Wyatt Reed, Sputnik News analyst, joins us to discuss the elections that took place in Bolivia. It looks like the Movement for Socialism (MAS) and its candidate Luis Arce have won the presidential election outright. Exit polls have Arce with a lead of 52.4% to 31.5%, which would give MAS the victory and avoid a second-round runoff. Does this seem to be the consensus in Bolivia early on Monday? MAS still needs to return to power and put the country back together in many ways, such as with regard to the economy, the COVID-19 coronavirus and the scars of a US-backed coup. What will the next few months or even the year look like for the people of Bolivia?
Dr. Kenneth Surin, professor emeritus of literature and professor of religion and critical theory at Duke University; and Gilbert Mercier, editor-in-chief of News Junkie Post and the author of "The Orwellian Empire," join us to discuss former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been questioned by French police - again - over allegations of corruption mostly linked to campaign financing. This investigation is a few years old now, and this is far from the first time Sarkozy has been arrested and questioned. In this particular investigation, he’s facing charges of corruption, illegal campaign financing, benefiting from embezzled public funds and membership in a criminal conspiracy. The gist of this seems to be the suspicion that Sarkozy and several associates received millions of euros from the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to help his 2007 election campaign, violating French laws about campaign contribution limits and foreign funding. Sarkozy is also facing charges in two other cases: one linked to fake invoices allegedly devised to mask overspending on his failed 2012 re-election campaign, and another for allegedly trying to bribe a judge.
Brian Downing, political-military analyst and author of "The Military Revolution and Political Change,” joins us to discuss the ongoing peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Despite the United States looking to craft some sort of peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government, fighting continued over the last several days in the southern Helmand region, because nothing says peace like bombing and killing civilians. "The Taliban, facing international condemnation for a 10-day assault in southern Helmand province, is accusing the US military of violating their February accord by carrying out 'excessive' aerial attacks and bombings in recent days," the Washington Post reported Sunday. We'll also check in on what’s happening in Kyrgyzstan. On Thursday, we saw President Sooronbai Jeenbekov resign, saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed, and Sadyr Japarov step into not only the prime ministership but also the role of interim president. Japarov said his ascent resulted from a “peaceful and legal transfer of power,” but of course he was only sprung from jail earlier in October. He’d been convicted of kidnapping.
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