• If the mercenary Wagner Group under Yevgeny Prigozhin had not marched on Moscow in their brief, unsuccessful rebellion, the army’s next stop may have been the West African nation of Burkina Faso. The June mutiny in Russia ended when Prigozhin agreed to go into exile in Belarus. Yet, the Wagner leader remained in Russia, reportedly residing in his native St. Petersburg. Wagner’s Russian troops remain intact for now, but their future is uncertain.
(“What’s Next for Wagner’s African Empire,” Economist, July 27, 2023; “Will Wagner Stay in Africa,” Foreign Policy, July 28, 2023)
• Voters in Guatemala surprised many observers by embracing center left anti-corruption candidate Barnardo Arevalo, who won enough votes in the central American nation’s June 25 first-round presidential election to make it into the Aug. 20 runoff. The former diplomat who recently entered Congress is the son of one of only two leftist presidents in Guatemala’s democratic era. Arevalo will face Sandra Torres, a former first lady who ran and lost two previous presidential campaigns.
“Bernardo Arévalo, Guatemala’s Electoral Surprise, Makes Corruption Fight Top Priority,” Associated Press, June 27, 2023; “Guatemala’s Surprising Election,” Foreign Policy, June 30, 2023
• In the years since President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA, into law on March 23, 2010, 39 states and Washington, D.C., have signed on for Medicaid expansion, enabling tens of millions of Americans to obtain health insurance.
(“In North Carolina, the Uninsured Say Medicaid Expansion Will Be Life Changing,” American Prospect, June 13, 2023)
This week’s News Summary was narrated by Anna Manzo.
