US begins issuing first visas in Cuba in more than 4 years
2022/5/3 
© Agence France-Presse

A small number of Cubans waited in line for the first visas issued in more than four years at the US embassy in Havana

Havana (AFP) - The US embassy in Cuba began issuing visas on Tuesday for the first time since alleged sonic attacks against diplomatic staff more than four years ago.

Washington closed its consular services in the Cuban capital in 2017 after US personnel and their families suffered from mystery illnesses subsequently known as "Havana Syndrome."

The closure was a huge blow to many Cubans hoping to emigrate to the United States and escape the economic woes of their island nation.

"Welcome to the embassy after so much time," said a Cuban employee to a small group of people waiting for their appointments in the consular section.

The United States announced two months ago it would begin a "limited" and "gradual" reopening of its embassy and consular services.

It was closed in September 2017 after then-US president Donald Trump hit out at the alleged sonic attacks.

A US government report in 2020 said the illnesses suffered by staff and their families were most likely caused by "directed, pulsed radio frequency (RF) energy."

"We're hoping that everything goes well. I've been waiting three years for this to rejoin my daughter" who is in the United States, said one man who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I haven't seen her for seven years."

Following the embassy closure, Cubans wishing to emigrate to the United States were obliged to overcome numerous obstacles, among them being forced to travel to Colombia or Guyana to submit a request.

Many instead opted to make the perilous journey through Central America and Mexico and enter the United States as undocumented migrants.

The US customs office says more than 78,000 Cubans entered the country from Mexico between October 2021 and March this year.

According to existing immigration agreements, the US should authorize 20,000 immigrant visas a year to Cubans, something it has not been fulfilling.

Cuba is suffering its worst economic crisis in almost 30 years, in large part due to the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent decrease in tourism.

Mexican President presses for end to US sanctions on Cuba


Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (R) was received with military honors by his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz Canel (AFP/YAMIL LAGE) (YAMIL LAGE)

Carlos BATISTA
Sun, May 8, 2022, 

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called Sunday for an end to US sanctions against Cuba as he concluded a migration-themed tour of Central America and the Caribbean.

During the trip, which has also taken him to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize, Lopez Obrador urged the United States -- where many migrants are headed -- to help solve underlying economic problems fueling the wave.

Cuba has seen its own exodus accelerate, with more than 78,000 of its nationals arriving in the US via Mexico from October 2021 to March this year, according to US customs data.

The wave has been fueled by the communist nation's worst economic crisis in nearly three decades, which it blames in large part on six decades of US sanctions that were tightened under Donald Trump.

On Sunday, Lopez Obrador said he would continue to insist that the United States lift what he called a blockade against the island nation.

Many thousands of US-bound undocumented migrants, most of them Central Americans, cross Mexico's southern frontier with Guatemala each year fleeing poverty and violence.

In 2021 alone, Mexican authorities detected more than 300,000 irregular migrants.

US Customs and Border Protection officials have registered 7,800 undocumented migrants a day along the border with Mexico in recent weeks -- almost five times the average in 2014-2019.

Lopez Obrador argued on his trip that migration from Latin America was "the result of the difficult conditions in our countries, from the Rio Grande to the south."

"The will of Latin Americans is not enough; we also need the United States to become clearly involved in solving a problem that also affects it and to contribute to financing job creation projects," he said in Honduras.

And in El Salvador, Lopez Obrador argued that "the United States, a protagonist of the migration phenomenon, must, therefore, be jointly responsible for solving it, modifying its migration policy."

The Mexican leader also insisted that all countries of the region should be able to take part in a Summit of the Americas to be held in Los Angeles in June. Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela were not invited.

He said Sunday he would "insist with President (Joe) Biden that no country of the Americas is excluded."

Lopez Obrador arrived in Havana on Saturday on the heels of an explosion at a luxury hotel in the city center that killed at least 30 people.

His visit marks 120 years of diplomatic relations with Cuba. Mexico is the only Latin American country not to join the global effort to isolate Fidel Castro's government in the 1960s, instead maintaining trade with Havana.

Lopez Obrador was received Sunday by his counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel with military honors, before the men sat down for talks.

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Leni Robredo looking for a people-powered Philippine election upset

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Around 780,000 supporters turned out for the final rally of Robredo's presidential campaign on Saturday, according to organizers. Photo by Thomas Maresca/UPI

MANILA, May 8 (UPI) -- On the eve of the Philippine presidential election, supporters of candidate Leni Robredo are hoping she will be able to pull off an upset victory driven by a "pink wave" grassroots movement.

Robredo, the current vice president, is trailing frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by a large margin in most surveys, but advocates say that the numbers don't capture the energy of what has turned into a full-fledged people's campaign.

"The surveys seem to contradict the momentum on the ground," Neri Colmenares, a Senate candidate allied with Robredo, told UPI.

On Saturday, some 780,000 supporters dressed in pink -- the Robredo campaign's signature color -- filled the central business district of Makati in Manila for a final rally that featured speeches and performances by musicians and celebrities.

"There has never been such a spontaneous mass movement, except during the time of [the] 1986 [uprising]," Colmenares said.

The 1986 People Power revolution brought millions to the streets to oust former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr. -- the father of Robredo's opponent.

Robredo, 57, rallied her supporters on Saturday night for a final push as she looks to repeat her own come-from-behind victory against Marcos Jr. in the 2016 vice-presidential election.

'It's our right to have a future with dignity, and it's our duty to fight for it," Robredo said in the final speech of her campaign. "We've learned that nothing is impossible."

"Trust that at the end of all the sweat, time and sacrifice, there is a victory waiting for us," she said.

The mood at the campaign event was festive, as a sea of supporters chanted, danced and waved pink flags and balloons from early afternoon until late in the evening.

"You can see the love," Angelo Pedrosa, 35, said. "This is the first time there's ever been so many thousands out for a candidate. [Robredo] has the values, she has the morals to be a good leader and help the whole country. She is not corrupt like her opponent."

Robredo, a former human rights lawyer, is running as a champion of democracy and decency against Marcos Jr., the scion of a family dynasty that plundered as much as $10 billion from the country.

Her supporters are also looking for an end to six years of democratic backsliding under current strongman President Rodrigo Duterte, whose tenure has been marked by a brutal war on drugs and attacks on the media, critics and government watchdogs.

Robredo has picked up a slew of endorsements from major celebrities, athletes, officials and over 1,200 members of the Roman Catholic clergy.

Some rally-goers said that Monday's election is not just a contest between candidates but an existential battle for the future of the Philippines.

"I came to be part of this historic event," said 18-year-old student Rafael Valix, a first-time voter who campaigned door-to-door for Robredo.

"Not just the next six years are at stake," he said. "We're fighting against the dictator's son. We're fighting for the good of our country."

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Monday in the Philippines. Voting hours were extended due to COVID-19 distancing protocols that remain in place.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. favored to win pivotal Philippines election

"This is the most consequential election in the Philippines in the past half a century," Manila-based political analyst Richard Heydarian told UPI. "The last time we had an election of this significance, with long-term generational consequences, was in 1969 when another Marcos was on the ballot."

Presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., son of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, is the heavy favorite to win Monday's election. File Photo by Rolex Dela Pena/EPA-EFE

MANILA, May 6 (UPI) -- The Philippines' 67.5 million registered voters will head to the polls Monday to choose the successor to strongman President Rodrigo Duterte, whose checkered, controversial -- and highly popular -- six years in office come to an end after a constitutionally mandated single term.

The front-runner has a name that resonates throughout the Philippines and beyond: Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the 64-year-old son and namesake of the dictator who ruled for 20 years until being ousted by a popular uprising in 1986.

Marcos' main opponent from a field of 10 candidates is Vice President Leni Robredo, 57, a former human rights lawyer who has frequently been at odds with Duterte over policies such as his violent war on drugs. Robredo has focused her campaign on protecting democracy and cleaning up corruption in government.

The presidency is not the only up office up for grabs on Monday. Thousands of other races will be contested, from Senate seats to local and provincial posts.

A key battle will be for the position of vice president, which is held as a standalone contest. The front-runner for that race also comes from a famous political family: Sara Duterte, 43, daughter of the current president. She has formed an alliance with Marcos Jr., which has driven tremendous support to his campaign.

Marcos Jr., widely known by his nickname Bongbong, has held a commanding lead in the polls for months. A Pulse Asia survey released this week found 56% of respondents favoring Marcos Jr. to 23% for Robredo.

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is a distant third, with 7% support.

What's at stake

The incoming president will face numerous issues, from deep-rooted corruption to COVID-19 pandemic recovery, but campaign season has been driven by personalities, famous family ties and a heavy dose of disinformation glorifying the Marcos era.

For some observers, Monday's election represents a battle for the very future of democracy in the Philippines.

"This is the most consequential election in the Philippines in the past half a century," Manila-based political analyst Richard Heydarian told UPI. "The last time we had an election of this significance, with long-term generational consequences, was in 1969 when another Marcos was on the ballot."

After Ferdinand Marcos Sr. won that election, he went on to impose martial law, kill and imprison thousands and siphon off as much as $10 billion from the country before being driven out of office by the People Power Revolution in 1986.

"Even though it fell in 1986, the legacy of the dictatorship never went away," Heydarian said. "We're still living in its shadow."

Under Duterte, the Philippines has taken a turn back toward authoritarianism, as the populist strongman killed thousands in a drug war and has used the powers of his office to silence critics, attack the media and hobble government oversight.

Heydarian said a Marcos-Duterte tandem could continue to undermine democracy and cement their family dynasties in power for decades to come.

"[Rodrigo] Duterte didn't have the wherewithal and discipline to create a new order, but a Marcos presidency, together with Sara Duterte, will be young and disciplined enough to finish off what he started," Heydarian said. "We could be looking at the introduction of a new constitution in the coming years."

The candidates

Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

After being exiled in 1986, the Marcos clan returned home in the 1990s and its members have reintegrated themselves into the mainstream of Philippine life and politics. Flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos, now 92, served in congress until 2019. Bongbong was governor of his family's home province of Ilocos Norte and later became a congressman and senator.

Bongbong's campaign has been boosted by coordinated online disinformation efforts, according to fact checkers, that have sought to whitewash the Marcos Sr. legacy as well as spread negative information about his opponents.

Tsek.ph, a collaborative fact-checking project, found that 94% of the false information posts it analyzed about Robredo were negative.

"Disinformation has been more pervasive than it has been in past elections," Rachel Khan, associate dean of the University of the Philippines College of Media Communication and coordinator of Tsek.ph, told UPI.

Khan said the false information about the Marcos family has been almost uniformly positive and has evolved to target voters too young to remember the martial law era on platforms such as TikTok.

"There has been an effort for historical revisionism showing that the Marcos years were the golden years of the Philippines," Khan said.

Leni Robredo

Robredo worked as a human rights lawyer and entered politics after her husband, who served as secretary of the interior, died in a plane crash in 2012. She won a seat in congress in 2013 before defeating Bongbong Marcos for the vice presidency in 2016, becoming the second woman to hold the office.

She has focused on human rights and gender equality during her political career and is campaigning on restoring the rule of law, but has trailed Marcos Jr. in the polls throughout.

Her supporters haven't given up hope, however. Robredo has picked up a wave of endorsements from athletes, celebrities and even political leaders from Duterte's home province of Mindanao. Her candidacy has also been bolstered by a grass-roots movement of some 2 million door-to-door volunteers and a series of high-energy rallies in recent weeks.

On Saturday, the final day of campaigning, organizers are expecting as many as 1 million supporters to turn out for a rally in downtown Manila that they hope will help push Robredo across the finish line to an upset victory.

Marcos Jr eyes landslide as Philippines votes for new president


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Ten candidates are vying to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte in the elections seen by many as a make-or-break moment for Philippine democracy

 (AFP/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

Millions of Filipinos thronged primary schools and other polling stations Monday to elect a new president, with the son of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos the favourite to win the high-stakes election.

Nearly 40 years after the patriarch was deposed by a popular revolt and the family chased into exile, Ferdinand Marcos Junior looks set to complete their remarkable comeback from pariahs to the peak of political power.

Ten candidates are vying to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte in elections seen by many as a make-or-break moment for the Philippines' fragile democracy.

But only Marcos Jr and his rival Leni Robredo, the incumbent vice president, have a credible chance of winning.

People wearing masks began forming long queues before dawn to cast their votes when polling stations opened across the archipelago.

At Mariano Marcos Memorial Elementary School in the northern city of Batac, the ancestral home of the Marcoses, voters waved hand fans to cool their faces in the tropical heat.

Bomb sniffer dogs swept the polling station before Marcos Jr arrived with his younger sister Irene and eldest son Sandro.

They were followed by the family's flamboyant 92-year-old matriarch Imelda, who was lowered from a white van while wearing a long red top with matching trousers and slip-on flats.

Sandro, 28, who is running for elected office for the first time in a congressional district in Ilocos Norte province, admitted the family's history was "a burden".

But he added: "It's one that we also try to sustain and protect and better as we serve."

Casting her ballot for Robredo at a school in Magarao municipality, in the central province of Camarines Sur, Corazon Bagay said the former congresswoman "deserves" to win.

"She has no whiff of corruption allegations," said the 52-year-old homemaker. "She's not a thief. Leni is honest."

Turnout is expected to be high among the more than 65 million Filipinos eligible to vote.

"The long lines are magnificent. Filipinos wanted to be heard and heard loudly," said George Garcia of the Commission on Elections.

At the end of a bitter campaign, polls showed Marcos Jr heading for a landslide. He had a double-digit lead over Robredo in the latest surveys and she will need a low turnout of Marcos Jr voters or a late surge of support for her to score an upset.

In the Philippines, the winner only has to get more votes than anyone else.

Since Robredo announced her bid for the top job in October, volunteer groups have mushroomed across the country seeking to convince voters to back what they see as a battle for the country's soul.

But relentless whitewashing of the elder Marcos's brutal and corrupt regime, support of rival elite families and public disenchantment with post-Marcos governments have fuelled the scion's popularity.

After six years of Duterte's authoritarian rule, rights activists, Catholic church leaders and political analysts fear Marcos Jr will be emboldened to lead with an even heavier fist if he wins by a large margin.

"We think it will worsen the human rights crisis in the country," said Cristina Palabay, secretary-general of human rights alliance Karapatan.

While Marcos Jr had a 75 percent chance of winning, the outcome was not guaranteed, according to Eurasia Group analyst Peter Mumford, who said potential complacency among his supporters could work in Robredo's favour.

- Authoritarian rule -

Robredo, a 57-year-old lawyer and economist, has promised to clean up the dirty style of politics that has long plagued the feudal and corrupt democracy where a handful of surnames hold sway over the country.

Marcos Jr and running mate Sara Duterte -- both offspring of authoritarian leaders -- have insisted they are best qualified to "unify" the country, though what that means is unclear.

Hundreds of thousands of red-clad supporters turned out at Marcos Jr and Duterte's raucous rally in Manila on Saturday, as they made a last push for votes.

Josephine Llorca said it was worth betting on another Marcos, because successive governments since the 1986 revolution that ousted the family had failed to improve the lives of the poor.

"We tried it and they were even worse than the Marcoses' time," she said.

Surveys indicate Marcos Jr, 64, will win more than half the votes, which would make him the first presidential candidate to secure an absolute majority since his father was overthrown.

Political analyst Richard Heydarian warned such a big win could enable Marcos Jr to make constitutional changes to entrench his power and weaken democratic checks and balances.

"(Rodrigo) Duterte never had the discipline and wherewithal to push his authoritarian agenda to its logical extreme," Heydarian said.

"That historic opportunity could fall on the lap of the Marcoses."

- 'Another crossroads' -

Other candidates seeking the presidency include boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and former street scavenger turned actor Francisco Domagoso.

Personality rather than policy typically influences many people's choice of candidate, though vote-buying and intimidation are also perennial problems in Philippine elections.

More than 60,000 security personnel have been deployed to protect polling stations and election workers.

Allegations of dirty tactics marred the final week of the campaign, as Marcos Jr warned of electoral fraud while Robredo accused him of being a "liar".

In a rousing speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters on Saturday, Robredo declared: "Victory awaits us."

Whatever the result, though, Marcos Jr opponents have already vowed to pursue efforts to have him disqualified over a previous tax conviction and extract billions of dollars in estate taxes from his family.

"It's another crossroads for us," said Judy Taguiwalo, 72, an anti-Marcos activist who was arrested twice and tortured during the elder Marcos's regime.

"We need to continue to stand up and struggle."

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The rise and fall -- and rise again -- of the Philippines' Marcos family


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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and first lady Imelda Marcos attend a ceremony in 1979 at Clark Air Force Base in Luzon, Philippines. 

File Photo courtesy of the U.S. Army

May 6 (UPI) -- For decades, the name "Ferdinand Marcos" would have struck anger and fear in most Filipinos, and any association with the late dictator might have been the kiss of death for a political campaign.

But on Monday, voters in the Philippines are poised to elect the son and namesake of the onetime dictator into power more than three decades after his father was deposed.

Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. of the Federal Party of the Philippines heads into Monday's election with 56% of Filipinos saying they'd vote for him, according to a Pulse Asia Research Inc. poll released Monday. He has more than double the support of his next-nearest opponent, Vice President Leni Robredo (23%). Seven percent of respondents said they'd vote for former boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

The support for the younger Marcos is remarkable given how far his family -- including his mother, Imelda Marcos -- fell during the People Power Revolution.

Ferdinand Marcos rose to power in 1965 after nearly two decades in politics -- first working for the first president after independence from the United States, Manuel Roxas, then as a member of the House of Representatives and Senate. He broke with Roxas' Liberal Party after failing to receive its nomination for president in 1965, and was ultimately elected as a member of the Nationalist Party.

Early in his presidency, Ferdinand Marcos won the hearts of Filipinos, building up the country's infrastructure and giving his beauty-queen wife powers beyond those of a typical first lady. A UPI article on his legacy published in the days after his 1989 death said his administration "originally was likened to the Camelot of the John F. Kennedy years in the White House."

Ferdinand Marcos was the first leader of the Philippines to serve a second term, but despite his re-election general favorability in his first term, he faced growing discontent, particularly among students.

RELATED UPI Archives: Exiled Philippine leader Ferdinand Marcos makes workout video

Ferdinand Marcos implemented martial law in 1972, jailing opposition members -- including Benigno Aquino Jr. -- and using the armed forces to carry out his will. He used violence to suppress opposition to his rule, silenced media outlets, confiscated some half-million firearms, and oversaw a fraudulent referendum to ratify his martial law in 1973.

The Marcos administration faced fierce threats even within its own ranks, with the politicized military stamping out at least five attempted coups.

He gradually amassed more power and wealth for himself, to the tune of $28 billion, much of which he stole from the Central Bank of the Philippines. The U.S. government estimates he made off with up to $10 billion of that in exile.

RELATED UPI Archives: Analysis: Imelda returns to exact revenge not to reconcile

The first couple came to be associated with excess and a decadent lifestyle. Imelda Marcos was famous for her collection of thousands of pairs of shoes, racks of gowns and Gucci handbags.

Ferdinand Marcos ended martial law in 1981, the same year he was elected to a third term. Growing discontent with his rule spurred a non-violent revolution in 1986. Over the course of four days in February, some 2 million people protested the regime's violence -- including the assassination of popular opposition leader Aquino -- election fraud and financial corruption.

Multiple political, military and religious groups joined in support of the effort, also known as the Yellow Revolution, and the first family ultimately fled, seeking refuge in Hawaii.

RELATED UPI Archives: New shoe line inspired by Imelda Marcos

Aquino's widow, Corazon Aquina, was sworn in as president, a role she served for six years.

Ferdinand Marcos died at the age of 72 in 1989, still in exile in Hawaii. He initially was interred in a mausoleum on the island of Oahu, but his body was moved to a crypt in the Philippines in 1993.

In 2016, he was quietly given a hero's burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, the national cemetery, to the outcry of those who remembered his brutal and dictatorial reign.

Filipino priests hold placards during a protest against the burial of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the People Power Monument in Quezon City on November 18, 2016. File Photo by Mark R. Cristino/European Press Agency

Despite protests against his burial at the revered cemetery, opposition to Imelda Marcos and his son, Bongbong Marcos waned in recent years.

The former first lady, now 92, returned to the Philippines in the 1990s and served as a member of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998 and again for nine years beginning in 2010. Bongbong Marcos was governor and vice governor of Ilocos Norte for a combined 15 years, before serving in the House. He most recently served six years in the Senate.

Bongbong Marcos is running for the presidency as a member of the Federal Party of the Philippines, which was formed by supporters of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte. The party seeks to navigate the Philippines' unitary system of government to a federal one consisting of provinces or states.

His running mate is Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, the daughter of the current president.

Though the younger Marcos has plenty of detractors from those who remember the atrocities of his father's regime, observers blame a lack of education about the dictatorship and misinformation by the Marcoses for the new support and BongBong Marcos' likely win.

Sri Lankan president declares second state of emergency in little over a month


Supporters of the Sri Lankan Marxist People's Liberation Front shout slogans during a protest on Saturday against the state of emergency in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

File Photo by Chamila Karunarathne

May 7 (UPI) -- Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has declared a state of emergency for the second time in little over a month amid protests calling for him to resign due to economic crisis.

Hundreds of youths gathered outside the Parliament in protest Thursday in addition to the ongoing protests near the Presidential Secretariat and prime minister's official residence, prompting the second declaration on Friday.

"Under no circumstances @GotabayaR will you hold this country down with nothing but fear & violence. The state of emergency runs counter to seeking any solution to the crisis. JUST RESIGN," opposition Sajith Premadesa leader tweeted.

The European Union delegation in Sri Lanka agreed that the emergency declaration would not help, adding that the protests have been peaceful.

"A month of peaceful demonstrations has shown how Sri Lankan citizens fully enjoy their right to freedom of expression in the oldest democracy in South Asia," the EU delegation tweeted. "State of emergency will certainly not help solving the country's difficulties and could have a counterproductive effect!"

U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung added in a tweet that "the voices of peaceful citizens need to be heard," and the state of emergency "won't help do that."

The Bar Association of Sri Lanka also said it was "gravely concerned," about the president's second declaration of a state of emergency.

Rajapaksa previously declared a 36-hour state of emergency on April 1 in response to protests where nearly 50 people were injured and 45 people were arrested after authorities used tear gas and water cannons on protesters.

Protesters have called for Rajapaksa to resign amid his alleged failure to address the country's economic crisis. The country faces power outages up to 13 hours and shortages in basic supplies such as food, gas and medicine after running out of foreign currency to pay for imported goods.

Socialist Economist sworn in as Costa Rica president


Rodrigo Chaves is Costa Rica's 49th president

David GOLDBERG

AFP
Sun, May 8, 2022,

Economist and former finance minister Rodrigo Chaves was sworn in Sunday as Costa Rica's president for a four-year mandate focused on reinvigorating one of Latin America's most stable economies.

The former World Bank executive, who resigned from the global lender amid a sexual harassment scandal, has made it his mission to tackle Costa Rica's economic recline.

The country is faced with rising foreign debt -- about 70 percent of GDP -- a poverty rate of 23 percent, unemployment of 14 percent, and public sector corruption.

Tourism, one of the country’s main economic drivers, was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and the country of 5.2 million people experienced an increase in unemployment equaled in the region only by Peru.

"It is fundamental for the country that Chaves improves the economy," Adrian Aguiluz, a 35-year-old resident of the capital, said ahead of the inauguration.

"This new government has an opportunity to do something different."

Chaves, who served six months as finance minister in the outgoing government, won a runoff election over former president Jose Maria Figueres -- himself tainted by a corruption scandal.

The 60-year-old Chaves had been a surprise qualifier for the April 3 final race, having polled fourth ahead of February's first round.

While he was a senior official at the World Bank, where he worked for 30 years, he was investigated over sexual harassment complaints brought by multiple women.

He was demoted, and later resigned to take on the role of finance minister in President Carlos Alvarado's government.

Last month, Chaves offered "sincere apologies" to two accusers, young subordinates, having previously said the alleged harassment amounted to mere "jokes" that were "misinterpreted due to cultural differences."

This week, Chaves said his government would not ratify the Escazu Agreement that establishes protection for environmentalists, arguing it was unnecessary and would harm the economy. Costa Rica, a regional leader in environmental protection, had hosted the signing of the agreement in 2018.

The new president has also vowed to improve Costa Rica's deal with the IMF for a loan of more than $1.7 billion.

Spanish King Felipe VI attended the ceremony at Congress in San Jose, along with heads of state and delegations from nearly 100 countries.

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Costa Rica: Rodrigo Chaves takes office as president

The economist and former finance minister has been sworn in for a four-year term. Chaves wants to reinvigorate the country's ailing economy, but he also faces controversy over earlier sexual harassment allegations.


Chaves previously served as finance minister

Costa Rica's new president Rodrigo Chaves was sworn in on Sunday, promising to fight corruption and revive the economy.

The former World Bank economist won a four-year term last month in a runoff with former President Jose María Figueres, himself tainted by a corruption scandal.

The party of Chaves' predecessor Carlos Alvarado was almost obliterated during the first-round election in February, receiving no seats in the new Legislative Assembly.

Chaves' Social Democratic Progressive Party has only 10 of 57 seats in the legislature and he turned out to be a surprise qualifier for the runoff, having come fourth in the first round.

What did Chaves tell voters?

Shortly after being given the ceremonial presidential sash, Chaves lashed out at the state of the nation, complaining of the high cost of living, crime, drug trafficking and long lines at social security offices.

He warned that "if the political class fails one more time, the country could fall apart."

"We will not only put the house in order, we will rebuild it," Chaves vowed. "Change is urgently needed. I will not accept defeat. Costa Rica does not have to accept defeat."
Promises on women's rights

Chaves also promised to stamp out gender discrimination and the abuse of women, as feminist groups protested nearby.

Their rally was a reminder to the 60-year-old former finance minister about allegations of sexual harassment that prompted his resignation from the World Bank.

An internal investigation found that from 2008 to 2013, Chaves made unwelcome comments about physical appearances and unwelcome sexual advances toward multiple bank employees.

Last month, he offered "sincere apologies" to two accusers, young subordinates, having previously said the alleged harassment amounted to mere "jokes" that were "misinterpreted."

Spain's King Felipe VI and other heads of state or government and delegations from nearly 100 countries traveled for the inauguration.

Shortly after his address, Chaves signed his first decrees, including scrapping obligatory mask-wearing for most people.

Chaves has long to-do list

Costa Rica, with a population of around 5 million, is considered one of the most politically stable countries in Central America.

Nevertheless, the country struggles with social inequality, corruption, hunger and drug trafficking.

Chaves takes over an economy in decline, with rising foreign debt — about 70% of GDP — a poverty rate of 23%, unemployment of nearly 14%, and public sector corruption.

Tourism, one of the country's main economic drivers, was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, severely spiking unemployment.

Chaves has previously vowed to improve the terms of an agreement Costa Rica reached with the IMF for a loan of more than $1.7 billion (€1.61 billion).

mm/wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

Himself accused, Costa Rica's president vows to tackle sex harassment


Dozens of women protested against gender-based violence and unequal pay

David GOLDBERG
Sun, May 8, 2022, 

Costa Rica's new president Rodrigo Chaves, elected despite a cloud of sexual harassment allegations, took the oath of office Sunday with promises to revive the economy and end the abuse of women in his country.

As feminist organizations protested nearby, the right-wing economist said the "first political commitment" of his four-year term would be to stamp out gender discrimination and harassment.

"We will not tolerate the harassment they (women) suffer every day and in all areas of society," he told congress after being sworn in to lead one of Latin America's most stable democracies.

"It cannot be that our women are afraid to walk alone on the street, feel afraid in their own home, at work, in a park, at a concert."

Chaves, 60, was investigated over sexual harassment complaints brought by women while he was a senior official at the World Bank, where he worked for 30 years.

He was demoted over the claims, and later resigned.

Last month, Chaves offered "sincere apologies" to two accusers, young subordinates, having previously said the alleged harassment amounted to mere "jokes" that were "misinterpreted due to cultural differences."

- 'We will be vigilant' -

Dozens of women protested Sunday near the seat of congress against gender violence and unequal pay in a country where abortion is allowed only if the woman's life is in danger.

"We are telling the country and the president-elect that we are here. That we will be vigilant," Sharo Rosales of the Women in Action movement told local media.

Chaves takes over an economy in decline, with rising foreign debt -- about 70 percent of GDP -- a poverty rate of 23 percent, unemployment of nearly 14 percent, and public sector corruption.

Vowing to "repair the country," he said: "We will not just clean house. We will rebuild it!"

Tourism, one of the country’s main economic drivers, was hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and the country of 5.2 million people experienced an increase in unemployment equaled in the region only by Peru.

"If the political class fails once more, our country could fall apart," Chaves said.

He has previously vowed to improve the terms of an agreement Costa Rica's reached with the IMF for a loan of more than $1.7 billion.

The economist, who served six months as finance minister in the outgoing government, won a runoff election over former president Jose Maria Figueres -- himself tainted by a corruption scandal.

Chaves had been a surprise qualifier for the April 3 final race, having polled fourth ahead of February's first round.

This week, Chaves said his government would not ratify the so-called Escazu Agreement that establishes protection for environmentalists, arguing it was unnecessary and would harm the economy.

Costa Rica, a regional leader in environmental protection, had hosted the signing of the agreement in 2018.

Chaves did not address environmental issues in his first public speech.

Shortly after his inaugural address, Chaves signed his first decrees, including scrapping obligatory mask-wearing for people other than front-line health workers, and compulsory coronavirus vaccination for the public sector.

Spanish King Felipe VI attended the ceremony at Congress in San Jose, along with other heads of state or government and delegations from nearly 100 countries.

dgj/mav/atm/mlr/dw

What Sinn Fein's win could mean for Northern Ireland, UK

For the first time, a nationalist party has become the strongest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly. 

What does Sinn Fein stand for? 

And what could this result mean for the future?


Sinn Fein candidate Michelle O'Neill celebrated her party's likely victory on election night

Sinn Fein, which seeks to reunite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland, emerged ahead of the pack after Friday's election. As vote counting neared completion late Saturday, the BBC reported that the party had captured at least 27 of the 90 seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The pro-Britain Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) was set for 24. The Alliance Party, which is not affiliated with either of the two main parties but aims to bridge partisan differences, was in third, with 17.

The majority Catholic Sinn Fein would like to dissolve Northern Ireland's ties to the United Kingdom, where it is a constituent region alongside England, Scotland and Wales, and unify with its EU neighbor to the south, the Republic of Ireland. Its strongest rival, the Protestant DUP, fundamentally opposes this.

For many years, Northern Ireland experienced what is known as "the troubles," a conflict between pro-Britain unionists and Irish nationalists that left more than 3,500 people dead. In 1998, after over 30 years of fighting, the conflict formally came to an end with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

Sinn Fein was long considered the political arm of the Irish Republic Army, which the United Kingdom classified as a terrorist organization. In summer 2005, seven years after the Good Friday peace deal, the IRA ended its armed struggle.

The IRA led a violent campaign for Irish unification over decades

Sinn Fein's charismatic leading candidate, Michelle O'Neill, is in large part responsible for the party's electoral success. Instead of dredging up Northern Ireland's painful history, the 45-year-old focused on voters' everyday worries. O'Neill came off as grounded, and she presented herself as the candidate who would represent the interests of Northern Ireland. She promised to resolve pressing problems in health care and help people affected by rising prices.

Nevertheless, Northern Ireland's history also cast a shadow over her campaign. Two of her cousins were members of the IRA. One, Tony Doris, was killed by the British Army's Special Air Service in the 1991 Coagh ambush; the other, Gareth Malachy Doris, was wounded by the SAS in the 1997 Coalisland attack and imprisoned after surgery before being released under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement in 2000. Her father, Brendan Doris, a Sinn Fein politician, was also jailed more than once for his IRA connections.

Michelle O'Neill helped lead the Sinn Finn party toward victory

Brexit weakened DUP

Sinn Fein was helped in the election by a weakened DUP. Since 2000, the pro-Britain party won every parliamentary election, peaking at about 30% support. But the UK's Brexit decision largely upset the status quo. The Northern Ireland Protocol, which regulates trade between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, is a particular point of contention. In order to avoid a hard border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, it was determined that a border should be drawn in the sea between the islands. This allows for the free movement of goods on the island. At the same time, Northern Ireland needs to abide by many EU conditions, even when the incoming goods originate in Great Britain. Many unionists are disappointed that the protocol creates a divide with London.

NORTHERN IRELAND'S CHANGING BORDER

The Irish Free State

Britain's response to Irish demands for independence was devolution within the UK, or home rule. Pro-British Unionists didn't want to be governed by Dublin, so two parliaments were set up, for Northern and Southern Ireland. However, nationalists still pushed for full independence and in 1922 Southern Ireland was superseded by the Irish Free State as enshrined in the Anglo-Irish Treaty (pictured).

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It is unlikely that Sinn Fein's victory will lead to Northern Ireland's quick reunification with the Republic of Ireland. It is generally thought that the party will push for a referendum on the issue so that the residents of Northern Ireland can decide whether they want unification. However, for various reasons, this will take time.

According to the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the power to call a referendum lies with the UK government. A successful outcome cannot be directly inferred from the result of the election. Currently, only one-third of people in Northern Ireland support reunification and only one-sixth consider it to be a political priority.

Johnson, who is seen here at a DUP conference in 2018, supports the unionist party
Government deadlock expected

The Good Friday Agreement also stands in the way of any quick changes when it comes to forming a government. With its likely victory, Sinn Fein has the right to form a government with lead candidate O'Neill as first minister. However, the terms of the peace agreement require O'Neill to have a deputy minister from the DUP who is equally empowered.

Additionally, the nonaffiliated Alliance Party will likely drag out government negotiations. This is because the Good Friday Agreement does not provide for a strong neutral party in Northern Ireland's power-sharing system. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Alliance would like to reform the entire agreement.

Brexit disruptions led to empty shelves in supermarkets, such as in Belfast in 2021

The three top parties are unlikely to agree on much. The nationalist Sinn Fein is pushing for a referendum and has no interest in getting rid of the divisive Northern Ireland protocol. The DUP supports exactly the opposite. The Alliance wants to do away with the dualistic system that favors both other parties.

So, despite Sinn Fein's pending historic victory, Belfast is likely headed toward political stalemate. Such an uncertain situation is not unusual in Northern Ireland, however. The constitution already provides a solution: If the government is incapable of acting, London can impose direct rule in the meantime.

This article was originally written in German.

Conservatives lose hundreds of seats in British midterm elections


British Prime Minister Boris Johnson answers questions on parties that broke COVID-19 lockdown restrictions from the Labour party's Keir Starmer in Parliament on January 26. Johnson's Conservative Party lost hundreds of council seats across Britain in mid-term elections.

 File Photo by Hugo Philpott/UPI | License Photo


May 6 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party lost ground in British national elections as results came in Friday. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer proclaimed his party is "back on track" to succeed in the next general election.

During a speech in northwest London, Johnson admitted the rough going his party faced, but called the results "mixed."

"We had a tough night in some parts of the country, but on the other hand, in other parts of the country you are still seeing Conservatives going forward and making quite remarkable gains in places that haven't voted Conservative for a long time, if ever," Johnson said.

During a stop in north London Friday, Starmer told supporters the midterm election results were a big turning back as he declared the results sent the message to the prime minister that Britain deserves better.

A scandal over parties that violated COVID-19 lockdown rules damaged Conservative candidates. In London, Conservatives lost the Wandsworth borough they had controlled for decades.

At least 124 of 146 councils in England had declared results by Friday. The Conservatives lost more than 280 seats.

In Northern Ireland, where final results are expected Saturday, all 90 members of the assembly were up for election. The Sinn Fein Party there was expected to make historic gains.

With much of the vote counted Friday, Sinn Fein was on track to win the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The Conservative Party lost hundreds of seats across Britain to the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats.

Gavin Barwell, former chief of staff for Johnson's predecessor, said the London results were a catastrophic wake-up call for the Conservative Party.

How climate scientists keep hope alive as damage worsens


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University of Maine climate scientist Jacquelyn Gill examines a cone from a western pine at the Sawyer Environmental Research Center, Wednesday, May 4, 2022, in Orono, Maine. Gill says her work as a paleo-ecologist and climatologist has given her hope for the Earth's resilience despite global warming. Climate scientists who have been through a lot both personally and professionally say the key is often action. 

(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)


By SETH BORENSTEIN

In the course of a single year, University of Maine climate scientist Jacquelyn Gill lost both her mother and her stepfather. She struggled with infertility, then during research in the Arctic, she developed embolisms in both lungs, was transferred to an intensive care unit in Siberia and nearly died. She was airlifted back home and later had a hysterectomy. Then the pandemic hit.

Her trials and her perseverance, she said, seemed to make her a magnet for emails and direct messages on Twitter “asking me how to be hopeful, asking me, like, what keeps me going?”

Gill said she has accepted the idea that she is “everybody’s climate midwife” and coaches them to hope through action.

Hope and optimism often blossom in the experts toiling in the gloomy fields of global warming,COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s disease.

How climate scientists like Gill or emergency room doctors during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic cope with their depressing day-to-day work, yet remain hopeful, can offer help to ordinary people dealing with a world going off the rails, psychologists said.

“I think it’s because they see a way out. They see that things can be done,” said Pennsylvania State University psychology professor Janet Swim. “Hope is seeing a pathway, even though the pathway seems far, far away.”

United Nations Environment Programme Director Inger Andersen said she simply cannot do her job without being an optimist.

“I do not wish to sound naive in choosing to be the ‘realistic optimist,’ but the alternative to being the realistic optimist is either to hold one’s ears and wait for doomsday or to party while the orchestra of the Titanic plays,” Andersen said. “I do not subscribe to either.”

Dr. Kristina Goff works in the intensive care unit at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and said at times she felt overwhelmed during the pandemic. She keeps a file folder at home of “little notes that say ‘hey you made a difference.’”

“I think half of the battle in my job is learning to take what could be a very overwhelming anxiety and turn it into productivity and resilience,” Goff said. “You just have to focus on these little areas where you can make a difference.”

Alzheimer’s disease may be one of the bleakest diagnoses a physician can convey, one where the future can appear hopeless. Yet Dr. Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer’s research center and a man colleagues describe as optimistic and passionate, doesn’t see it that way.

“I don’t think it’s depressing. I don’t think it’s gloomy. It’s difficult. It’s challenging,” Petersen said. But “we’re so much better off today than five years ago, 10 years ago.”

The coping technique these scientists have in common is doing something to help. The word they often use is “agency.” It’s especially true for climate researchers — tarred as doomsayers by political types who reject the science.

Gill, who describes herself as a lifelong cheerleader, has also battled with depression. She said what’s key in fighting eco-anxiety is that “regular depression and regular anxiety tools work just as well. And so that’s why I tell people: ‘Be a doer. Get other there. Don’t just doomscroll.’ There are entry level ways that anyone, literally anyone, can help out. And the more we do that, ‘Oh, it actually works,’ it turns out.”

It’s not just about individual actions, like giving up air travel, or becoming a vegetarian, it’s about working together with other people in a common effort, Gill said. Individual action is helpful on climate change, but is not enough, she said. To bend the curve of rising temperatures and the buildup of heat-trapping gases, steady collective action, such as the youth climate activism movement and voting, gives true agency.

“I think maybe that’s helped stave off some of this hopelessness,” she said. “I go to a scientific meeting and I look around at the thousands of scientists that are working on this. And I’m like ‘Yeah, we’re doing this.’”

Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gensini said that, at 35, he figures it’s his relative youth that gives him hope.

“When I think about would could be, I gain a sense of optimism and create an attitude that this is something I can do something about,” Gensini said.

The U.N.’s Andersen is a veteran of decades of work on ecological issues and thinks this experience has made her optimistic.

“I have seen shifts on other critical environmental issues such as banning of toxic material, better air quality standards, the repair of the ozone hole, the phase-out of leaded petrol and much more,” Andersen said. “I know that hard work, underpinned by science, underpinned by strong policy and yes, underpinned by multilateral and activist action, can lead to change.”

Deke Arndt, chief of climate science and services at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Center for Environmental Information, said what buoys him with an overwhelming optimism is his personal faith, and remembering all the people who have helped his family over the generations — through the Dust Bowl for his grandparents and through infertility and then neonatal issues for his son.

“We’ve experienced the miracle of hands-on care from fellow human beings,” Arndt said. “You kind of spend the rest of your life trying to repay.”

“Where people are suffering not through their own purchase, that makes me want to recommit as a scientist and a Catholic,” Arndt said. “We’ve got to do as much as we can.”

What’s more, Gill and several others said, the science tells them that it is not game over for Earth.

“The work that I do inherently lends me a sense of agency,” Gill said. “As a paleo-ecologist (who studies the past) and climatologist, I have a better sense of Earth’s resilience than a lot of people do.”

It helps that she studies plants and deals with changes on a glacial timescale. She pointed to Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb, who spent much of her career diving and studying the same coral reef in the Pacific, only to return in 2016 and find it dead: “God, I cannot imagine what a gut punch.”

Cobb laughed heartily when she heard how Gill described the life of a reef scientist.

From 1997 to 2016, Cobb dived at one of the tiny islands of Kiritimati in the Pacific, monitoring the effects of climate change and El Nino on a delicate coral reef there. Super hot water killed it in 2016, with only faint signs of life clinging on.

That fall, Cobb made one last trip. It was during the elections. A big Hillary Clinton fan, Cobb was wearing a Madame President shirt when she heard the news that Donald Trump was elected. She said fell into a pit of despair that lasted maybe a couple months.

“And then on New Year’s Eve, I decided that I probably had enough and I know my husband had enough, my kids had had enough. So people needed their mother and their wife back,” Cobb said. “I decided to grope for another path out there.”

“I am not able to wallow for so long before I start asking myself some questions like, ‘Look you know how you can put your position to work? How can you put your resources to work?’” Cobb said.

She and her family cut their personal carbon emissions 80%. She doesn’t fly on planes anymore. She went vegan, composts, installed solar panels. She works on larger climate action instead of her more focused previous research. And she bikes everywhere, which she said is like mental health therapy.

She tells people when they are anxious about climate change, “there’s not going to be a win, a shining moment where we can declare success,” but “it’s never going to be too late to act. It’s never going to be too late to fix this.”

NOAA’s Arndt said the climate of the 20th century he grew up with is gone forever. He grieves the loss of that, but also finds mourning what’s gone “weirdly liberating.”

With climate change “we have to kind of hold hope and grief at the same time, like they’re kind of twins that we’re cradling,” Maine’s Gill said. “We have to both understand and witness what has happened and what we’ve lost. And then fiercely commit to protecting what remains. And I don’t think you can do that from a place of hopelessness.”

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Follow AP’s climate coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate

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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears

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EXPLAINER: How 81-1 shot Rich Strike won the Kentucky Derby


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Rich Strike, front right, with Sonny Leon aboard, wins the 148th running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 7, 2022, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

This doesn’t happen. Horses at odds of nearly 81-1 don’t win the Kentucky Derby. Jockeys who have never won any big stakes race of any kind don’t win the Kentucky Derby. Owners with fewer than 10 career wins don’t win the Kentucky Derby.

Rich Strike and his connections disagree with those sentiments.

One of the biggest upsets in racing history happened Saturday in the Kentucky Derby, when Rich Strike shocked the establishment by running past everyone and winning the first leg of this year’s Triple Crown series.

Those who bet $2 to win on Rich Strike got $163.60 in return. Not bad for about two minutes of work. For jockey Sonny Leon, trainer Eric Reed and owner Rick Dawson, the result was life-changing. Leon was racing Friday at a little-known track in Cincinnati called Belterra Park. Reed’s biggest win before Saturday was with a filly called Satans Quick Chick in a Grade 2 race nearly 12 years ago. Dawson, a half-hour or so after the Derby, rhetorically asked a question to anyone within earshot.

“What planet is this?” Dawson said.

Indeed, it’s a whole new world that he’s part of now. And a 3-year-old colt that was much closer to last place than first for most of the race Saturday made it all happen.

HOW DID HE EVEN GET IN?

Good luck for him, bad luck for another. The Kentucky Derby can’t have more than 20 horses in the field. Rich Strike was 21st on the list. If one of the 20 horses that qualified didn’t scratch from the race before 9 a.m. Friday, Rich Strike’s Derby plan would have ended.

At 8:45 a.m. Friday, the call came: No scratches. Reed texted his father: “Didn’t happen.” The security guard working the barn and protecting Rich Strike was sent home. Plans were being made to run Rich Strike in a race this week in New York instead.

Around that time, the connections for Ethereal Road — trained by D. Wayne Lukas — told Derby officials that they were pulling out of the race. Reed got another call at 8:55 telling him not to move the horse, then another call a minute or two later with the official word.

They were in.

“What just happened?” Reed asked.

Turns out, history was starting to happen.

HOW DID HE WIN?

Think of the horses like race cars. There’s a finite amount of fuel in the tank. The faster you burn the fuel, the quicker the tank empties. And that’s exactly what happened in the Kentucky Derby.

Summer Is Tomorrow was the leader after a quarter-mile, or two furlongs. He covered that distance in 21.78 seconds — the fastest time in Kentucky Derby history. No horse can sustain that pace for 1 1/4 miles. And Summer Is Tomorrow wound up finishing last in the 20-horse field, 64 1/2 lengths behind Rich Strike.

It wasn’t just Summer Is Tomorrow. Many horses went out on a blistering pace, because so many trainers and jockeys had decided their best move was to get close to the lead for the opening portions of the race.

The biggest indicator that this was going to be a wild finish probably came when track announcer Larry Collmus briefly stopped his rundown of which horse was where in the field at the half-mile mark. “The opening half-mile was — WHOA! — blazing fast, 45.36 seconds,” Collmus said.

Those fuel tanks were emptying far faster than anticipated.

At that half-mile mark, Rich Strike was ahead of only two horses. He was sitting in 18th place.

HOW DID RICH STRIKE PASS SO MANY HORSES?

Two answers: He ran by some, and some, as they say in racing, stopped running.

Technically, that last part isn’t true. All 20 horses were “running” when they crossed the finish line. Nobody “stopped.” But some simply ran out of gas, meaning their all-out sprints had become little more than a gallop or a jog.

Rich Strike had tons of fuel left. He also had one other major advantage: He was near the rail.

It’s simple math: The closer one is to the rail, the shorter of a distance one has to run. Most of the contending horses as the leaders turned into the stretch and headed home were fanned out wide across the track, moves that made their trips a bit longer.

This is where Leon had a huge decision to make. He had to get around Messier, one of the early leaders who was fading fast. Leon decided to veer slightly to his right and get around Messier, then dove back down toward the rail to finish Rich Strike’s run. It was almost as if nobody saw him coming.

They saw him at the end. That’s all that mattered.

HOW DID HANDICAPPERS GET THIS SO WRONG?

If we knew that, everyone would have cashed their Derby tickets. Rich Strike had just one win coming into the race (though, in fairness, it was by 17 1/4 lengths, which is impressive regardless of the level of competition).

He’s a closer. He hadn’t won any of his last five races but made late moves in all of them, going from sixth to third, seventh to fifth, eighth to third, 11th to fourth and 11th to third. Passing horses down the stretch is apparently his favorite pastime. Handicappers definitely missed that.

But reputations also matter. Frankly, not many horseplayers knew who Leon was, or who Reed was, before Saturday.

They do now.

“It’s a horse race, and anybody can win,” Reed said. “And the toteboard doesn’t mean a thing.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

The Preakness is May 21 at Pimlico, and it would seem like Rich Strike will head there to see if he can move one win away from grabbing the most improbable Triple Crown ever.

“That’s probably the plan,” Reed said Sunday. “I’m not going to do a whole lot with him and I don’t like to run back quick. You get one like this in a lifetime and you have to protect him.”

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