The elections were to elect those who will reform the Constitution and also local offices.

The party of Argentine President Javier Milei came third in Sunday’s elections in the province of Santa Fe, where the coalition of Governor Maximiliano Pullaro won in the opening of an electoral year with national legislative elections in October.

Santa Fe, to the north of Buenos Aires, elected this Sunday those who will reform its Constitution and also local offices. Sixteen months ago, the ultra-liberal Milei obtained there 62.8% of the votes in the ballot that led him to the presidency, but now his candidates reached 14%, according to provisional results.

The district is the third most important in Argentina and its electorate represents 8% of the electoral roll.

With 98.7% of the votes counted, Governor Maximiliano Pullaro, who headed the list of his political space, a coalition of the Unión Cívica Radical, Propuesta Republicana and Socialist parties, won with 34.6% of the votes.

He was followed by the candidate of the Justicialist Party (Peronist), Juan Monteverde, with 15.2%, according to the provisional scrutiny.

The local aspirant to the Constituent Convention of Milei’s force La Libertad Avanza (LLA), the national deputy Nicolás Mayoraz, added 14.11% of the votes.

The beginning of the electoral calendar took place two days after the support given by the International Monetary Fund to the government program, with a loan of 20 billion dollars to strengthen the reserves, in the midst of an exchange crisis which forced the Central Bank to sell more than 1.8 billion dollars in two weeks.

The vote also took place after Milei announced the elimination of the exchange control as from this Monday, when a fluctuation of the value of the currency between bands of 1,000 to 1,400 pesos will be in force.

The head of the local public opinion consultant, Roque Cantoia, said that these elections do not represent “a plebiscite for the national government”, but the first stop in the race towards the national parliamentary elections of October 26.

“The national key lies in the fact that it is the first electoral instance since Milei is president, and it can give us an idea of the power that the brand has to transfer political flow”, said Cantoia, to underline that it was an election “without Milei on the ballot”.

The Argentine electoral schedule will continue on May 11 in the provinces of Salta, San Luis, Chaco and Jujuy, and on May 18 in the City of Buenos Aires.

The latest attacks, which began on 11 April, saw Rapid Support Forces (RSF)-affiliated forces launch coordinated assaults on Zamzam and Abu Shouk – two of the largest camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Darfur – as well as the regional capital, El Fasher.

Among those killed were 23 children as well as nine humanitarian workers who were operating one of the last remaining health posts.

No end in sight to suffering

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) for Sudan condemned the violence, warning that the situation is deteriorating as ethnically driven violence and hate speech escalate.

“The world has witnessed two years of ruthless conflict which has trapped millions of civilians in harrowing situations, subjecting them to violations and suffering with no end in sight,” Mohamed Chande Othman, FFM chair, said in a statement on Monday.

“Amid the rising tide of hate speech and ethnically driven violence and reprisals, we fear the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold.”

Bring perpetrators to justice

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the latest violence, stressing that attacks on civilians, humanitarian and medical personnel are strictly prohibited under international law.

“The perpetrators of these attacks must be brought to justice,” he said, calling for urgent, safe and sustained access to besieged areas like Zamzam camp, where famine conditions have already been identified.

Two years of atrocities

The Darfur attacks are the latest flashpoints in a conflict that erupted on 15 April 2023, when fighting broke out in Khartoum between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF.

The power struggle quickly descended into a nationwide civil war, killing thousands and displacing over 12.4 million people – more than 3.3 million as refugees into neighbouring countries.

According to the FFM, both sides have committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including deliberate attacks on civilians,removed and sexual violence, starvation tactics, mass looting and destruction of civilian infrastructure.

Aid workers targeted

Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, described the escalation as “deadly and unacceptable,” and condemned the deliberate targeting of civilians and aid workers.

“These families – many of whom have already been displaced multiple times – are once again caught in the crossfire, with nowhere safe to go. This must end now,” she stressed.

Survivors from Zamzam camp – once home to over 750,000 people, half of them children – were reported as being placed under siege-like conditions, according to the FFM.

Humanitarian access inside the camp remains nearly impossible, while children are reported to be dying from hunger and the few remaining health outposts have been overrun or destroyed.

Protect children

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) also sounded the alarm.

“These unconscionable acts of violence against civilians, children and aid workers must end immediately,” said Executive Director Catherine Russell.

“Children must be protected from this senseless violence, and humanitarian workers must never be targets.”

Ms. Russell warned that with aid blocked and violence surging, famine is already “stalking children,” placing over one million people at high risk in and around El Fasher and Zamzam camp.

Situation beyond Darfur

Violations are not confined to Darfur.

The SAF and its allies have allegedly committed reprisal attacks in areas recently recaptured from the RSF, particularly in Sinja and Al-Dinder in Sennar state and Wad Madani in Al-Jazirah (also spelled Gezira).

Witnesses described arbitrary detentions, mass arrests and public executions, including in newly controlled areas of southern Khartoum, the FFM said. Many of those detained have reportedly disappeared.

“These acts highlight the urgent need to prevent further escalation and to protect civilians and the lifesaving systems they rely on,” said FFM member Mona Rishmawi.

Stop encouraging the war

In the midst of the violence, the Fact-Finding Mission alongside humanitarian agencies continue to call for international accountability and support.

As key regional and global actors set to meet this week in London to discuss humanitarian funding and strategies for civilian protection, the FFM reiterated the need for all States to “respect and ensure respect” for the Geneva Conventions – the core of international humanitarian law.

“This means that States should neither finance the war nor provide weapons, as this may encourage, aid and assist the warring parties in committing violations,” said Ms. Rishmawi.

The Human Rights Council – UN’s primary human rights forum – established the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan in October 2023 and extended its mandate until October this year.

Its core task is to investigate all alleged human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law linked to Sudan’s ongoing conflict since April 2023.

The Brazilian government has granted political asylum to a former first lady of Peru recently sentenced to 15 years in prison for money laundering. Nadine Heredia was convicted on Tuesday along with her husband of laundering campaign contributions, including those from the infamous Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht. Peru will allow Heredia and her youngest son to leave, following a formal request from Brazil, according to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Peru’s government previously acknowledged that Heredia had entered the Brazilian embassy seeking asylum. Heredia’s husband, former President Ollanta Humala, was arrested Tuesday following the sentencing. But Heredia did not physically attend the hearing and instead went to the Brazilian embassy seeking protection. Peru is famous for jailing more former presidents than virtually any other nation in the world, and legal problems often involve their partners as well.

Heredia was first lady between 2011 and 2016 and was considered very influential in Humala’s government, which ruled on a leftist platform akin to the leftist governments in place in Brazil at the time.