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Weekly Roundup: Brazil's World Cup, Colombia's Runoff, Mexico's Energy Debate

One of Venezuela's top opposition politicians to stay in prison before facing trial, El Salvador joins Petrocaribe, and the OAS meets in Paraguay.

Brazil’s World Cup set to kick off on June 12. As Brazil gears up for the World Cup, a new Pew study shows that 61 percent of Brazilians oppose hosting the games because they believe it takes funding away from public services. The poll also found 72 percent are unhappy with the way things are going in the country. Earlier in the week, the Brazilian government released a short report in English detailing the economic advantages of the mega-event. Also, the government announced the creation of a “crisis cabinet” this week to monitor potential World Cup protests.

Candidates battle for votes in Colombian presidential runoff race. On June 5, President Juan Manuel Santos and challenger Óscar Iván Zuluaga faced off in a televised debate ahead of the June 15 presidential runoff. Candidates focused on the ongoing peace talks. Santos has branded himself the “peace candidate” while Zuluaga promises to impose conditions to continue the process. A Semana poll released today shows Zuluaga at 49 percent and Santos at 41 percent, though a Cifras y Conceptos survey puts Santos ahead by nearly 5 points. Meanwhile, a new Gallup poll indicates a statistical tie.

Venezuelan opposition leader to stand trial. On June 5, a judge ruled that Venezuelan opposition figure Leopoldo López must stay in jail and will go on trial, which his lawyers say will be in August. If convicted of inciting violence during Venezuela’s ongoing protests, López could face up to 13 years in prison. Also this week, Attorney General Luisa Ortega opened an investigation into opposition politician Maria Corina Machado and three other figures for a supposed coup plot.

El Salvador joins Venezuelan-led energy bloc Petrocaribe. On June 2, Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front Secretary-General Medardo González confirmed that the Central American country would join the group. Petrocaribe members receive low-interest oil sales from Venezuela in exchange for goods and services. El Salvador is expected to increase its oil supply by three-fold.

Mexican Senate pushes back energy debate. This week, the upper house of Mexico’s Senate agreed to push back debate on secondary energy reform laws until June 10—meaning a majority of the discussion about the controversial legislation will coincide with the World Cup. Animal Político’s online debate forum asks whether the proceedings should be postponed until after the mega-event, which starts June 12. Raúl Benitez Manaut, a researcher at the North American Research Center at UNAM, wrote: “I don’t know of any companies that are going to stop their activities. If there’s political discipline…then go to work, because that’s what taxpayers pay your salary for.”

The OAS General Assembly meets in Paraguay. The annual gathering took place June 3 to 5 in Asuncion. Infolatam points out that the meeting revealed tensions between Venezuela and the United States due to the potential for sanctions of Venezuelan officials, as well as between Bolivia and Chile over a longstanding territorial dispute. Also, every country except the United States called for Cuba’s attendance at the 2015 Summit of the Americas. The final resolution affirmed countries’ support for social inclusion and social and economic rights.