Our Monday Sociedad Media Now daily newsletter focuses on two stories as U.S. relations with Brazil deteriorate one month before presidential election. President Abelardo de la Espriella declares a state of emergency in Colombia as the nation’s death toll continues to rise following a 7.4-magnitude earthquake.
Miami Congressman Doctors Lula In Maduro Jumpsuit After Lula-Rubio Feud Escalates Before Brazil Elections
MIAMI — President Lula of Brazil called Marco Rubio a “frustrated Latin American” who “hates Cuba, hates Colombia, hates Brazil,” accusing him of interfering in October’s tightly contested election against Flávio Bolsonaro.
Miami Congressman Carlos Giménez fired back fiercely, calling Lula a “corrupt and criminal pig” and posting a doctored image placing him in Nicolás Maduro’s actual custody photo, captioned “What awaits him.”
With no official White House position behind the exchange, it nonetheless lays bare how personal — and how central to the election itself — the U.S.-Brazil relationship has become, just nine weeks before Brazilians vote.
Colombia’s Deadliest Earthquake Since 1979 Kills at Least 80, Three Days Into New Presidency
MANIZALES, COLOMBIA — A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake — Colombia’s strongest since 1979 — struck on Monday, August 10, killing at least 100 people and prompting the government to declare a state of national disaster, just three days into President Abelardo de la Espriella’s term.
The damage was concentrated far from the epicenter itself, hitting hardest in Pereira, Cali, and Chocó, while de la Espriella relocated to Bogotá to personally lead the response as international condolences poured in from Panama, Ukraine, Italy, and beyond — an unplanned crisis testing a government that had barely finished its first week in office.
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