World | Americas

Peru’s national court sentenced former President Alejandro Toledo to more than 20 years for accepting $35 million in bribes from a Brazilian construction company. He will spend it at a prison outside Lima built specifically for former Peruvian presidents.

“We haven’t had electricity for three nights,” said one Cuban protestor, amid widespread blackouts. Authorities said the outage stemmed from increased demand but residents say this is just the latest issue in a series of problems with electricity.

The breakdown in India-Canada ties could force western allies into a difficult balancing act in Asia. 

Canada expelled India’s top diplomat and five others over the assassination of a Sikh activist as the latest salvo in an escalating conflict since the 2023 crime. India adamantly denies it was involved, and said it will expel six Canadian diplomats.

In Argentina, decades of well-documented crimes and court hearings are being questioned by the nation’s new populist, libertarian leadership.

Many Latin American countries have reached gender parity in politics, but Brazil still lags far behind.

Claudia Sheinbaum will become the first female president of Mexico when she takes her oath of office on Oct. 1. She promises to continue the social policies and constitutional reforms of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, but faces many crises.

Brazil’s mega dams rank among the most powerful in the world, but droughts driven by climate change have decreased the dams’ output to as low as 3% of their potential. Hydropower accounts for around half the energy Brazilians use. 

Protests usually express opposition. But in Mexico, where parents of disappeared students have marched for 10 years, grief is stronger  than dissent.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who leaves office Sept. 30, is admired for his social programs and breaking down barriers between government and voters. However, he also attacked media, granted military more power, and eliminated regulatory agencies.