Beyond the US election: Seven Stories That Shaped America in 2024 | Politics News

The presidential one elections in the United States has dominated global headlines for most of the past year.

From opinion polls to rallies and heated conversations on the campaign trail, all eyes have been on the Nov. 5 showdown between Democrat Kamala Harris and Republican Donald Trump.

After Trump's decisive victory, much of the world did shift your focus to analyze the former US president's plans for his second term, which is due to begin in January.

But 2024 it wasn't just about Trump and American politics.

The past year has seen a number of critical events in countries around the world, from Israel's deadly bombing of the Gaza Strip to the devastating war in Sudan and the recent overthrow of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

In the Americas region 2024 was marked by changing political landscapes, repression of dissent, deadly violence and the effects of deterioration climate crisis.

Here's a look at seven stories that shaped America this year.

Contested elections in Venezuela

Mass protests broke out in Venezuela after longtime President Nicolas Maduro was declared the winner of a third term in the country's July 28 presidential election.

As the government refused to release the usual results of the vote, the opposition released its own documents that it says prove Maduro claimed victory by fraud.

Public anger at the results spilled onto the streets weeks after the contest was announced. Police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse thousands of demonstrators in the capital Caracas and other cities.

Human Rights Watch reported at least that 23 protesters or bystandersas well as one member of the National Guard, were killed in the government crackdown. Thousands of Venezuelans were also arrested.

Maduro blamed the protests on his political opponents and foreign powers, accusing them of seeking to destabilize the South American country. He promised to publish the full results of the votes, but has yet to do so.

In early September, a Venezuelan judge issued an arrest warrant for the opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalezwho went into hiding after the vote. Gonzalez has since fled to Spain, where he requested political asylum.

“We are witnessing a strengthening of the state's repressive machinery in response to what it perceives as critical views, opposition or dissent,” Marta Valinas, head of the UN fact-finding mission in Venezuela, said in report on September 17.

Gang violence is on the rise in Haiti

Over the past 12 months, Haiti has experienced a deepening political, security and humanitarian crisis as authorities struggle to stem the tide of deadly gang violence.

At the end of February, the situation worsened when powerful armed groups coordinated attacks began for prisons and other state institutions in the capital Port-au-Prince. Gang leaders demanded the resignation of unelected Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Henry relented in March and a Transitional Presidential Council was formed to lead Haiti's political transition and organize elections. The council then appointed an interim prime minister, For Gary Cohnin May.

But violence continued in Port-au-Prince, forcing tens of thousands of Haitians to flee their homes in search of safety. Access to adequate foodhealth and other services were severely limited, and reports of massacres, rapes, and other violence were frequent.

The deployment of a UN-backed, Kenyan-led police mission has done little to stop the gangs, which are now believed to control about 85 percent of the Haitian capital. Observers say the deployment is understaffed and under-resourced.

Meanwhile, political infighting between the Transitional Presidential Council and Connell's interim government led to the ouster of the prime minister in November. Interim Prime Minister, Alix Didier Fils-Emmewas appointed in his place.

Brazilian police allege that Bolsonaro was involved in the coup attempt

In November, the police in Brazil announced bombshell charges against former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro.

The case centers on an alleged conspiracy to overturn Bolsonaro's narrow defeat in the 2022 elections.

Police charged Bolsonaro for participating in a botched scheme to prevent his left-wing rival, current president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, from taking office after their bitter 2022 battle.

They said in a statement that Bolsonaro and 36 other people, including some of the ex-president's aides and former government ministers, had planned the “violent overthrow of the democratic state”.

Bolsonaro, a former Brazilian army captain who has served as president since 2019. until 2022, denied wrongdoing and said he was the victim of a political witch hunt. He promised to mount a legal “fight” in his defense.

Violence in Sinaloa rises after cartel boss arrested

It's been a big year in Mexican politics as the country held its biggest election in history and Claudia Sheinbaum became its the first female president.

But on elections was also one from Mexico the bloodiest – partly due to the influence of the prominent drug smuggling cartels in the country.

One country where violence continues to rage is Sinaloain the northwestern part of the country. There, rivals within the Sinaloa cartel are fighting to fill the power vacuum left by the arrest of co-founder Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia.

US authorities detained Zambada on July 25 along with Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of another cartel co-founder Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.

Zambada said he had been kidnapped and taken against his will to the US, where he pleaded not guilty to multiple criminal charges, including murder and drug trafficking.

The deteriorating situation in Sinaloa presented one of Scheinbaum's first major challenges since she took office in early October, succeeding his mentor and fellow party leader Morena Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Jacobo Quintero, a restaurant owner in Culiacan, the state capital, said Al Jazeera reported in September that the city was on lockdown as residents were afraid to leave their homes amidst the violence.

“We have about 15 percent of our regular customers,” he said. “People don't want to go out because there are risks. They are scared.

Energy crises hit Ecuador, Cuba

Ecuador, which has long struggled with an increase in drug-trafficking violence, faced another dangerous threat this year: the effects of climate change.

A regional drought, exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon, has forced Colombia to cut off electricity exports in the country in April, causing a crisis for Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa.

The situation got even worse such as record wildfires erupted near the capital, Quito, as well as in other parts of the country. In November, Ecuador announced state of emergency for 60 days to help mobilize resources to deal with the fires.

The drought – widely seen as the worst to hit Ecuador in decades – has hampered water levels in the hydroelectric dams that power much of the country. Authorities have ordered power cuts for hours each day as they urge residents to conserve electricity.

Similar the crisis unfolded in Cuba, where authorities imposed continuous daily blackouts in an attempt to shore up the Caribbean island's dwindling power supply.

Cuba's national power grid crashed several times in 2024, leading to a number of power outages across the country for several weeks between October and early December.

The country's power plants are aging and Cuban authorities are struggling to get enough oil to keep them running amid dwindling imports from Russia, Venezuela and Mexico.

Powerful storms too knocked out the grid in October and November when they hit Cuba with strong winds and storm surges.

Canada accuses Indian agents of being involved in the killing of a Sikh activist

Smoldering diplomatic row between Canada and India resumed in October when Canadian officials said they had evidence showing that agents of the Indian government had engaged in activities threatening Canada's national security.

The federal Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it found evidence that Indian agents were involved “in serious criminal activity in Canada,” with links “to murder and acts of violence” and interference with democratic processes, among other things.

Relations between Ottawa and New Delhi soured in 2023. after that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada was investigating possible links between India and the killing of a prominent Canadian Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijar.

Sent charges shock waves across the country and provoked an angry response from New Delhi, which flatly rejected them.

After the latest allegations were made public in October, Canada ordered the expulsion of six Indian diplomatic and consular officials. Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said the persons were considered “persons of interest” in Nijjar's case.

The Indian government also ordered six Canadian consulate officials to leave.

India's Ministry of External Affairs strongly rejected Canada's allegations, saying in a statement that “under the guise of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy to tarnish India for political gains.”

Argentina's poverty rate is rising

Poverty has soared in Argentina in the past year as far-right President Javier Millay, who is sworn in at the end of 2023, pursues his libertarian economic agenda and cut government programs.

“This is very difficult. We used to have a home. We had access to subsidies. But (the government) suddenly took everything away,” Marianella Abasto, 24. told Al Jazeera recently in a soup kitchen in the capital, Buenos Aires. “I don't know what we're going to do.”

Milei's hard-line reforms sparked major protests nationwide, with thousands take to the streets in June due to planned austerity measures.

But despite the pushback, the Argentine president has retained his supporters and continues to be regarded as a symbol of success for the global far right.