Bottom Line Up Front
Today’s verdict: Wednesday hinges on Peru’s overseas vote, which finishes arriving today and could pull the lead back toward Keiko Fujimori; Bolivia’s military-deployment law is now in force as blockades enter their second month; and the World Cup opens tomorrow at the Estadio Azteca.
Peru — the decisive vote lands today. Roberto Sánchez leads the in-country count by about 41,000 votes at roughly 96 percent counted, but the overseas ballots are only a third tallied and break about 65 to 35 for Fujimori. The last diplomatic pouches arrive Wednesday and more than 900 contested Lima sheets sit with the electoral court, so the lead is genuinely reversible and no winner is proclaimed until mid-July.
Bolivia — the crackdown law is real now. President Rodrigo Paz’s emergency-powers law is in force, letting the military help clear some 90 to 100 road blockades as protests demanding his resignation enter a second month. La Paz and El Alto face acute shortages of food, fuel and even medical oxygen, hospitals are barely functioning, and the US has moved to “Reconsider Travel to La Paz.”
Mexico — kickoff is tomorrow. The World Cup opens Thursday at the Estadio Azteca, Mexico against South Africa, while airport works continue and the teachers’ camp holds downtown. Build real airport buffers today and tomorrow.
