End of the year and a look at these months

Pablo Soriano Linares

These last months of 2022 have seen a list of events that have turned what was supposed to be the year of recovery from the pandemic into a series of events, leaving no one indifferent. Some of them seemed unimaginable and others along the lines of what had been seen during the year.

Russian-Ukrainian War

During the last few months the Ukrainian counteroffensive has borne fruit, recovering up to 55% of the territory that Russia has occupied since the beginning of the invasion. However, it has not been an easy task. Following the destruction of the Crimean bridge, Russia began a massive shelling campaign against Ukrainian infrastructure.

This campaign resulted in two shells falling on Polish soil on November 16, killing several civilians. This caused a moment of great tension when it was not known whether the missiles came from Russia, which could lead Poland to invoke Article 5 and NATO to intervene in the conflict. In the end, it was proven that they were the remains of Ukrainian anti-aircraft missiles and the conflict did not escalate to major consequences.

Western aid has not ceased since then, the US has committed 5% of its defense budget in aid to Ukraine. Russia, on the other hand, has more or less successfully incorporated conscripts to its forces on the front, carrying out several offensives against the Ukrainian lines.

The conflict continues and the dead on both sides amount to over 100,000 people according to various sources. A peaceful solution does not seem to be forthcoming as long as the Ukrainians remain willing to fight and regain their territory and Russia maintains its position of considering the annexed provinces as its own.

Asia

It has not been an easy few months in Asia either. The two Koreas have continued their usual bickering with missile launches over the sea and Pyongyang's most recent drone intrusion over Seoul, while Japan, in the face of China's further expansion in the region, has announced the biggest increase in defense spending seen since World War II.

Japan, for its part, in the face of China's further expansion in the region, has announced the largest increase in defense spending seen since World War II, announcing the purchase of Tomahawk missiles from the US and the development of medium and long-range missiles of its own, to deter any attempt by China to threaten its sovereignty.

On the mainland, China faces other challenges, past the 20th Communist Party Congress. At this congress, Xi Jinping was reaffirmed as China's leader until 2027 and just after the congress ended, the anti-Covid policy has seen a U-turn and the goal of reunification with Taiwan has been reaffirmed.

The zero Covid policy was straining the patience of the Chinese people with the confinements and restrictions. Finally, in view of the social outburst that was about to occur, they have been eliminated. With this and added to the low level of immunity of the population, infections and deaths have skyrocketed. The US and other countries, faced with this outbreak of cases, have placed restrictions on direct flights from China.

On the other hand, China continues to show military muscle in its zone of influence, pressuring Taiwan with increasingly risky incursions into its airspace. On the other hand, it is trying to maintain its alliance with Russia, giving limited support to its war with Ukraine. Seeking not to compromise the commercial relationship with Europe and to confront the US more directly.

USA

The dominant theme over the past few months has been the Fed's repeated interest rate hikes to contain inflation. The Fed has broken several records in the speed of the hikes and moved rates to highs not seen for decades.

On the other hand, in November, the mid-term elections took place in which part of the two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives, were renewed. A Republican victory was expected to put the legislature under their control and the result has been a setback for many. The Democrats have managed to wrest control of the Senate, while the Republicans have won a very narrow victory in the House of Representatives.

The outcome of the elections may have been influenced by two quite relevant facts. Firstly, candidates close to or supported by Trump have reaped the worst results, indicating that the American electorate is not so close to the former president. Secondly, the decision of the US Supreme Court to overturn the decision taken in the Roe v. Wade case, where abortion was protected by the 14th amendment.

This ruling returned the power to each state to legislate on abortion, stating that the constitution did not provide for this right. Without going into the intricacies of the common law that governs the U.S. system and the system itself, this decision provoked a wave of protests throughout the country. While some states did not make any changes, others banned abortion in almost all circumstances. This climate has pensioned the already polarized U.S. society and has hurt conservative candidates in certain regions.

Latin America - Peru

During these months we have witnessed not only a South American country win the World Cup after almost two decades, unfortunately there has been another coup attempt in a country in the region, Peru.

In a scene that looked like something out of a movie, the president proclaimed the suspension of the congress and opened an exception process in the purest Bolivarian revolution style. The "coup" was one of the shortest events we have seen this year, with the Peruvian congress stripping him of his office and being detained by the police a few hours later.

The vice president has assumed office and announced elections for 2024. This has not calmed tempers in the streets, where protests between supporters of the president and other groups demanding urgent social improvements have been taking place.

Middle East

This region could be the subject of its own article, but for the sake of brevity we will focus on the most important events.

First of all, we should mention the World Cup held in Qatar. It was not without controversy during its organization, due to the poor conditions of the workers and the deaths of, according to several NGOs, thousands of workers during the construction of the stadiums. In connection with this controversy, it has been revealed that several MEPs, including one of the vice-presidents of the chamber belonging to the socialist wing, received bribes. These bribes were intended to influence votes related to human rights violations taking place in Qatar and the authorities point to Morocco as the main party involved in the scheme.

Another hot spot in the region has been Iran. University protests against the wearing of the veil led to a popular revolt against some of the restrictive rules of the Ayatollah regime. Hundreds of people have been imprisoned and dozens of others have died in the protests. The government has eventually relented on some of the demands regarding the wearing of the veil in public places, but protests have continued in several cities across the country.