11/04/2025
FTS 12.30
*China raises tariffs on the United States
*Israeli forces release young Palestinian man after a decade of imprisonment
FTS 12.30
*China raises tariffs on the United States
*Israeli forces release young Palestinian man after a decade of imprisonment
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hello, welcome to From the South. I'm Luis Alberto Matos from Terzo Studios in Caracas,
00:17Venezuela. We begin with the news. Stay with us.
00:30In Ecuador, the electoral silence began this Friday ahead of Sunday's April 13 presidential
00:42runoff. Over 13 million citizens are called to the polls to choose the exhibit for the
00:46next four years. The National Electoral Council reported that public organizations and citizens
00:52must observe the electoral silence that will be maintained until 5 p.m. local time on Sunday,
00:58April 13. Electoral authorities also ratified the beginning of the trial law as from noon
01:02to Friday. Let us remember that this electoral process takes place amidst an economic crisis
01:07and high levels of insecurity, which according to different analysts will be decisive factors
01:13in the results of the presidential runoff.
01:28Also on Friday, assisted voting moves forward in Ecuador for people with disabilities within
01:33the process of the presidential runoff. The Ecuadorian National Electoral Council deployed
01:37174 voting stations and 110 routes in the country. The operation has the logistical and security
01:44support of the national police, the army and traffic agents. This program is aimed at people
01:51over 50 years of age with a physical disability equal to or greater than 75% and benefits 662 people.
02:21And as we are heading into Sunday's electoral ballot in Ecuador, we are going live with our special
02:30envoy Jorge Gestoso, who is in Ecuador, to have more details as everything is preparing as we are
02:36getting closer to the electoral day. Welcome, Gestoso. Welcome to From the South. What can you tell us from there?
02:41Thank you very much. We are here in our studios in Quito. We are just about 48 hours away from the
02:54clear moment of the runoff in the presidential elections and we have the privilege to have with us
03:03the political analyst David Martinez to put in perspective. We have seen each other
03:11before. Before, we're talking about two months ago. David, what has changed in the political arena
03:20regarding this runoff compared to two months ago with the first round? Well, Jorge, what we have seen is that
03:29polls have tightened. It's been a very tight race from the beginning, but within the last few
03:37weeks or so the polls have shown that optimism and certain support from social organizations and social
03:47bases have widened Luisa Gonzalez's opportunities. She is right now three or four points ahead in all
03:56serious polls and some showing at least five points of advantage. So there is a slight possibility that she is
04:06heading forward towards Sunday. Well, for the audience who watch us and they are not familiarized with the
04:14situation in Ecuador, first round, technical, whatever. It was a virtual tie. Virtual tie, 44% each of them.
04:25Third person in the in the first round, we're talking about Leonidas Isa, who represents an indigenous
04:32movement, movement, movement, movement called Pachacuti with 5.3%. So if you add up 44% plus the 5% of Pachacuti,
04:42we're talking about simple arithmetic, we're reaching close to 50%. And Pachacuti has given the endorsement
04:51to Luisa Gonzalez, plus another candidate that was eliminated before. We're talking about Jan Topic.
04:57talking about Jan Topic. Jan Topic. So basically, she is arriving to this runoff with more support,
05:05political support than in the first round. Very much so. We have seen not only Conalle, which is the
05:11largest indigenous group, but other smaller organizations, but other smaller organizations,
05:16and center-right candidates such as Jan Topic, who initially were supposed to support the right wing,
05:27but have shown their support for Luisa Gonzalez in the final stages.
05:32We have detected in the first round that all the time, all the voices in different parts of the country
05:42repeats, this is an election where the field is not level. It's not level in favor of the president
05:51candidate, because he was president candidate against the constitution, Daniel Novoa. For this runoff,
05:59the field is still not leveled? The field is still not leveled, and it hasn't been for the past eight
06:05years. We have to understand that this election is a referendum, finally, of neoliberal policies
06:12that have been in place for the last three governments, with Lenin Moreno, with Guillermo Lazo,
06:19and now 18 months with Daniel Novoa. People have not seen really any betterment in their lives,
06:31in their economic situation, in the violence. This has been the most violent trimester in the history
06:39of Ecuador with 2,500 homicides up until February. So people have not seen the results of these neoliberal
06:50policies. But what we have seen as well is an abuse of power from these elites, oligarchic elites in
07:01Ecuador that have taken over the judicial system, the electoral system. And now we see that they have full
07:10support from mainstream media, in private media in Ecuador, which has given them a certain advantage
07:18towards leading a discourse and engaging in illegal activity, really towards the elections. We have
07:29to remember that Daniel Novoa, as a candidate, had to request permission to be a candidate to the
07:37National Assembly, and he did not do so. And so he has not been respectful of the institutions and the
07:44electoral law. And this has shown that he is willing to break anything towards winning.
07:52And David, finally, we're saying that at 5 p.m. the polls closed. And in this country,
08:01polls closed, meaning this is the end of it. At that moment, if there's someone on the line,
08:07too bad should be arriving earlier. But at that moment, the telling starts to count.
08:15When are we going to get the results? Well, Diana Tamayin from the electoral council has said that
08:24results should be expected around 9.30 in the evening. On Sunday, on Sunday evening. And this is if it is
08:33possible to collect the entire percentage of the votes during that time. But we now know that if
08:45the elections are very close, we don't know what the response will be either from the Consejo Nacional
08:53Electoral or the candidates. We can expect anything,
08:58really. Anything is bound to happen. Both sides have a lot at stake with this election. And there will be
09:07people that are not happy with the results either way.
09:12So would you would you guess who will win?
09:19I don't dare to guess, but I can say that with the advantage that Lisa has, she probably has more
09:27opportunity of winning right now. The last few weeks have shown that she has broader support.
09:33And a few scandals that Norboa has had within the past few weeks have really affected his public image.
09:42And again, I say most of this is perception. Most of this is public perception and optimism.
09:49And what we have seen is a lot more optimism coming from the Lisa side.
09:54David Martinez, thanks very much for joining us.
09:55Thank you for having me.
09:57We were precisely having the honor to have with us David Martinez, a political analyst.
10:02We are discussing the scenarios facing the runoff on Sunday here in Quito, Ecuador.
10:11Continue reporting for you throughout the day. And we get back to you now.
10:15Thank you for this latest information. Of course, thank you for your special guest for all his
10:22inputs hearing from the south. Let's now take a short break and we'll be right back. So don't go away.
10:45Welcome back. In Venezuela, a flight arrived this Friday from the United States with 191
10:56repatriated migrants returning to the country through the Back to the Homeland plan. The flight
11:01arrived at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiketia with 16 women and 175 men. Out of the 191,
11:09two are citizens with international arrest warrants from Interpol. In the year 2025, 13 flights
11:15with Venezuelan nationals have arrived in the country, of which 10 were Venezuelan airline
11:21Conviasa airplanes and three were US-based airplanes. The Venezuelan Minister of Transportation,
11:26Ramón Velázquez, pointed out that a total of 2,557 repatriated migrants have so far arrived in
11:33Venezuela in 2025. In our news in Chile, two young football fans, one of them a minor, were killed by
11:44policemen before the match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza in Group E of the Libertadores Cup.
11:50According to local media, a 13-year-old boy and an 18-year-old girl, both Colo Colo fans, died after
11:56being run over by a police car in the vicinity of the Monumental Stadium in Santiago de Chile.
12:02The match between Colo Colo and Fortaleza started a schedule, but it was stopped in the 76th minute.
12:08According to the Chief of the West Son of Santiago, General Alex Bajamondes, the driver of the car
12:13responsible for the incident has been charged but was not arrested. It is not the first time that
12:18Chilean policemen have repressed and killed football supporters in the vicinity of the Stadium Monumental.
12:31And the US government toughens migration controls by requiring mandatory registration
12:36of undocumented migrants with federal authorities. The decision will allow the Trump administration
12:41to proceed with the requirement, which had been challenged in court. In light of this,
12:45officials from the Department of Homeland Security warned that this Friday is the deadline for people
12:50who have been in the country for at least 30 days to register. On January 20th, President Donald Trump
12:56signed Executive Order 14159, which hardens the country's immigration policy, establishing
13:02harsher penalties for migrants. And China raises tariffs on US goods from 84% to 125%
13:13in response to the tariff war unleashed by Donald Trump's administration.
13:18Additional tariffs on goods imported from the United States will be revised as of April 12th.
13:23This latest 41-point increase is another Beijing response to the so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed
13:29by President Donald Trump. Chinese authorities have reiterated that the imposition of the United
13:33States of abnormally high tariffs on the country violates international trade rules and runs counter to
13:39basic economic laws and common sense.
14:01And Israeli occupation forces have been dropping overnight shillings on the gas strip as a result of
14:0612 Palestinians lost their lives, including seven minors. The Genosidal Army airstrook a house in
14:12Hanjuni city, southern Gaza, in which 10 family members did not survive such bombings. Israeli forces
14:19targeted the Al-Atatra northwestern Beit La Haya city, so they hit to death two other Gazans. In this context,
14:26a UN briefing detailed that from March 18th to April 9th, 2025, Israeli forces had mounted 224
14:33aggressions toward residential buildings and even the displaced tents. And 36 of these attacks targeted
14:40only women and children.
14:49Is this how my father was? Is this what he has become? He wasn't like this. This isn't the father
14:53that we know. This isn't the father that they took away. My father lived through famine, through a difficult
14:57life. He lived under bombardment. He got out from under the rubble twice. My father was shaken while he was
15:01injured. His pelvis was broken and he had fractured in his spine. He had just left the hospital and he
15:06could barely walk. Why did they take him to talk to him? From November 6th until today, 156 days
15:12have ascended. We were in agony. We were tortured and we were in pain. There was no rest or sleep for
15:17us there. We were tortured every day and every day they oppressed and humiliated us. We thank God we came out
15:22safe.
15:35For TeleSchool English, I'm Luis Alberto Matos.