Las Notis is a daily news column that gets you up to speed on the political, media + other going ons in Latin America and the diaspora—all in one quick digest.
Here’s your glimpse at what’s going on today:
- Congress is back in session after a summer recess, but they don’t appear closer to have figured out a coronavirus stimulus package and face the threat of a government shutdown that could worsen economic conditions. [NYT]
- The Commission on Presidential Debates announced the moderators for this year’s debates and, for another year in its history, none of the moderators are Latino. The moderators include Chris Wallace from Fox News, Steve Scully from C-SPAN, Kristen Welker from NBC News, and Susan Page from USA Today. [The Hill]
- The unemployment rate among Latinos saw a slight decrease in the U.S., moving from 12.9% in July to 10.5% in August. Still, according to UnidosUS, it remains more than two times higher than the 4% rate that had been recorded among Latinos before the pandemic. [NBC Latino]
- The United Nations has called for an investigation after two girls, later identified as Argentine nationals who were both 11 years old, were killed in a raid by Paraguayan security forces on a rebel camp. The Paraguayan government had said they were members of the Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP) rebel group but its foreign minister has since expressed “deep regret” about the deaths. [BBC]
- After taking one of the hardest coronavirus hits in Latin America, Ecuador is now facing some of the region’s highest unemployment rates. Approximately 85% of Ecuadorians are out of a job, or working precarious jobs that could be lost. [Al Jazeera]
- In an interview with NBC’s local Miami station on Sunday, Joe Biden charged the Trump administration for its “abject failure” on foreign policies in Venezuela and in Cuba. He said if he were president, he would extend Temporary Protected Status to Venezuelans—something the Trump administration has not done—and return to Obama-era engagement with Cuba. [NBC Latino]
- Data compiled by the Color of Coronavirus project and reported by the Guardian shows that both total numbers of deaths and per capita death rates have increased dramatically in August for Black and Latinos in the U.S. The death rate for Black Americans soared from 80 to 88 per 100,000 population and 46 to 54 per 100,000 for Latinos. By contrast, white Americans saw only an increase of from 36 to 40 per 100,000 people.
