the course of their life.
However, in a question posted to his Ask Me Anything page on Reddit on Wednesday, one user questioned if it was “contradictory to be a humanitarian and then accumulate most scarce resource-land under one?”
The question refers to the roughly 275,000 acres of farmland Gates owns in the U.S. as of last year but he told the Reddit user that he plans to give most of it away. His acreage is tracked by Land Report 100 which keeps tabs on the most prolific landowners in the country.
Gates responded, writing “I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn’t some grand scheme involved - in fact, all these decisions are made by a professional investment team.”
He clarified that he intends to sell the land in addition to his remaining wealth, writing, “Everything I own will be sold as money moves into the Foundation.” He continued, “In the meantime, my investment group tries to invest in productive assets including farmland although that is less than 4% of the total.”
In July, Gates first announced he planned to give the majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation despite the fact that it would knock him off the world’s richest people list.
Gates donated a total of $20 billion to the foundation last year and in a Twitter post, he said, “I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.”
LIVE ON JAN 14
Stay Up to Watch the Rare Green Comet Shooting Across night Sky—It Was Last Seen 50,000 Years Ago
Nashia Baker
Thu, January 12, 2023
Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard at dawn over the river.
Anton Petrus / GETTY IMAGES
Beyond Earth's atmosphere, there is an entire cosmos filled with unimaginable discoveries—but every now and then, these phenomenons pass through our night sky on their epic journeys. If you time it right, you'll be able to see one of these monumental celestial sightings this evening: For the first time in 50,000 years, a rare green comet, formally known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will shoot across the sky, reports Space. The interstellar object will actually be closest to the sun tonight, but still visible from Earth. Come February 1, the comet will be closer to our planet, a mere 28 million miles away.
Visibility of the once-in-a-lifetime comet will depend on your location and the area's light pollution. Those in the Northern Hemisphere should direct their telescopes towards the northeastern horizon before midnight, around 11:18 p.m. ET, reports People. If you don't have stargazing equipment handy, you can tune into the Virtual Telescope Project's livestream; the broadcast will begin at 11 p.m. ET.
Stay Up to Watch the Rare Green Comet Shooting Across night Sky—It Was Last Seen 50,000 Years Ago
Nashia Baker
Thu, January 12, 2023
Comet C/2021 A1 Leonard at dawn over the river.
Anton Petrus / GETTY IMAGES
Beyond Earth's atmosphere, there is an entire cosmos filled with unimaginable discoveries—but every now and then, these phenomenons pass through our night sky on their epic journeys. If you time it right, you'll be able to see one of these monumental celestial sightings this evening: For the first time in 50,000 years, a rare green comet, formally known as C/2022 E3 (ZTF), will shoot across the sky, reports Space. The interstellar object will actually be closest to the sun tonight, but still visible from Earth. Come February 1, the comet will be closer to our planet, a mere 28 million miles away.
Visibility of the once-in-a-lifetime comet will depend on your location and the area's light pollution. Those in the Northern Hemisphere should direct their telescopes towards the northeastern horizon before midnight, around 11:18 p.m. ET, reports People. If you don't have stargazing equipment handy, you can tune into the Virtual Telescope Project's livestream; the broadcast will begin at 11 p.m. ET.
The live feed is scheduled for 14 Jan. 2023, at 04:00 UTC.
Up until this point, the comet has been wedged in the Corona Borealis constellation. Tonight, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will makes its closest approach to the sun as it moves northwest in space. From there, it will turn west and head towards Earth.
That means tonight isn't your only chance to see the comet—it will get closer to Earth throughout the rest of January and into early February. On January 26 and 27, it will be in the eastern region, close to the Little Dipper. By the evening of February 1, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be in its closest proximity to Earth as it moves through the boundaries of the Camelopardalis constellation.
Up until this point, the comet has been wedged in the Corona Borealis constellation. Tonight, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will makes its closest approach to the sun as it moves northwest in space. From there, it will turn west and head towards Earth.
That means tonight isn't your only chance to see the comet—it will get closer to Earth throughout the rest of January and into early February. On January 26 and 27, it will be in the eastern region, close to the Little Dipper. By the evening of February 1, C/2022 E3 (ZTF) will be in its closest proximity to Earth as it moves through the boundaries of the Camelopardalis constellation.
A rare green comet will zip by Earth this week. Here’s how to see it
Dan Bartlett
Randi Richardson
Thu, January 12, 2023
It's a bird, it's a plane — nope, it's a green comet!
The fireball's official name is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and it will be visible Jan. 12 with binoculars and perhaps even to the naked eye, NASA announced last month.
The comet was first discovered by astronomers last March and since then it "has brightened substantially" and its layered tails have become more visible, NASA said.
The comet will be its closest to the sun on Jan. 12 and, if its trend of brightening continues, it could become more visible to the eye under dark night skies, NASA said.
How to see the green comet
The comet is currently passing through the northern constellation Corona Borealis, according to NASA. People in the Northern Hemisphere will have a chance to see the comet under the dark sky. But when the comet reaches its closest point to Earth on Feb. 1 or 2, it will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere, NASA said.
To see the green comet, look along the horizon between midnight and dawn, recommends EarthSky, a website dedicated to skywatching and astronomy.
To capture a picture of it, point a camera toward its approximate location in the sky and take long-exposure photos of 20 to 30 seconds, according to EarthSky. That technique will photograph a fuzzy, tailed object even if the comet isn't visible to the naked eye.
Dan Bartlett
Randi Richardson
Thu, January 12, 2023
It's a bird, it's a plane — nope, it's a green comet!
The fireball's official name is Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) and it will be visible Jan. 12 with binoculars and perhaps even to the naked eye, NASA announced last month.
The comet was first discovered by astronomers last March and since then it "has brightened substantially" and its layered tails have become more visible, NASA said.
The comet will be its closest to the sun on Jan. 12 and, if its trend of brightening continues, it could become more visible to the eye under dark night skies, NASA said.
How to see the green comet
The comet is currently passing through the northern constellation Corona Borealis, according to NASA. People in the Northern Hemisphere will have a chance to see the comet under the dark sky. But when the comet reaches its closest point to Earth on Feb. 1 or 2, it will be visible in the Southern Hemisphere, NASA said.
To see the green comet, look along the horizon between midnight and dawn, recommends EarthSky, a website dedicated to skywatching and astronomy.
To capture a picture of it, point a camera toward its approximate location in the sky and take long-exposure photos of 20 to 30 seconds, according to EarthSky. That technique will photograph a fuzzy, tailed object even if the comet isn't visible to the naked eye.
Bolivia: Opposition blockades push for leader's release
Demonstrators hold a sign demanding jail time for opposition leader and governor of Santa Cruz region Luis Fernando Camacho during a march in La Paz, Bolivia, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023. Prosecutors on Dec. 29 remanded Camacho into custody for four months while he faces terrorism charges.
(AP Photo/Juan Karita)
DANIEL POLITI
Thu, January 12, 2023
SAN CARLOS, Bolivia (AP) — Outside Santa Cruz, Bolivia's most populous city, the highway starts to resemble a parking lot with dozens of cargo-laden trucks stopped in a long line as exhausted-looking drivers wait by the side of the road. Wet clothing hangs from the windows of some trucks.
The vehicles are blocked by large mounds of sand piled on the highway as it passes through the town of San Carlos, 68 miles (110 kilometers) from Santa Cruz. No cars or trucks pass the mounds, only motorcycles transporting people.
“This measure is to make the government realize that they can’t live without Santa Cruz,” said Micol Paz, a 32-year-old activist with Santa Cruz Gov. Luis Fernando Camacho's Creemos political party.
The detention on terrorism charges in December of Camacho, the country's most prominent opposition leader, sparked a series of protests in this eastern region that is Bolivia's economic engine and farming hub. Road blockades demanding his release, like the one in San Carlos, have thrown the distribution chain into chaos, caused prices to surge and worsened tensions between the leftist government in capital of La Paz and right-wing opposition based in Santa Cruz.
Camacho's arrest stems from the protests that led to the 2019 resignation of then-President Evo Morales. Morales's party, which has since returned to power, accuses Camacho of orchestrating the protests and calls them a coup. The unrest resulted in 37 deaths,
Camacho's supporters say the protests were a legitimate response to fraudulent elections that were set to keep Morales in power and that his arrest constitutes a kidnapping.
The governor, who placed third in Bolivia’s 2020 presidential election, is spending his days in a maximum security prison outside La Paz after a judge ordered him held for four months of pretrial detention, agreeing with prosecutors that he was a flight risk.
Caught in the middle of the dispute are the truckers and consumers hit by rising prices.
Edgar Quispe Solares was visibly angry as he sat in his semi-trailer that was transporting cars.
“We’ve been without basic services for a week. We can't shower, we can't buy anything,” Quispe, 47, said while he anxiously watched activists apparently getting ready to move the blockade to a nearby town, a sign he might be able to move his trailer for the first time in eight days.
Rómulo Calvo, the head of the powerful Civic Committee for Santa Cruz that called for the blockades, says that while the protests are to continue until Camacho's release he can’t guarantee that that will really happen.
“The blockades will last for as long as people who are taking the action can continue,” Calvo said, acknowledging there is fatigue after a 36-day strike against the government last fall to demand a national census that would likely give the region more tax revenue and legislative representation.
Santa Cruz plays an outsized role in Bolivia’s economy, making up around one-third of its economic activity while 70% of the country's food comes out of the eastern region that is the center of agribusiness.
“Santa Cruz is a fundamental bastion of the Bolivian economy and that is why it has the power to flex its muscles against the government,” Jaime Dunn, an economic analyst in La Paz, said.
It’s difficult to quantify the direct economic effect of the protests, in part because some trucks are managing to skirt the blockades.
“You won’t necessarily see the impact monetized in terms of amounts, but you will in prices and diminishing Central Bank reserves,” Dunn said.
In markets in La Paz, customers are sparse as the price of chicken has soared 29% while beef increased 8% since the blockade started, according to Marina Quisbert, a leader in a grouping of butchers at the Rodríguez Market.
It isn’t just meat.
“Even the prices of vegetables have increased, if I used to spend 100 pesos, now I have to spend 120,” said Rubén Mendoza, a 65-year-old retired teacher.
The administration of leftist President Luis Arce has played down talk of the economic impact of the blockades with Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro telling journalists this week that prices have increased due to “speculation and profiteering.”
Amid the discussion over how the blockades could affect the economy, thousands took to the streets in the capital cities of eight of the country’s nine regions on Tuesday to demand the release of Camacho as well as other opposition leaders who have been imprisoned. Smaller counter-protests supporting his detention also took place.
“I feel impotence more than anything, because any of us could be sent to jail for not agreeing with the government,” Karine Flores Mendez, a 49-year-old executive assistant, said as she joined protesters in Santa Cruz.
Some also spoke out against law enforcement officers who have clashed with protesters during the frequent nightly demonstrations in downtown Santa Cruz.
“They send police to tear gas us,” Pablo Vaca, a 37-year-old retail worker, said.
Arce's administration has accused the nightly protesters of fomenting violence and burning vehicles as well as public offices.
Some people who agree with the aim of the protests say the blockades go too far, including Elvis Velázquez, a doctor who lives near San Carlos and works in Yapacani, around 65 kilometers (40 miles) away. He is affected by the highway closure.
“I support some measures but the blockades aren't productive because they paralyze us as citizens,” Velázquez said as he rushed to board a minivan to Yapacani after crossing the blockade on foot. “They cut us off from each other."
————-
Associated Press Journalist Paola Flores contributed from La Paz, Bolivia.
Bolivia's farm hub battles political capital over cattle and grains
Bolivia's Santa Cruz in cold war with La Paz over cattle and grains
Thu, January 12, 2023
By Agustin Marcarian and Monica Machicao
PAILAS, Bolivia (Reuters) - Javier Monasterio, a rancher in Bolivia's lowland area of Santa Cruz, is feeling the economic hit of weeks-long protests and blockades since the dramatic arrest of the region's governor that has snarled domestic transport of grains and meat.
The tensions were sparked by the arrest of Santa Cruz's local elected leader Luis Camacho last month over an alleged coup in 2019 against then-President Evo Morales, a complex period of Bolivia's history that sharply divides opinion.
Protests against the central government have seen buildings and cars burned, while blockades have prevented transport of food and grains from the key producing region, a bid by local leaders to pressure La Paz by squeezing domestic supply.
The tension has seen Monasterio's plans to double the number of cattle on his farm put on hold, but he remains resolute that the region needs to fight back against what many locally see as a political attack by La Paz.
"This affects us because a good part of our production goes to markets in the interior," Monasterio told Reuters at his farm, adding though that he respected the "popular movement" that he hoped would bring longer-term benefits to the country.
"It's worth the sacrifice, it's worth suffering, it's worth it even in these difficult times... we're going to win."
The tensions underscore a sharpening of a deep-seated rivalry between Santa Cruz and La Paz - Bolivia's farming hub and the political capital respectively - that have long butted heads over politics and resources.
Santa Cruz is a conservative, Catholic region with a significant white European descent community. La Paz is an Andean stronghold with a large indigenous population that has traditionally titled towards the ruling socialist MAS party.
The government in La Paz says the arrest of Camacho was justice for stirring up protests as a civic leader in 2019 that led to the resignation of Morales under widespread pressure and ushered in a divisive interim right-wing government. Camacho denies the charges.
After winning 2020 elections, Morales' MAS party, now headed by his former economy chief Luis Arce, returned to office and has gone after rivals, including Camacho and interim president Jeanine Anez, also currently in jail.
Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said Santa Cruz would struggle to put pressure on the capital, arguing that while it was a key food producer, other regions could take the slack and that it needed state fuel subsidies and domestic buyers.
"They can't resist on their own", said Montenegro, adding the rising economic pressures would force Santa Cruz producers to re-start supply within the country.
"It is a very complex bet. What we understand is that there is an economic rationality, but well, we don't see it being that strong. They are going to have to somehow go back to depending on national consumption."
The stand-off between the two cities has sparked calls in Santa Cruz for a federal model to gain more autonomy and some more extreme groups demanding independence. Many still remain determined to keep protests going.
"We are going to rise up to our faith," said Victor Hugo, at a church in Santa Cruz, a region where Christian iconography is prominent from the streets to offices of local civic groups.
"The situation is critical for each one of us, but I am with this fight, I prefer to fight today and live calmly tomorrow. Every Santa Cruz person has to fight, all Bolivians must fight for the well-being of Bolivia, for freedom."
(Reporting by Agustin Marcarian and Monica Machicao; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Marguerita Choy)
DANIEL POLITI
Thu, January 12, 2023
SAN CARLOS, Bolivia (AP) — Outside Santa Cruz, Bolivia's most populous city, the highway starts to resemble a parking lot with dozens of cargo-laden trucks stopped in a long line as exhausted-looking drivers wait by the side of the road. Wet clothing hangs from the windows of some trucks.
The vehicles are blocked by large mounds of sand piled on the highway as it passes through the town of San Carlos, 68 miles (110 kilometers) from Santa Cruz. No cars or trucks pass the mounds, only motorcycles transporting people.
“This measure is to make the government realize that they can’t live without Santa Cruz,” said Micol Paz, a 32-year-old activist with Santa Cruz Gov. Luis Fernando Camacho's Creemos political party.
The detention on terrorism charges in December of Camacho, the country's most prominent opposition leader, sparked a series of protests in this eastern region that is Bolivia's economic engine and farming hub. Road blockades demanding his release, like the one in San Carlos, have thrown the distribution chain into chaos, caused prices to surge and worsened tensions between the leftist government in capital of La Paz and right-wing opposition based in Santa Cruz.
Camacho's arrest stems from the protests that led to the 2019 resignation of then-President Evo Morales. Morales's party, which has since returned to power, accuses Camacho of orchestrating the protests and calls them a coup. The unrest resulted in 37 deaths,
Camacho's supporters say the protests were a legitimate response to fraudulent elections that were set to keep Morales in power and that his arrest constitutes a kidnapping.
The governor, who placed third in Bolivia’s 2020 presidential election, is spending his days in a maximum security prison outside La Paz after a judge ordered him held for four months of pretrial detention, agreeing with prosecutors that he was a flight risk.
Caught in the middle of the dispute are the truckers and consumers hit by rising prices.
Edgar Quispe Solares was visibly angry as he sat in his semi-trailer that was transporting cars.
“We’ve been without basic services for a week. We can't shower, we can't buy anything,” Quispe, 47, said while he anxiously watched activists apparently getting ready to move the blockade to a nearby town, a sign he might be able to move his trailer for the first time in eight days.
Rómulo Calvo, the head of the powerful Civic Committee for Santa Cruz that called for the blockades, says that while the protests are to continue until Camacho's release he can’t guarantee that that will really happen.
“The blockades will last for as long as people who are taking the action can continue,” Calvo said, acknowledging there is fatigue after a 36-day strike against the government last fall to demand a national census that would likely give the region more tax revenue and legislative representation.
Santa Cruz plays an outsized role in Bolivia’s economy, making up around one-third of its economic activity while 70% of the country's food comes out of the eastern region that is the center of agribusiness.
“Santa Cruz is a fundamental bastion of the Bolivian economy and that is why it has the power to flex its muscles against the government,” Jaime Dunn, an economic analyst in La Paz, said.
It’s difficult to quantify the direct economic effect of the protests, in part because some trucks are managing to skirt the blockades.
“You won’t necessarily see the impact monetized in terms of amounts, but you will in prices and diminishing Central Bank reserves,” Dunn said.
In markets in La Paz, customers are sparse as the price of chicken has soared 29% while beef increased 8% since the blockade started, according to Marina Quisbert, a leader in a grouping of butchers at the Rodríguez Market.
It isn’t just meat.
“Even the prices of vegetables have increased, if I used to spend 100 pesos, now I have to spend 120,” said Rubén Mendoza, a 65-year-old retired teacher.
The administration of leftist President Luis Arce has played down talk of the economic impact of the blockades with Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro telling journalists this week that prices have increased due to “speculation and profiteering.”
Amid the discussion over how the blockades could affect the economy, thousands took to the streets in the capital cities of eight of the country’s nine regions on Tuesday to demand the release of Camacho as well as other opposition leaders who have been imprisoned. Smaller counter-protests supporting his detention also took place.
“I feel impotence more than anything, because any of us could be sent to jail for not agreeing with the government,” Karine Flores Mendez, a 49-year-old executive assistant, said as she joined protesters in Santa Cruz.
Some also spoke out against law enforcement officers who have clashed with protesters during the frequent nightly demonstrations in downtown Santa Cruz.
“They send police to tear gas us,” Pablo Vaca, a 37-year-old retail worker, said.
Arce's administration has accused the nightly protesters of fomenting violence and burning vehicles as well as public offices.
Some people who agree with the aim of the protests say the blockades go too far, including Elvis Velázquez, a doctor who lives near San Carlos and works in Yapacani, around 65 kilometers (40 miles) away. He is affected by the highway closure.
“I support some measures but the blockades aren't productive because they paralyze us as citizens,” Velázquez said as he rushed to board a minivan to Yapacani after crossing the blockade on foot. “They cut us off from each other."
————-
Associated Press Journalist Paola Flores contributed from La Paz, Bolivia.
Bolivia's farm hub battles political capital over cattle and grains
Bolivia's Santa Cruz in cold war with La Paz over cattle and grains
Thu, January 12, 2023
By Agustin Marcarian and Monica Machicao
PAILAS, Bolivia (Reuters) - Javier Monasterio, a rancher in Bolivia's lowland area of Santa Cruz, is feeling the economic hit of weeks-long protests and blockades since the dramatic arrest of the region's governor that has snarled domestic transport of grains and meat.
The tensions were sparked by the arrest of Santa Cruz's local elected leader Luis Camacho last month over an alleged coup in 2019 against then-President Evo Morales, a complex period of Bolivia's history that sharply divides opinion.
Protests against the central government have seen buildings and cars burned, while blockades have prevented transport of food and grains from the key producing region, a bid by local leaders to pressure La Paz by squeezing domestic supply.
The tension has seen Monasterio's plans to double the number of cattle on his farm put on hold, but he remains resolute that the region needs to fight back against what many locally see as a political attack by La Paz.
"This affects us because a good part of our production goes to markets in the interior," Monasterio told Reuters at his farm, adding though that he respected the "popular movement" that he hoped would bring longer-term benefits to the country.
"It's worth the sacrifice, it's worth suffering, it's worth it even in these difficult times... we're going to win."
The tensions underscore a sharpening of a deep-seated rivalry between Santa Cruz and La Paz - Bolivia's farming hub and the political capital respectively - that have long butted heads over politics and resources.
Santa Cruz is a conservative, Catholic region with a significant white European descent community. La Paz is an Andean stronghold with a large indigenous population that has traditionally titled towards the ruling socialist MAS party.
The government in La Paz says the arrest of Camacho was justice for stirring up protests as a civic leader in 2019 that led to the resignation of Morales under widespread pressure and ushered in a divisive interim right-wing government. Camacho denies the charges.
After winning 2020 elections, Morales' MAS party, now headed by his former economy chief Luis Arce, returned to office and has gone after rivals, including Camacho and interim president Jeanine Anez, also currently in jail.
Economy Minister Marcelo Montenegro said Santa Cruz would struggle to put pressure on the capital, arguing that while it was a key food producer, other regions could take the slack and that it needed state fuel subsidies and domestic buyers.
"They can't resist on their own", said Montenegro, adding the rising economic pressures would force Santa Cruz producers to re-start supply within the country.
"It is a very complex bet. What we understand is that there is an economic rationality, but well, we don't see it being that strong. They are going to have to somehow go back to depending on national consumption."
The stand-off between the two cities has sparked calls in Santa Cruz for a federal model to gain more autonomy and some more extreme groups demanding independence. Many still remain determined to keep protests going.
"We are going to rise up to our faith," said Victor Hugo, at a church in Santa Cruz, a region where Christian iconography is prominent from the streets to offices of local civic groups.
"The situation is critical for each one of us, but I am with this fight, I prefer to fight today and live calmly tomorrow. Every Santa Cruz person has to fight, all Bolivians must fight for the well-being of Bolivia, for freedom."
(Reporting by Agustin Marcarian and Monica Machicao; Editing by Adam Jourdan and Marguerita Choy)
GIVING COP CREDIBILITY AFTER UAE
Brazil makes official bid for Amazonian city to host COP30
COP27 climate summit, in Egypt
Wed, January 11, 2023
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he had officially launched a bid for the northeastern city of Belem to host the COP30 international climate summit in 2025, fulfilling a promise he made last year.
Lula, who in November attended the COP27 in Egypt as president-elect pledging to recommit the rainforest nation to tackling the climate crisis, said at the time he would name a city in the Amazon to host the 2025 U.N. climate talks.
Belem is the capital of the Amazonian state of Para and one of the largest cities in the region by population, second only to Manaus, which hosted games of the 2014 World Cup.
Lula said in a video on Twitter that Brazil's foreign relations ministry had formalized Belem as a candidate to host COP30.
"In Egypt I made the pledge that Brazil could host COP30, and I am happy to know that our (foreign relations) minister Mauro Vieira has formalized Belem's bid," Lula said in the video alongside Para Governor Helder Barbalho.
Lula has been promising to tackle deforestation in the Amazon, which hit a 15-year-high under former President Jair Bolsonaro. He recently named Marina Silva, who oversaw a significant drop in deforestation during his first stint as president in the 2000s, as his environment minister.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Gregorio)
Brazil makes official bid for Amazonian city to host COP30
COP27 climate summit, in Egypt
Wed, January 11, 2023
SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday he had officially launched a bid for the northeastern city of Belem to host the COP30 international climate summit in 2025, fulfilling a promise he made last year.
Lula, who in November attended the COP27 in Egypt as president-elect pledging to recommit the rainforest nation to tackling the climate crisis, said at the time he would name a city in the Amazon to host the 2025 U.N. climate talks.
Belem is the capital of the Amazonian state of Para and one of the largest cities in the region by population, second only to Manaus, which hosted games of the 2014 World Cup.
Lula said in a video on Twitter that Brazil's foreign relations ministry had formalized Belem as a candidate to host COP30.
"In Egypt I made the pledge that Brazil could host COP30, and I am happy to know that our (foreign relations) minister Mauro Vieira has formalized Belem's bid," Lula said in the video alongside Para Governor Helder Barbalho.
Lula has been promising to tackle deforestation in the Amazon, which hit a 15-year-high under former President Jair Bolsonaro. He recently named Marina Silva, who oversaw a significant drop in deforestation during his first stint as president in the 2000s, as his environment minister.
(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by David Gregorio)
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