Protests began in Cuba on July 11, and a clear transformation in the institutional political discourse has occurred in recent days. Since the president’s J-11 “combat order,” the language has progressively transitioned to a vocabulary of conciliation and calls for solidarity, unity, and peace. That matters. Now, an extensive discussion and political transformation that allows the protests to be processed is essential.

Throughout contemporary history, Washington and Ottawa have supported the most retrograde elements of Haitian society largely out of fear of the alternative: a reformist, pro-poor government that seeks out alternative regional arrangements. Indeed, Canada has a long history of intervening militarily in Haiti. Amidst the current instability, we should seek to ensure it doesn’t happen again.

On June 23, the United Nations General Assembly will vote to condemn the six-decade-long United States embargo of Cuba. Again. What makes this year’s vote more pressing is that US President Joe Biden—who vowed during last year’s presidential campaign he’d reverse Trump administration measures that “inflicted harm on the Cuban people”—is now making life worse instead of better for the Cuban people.

Peru’s June 6 presidential election pitted two candidates with very dissimilar backgrounds against each other: Keiko Fujimori, a former first lady and three-time presidential candidate with the solid support of the nation’s elite, against Pedro Castillo, who is the epitome of an outsider. Castillo, a primary school teacher since the age of 25, has never held an elected office.

While the latest uprising in Colombia is a strike against austerity measures, looked at another way, it is also a reaction to Canadian policies in the region. Indeed, over the past three decades, Ottawa has retained close diplomatic ties to Latin America’s most repressive state and promoted capitalist policies that have contributed to extreme levels of inequality within Colombia.

Given the huge importance of Peruvian minerals to Canadian mining companies, it is likely that Peru’s socialist presidential candidate Pedro Castillo will face substantive challenges from both the industry and the Trudeau government if he wins the presidency on June 6. But he will have the support of the rural poor and the historically dispossessed who have suffered throughout the country’s recent history.

What Cuba has achieved is remarkable, but without the unjust US blockade, Cuba could have more and better results. Cuba has become a world leader in biotechnology because it has a socialist state with a centrally planned economy, that has invested in science and technology and puts human welfare before profit; that is, with the absence of capitalism and greed that British Prime Minister Johnson celebrates.

Flying under the radar of Canadian media, Mongolia has long been one of Canada’s closest partners in Asia as a source of strategic metals and minerals, while occupying a fulcrum point between Southeast Asia, Russia and the Middle East. Yet, little light has been shed on the bleak implications of the increasing demand for lithium, and other strategic resources found across Central Asia that are essential to the energy transition.

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.