Peso Tumbles Further After Leftist President-Elect Sheinbaum Confirms Drastic Reform

The Mexican Peso has continued falling against the dollar on news that the country's leftist President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has committed to pushing through deeply controversial reforms of the judiciary widely seen as negative for Mexico's efforts to create an attractive and prosperous business climate.

In a Monday press conference she previewed plans to put her cabinet in place, after which she confirmed that the "constitutional reform of the judiciary would be among the first reforms to be approved." A fundamental change is that that federal judges will get elected by popular vote, instead of appointment.

The reform is not merely a future election plan when judge's terms are up, but would replace an appointed Supreme Court with popularly elected judges, and would apply to some lower courts.

The reforms require amendments to the constitution, something easily attainable for Sheinbaum's Morena party given it holds a supermajority in both houses of Mexico's Congress.

As Sheinbaum spoke Monday, the peso tumbled by nearly 2% to around 18.55 per US dollar in international trading, reaching a 14-month low, extending the ongoing decline since her June 3rd election victory. The peso has depreciated more than 9% since election day.

Sheinbaum also announced that the Biden White House has sent a delegation to welcome her into the country's top office, and an initial meeting will be held Wednesday.

But current President Andrés Manuel López Obrador doesn't actually step down until Oct. 1, and with Morena's supermajority in Congress, López Obrador might fast-track the judicial reform, a further big unknown making investors nervous.

Bloomberg writes "MXN is down 1% and again among the worst performing major currencies in the word Tuesday, adding to recent losses that made it the second quarter’s biggest decliner."

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/mexican-peso-tumbles-further-after-leftist-president-elect-sheinbaum-confirms-drastic

Hezbollah Tries To Down Israeli Fighter Jets With Anti-Aircraft Missiles In First

There's been another alarming "first" in the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict which has been raging since Oct.7 in parallel with the Gaza war involving Hamas. Israeli media has revealed that a cell of Hezbollah operatives attempted to down an Israeli fighter jet operating over the region.

On Sunday the Israeli jet was flying over southern Lebanon when the group launched anti-aircraft missiles at it. The jet escaped unscathed but the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the incident as a significant development for which it immediately retaliated.

Times of Israel writes, citing an IDF statement, that "it appeared to be the first use of anti-aircraft missiles in Lebanon against Israeli jets since war broke out eight months ago, and came after several weeks that have seen Hezbollah slowly ratchet up the scale, intensity and reach of hostilities."

The IDF indicated that soon on the heels of the anti-aircraft missile attack, a military drone "struck and killed the cell" located not far from the coastal city of Tyre.

While this appears the first attempt by Hezbollah to take out a piloted warplane, the Lebanese paramilitary group backed by Iran has continued having some success against advanced Israeli drones. Long War Journal observes that:

Hezbollah is also increasing its use of surface-to-air missiles. On June 10, the group downed an Israeli Hermes 900 drone. This is at least the third Hermes 900 that has been shot down. Another Hermes 900 was downed on June 1. A Hermes 450 was shot down in April and another in February. Hezbollah appears to be having increased success against large- and medium-sized Israeli drones.

Many of these Hermes drone downings having been captured on video, and subsequently celebrated by Hezbollah and its supporters…

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/hezbollah-tries-down-israeli-fighter-jets-anti-aircraft-missiles-first

Four campaign workers in Connecticut charged with mishandling absentee ballots

Prosecutors claimed that some of the accused had misled voters about eligibility requirements for absentee ballots, violated rules for handling absentee ballot applications and the ballots themselves, were improperly present when the ballots were filled out, and some allegedly even told the voters who to vote for.

Four campaign workers in Connecticut on Tuesday were charged with mishandling absentee ballots in a 2019 Democratic mayoral primary, including one of the city's council members, and a Democratic Party official.

The four campaign workers, who took part in handling absentee ballots during the election in Bridgeport, Connecticut, were each charged with unlawful possession of absentee ballots, along with various other election law violations. The 2019 primary saw incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim, beat state Sen. Marilyn Moore by just 270 votes, according to the Associated Press.

Among those charged are Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee Vice Chairperson Wanda Geter-Pataky, City Council Member Alfredo Castillo, and campaign workers Nilsa Heredia and Josephine Edmonds.

The 2019 election scandal predated an even more controversial election, which occurred in the city last year. The 2023 scandal resulted in a judge ordering a redo of the mayoral election, which Ganim won the primary in January, and the general election in February.

“I hope these prosecutions will send a message that deters tampering with election results in the future in Connecticut,” Chief State’s Attorney Patrick Griffin wrote in a written statement.

Prosecutors claimed that some of the accused had misled voters about eligibility requirements for absentee ballots, violated rules for handling absentee ballot applications and the ballots themselves, were improperly present when the ballots were filled out, and some allegedly even told the voters who to vote for. It is not clear who is accused of which crimes.

Ganim praised the arrests on Tuesday, claiming that "any irregularity is unacceptable." He has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing among his own campaign in both elections.

“Whether it’s people accused from the Moore campaign or my campaign – any irregularity is unacceptable,” Ganim said in a statement. “We all agree that the integrity of the voting process is vital to our democracy.”

Moore said she was disappointed that someone on her staff had been involved in the scandal, and confirmed Edmonds was on her payroll in 2019.

“I ran on integrity and I also ran on integrity for my Senate campaign. That’s what I tried to foster, integrity in all campaigns,” Moore told the AP. “That I had a person doing the opposite bothers me, especially knowing who I am and knowing that I don’t cut corners on anything.”

https://justthenews.com/nation/states/four-campaign-workers-connecticut-are-charged-mishandling-absentee-ballots

Israel lobby funded a quarter of British MPS

"It’s clear that much of the British political elite remains in bed with the Zionist movement even as Israel perpetrates an ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza."

The total value of the donations from pro-Israel groups, individuals, and Israeli state institutions amounts to over one million pounds.

Between them, the politicians made over 240 paid-for trips to Israel, at a cost of over half a million pounds.

Some of those trips involved visits to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and a small number were co-sponsored by groups which do not form part of the Israel lobby.

Remarkably, fifteen MPs have accepted funding to travel to Israel amid the Gaza genocide.

Huda Ammori, the co-founder of the direct action network Palestine Action, told Declassified: “Accepting funding from a lobby group on behalf of the perpetrators of a genocide should immediately bar anyone from standing as an MP.

“To see how politicians continue to travel to Israel and engage with the genocide lobby explains why our government continues to defy international law by facilitating Israel’s war crimes”.

The full list of MPs can be accessed at the foot of this article. Around 47 of them are not standing for re-election.

No MPs from the Scottish National Party, Sinn Fein, Plaid Cymru, SDLP, Alba, Greens, Alliance or Workers Party received hospitality or funding from the lobby.

https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/2024/06/israel-lobby-funded-a-quarter-of-british-mps/