💡 SPOTLIGHT

My Ukrainian friend asked why Latin Americans back Russia, I tried to explain...

Latin American governments have barely denounced the Russian attack on Ukraine, partly for lingering distrust of the United States. But there is also a regional misperception of Russia as a new Soviet Union and friend of "lesser nations" struggling for betterment, writes Luis Eduardo Gutiérrez in Colombian daily El Espectador.

I spent three years living in London, where I met the most unexpected and fascinating people. One was a (Jewish) Ukrainian who moved to London after the Russian invasion in 2022. We often met for coffee or a beer, and a chat, and he would regularly ask me how Latin American governments could possibly back Russia, which was in the process of trying to destroy his country.

I responded at first that President Vladimir Putin had cleverly managed the narrative around his invasion using two elements: Soviet heritage and Russian nationalism.

But first I made sure to point out that most Latin Americans did not support Russia's actions in Ukraine, as so many of us had lived through the horrors of civil conflict or violence linked to drug trafficking, and suffered the consequences of a tyrannical relationship imposed on our countries by the United States and its interests.

Yet this particular war, I noted, seemed far enough away to account for our emotional distance, especially after two years.

There were, however, other elements that could help clarify the Moscow-friendly position. Socialists have regained power in several countries in the region, including ours in Colombia — and the Latin American Left is, broadly speaking, anti-imperialist.

That means a standing critique aimed at U.S. foreign policy mainly, with intermittent lesser jabs at European powers like France and Britain or multilateral agencies that sustain "Northern" supremacy over the "South." So logically, these governments will not side with any country backed by the United States, which they see as the chief culprit for the world's underdevelopment.

These anti-imperialists used to admire the Soviet Union and now, with its dissolution, view Russia as its natural heir and the successor state to the socialist fatherland that backed communist and socialist forces and guerrilla movements fighting capitalistic, conservative and military regimes in the 20th century.

Today, governments openly opposed to the United States, like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, have backed Russia without compunction, while others with working ties, like Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Argentina (before recent elections), have kept quiet.

I was talking, but my friend looked unconvinced. Why, he asked, were they backing a "fascist government that silences the opposition, is friends with nationalists in France and Hungary, and finances separatist groups in the eastern part of my country?" [...]

— Read the full article by Luis Eduardo Gutiérrez for El Espectador, translated into English by Worldcrunch.

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🗞️ FRONT PAGE​​

Copenhagen-based daily Politiken features Danish soldiers training, after the country’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen announced that the country will boost its military spending by nearly $6 billion over the next five years to meet NATO targets. Coming amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Mette said the rearmament is aimed at avoiding war with Russia and addressing “defense shortcomings.” As a result, Denmark extended its military conscription to women, who could already volunteer for service. Read more about Scandinavia’s reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Worldcrunch.

📰 STORY OF THE DAY

Meet 9 proud champions of the body positivity movement around the world

In a world that's moving faster day by day, these people from around the world spread the same positive message to love yourself, no matter the size nor the shape of your body. And they are doing so on the very origin of this body-image struggle: social media.

✊🎤 Italian rapper Marianna Mammone, 25, in art BigMama, was a contestant at last month's Sanremo Festival, the most popular Italian song television contest and award ceremony. Known for her lyrics of great social impact, telling the story of how she was bullied as a teenager, she showed up on stage well aware that her body would have attracted nasty comments. And so it did. "Whatever a woman does will always be criticized for her physique," Mammone said in a recent interview.

📺 Barbie Ferreira, 27, Brazilian-American, known for her role as Kat in the series Euphoria, was a plus-size model before being an actress and she didn't really liked her body before entering the modeling world, where she was forced to face the truth: contrary to her belief, her body was just as good as the others. And Euphoria taught her the same lesson, and so did the audience, many of whom thanked her for her portrayal of a character in which they could see themselves.

💃 Based in Mumbai, Anjana Bapat, 33, may be India's best-known body-positivity influencer, breaking through as a belly dancer and TV and film personality exuding confidence and warmth. Being a Bollywood dancer, the kind of dance that "requires" a certain body type, she's putting herself against society's expectations. She shows off her dancing skills and positive attitude through her Instagram account. She refers to Indian beauty as an insane set of standards that put a blanket of insecurities over her as a youth.

➡️ Read more on Worldcrunch.com

📹 THIS HAPPENED VIDEO — TODAY IN HISTORY, IN ONE ICONIC PHOTO

➡️ Watch the video: THIS HAPPENED

#️⃣ BY THE NUMBERS

$2.2 billion

American tobacco corporation and Marlboro cigarette maker, The Altria Group, said it will sell over $2.2 billion of its stake in Belgian-based Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewing company. Bloomberg reported that AB InBev finalized the sale to fund its own share repurchases, buying $200 million of ordinary shares from Altria, the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris U.S.A. AB InBev, the owner of Bud Light and Stella Artois, has faced declining Bud Light sales after a U.S boycott of the brand, represented by a 17.3% fall in fourth-quarter revenue.

📣 VERBATIM

“Every day felt like an eternity.”

— Freed Israeli hostage Itay Regev has given an interview to the BBC, sharing his account of being kidnapped and held in Gaza. Regev, 19, was kidnapped as he was participating in the Supernova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel. Regev, whose sister was also kidnapped by Hamas, described being operated on without anesthetic and other “horrific” conditions he endured. Having been released in November with his sister and other hostages, he asked for the 130 Israelis still held hostage in Gaza to be freed “whatever the cost.” More on this topic: For A Gaza Truce, Hostages Remain The Hardest Question.

📸 PHOTO DU JOUR

A group of female farmers attend a sit-in protest as thousands of Indian agricultural workers joined a protest in New Delhi. The farmers, who had been blocked by authorities from entering the city for weeks, are demanding that the Indian government create a new law guaranteeing minimum support prices for crops and providing free electricity for farmers. — Photo: Kabir Jhangiani/ZUMA.

👉  MORE FROM WORLDCRUNCH  

• Make No Mistake, Netanyahu’s Hard Line On Gaza Is All About Himself — AL MANASSA

• Ukrainian Strikes Inside Russia Send A Message: This Is Your War, And It Ain't Over — FRANCE INTER

• "Dental Tourism" — British Teeth Pulled In Turkey Is Proof Of NHS Decay— THE CONVERSATION

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