Sheinbaum poised to become Mexico, ’s first woman president
Claudia Sheinbaum is set to win a landslide victory to become Mexico’s first female president, with provisional results showing her leading with 59% of the vote.
traditional values
Russian publisher redacts book on gay Italian director amid LGBT crackdown
Roberto Carnero, an Italian literature professor, was shocked when his critical essay on Pier Paolo Pasolini was heavily censored by a Russian publisher. The publisher, AST, removed about 70 pages out of 400 from the book, citing anti-gay propaganda laws. Despite concerns, the publisher defended the redactions as an “artistic statement” and the book sold out its initial print run. The censorship highlights the crackdown on LGBT rights in Russia under Putin’s rule, with activists facing serious consequences for their advocacy. Carnero, reflecting on the irony of the situation, noted that Pasolini, known for his outspoken activism, would have likely opposed such censorship.
Russian poetry prize bans entries from transgender people
A Russian poetry competition, the Andrei Dementyev All-Russian Poetry Prize, has banned transgender individuals from submitting entries this year in order to protect traditional values. Russia has implemented a crackdown on LGBTQ rights, including designating the international LGBT social movement as extremist and banning gender change surgery and hormone therapy for transgender people.