*Venezuela: Supreme Court upholds constitutionality of state of economic emergency
*United States intensifies aggression against Yemen
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*United States intensifies aggression against Yemen
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to From the South. I'm Alejandra Garcia from Telesur Studios in
00:12Havana, Cuba. We begin with the news.
00:29In Ecuador, the 2025 presidential runoff has begun. With an inaugural ceremony led by the
00:35National Electoral Council, over 13.7 million Ecuadorians are heading to voting centers to
00:40exercise the right to vote. Incumbent president Daniel Novoa and opposition candidate Luisa
00:46Gonzalez are contesting the presidency of Ecuador following a first round in which they
00:51got almost a tie. This election day in Ecuador is taking place within the framework of a state
00:56of exemption declared by the current administration due to the increase of violence in several
01:01provinces of the country.
01:08In this context, we go live with our colleague Jorge Gestoso to bring us what we can expect
01:14in Ecuador's presidential runoff. Hi, Gestoso. What can you share with us at this hour?
01:18Alejandra, the polls open at seven as expected and there are 13,700,000 Ecuadorians that are
01:37asked to vote. The vote here is mandatory. The two candidates, the presidential candidate, Daniel
01:45Novoa, has already voted in the morning. He did it here in Quito, accompanied with his two
01:52girls. And the presidential candidate, Luisa, did so in her native man of the province. Luisa Gonzalez
02:04says before the opening of the polls that there were certain irregularities that she expressed their
02:12concern. Also, it has been very clear the concern of the largest organization of indigenous people,
02:19the country, the country. And the people who have told the CONAE that the decree of state of emergency in seven
02:26provinces of the country, including here, Quito, under the excuse, quote-unquote excuse, of internal
02:33commotion. It was just a strategy because according to the CONAE there's not such thing as especially a new and improved
02:43violence. It's just business as usual. So therefore they say that that was done in order as a strategy, in order to deter
02:53the possibility that people, electorals, people who were going to vote for Luisa Gonzalez, because in some of those
03:03provinces and areas where historical Luisa Gonzalez is very strong, that could be affecting their assistance to the polls.
03:13The polls are expected to close at five, according to the Electoral National Council, around 9 p.m.
03:23We could have a trend that could be, according to them, an irreversible trend, so who could be the winner.
03:31But there's a lot of question marks and there's still a lot of incredibility that this is not a fair and clear
03:41election. The opposition had already said that the National Electoral Council is an arm of the
03:50presidential party of Daniel Novoa and therefore they have question marks about the objectivity, about
03:58especially the transparency of these elections. We get back to you.
04:03Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all the first-hand information. We will keep in contact for sure
04:11throughout the day. And after this contact with our colleague, let's speak now to Dr. Yvonne Tellez,
04:17international law expert. Hi, Yvonne. Thank you so much for your time hearing from the South.
04:22Thank you, Alejandra, for the invitation.
04:25Yvonne, earlier today, leftist candidate Luisa Gonzalez made a call to defend democracy amid the
04:32country's application of a new state of emergency, imposing that no mobilizations will be allowed and
04:37also is limiting the presence of international observers in the country. What is at stake today in
04:43terms of security and democracy? I think we are facing big, big challenges regarding democracy
04:54because as Dr. Jorge Gestoso announced, this state of exception and this kind of environment that has
05:04been surrounding these polls has been marked by some big question marks regarding how the electoral
05:12council is working, how the government is council and how the running candidate and president is
05:19working and in a way arranging all the forces, all the institutional forces around a poll that has
05:31a big popularity towards Luisa Gonzalez. But it seems like the institution itself, and I'm talking about
05:40the state has been moving towards some strategies that tend to limit, in a way, how the natural
05:50exercise of the election is supposed to work. So I think we are facing, I don't know if we can say so in that
06:03a strong sense, but it seems that the transparency of the polls, it's a stake. I mean, we can we can pose some
06:12questions because some unusual measures regarding the institutions such as the state of exception declared
06:20yesterday, for example, I mean, they pose like big challenges regarding how people are going to vote,
06:30the fact that the fact that, for example, we cannot take our phones with us and the pictures of the boat and
06:37some natural things that can happen with election mark some kind of tendency towards like trying to make of,
06:47kind of, I don't know, like to restrain some usual and natural liberties regarding this kind of exercise, democratic exercise.
06:58But, and also what we are facing also is, well, I don't know, a big, big chance of a big change regarding the way or the
07:13or the, or the path that the country is going to follow. And I think that is what poses big,
07:20uh, in a way scares a little bit the, the system in charge and under current government regarding the big
07:28changes that can and could happen, uh, within this, this day. Regarding these big changes you mentioned,
07:36if elected Luisa Gonzalez would become the first woman to be, to become president of Ecuador's history.
07:42What would this mean for the country's progressive social and also leftist forces?
07:48Well, uh, definitely that will be something that we have to, to highlight because not only she will be the
07:56first woman in power, but also it, it, it, it, um, it means that we will go back from this, uh, I don't know,
08:07this, this, this, this final years that we have been following, I'm talking about Ecuador, we have been
08:12following the, the right path, uh, and the right wing, uh, kind of government. We have been, uh, facing big,
08:20big, big restrictions and big, um, in a way going back towards those social advancements that we have
08:29in the, in the, in the previous, uh, Rafael Correa's government. So I think that that might, um, mean
08:38that we go back to, uh, another view of state, hopefully a new, a renewed social view of the state,
08:48uh, also, um, um, a different path regarding how, uh, social issues could come to the front
08:59in this case. And that will mean definitely a big, big, uh, step, I think, towards development
09:07and the, the path that we have been, um, in a way losing in this, uh, previous years, because this state
09:16has been, uh, and I'm talking about Ecuador, we have been, um, not following what even what is, uh,
09:26is stated in the constitution. And that means that everything that has to do with the social,
09:32the economic sphere of the state has been abandoned. And that will be one of the structural reasons
09:39where we are facing so much problems and structural problems, even regarding, for example, security.
09:46So I, I think that that will be, um, a definite change. And hopefully we, we could see that.
09:53I don't know, um, if, if, if, uh, things turned in a favorable way, uh, as, as we are expecting.
10:01Thank you very much for your time hearing from the south.
10:04Thank you very much, Alejandra, for your invitation.
10:09We were speaking to Dr. Yvonne Tellez, international law expert, in the context of the runoff elections
10:15that are taking place in the country. In this context, let's also share some information regarding
10:20the candidates. Luisa Gonzalez is a 47-year-old lawyer and former assemblywoman who is seeking
10:26the presidency of Ecuador in the elections to be held this April 13th, supported by polls that place
10:32her as one of the electorate's favorites. Let's see more. Luisa Gonzalez is a lawyer and holds two
10:38master's degrees in senior management from the Institute of High National Studies and in
10:43International Economics from the Complutense University of Madrid. As a member of the Citizens
10:48Revolution Movement, she participated in the early elections of 2023. Her government plan focuses on
10:55five axes, justice for good living, security and order, economic well-being with equal opportunities,
11:01the fight against corruption, ecological justice and energy transition for a clean and sustainable
11:07future. She has expressed her commitment to the real needs of the people to generate decent employment,
11:12to warrant the access to health education, health scholarships and credits to activate youth
11:18entrepreneurship. If she wins the elections, Gonzalez would become the first woman to become
11:24president of Ecuador presenting progressive, social and leftist forces.
11:33On the other hand, Daniel Novoa is betting that his promises to push forward the anti-crime
11:38initiatives began during his first administration and to address energy shortages will ensure his
11:44re-election. Daniel Novoa, as seen current president of Ecuador, is the son of multimillionaire
11:49Alvaro Novoa Pontón. As president, he has used presidential decrees to militarize the streets and to
11:56facilitate the security of businessmen in the ports. Nevertheless, his administration has been marked
12:03by a multidimensional crisis with economic recession, high levels of insecurity, energy and political
12:10deficit. He opts for re-election, violating constitutional status and failing to comply with the electoral
12:17regulations to participate in these elections. In a desperate measure, Novoa militarized the northern
12:22and southern borders in the middle of the electoral campaign under the pretext of combating armed groups.
12:33Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez exercised a right to vote in the parish of Canuto
12:39Manabi. The presidential candidate for the Citizens' Revolution Party pointed out that she will pay
12:44attention together with the other political parties at the polling centers to warranty that everything
12:51goes smoothly. However, Gonzalez denounced certain irregularities and incidents in the electoral operation
12:57and noted that she will take heed to ensure that democracy is warranted in the country. Meanwhile,
13:03she called on the public forces, the national police and the armed forces not to intervene either in
13:08favor or against any political party, but to warranty the security of the citizens.
13:21We are going to be expectant of how the elections develop today, but also ready to defend democracy.
13:30This state of exception violates a mandate of the constitutional court and violates our rights.
13:36They decree a state of exception while the political parties are united in the computation centers receiving
13:41the minutes. And they say that no mobilization is allowed.
13:48So we will be waiting for democracy to be guaranteed.
13:53And I call upon the public forces, the national police and the armed forces not to intervene for
13:59or against, but to guarantee democracy properly. Not to intervene in the counting of votes at the polls,
14:06but to guarantee the security of the Ecuadorian people, that is all.
14:10And now we have a short break coming up. But first, remember, you can join us on TikTok at
14:18Telesur English, where you'll find news in different formats, news updates, and more. We'll be right back.
14:23Stay with us.
14:41Welcome back to From the South. The Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice, DSJ,
14:46RATIFI the Constitutionality of Decree No. 5118, by means of which President Nicolás Maduro declared
14:53a state of economic emergency throughout the national territory. This decision is based on
14:58Article 339 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which allows the executive
15:05to take exceptional measures in the face of extraordinary circumstances that seriously
15:10affect the economic or social life of the country, such as the economic challenges
15:14derived from international sanctions and tariffs imposed by the United States. The ratification
15:20by the TSJ empowers the Venezuelan government to advance in policies aimed at protecting the
15:25fundamental rights of citizens and promoting collective welfare.
15:37U.S. citizens panic by following new tariff measures imposed by Donald Trump's administration.
15:43President Trump detailed that the acquisition of products not produced in the country will have
15:48a 23 percent increase, especially vegetables, coffee and other food items. In this sense,
15:54experts affirmed that some consumers could be buying and stop peeling articles due to uncertainty
16:01of the tariff impact in the country. These measures applied by the United States against
16:06most of the world are causing fear among the U.S. population due to a possible wave of price increases.
16:13Tens of thousands of people from Serbia, Bosnia and Kosovo mobilized for three consecutive days
16:23in support of the Serbian President Aleksandr Busiek. During the first two days of mobilizations in Belgrade,
16:29demonstrators supported the President under the slogan, Do not surrender Serbia, organized in response to attempts to destabilize the country and in rejection of foreign interference.
16:39Meanwhile, President Bush urged the institutions to restore peace and order in the country. He also asked to
16:47legally hold accountable all those involved in acts of vandalism and attacks against citizens during the riots
16:53that were promoted by opposition sectors in the last few months.
16:57Israeli forces shelled at Al-Ali Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday, leaving the facility entirely out of service.
17:11According to local media, two missiles launched by Israeli aircraft hit the hospital's main building, causing massive destruction and setting fires in critical departments of the health center, including the emergency room, laboratory and pharmacy.
17:25The forced evacuation left many patients without access to emergency medical care.
17:32Al-Ali Baptist Hospital served more than one million residents in Gaza City and the northern district of Gaza.
17:39Its destruction represents a major blow to Gaza's already collapsing healthcare system, which has been under Israeli siege since the start of Israel's genocidal operation.
17:47Since October 2023, at least 34 hospitals in Gaza have been destroyed and forced to close in addition to dozens of health centers and clinics.
18:12The United States intensifies aggressions against Yemen with new bombings against the technical institute in the province of Al-Bayda in the southwest of the country.
18:26This is aimed at dissuading Sana'a from supporting Palestine.
18:30The educational establishment was the target of at least five airstrikes in a new escalation of violence against the country.
18:36However, humanitarian organizations have repeatedly warned that these attacks usually leave civilians victims and destroy vital infrastructure in a country already devastated by a decade of war and blockade.
18:49Meanwhile, the Ansarola movement has reiterated its right to defend itself against the continuous aggressions, demanding the immediate cessation of foreign interference in the internal affairs of the country.
19:01Likewise, it reaffirms its support to the Palestinian people and rejects the genocidal actions of Israel.
19:11And like this, we have come to the end of this news brief, but you can find this and many other stories on our website at www.telesuryenglish.net and join us on social media.
19:20We are on Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and TikTok as well.
19:24My name is Alejandra Garcia. Thank you for watching.