DEC. 1
thenews.com.mx
Anti-Government protests in Bangkok, Thailand forced the country’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to go into hiding in an undisclosed location when demonstrators stormed a police compound.
Around 500 soldiers and 180 military police were called out to fortify security ahead of the deadline declared by protesters for the government to step down.
The protesters called for a complete revamp of the county’s democratic process, replacing the current system with a “people’s council” formed of representatives from all professions with no party affiliations.
DEC. 3
Andrés Manuel López Obrador was admitted to the Médica Sur hospital after suffering a heart attack. A one hour and 15 minute surgery proved successful and his condition stabilized.
His son, Andrés Manuel López Beltrán, took his father’s place leading the Regeneration Movement (Morena) protests outside of the Senate building in Mexico City, where a human chain was formed in an attempt to stop an energy reform bill from being passed.
López Obrador is now reportedly in good health and is scheduled to return to the political scene soon.
DEC. 4
The European Commission levied an unprecedented €1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) against a group of banks — including Deutsche Bank, Société Générale, JPMorgan and Citi — that were found guilty of participating in a rate-fixing cartel.
The cartels aimed to manipulate the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), which is the standard interest rate charged by London’s leading banks when borrowing from other banks and is used as a standard benchmark for short-term interest rates around the world.
The rate-fixing conducted by these banks is estimated to have caused, considering solely fraudulent interest payments paid by local governments in the United States, an estimated $6 billion in losses.
DEC. 9
Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, dissolved parliament and called for new elections in the midst of continuing protests calling for her resignation.
The opposition later declared that it would boycott the upcoming elections, currently scheduled for Feb. 2.
DEC. 10
Uruguay became the first country to completely legalize the production, sale and consumption of marijuana.
While several countries have decriminalized marijuana use and the drug’s sale is legal in the Netherlands and two U.S. states, Uruguay is the first country to legalize the entire production chain, from seed to store.
Uruguayan President José Mujica said that the law is an attempt to reduce the violence associated with the drug trade by taking it out of the hands of criminals.
DEC. 13
Mexico City’s subway fare hike took effect, increasing the price of a one-way ticket from three to five pesos. Subsidized fares are still available for senior citizens and the poor.
The fare hike decision was based on a polling of 7,200 subway users over the span of three days.
Protesters organized demonstrations via Twitter with the hashtags #posmesalto and #posmeagacho, in which those opposing the hike vaulted turnstiles and skipped payment. Metro Director General Joel Ortega later announced that the authorities would allow non-violent jumping of the turnstiles.
DEC. 14
The unmanned spacecraft Chang’e-3, launched by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), touched down on the lunar surface, making China the third country to successfully land probes on the moon, following the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R.
Chang’e-3 was the first probe to make a soft landing on the moon since the U.S.S.R.’s Luna 24 in 1976.
DEC. 16
Michelle Bachelet was elected as president of Chile by the largest electoral margin since the fall of the Pinochet dictatorship in 1989. Bachelet, who had previously served from 2006-2010, ran on promises to cut the gap between the rich and poor in Chile, which is ranked as the most unequal country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
DEC. 20
Uganda’s parliament approved a law that establishes harsh penalties for “homosexual behavior,” including life in prison.
The law was toned down from its original 2009 draft, which included the death penalty and received widespread international condemnation, with critics alleging that executing people solely for being gay would constitute an act of genocide.
DEC. 20
President Enrique Peña Nieto signed a controversial energy reform measure, following its ratification by 16 state legislatures.
The reform will open state-run oil company Pemex to private investment, which earned it the support of the conservative National Action Party (PAN) but the opposition of the leftist Democratic Revolution Party (PRD). Supporters of the plan say it will boost Pemex’s flagging production levels, while opponents say that it will deliver Mexico’s oil wealth into foreign hands.
DEC. 23
Two members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were released from prison, following the passage of a political amnesty law by the Duma.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina were jailed in Aug. 2012 after performing a protest concert in the main Moscow cathedral in February and convicted of “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” due to their lyrics criticizing the treatment of women by the Orthodox Church. Alyokhina said the amnesty was a political stunt aimed at mollifying criticism of Russia’s human rights record, which has been intensifying in the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics, which that country will host.
DEC. 25
The U.N. Security Council doubled the number of peacekeepers in South Sudan to 12,500. The Sub-Saharan African nation had been plagued with violent conflict since Dec. 15 when President Salva Kiir accused removed vice-president Riek Machar of plotting a coup. Machar denies the allegations. Thousands are said to have already died in the conflict. Petroleum Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said that the violence has dramatically reduced oil production by nearly 45,000 barrels a day.
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