Information

In many authoritarian governments around the world, appealing to a glorious past of the collective imagination is a common political tool. We see it in Mongolia, with the constant memory of the figure of Genghis Khan1, or in the nostalgic memories of the British imperial past by the conservative politicians of that country2. In few places, however, does it take on the appearance of such a warmongering political ideology as with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Neo-Ottomanism: the dream of … Read more

For three weeks tens of thousands of farmers have been blocking the entrances to the city of New Delhi in protest at the new reform of the agricultural markets promoted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi1. At the same time the mobilizations spread throughout the country. While the prime minister reasoned that the reform will make the agrarian sector richer, the labor unions argue that the reforms will make them vulnerable to exploitation by large corporations and erode their negotiation power. … Read more

Last Tuesday, December 8, water began to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The futures contracts linked to the spot price (cash price) of water have begun to be the result of speculation in the Wall Street market1. Thereby, it will be traded in a similar way to gold and oil. At the moment, this stock index, NQH20, only trades the water of five areas of California2. Although there are already other antecedents of water rights speculation3, the fact … Read more

On September 8, the German government commissioner for Africa, Günter Nooke, announced in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung his country’s intention to source “green” hydrogen from the Democratic Republic of the Congo1. For this, a new large dam on the Congo River, the Inga 3, would have to be built. In its construction there are Chinese and European interests2,3. The Congo is a country that suffered harsh colonization4, which continues to be the victim of extensive plunder by foreign nations and … Read more

The Organic Law of Data Protection and Digital Rights (LOPD)1, approved on last November 21st, adapts to spanish law the regulations of the General Regulation of Data Protection of the European Parliament2, dealing with issues related to internet privacy. Thanks to the title X of this law Spain will become pioneer in recognition of many digital rights, although the majority are amplifications of rights which are already recognized in other laws or applications of basic worldwide digital rights. Nevertheless it … Read more

The National Security Council, in its meeting on October 6, 2020, approved the Procedure for action against disinformation, published on November 5 in BOE-A-2020-136631. Given that the Procedure was questioned from the first moment, the Presidency of the Government published a clarifying press release2, although it is not binding. This Procedure does not have the force of law, and is only an update of another one already in force. It links with two basic documents of the European Commission: the … Read more

The approval of the 2021 budget in Guatemala, at 5:30 in the morning of Wednesday, November 18, caused a massive protest in the country, with more than 10,000 protesters. The protest, initially peaceful, ended with fires in the Parliament building, in addition to 37 detainees and 22 people injured1. These mobilizations take place just five years after the massive demonstrations that removed then-President Otto Pérez Molina2 from power, and are a sample of what happens when austericidal recipes are followed … Read more

On November 10, the President of the Peruvian State, Martín Vizcarra, resigned after the Congress declared him “permanently morally incapacitated”1. Instead, Manuel Merino de Lama2 took office, generating the largest protests of the last 20 years in a country3 fed up with the maneuvers of the political class4. After only 5 days in office, forced by social protests, Merino resigned5. Finally, the politician of the Purple Party, Franciso Sagasti6, assumed the Headquarters of the State. The prime minister will be … Read more

Ethiopia is going through a complex political situation with external conflicts and strong internal racial tensions. The rise to power of Abiy Ahmed Ali1, leader of the Prosperity Party, seemed to initiate a democratic and peace process throughout the country, with the release of prisoners and the legalization of political groups2. However, two years later, this process could not be further from its objectives. The country has more than 80 different ethnic groups and religions, with great conflicts among them. … Read more

On November 22, an atypical G20 Summit ended, held virtually with the presidency of Saudi Arabia. Once again, it brought together the leaders of the main economic powers in the world and the European Union, as well as 14 international organizations. The summit ended without major progress beyond the commitment to fund vaccination against COVID19 of impoverished countries1. Despite the importance acquired in recent years by the G20 as a deliberative space in international politics and economics2, this year the … Read more