On March 1, 1954, the United States military detonated a 15 megaton thermonuclear weapon called “Bravo” (the first in the “CASTLE” test series) and exposed the residents of the Bikini Atoll to its radioactive fallout. Those down-wind of the explosions suffered severe burns and were exposed to massive amounts of radiation, irreversibly altering the trajectory of the region and its inhabitants forever.

Despite the gravity and extent of his actions, Lenín Moreno will not be the deciding factor in the April runoff. Rather, it will be a test for the legacy of Rafael Correa, and (assuming it is allowed to proceed fairly) it will show whether or not the country wants to be governed by the left wing policies of the recent past or the Washington-aligned neoliberalism of the present.

It is a given that the same forces that jailed Lula will work tirelessly to prevent his return to the presidency. One thing, however, is certain: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is a global health hazard whose rise to power was aided by the US and welcomed by Canada, and Lula has proven that he has the will and ability to radically remake Brazilian society. Just don’t expect him to receive Trudeau’s solidarity.

A renewed détente with Cuba, as well as a recommitment to the JCPOA, seemed like two common-sense policy adjustments for the Biden administration to make if it wanted to return to Obama’s already deeply inadequate approach to Cuba and Iran. Now, instead of trying to reassemble the fragments, Biden is burying those Obama-era victories once and for all—and Canada is welcoming their abandonment.

Although it remains to be seen how many gains will be made and how many existing gains will be secured, there is no doubt that the integration measures of Luis Arce’s administration in Bolivia, and the continued push for socialist governance across Latin America and the Caribbean, represents a great opportunity for the new regionalism of which Chávez spoke in 2011, and for which his allies continue to struggle today.

The true reason for intervention in Latin American is the region’s irresistibility to transnational capital, and not just capital based in the US. Canadian mining and energy companies have taken advantage of the free trade policies encouraged by Washington in order to extract profits from the region while ignoring the most atrocious human rights records in the hemisphere, particularly in Colombia.

The truth is, Biden offers nothing beyond the visceral vindication of Trump’s defeat. A quick overview of his potential foreign policy picks confirms that there will be a continuity of right-wing economic and military policy under his administration, and a total commitment to the old brand of awful that reigned in pre-Trump America. Biden’s campaign slogan might as well have been Death to MAGA! Long live the old flesh!

Last week, all the richest liberals in California were celebrating—and not just Joe Biden’s victory. On November 3, Golden State residents voted on a ballot measure called Prop 22, a proposal which will have an enormous effect on the livelihoods of thousands of gig economy workers in the state. This means that, in California, many workers at Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and Postmates are no longer considered “employees.”

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and his cabinet have shown little interest in implementing the widespread, long-term restrictions necessary to stem community transmission. As cases continue to spiral out of control in the province, it is once again clear that the PC government is allowing private interests to run rampant over the needs of the people.