It’s another EmMajority Report Thursday. She speaks with Marco Fonseca, instructor in Latin American and International Studies at the York University’s Glendon campus, to discuss the circumstances surrounding new Guatemalan president Arévalo’s swearing-in. Then, she speaks with Minneapolis City Councilmember Robin Wonsley, to discuss her upcoming goals for her 2nd term in office and her support of a ceasefire resolution that’s in front of the council. First, Emma runs through updates on the US striking Yemen for the fourth time, Pakistan’s military response to Iran, Israel’s continuing devastation of Gaza, the politics of the US Senate, Hakeem Jeffries’ defense of Summer Lee, and SCOTUS’ challenge of the Chevron Doctrine, before watching Anthony Blinken ponder the passive tragedy of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Marco Fonseca then dives right into Bernardo Arévalo de Leon finally assuming the office of the Guatemalan presidency, first walking through his role in Semilla – a party born out of Guatemala’s 2015 anti-corruption protests – and as the son of Juan Jose Arévalo – Guatemala’s first democratically elected president and social and labor icon. Professor Fonseca then steps back to look at the long period of corrupt right-wing rule that proceeded the election of Bernardo Arévalo, beginning in the early 1990s under President Álvaro Arzú with the rise of the “Pact of the Corrupt” in Congress establishing the dominance of the militant neoliberal political class, moving through the 2014-15 revelations by CICIG about the deep corruption in the government and the following backlash that birthed Semilla, and wrapping up the story with the regressive Presidency of Jimmy Morales and Alejandro Giammettei’s failures during COVID. After briefly running through Bernardo Arévalo’s incredible candidacy, Marco gets into the massive political project from the establishment to stop him from assuming office, beginning in September of 2023 with the Public Ministry pushing an attempt to undermine the election authorities and annul the results, and continuing until a surprising move by the US to speak out against the overwhelming corruption in Guatemalan politics. Wrapping up, Fonseca tackles the ultimate swearing-in of Arévalo and the central role of indigenous organizers in making that happen. Robin Wonsley, Minneapolis City Councilmember, then jumps right into her political and organizing background, from the inspiration found in the material conditions of Minneapolis, through the Occupy and BLM movements, and culminating in the George Floyd protests in 2020, the year before her election. Expanding on this, she discusses the importance of political representation that fights for and with community organizers, particularly when it comes to combating political disaffection in a city dominated by a neoliberal establishment. Wrapping up, Councilmember Wonsley walks through the biggest fights she’s had in her first term in the council, from labor policy supporting ride-share drivers to climate change policy and rent control, as she runs for reelection.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton and Matt Binder as they dive deep into an Israeli Spokesperson’s appearance on Channel 4 news, and the insistence of the Pro-Israeli establishment on refusing to acknowledge look at context that isn’t “October 7th” or the Holocaust, even when the topic is decades-long apartheid rule and an ongoing genocide. Flower Bro from San Fransisco calls in to chat third-party voting, the MR Crew admires the merchandising of the Trump Fan Art community, and Ron DeSantis continues to ride the anti-woke ripple, plus, your calls and IMs!

Follow Marco on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/MarcoVFonseca

Follow CM Wonsley on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/robin4mpls?lang=en

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