Viernes, 30 de septiembre de 2022 (Continuación)

La guerra tributaria desde la Constitución

EspañaEconomía,

La guerra política e ideológica sobre los impuestos se ha puesto tan emocionante este otoño que no deja margen para el aburrido análisis jurídico. Desde luego, se hace difícil saber quién lleva razón porque se pueden leer argumentos de política económica tanto en favor de subir los impuestos como de bajarlos. Personalmente, me convencen más los razonamientos a favor de bajarlos; pero debo confesar que ya estaba predispuesto porque creo que el Estado español, en su conjunto, es un mastodonte que dista mucho de funcionar bien. Según la OCDE, en los diez últimos años la presión fiscal en España ha pasado del 31'3% del PIB al 36'6%, el mayor incremento de los 34 Estados de la organización.…  Seguir leyendo »

Demonstrators protest for Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic republic's 'morality police' in Tehran. Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images.

MundoOriente Próximo

Current protests present the Iranian regime with a far more immediate crisis than the selection of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s eventual successor. But the opaque succession process – and the underlying questions over its legitimacy and lack of accountability – will haunt Iran’s political system long after the unrest has been quelled.

Having succeeded Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989, Khamenei is now the longest-ruling leader of a Middle Eastern state, and his death will herald a significant transition for both Iran and the wider region.

Competition to succeed him will be intense, and whatever the outcome, the way the transition unfolds will have far-reaching consequences for Iran’s relationship with its Arab neighbours and Western adversaries.…  Seguir leyendo »

Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev visiting the Lachin city after Azerbaijan's army took full control of the city in August 2022. Photo by Presidency of Azerbaijan / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

MundoCáucaso, , ,

The recent large-scale cross-border attacks inside Armenia by Azerbaijan, with reports estimating at least 286 people killed from both sides and hundreds more wounded, highlights the wider picture of a collapsing Russian-led security order in Eurasia.

Coming on 12 September, the attacks coincided with Ukraine’s successful counter-offensive in Kharkiv and fresh fighting between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. And Armenian appeals to Russia and its allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for support met with muted responses, resulting only in the mobilization of a fact-finding mission.

Several key actors in Eurasia now see Azerbaijan as a critical – or at least important – partner in solving new problems flowing from the war in Ukraine.…  Seguir leyendo »

Chinese tourist information clerks wear protective masks and visors at their desk in the departures area of Beijing International Airport, March 2020.

MundoAsia, ,

When word began circulating on social media and in group chats in mid-September that one of China’s top health officials was warning citizens to avoid physical contact with foreigners as a precaution against monkeypox, the news hit me with an unshakable anxiousness.

The recommendation was the first of five issued by Wu Zunyou, chief epidemiologist at China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in response to mainland China’s first monkeypox case in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing.

Wu blasted the advice out to his nearly half a million followers on Weibo, China’s heavily censored version of Twitter, and it was quickly picked up and further publicized by state-backed media outlets.…  Seguir leyendo »

A banner reads ‘With Russia forever!’ on Wednesday, in Luhansk, Ukraine, after the referendum on joining Russia. Photograph: AP

Europa, , ,

President Vladimir Putin’s planned annexation of parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine, after sham referendums there, is at least as dangerous a moment in the war as the marathon televised spectacle that prefaced Russia’s invasion in February.

Of course, things have not gone as Putin planned.

Back in February, he sought to justify the invasion in an angry speech laced with legal verbiage coupled with a pre-recorded show of support from the country’s top brass. The only thing genuine in Putin’s effort to frame the “special military operation” as something other than naked aggression was Putin schooling the head of his spy service, Sergei Naryshkin, as he flubbed his script and said he backed the proxy states in east Ukraine becoming part of Russia.…  Seguir leyendo »

Reclutas rusos asisten a una ceremonia de despedida en Batáisk, Rusia, el lunes. Arkady Budnitsky/EPA vía Shutterstock

Europa, , ,  

“Hola, mi esposa está embarazada y tengo una hipoteca. Mi mujer siente pánico y yo no tengo dinero para ir al extranjero. ¿Cómo puedo escapar del reclutamiento?”.

Ese es un mensaje que recibimos en Helpdesk.media, un sitio web que algunos periodistas creamos en junio para ayudar a las personas —con información, asesoramiento jurídico y apoyo psicológico— afectadas por las acciones del gobierno ruso. Tras cumplir el servicio militar obligatorio hace siete años, el emisor estaba siendo reclutado para luchar en la guerra contra Ucrania. Al gobierno ruso no le interesaba saber quién pagaría la hipoteca o cuidaría de su mujer embarazada.…  Seguir leyendo »