14/04/2025
FTS 12.30
*Trial opens for ousted South Korean pres. Yoon
*Israeli bombings leave 150 displaced families without shelter in Khan Yunis
FTS 12.30
*Trial opens for ousted South Korean pres. Yoon
*Israeli bombings leave 150 displaced families without shelter in Khan Yunis
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NewsTranscript
00:00In Ecuador, Citizens Revolution candidate Luisa Gonzalez does not recognize the results of the 2025 presidential run-up amid voting irregularities.
00:20In South Korea, the criminal trial for insurrection of former President Joon Sook Jeol began on Monday with leaders denying all charges.
00:40Israeli forces shield dozens of tents in Han Joonis following a warning to evacuate the area, leaving 150 displaced families without shelter.
00:50Hello, welcome to From the South. I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Eterzu Studios in Caracas, Venezuela. We begin with the news. Stay with us.
01:05In Ecuador, the candidate for the Citizens Revolution, Luisa Gonzalez did not recognize the results of the 2025 presidential run-up that gave the victory to current President Daniel Taboa.
01:12In Ecuador, the candidate for the Citizens Revolution, Luisa Gonzalez did not recognize the results of the 2025 presidential run-up that gave the victory to current President Daniel Taboa.
01:27This way, Gonzalez emphasized that her party's Citizens Revolution has always recognized the electoral results, except Sundays.
01:34Gonzalez denounced that previous opinion polls and surveys, including those of the national government, did not present a difference as alarming as the one of the votes seemingly counted.
01:45With many irregularities being denounced by voters and organizations, Gonzalez demanded that the votes be recounted with the due transparency.
01:52I want to be very clear and categorical.
01:59The Citizens Revolution has always recognized a defeat in the last elections when the polls and statistics have shown it.
02:07Today we do not recognize the results.
02:28Today we do not recognize the result.
02:49I am going to be very clear, in the name of the men, women, children, young people, whom I represent.
02:55represent, whom all of us who are here represent, in the name of the people we represent, we
03:03do not recognize the results presented by the National Electoral Council.
03:12After the denunciation of electoral fraud by the Citizens Revolution candidate,
03:16Luisa Gonzalez, the National Electoral Council of Ecuador proclaimed Daniel Novo as the
03:20re-elected President of the country, after a process marked by irregularities, with the
03:25government of Daniel Novo and the National Electoral Council interference in the electoral
03:28exercise.
03:30In addition, members of the Citizens' Revolution denounced that the electoral body was
03:33upload in the minutes without signing them, which is a violation of the electoral laws
03:38of the country.
03:39An Ecuador's political movement, Citizens' Revolution, denounces the electoral fraud of
03:52Sunday's presidential runoff election through a series of irregularities that question the
03:56veracity of the results.
03:58Through a communique, Citizens' Revolution highlighted the following manipulations of the official
04:02minutes.
04:04official minutes without signatures or legal validity exclusively certified results in
04:08favour of Daniel Novo violating the basic norms of electoral transparency.
04:14The statement adds anticipated declarations by the National Electoral Council to influence
04:19public perception.
04:20The President of the National Electoral Council released preliminary results in favour of Novo
04:25before the data was officially confirmed and manipulating citizens' perception.
04:30The document also states military intimidation and obstruction of election observers and excessive
04:36military presence deliberately impeded the work of independent observers and pollsters,
04:41severely limiting the transparency of the electoral process.
04:44To this also comes CELAC, who also posted the following.
04:47The Collective of CELAC Socios states what has happened in this country is not only a case
04:52of administrative irregularities, it is a systematic set-up aimed at imposing by force an authoritarian
04:58project led by Daniel Novo.
05:00The document denounces last-minute alterations in voting places, arbitrary use of state resources
05:06for clientelist purposes, deliberate exclusion of international observers and the unacceptable
05:12suspension of the vote of thousands of Ecuadorians abroad.
05:16The communique states, in view of this scenario, we make an urgent call for organization, active
05:21resistance and popular mobilization.
05:23This on the streets, in the neighbourhoods, in the communities and in every corner of struggle,
05:28the defense of democracy must be upheld.
05:40Also in this context, on Monday, former Bolivian President Evo Morales took to his social platforms
05:44to show solidarity with Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa González.
05:48In his post, Morales stated,
05:50We stand in solidarity and support.
05:52Our colleague Luisa González, victim of electoral fraud in Ecuador, we demand that international
05:58observers do their job and prevent this outrage against Ecuadorian democracy, that the people
06:03are not robbed of their right to choose cleanly who will preside over them.
06:07Let there be no repetition of what happened in the coup d'etat in Bolivia in 2019, when
06:12the Organization of American States joined those who attacked the sacred vote of the people.
06:19We are now going live to Ecuador with a special envoy, Jorge Gestoso, to learn everything that is happening
06:36a day after the results were known in Ecuador's presidential runoff.
06:40Hello, Gestoso. Welcome to From the South. What can you tell us of this Monday?
06:44Well, that, as you was mentioning, Luisa González does not recognize the results of the runoff,
06:54as it does the same situation, his political party, the Revolución Ciudadana.
07:01And she called, and these are her words, that the country has witnessed the worst and most grotesque
07:10electoral fraud in its history and added, reject, I reject the official count and I demand a full recount.
07:22Reactions that we have seen in terms of the political arena, the CELAC in English is a community of Latin
07:31American American and Caribbean states, supported the denunciation of Luisa González. Another organization,
07:39we're talking about the ALBA organization in English, it's the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our
07:47Americans, also denounced the fraud that she denounced and also support her situation. Former President of
07:56Olivia Evo Morales supported Luisa González, denounced precisely the fraud. He believes that the situation
08:08is practically a carbon copy of what he has lived, a coup d'etat, mostly after the election that also he has been
08:21even persecuted and even has been tried to kill. Well, he was very, very supportive of Luisa González.
08:29And the current president of Mexico, we're talking about Claudia Sheinbaum, she said that we have to wait,
08:38we need to have more information. Here, inside the political party, the Revolución Ciudadana,
08:46there are certain members that are more inclined to accept the results and move forward, and some of them,
08:55for example, the Vice President Diego Borja, is absolutely supportive of Luisa González,
09:02and also he announced that it has been a fraud that it was a situation plagued with irregularities,
09:12and also is asking the National Electoral Council to start a full investigation.
09:19We'll get back to you now.
09:24Thank you, Jorge Gestoso. For this latest information, we're going to stay in tune
09:30in upcoming news brief to continue learning everything that is happening in Ecuador.
09:36Let's now continue with the analysis of Sunday's Electro Day in Ecuador. We are now joined by
09:41international law expert Dr. Yvonne Tellez. Welcome once again to From the South. What can you tell us?
09:50Thank you very much for the invitation. Dr. Yvonne, before going into deeper details,
09:55what are your general thoughts regarding Sunday's presidential runoff?
10:01I think that what we have faced is a very strong shift between what was expected,
10:11I mean, the results that were expected between the candidates. And I'm talking that what we were
10:20foreseeing was that even whoever won the election will do it for a very small margin. And what we saw
10:29yesterday, the first greatly from this previous idea. And I think that's the legitimate reason for
10:42candidate Gonzalez in this case to ask for this review
10:52of the polls.
10:53I understand, as Dr. Gestoso was announcing, I just heard him, some of the factions, some of the
11:04people that are within the Revolución Ciudadana movement are more keen to accept the results.
11:14Some of the others are just backing Luisa Gonzalez in this demand. I think the international
11:22regional organizations such as ALBA, such as CELAC, have made an announcement. And I think that
11:30for the sake of the health of democracy, it is a good, or at least it's a healthy move if the candidate
11:42doesn't feel well with how the polls went, how the elections went. And it's her legitimate right
11:55to ask for at least a revision, a review. It's under the rules of this game. And I think that for the
12:05sakes of democracy, if that has to be done, just to be clear about what happened yesterday and this
12:13radical shift from what was expected before the results that we achieved, well, then this has to be done.
12:25As I'm saying, not just because of, to satisfy some just personal or political parties' interests,
12:35but for the sakes of a healthy democracy, taking into account as well the difficult times that
12:44from the last eight years we have been facing regarding the institutional fractures that the
12:51state has gone through. Doctor, you were referring to the call, the demand of Luisa Gonzalez for a recount.
13:02What legal avenues exist in the country for this process, and what possible barriers
13:06might she find as she's carrying out this recourse? Of course. The Electoral Council has the obligation and
13:15has already made an announcement regarding her demands, and they have to facilitate all the measures,
13:25all the mechanisms in order for this recount to be carried out. However, there are some legal rules that
13:38that have to be followed in order for this to be carried out. That means that also there has to be an objective and neutral advisory
13:51that that is to be accompanied by the process.
13:54And I stated that yesterday, what I believe is that if Luisa Gonzalez has
14:04has made this big, let's say, demand, and she has denounced this publicly, I believe that she might have
14:16very good proof in order to carry this out, because it's such a big thing to do after the elections.
14:25Again, she has all the right to do it, but we're talking about, well, approximately a million votes
14:34of difference. So that means that we have to be talking about a million
14:40official registry of every vote in order to
14:45come to this demand. So I think that this is a very serious issue. It can be done, but under the legal requirements,
14:53that means that in this case, Revolución Ciudadana and Candidate Gonzalez has to come to the table with all the proof
15:01that supports her her demands.
15:05Doctor, what response in this context, what response has the National Electoral Council given,
15:10if it has given any, and is there a track of credibility, of lack of credibility in the process
15:15regarding everything that has happened during the campaign coming to yesterday, the electoral day?
15:20Yes, first, on the first thing, yes, the electoral
15:25The official way, but has responded as a previous answer to Luisa Gonzalez's demand,
15:38saying that yes, that it will provide all the facilities in order for this recount to be
15:47carried out. So yes, they have answered. And I think that's, I mean, under the rules of democracy,
15:54that has, that was the response that we were expecting because she has all her right to demand
16:01for this recount. However, however, responding, answering to the second part of the question,
16:09we cannot deny that the electoral council has faced some serious questions that we have posed
16:19regarding its, its distance from the current government. We have not seen the, the force that
16:30we will have expected as citizens regarding the transparency of its actions. There are some things
16:38that have not been clear. And that, in this case, I think, has to be surpassed in order for this recount
16:50to be transparent and to be reliable. And I think that demands for international observers
16:57to do, to, to accompany this, this recount. Otherwise, we could face a deepening of this, uh, polarization and
17:07this doubts and this, uh, critics that have imposed to the electoral council regarding this, the independence
17:14that it hasn't shown, uh, with the current government. Thank you, doctor. We're going to stay attentive
17:22to everything that is happening in Ecuador. Thank you for your time and for your inputs here in from the south.
17:27Thank you very much. Oh, it's always our pleasure. Let's now take our first break. We'll be right back after a short break.
17:41Welcome back. In Argentina, Santa Fe Province Governor Maximiliano Pujaro won a resounding victory in the elections for
18:00constituent convention members in Santa Fe, ensuring a clear majority. Second place went to Juan Monteverde,
18:06Candida representing Peronismo with 14.8 percent of the votes, while in third place was Nicolás
18:12Moyarás of Liberty Advances with 13.9 percent. In the next days, the assembly will be formed to obey
18:18that constitutional reform in matters of political security, municipal autonomy, and modernization
18:23of the state. In this regard, Governor Pujaro emphasized that with this reform, what is being discussed
18:28is the next 20 or 30 years of the province.
18:38U.S. President Donald Trump met with his Salvadoran counterpart, Nayib Bukele, on Monday to tackle
18:42strategic cooperation issues, namely the massive deportations of Latin American migrants.
18:47The Salvadoran head of state has been in the U.S. since past Saturday.
18:51His visit was reportedly aimed at strengthening his alliance with Trump.
18:55U.S. media asserted that Bukele would be the first Latin American president to be received
18:59at the White House for their good relations. In this context, both leaders, who were accompanied
19:04by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance discussed the return of Salvadoran
19:09migrant Kilmer Abrego Garcia, wrongly deported to a high-security prison. In this regard, Bukele
19:15stated that Abrego was a criminal in the U.S. and that he won't be freeing him.
19:27And in South Korea, the criminal trial for insurrection of former President Jun Suk-jeo began
19:32on Monday with the leader denying all charges. Precisely, the former president argued that his
19:37imposition of martial law in December last year did not amount to an insurrection but was a lawful
19:42and symbolic act. It is recalled that Jun was impeached by parliament days after he briefly
19:47declared martial law on December 3, 2024, which lasted around six hours before being overturned
19:53by the National Assembly and sparked mass protests. The impeachment was unanimously upheld by the
19:59Constitutional Court. If charged with insurrection, Jun could face life imprisonment or even a death penalty.
20:05In this context, the nation heads towards a snap presidential election on June 3.
20:26Israeli forces shell dozens of tents in Hanjunis following a warning to evacuate the area,
20:31leaving 150 displaced families without shelter. The bomb beat did not kill or injure any displaced
20:37persons, but left dozens of displaced families homeless in the Gaza Strip. The shelling also
20:42hit the Aid Distribution Center, which is affiliated with the Relief Agency for Refugees, UNWA. In this regard,
20:48the displaced persons claimed that the shelling also included humanitarian aid intended to be
20:52delivered to the refugee camp. It is important to note that in recent days, more than 150,000
20:58Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from Rafah in southern Gaza, as Israel's ground and air
21:04operations in the area have intensified.
21:11And Palestinian civil defense denounced that the Israeli occupation regime had been arbitrarily
21:15attacking the health sector in the Gaza Strip. Earlier, the Zionist forces had demanded to evacuate
21:21Seitun town, southern Gaza. Right afterwards, Israeli air strikes hit the area, namely the Al-Hali Baptist
21:27hospital, the last one able to provide medical assistance. So far, authorities reported no
21:32fatalities. In this context, the Return Health and Community Association in Gaza condemned the Israeli
21:39campaign against the Gaza's healthcare centers, and it underscored that over 60% of hospitals and
21:45primary care centers have been destroyed since October 2023.
21:55And Houthis authorities registered new U.S. airstrikes on Sanaa City, which brought about six
22:01deaths and 30 others injured. Yemeni media reported that U.S. bombings targeted a factory in the industrial
22:07Al-Zawari western zone in Banimata region. Houthis confirmed the aforesa death toll and wounded in the
22:13Sermon's factory after the three consecutive attacks. In addition to the impact of shellings,
22:18on Sunday evening, Houthis border claimed that the factory had recently resumed its operation after
22:23receiving a similar aggression in 2016 that had kept it closed for several years. Likewise,
22:28they highlighted that the U.S. offensive have claimed some hundred lives and injured 250 people,
22:34mostly women and children.
22:35Like this, we have come to the end of this news drift. You can find this and many other stories
22:42on our website at www.telesourenglish.net. So join us on social media, Facebook, X, Instagram,
22:47Telegram and TikTok. For Telesour English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos. Thanks for watching.