INTERNACIONAL
Florida GOP nominee blasts 20-year Dem incumbent as a ‘socialist’ rubber-stamp with ‘precious little to show’
Calling out federal waste and foreign aid subsidies while pointing to his own record of bucking party leadership in Tallahassee, GOP 14th congressional district nominee Mike Beltran promises to bring a sharp litigator’s cross-examination to Washington’s budget crisis.
In an exclusive interview with Digital detailing his bid to unseat 20-year Democratic incumbent Kathy Castor, the former Florida state representative laid out a case rooted in strict fiscal accountability, pledged to challenge even Republican leadership on bloated federal budgets, and warned of the Democrats’ embrace of socialism.
HOUSE CONSERVATIVES UNLEASH MULTIMILLION-DOLLAR MIDTERM BLITZ AGAINST DEM ‘SOCIALIST’ INSURGENCY
Beltran argues that despite her lengthy tenure on Capitol Hill, the people of Tampa Bay have not been served well by Kathy Castor.
«People in Tampa Bay have precious little to show for Kathy Castor’s two decades of incumbency. She’s had no major legislative initiatives. All she’s really done is rename post offices. And all that’s likely to happen if we reelect her is for her to rename every post office from Tampa to Timbuktu.
«She votes with her party over 90% of the time, including radical socialists. She voted in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and she’s poised to elect the Speaker Hakeem Jeffries. And Speaker Hakeem Jeffries would appoint a Chair Raskin, a Chair Omar, a Chair Cortez, and those folks would push radical policies in Congress that are completely out of line with what Tampa families need.»
Beltran argues that in the Florida Legislature he served as an independent conservative voice, not automatically beholden to party leadership, and pledges to continue that approach in Washington.
«I’ve had the courage to vote against special interests even when my own party had lost its way. I’ve voted against insurance companies, home builders, trial lawyers, I voted against various special interests…whenever somebody was doing something that wasn’t good for Tampa families.
«And I had that bipartisan record throughout my time, starting in 2019 and continuing through to 2024, unlike my opponent who discovered bipartisanship merely weeks ago. So I’m always going to do what’s best for the communities that I represent, regardless of party, regardless of special interests, regardless of pressure. And that’s what I’m proud of, having that independent voting record.»
Beltran argues that the United States needs to reexamine its military and geopolitical relationships, with an eye to fiscal prudence:
«It cannot be a one-sided exchange. You cannot have a wealthy country like Germany spend under 2% of GDP on their military when we’re spending over 5% of our GDP on our military budgets, about a trillion dollars. And a lot of that is spent overseas protecting other wealthy countries.
«You see Ukraine and Israel, they’re defending themselves from their adversaries. They’re doing a good job of that. But we are borrowing $2 trillion a year from countries like China. And that’s causing inflation. And what that says is that we don’t have money to be sending, particularly to wealthy allies like Germany and Spain.
«These are countries where we have bases, where we’ve had trouble getting basing privileges or overflight rights for the conflicts that we do need to engage in. And we shouldn’t be subsidizing them anymore.
«You see Israel spends over 10% of GDP on defense, as does South Korea. Those countries are carrying the weight of their own defense, but we don’t see that from all of our NATO allies. And they’re a lot closer to these rogue states, to these conflict regions than we are. They should be doing more, and they’re doing less, and that’s unacceptable.»
As an attorney, Beltran makes the case that he will bring a strong skill-set to Capitol Hill, to do away with business as usual and to fight for the citizens of Hillsborough County:
«My legal skills are quite good. I’m a good cross examiner. I’ll be good at scrutinizing witnesses who come before committees that I serve on. I’ve litigated in the federal courts, so I know the federal statutes. I know issues that need to be redressed. I know how to write statutes so that they can be easily applied by judges, so that attorneys can counsel their clients on what the law is and what they need to do to comply with that.
«I’m proud to be a practicing attorney. I’ve helped a lot of businesses and individuals throughout Tampa Bay for almost 20 years.
FIRST DATA CENTER BILL CLEARS HOUSE AS BOTH PARTIES SCRAMBLE FOR ANSWERS ON AFFORDABILITY
«And my opponent is also an attorney, but she hasn’t practiced in a very long time. She was, I think, a land use attorney, she says, before she was a county commissioner. But I don’t think she brings that same skill-set. I’ve never seen her cross-examine a witness to any effect. And I haven’t seen her apply her legal skills to any legislative initiative. In fact, it’s kind of difficult to identify anything that she’s enacted that’s of any particular value to Tampa or otherwise.»
Kathy Castor has repeatedly voted against the interests of ordinary Americans in Florida’s 14th district, Beltran argues:
«Well, she opposed tax cuts for the middle class and working class and retirees. She opposed removing taxes on tips, removing taxes on Social Security, removing taxes on overtime.
«And she wanted to pay, through taxpayer funds, for trans surgeries for children. And that was a very recent vote. That wasn’t something that we have to reach into ancient history to find. And I opposed that.
«I see no reason why a single mother here in Hillsborough County should be paying taxes to pay for trans surgeries for minors while she actually is being taxed on her overtime or her tips.»
Beltran pledges to confront the leadership of his own party if he disagrees with their policies, but also notes he will work with Democrats:
«Obviously, we’ve had Republicans who have also spent too much money. And so I’m going to go to Washington. I’m going to work with my party, and I’ll work across the aisle, and I’ll work with any administration that’s in power to identify waste, fraud, and abuse, identify unnecessary government programs, identify savings, and identify cost controls, and make sure that we are the fiscal conservatives that we say we are.
«That’s what’s necessary to save this country because we need to balance the budget and we need pay down the debt and we need to live within our means, because if we don’t balance our budget, then the budget will be balanced for us and it will be done when somebody cuts off our credit and people stop lending to us.»
Finally, as democratic socialist candidates have won Democratic primaries across the nation and in Florida, Beltran notes that Castor has consistently refused to condemn socialist ideology, or candidates with such views in her own party.
«We see Kathy Castor, who’s embraced Angie Nixon, who is one of those avowed socialist candidates. She said that her party was a big tent party, and that needs to be a very big tent to accommodate Angie Nixon…I’m not sure I’d like to be in a tent of any size with her, but my opponent welcomes her with open arms.
«And she’s going to vote in lockstep with these socialists, first to elect Hakeem Jeffries and then to appoint these socialists to committee chairmanships. She’s done very little to distance herself from the radicals within her party. Even as she masquerades recently as a moderate, she will empower the socialists.
«And that’s really what’s at stake in November. It’s not just me, it’s not just Kathy Castor, it is the direction of the country and whether we’re going to embrace these radical policies, or whether we are going to have economic growth and prosperity and safety here in the United States.»
midterm elections, house of representatives politics, house of representatives, florida, politics
INTERNACIONAL
As Singham faces federal probe, wife marches in anti-Israel protest led by groups he funded
NEW YORK — A network funded by Neville Roy Singham, a communist tech tycoon living in Shanghai, mounted a coordinated anti-Israel protest through Midtown Manhattan Thursday after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations, deploying field marshals, pre-made signs, banners, megaphones, drums, portable sound equipment and a stage for a four-hour demonstration.
At 3:40 p.m. Thursday, field marshals and foot soldiers from the People’s Forum Inc. connected to their «comrades» in the Singham network at the steps of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue. Digital watched the operation unfold from setup to breakdown.
At the center of the protest was Jodie Evans, Singham’s wife, a longtime leader at the People’s Forum and the co-founder of CodePink — a nonprofit that has operated within the broader pro-communist activist network funded by her husband. As Digital first reported, the Justice Department’s U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York opened a grand jury investigation into alleged money laundering, bank fraud and wire fraud by Singham and his network. Singham and the organizations he has funded haven’t been charged with any crimes.
As the march moved through Manhattan, self-declared «comrades» of the Revolutionary Communists of America chanted, «Long live the intifada,» while Evans and activists from other organizations within the Singham network marched alongside members of the Democratic Socialists of America.
«Intifada! Intifada! Long live the intifada!» the crowd shouted, chanting the term used by Palestinian militants to violently oppose the existence of the state of Israel.
FROM AUSTIN TO NEW YORK, PRO-CHINA NETWORK FUELS WEEK OF ANTI-US PROTESTS AS XI MEETS TRUMP
Earlier, police arrested actress Susan Sarandon, a regular speaker at People’s Forum events and protests, after demonstrators blocked First Avenue in an anti-Israel sit-in. CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin and actress Cynthia Nixon were also among the protesters. The demonstration included activists from Jewish Voice for Peace, another partner of the Singham network whose leaders have advocated replacing Israel with a state called «Palestine.»
By the end of the evening, at 8:08 p.m., Digital observed the protesters rolling their carts back to the People’s Forum Inc., the network’s Midtown headquarters on W. 37th Street and a key organizing hub for the Singham network’s street demonstrations on issues from Israel to anti-American tech. Congressional lawmakers, the Justice Department and federal, state and local policymakers have criticized the groups as antisemitic, anti-American and «Trojan horses» for the Chinese Communist Party.
WATCH: Revolutionary Communists of America march at anti-Netanyahu protest in NYC
The day’s events, documented in real time by a Digital investigative team, provided a rare, on-the-ground view of the infrastructure behind the network’s protests. The operation involved assigned marshals, paid nonprofit staff, pre-made signs, portable sound equipment, rolling wagons, a stage, coordinated slogans and a media team producing content for online distribution.
While not every group participating in the demonstration was directly funded by Singham, the personnel and logistics showed how organizations with overlapping leadership, funding and messaging can operate together to turn a political flashpoint into a professionally-managed street campaign.
WATCH: Singham-linked Party for Socialism and Liberation activists roll in stacks of protest signs at Bryant Park
SOCIALIST, COMMUNIST GROUPS COORDINATE, PROMOTE ‘SPONTANEOUS’ ANTI-ICE PROTESTS IN AUSTIN
The appearance of Singham’s wife alongside leaders and activists from the People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, the Palestinian Youth Movement and a «Shut It Down for Palestine» campaign provides visible evidence of the Singham network’s central role in organizing and promoting anti-Israel protests, particularly in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
The coordinated signage and equipment revealed an organizing and logistics infrastructure that moved people, messaging and materials through the city for three hours. Digital has observed the same materials at a number of separate protests, targeting not only Israel but rallying support for the Islamic Republic of Iran, the communist regimes of Venezuela and Cuba, and fighting data centers and American AI. That infrastructure helps explain how the same network has repeatedly transformed breaking news and political flashpoints into large, highly-coordinated anti-Israel protests across the country.
The protest’s visible organization reflected the scale of the financial network behind some of its leading participants. After his wedding to Evans in 2017 and the sale of ThoughtWorks, the technology company he founded, Singham directed $285 million to nonprofits and media organizations, according to a Digital investigation. The People’s Forum received $22.4 million from Singham, while CodePink received $1.33 million. BreakThrough BT Media Inc., which operates BreakThrough News, received $1.098 million, according to tax filings.
POWER COUPLE OF CHAOS: HOW A TYCOON AND ACTIVIST BUILT A ‘REVOLUTIONARY BASE’ AT THE HOUSE OF SINGHAM
DOJ LAUNCHES GRAND JURY PROBE INTO MARXIST MOGUL NEVILLE ROY SINGHAM’S FUNDING OF LEFTIST GROUPS
In his United Nations address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the demonstrators «phony human rights protesters» who have been silent in speaking out against atrocities by the Islamic Republic of Iran against its citizens.
Evans’ presence also offered an unusually direct view of the people behind the anti-Israel protest machine that has mobilized repeatedly across New York and other American cities against Israel.
At about 4 p.m., Manolo De Los Santos, executive director at the People’s Forum, arrived and moved near the anti-Israel signs his foot soldiers had rolled onto the steps of the New York Public Library. A lieutenant handed out signs calling for sanctions against Israel and declaring, «WAR CRIMINALS NOT WELCOME» and «NEW YORK REJECTS ZIONISM.» At the bottom, the signs carried the branding of a communist group that the People’s Forum works with closely: the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which doesn’t publicly disclose its finances.
Beside De Los Santos stood Layan Fuleihan, a controversial fixture in anti-Israel protests. Fuleihan, a Palestinian American, spoke at an Oct. 8, 2023, protest that the People’s Forum organized, supporting the Hamas attack on Israel and saying, «Yesterday, the world woke up to incredible news. The media will tell you that yesterday, terrorists invaded Israel. But we know that actually what happened is that the oppressed people of Palestine broke out of the open-air prison they have been subjected to.»
People’s Forum posted the video on its own X account. In the same video, De Los Santos declared, «If you listen to the media in this country, you will think the war started 48 hours ago. We know this war started 75 years ago,» with the birth of the state of Israel. Fuleihan didn’t reply to questions from Digital.
REPORT: CHINESE PROPAGANDA, SINGHAM NETWORK, FOREIGN DARK MONEY LINKED TO CAMPAIGNS AGAINST DATA CENTERS
The demonstration also showed the role of paid personnel in the network’s street protest operations. Fuleihan was paid $78,649 as the People’s Forum’s education director, while David Chung, the organization’s organizing director, earned $76,249, according to the nonprofit’s latest IRS filings. Their presence alongside field marshals, volunteer coordinators and campaign organizers showed an operation with designated personnel responsible for recruitment, messaging, crowd movement and event logistics.
Nearby, towering over many of the protesters, Taher Dahleh, an organizer with another partner of the People’s Forum — the Palestinian Youth Movement — moved through the crowd, grabbing a Winstone Blue cigarette from another activist, directing demonstrators and coordinating the march. He has been a familiar presence at anti-Israel demonstrations since Oct. 7, 2023, regularly hosting volunteer meetings on Monday nights at the People’s Forum for a campaign called «Shut It Down For Palestine.» During the «March on Washington to Let Gaza Live!» that People’s Forum co-organized in November 2025, Dahleh slammed «tech companies» for allegedly contributing to the «slaughter» of Palestinians by selling services to the government of Israel.
Between late 2023 and late 2024, far-left nonprofit WesPac Foundation Inc. gave Palestinian Youth Movement $1 million through its nonprofit fiscal sponsor, Honor the Earth, according to tax filings. Records show it’s received funds from several other sources over the years. The Palestinian Youth Movement still shares a post on its Facebook page from years ago, quoting a young Palestinian killed after murdering three Israelis: «You who possess arms and bullets, remember that there is an enemy so that you may put your bullets in their bodies, not the bodies of your own people.» Dahleh didn’t respond to a request for comment.
HOUSE PANEL SUBPOENAS 3 LEFT-WING GROUPS IN PROBE OF $39M TIED TO MARXIST TYCOON NEVILLE SINGHAM
The protest followed a familiar playbook that Evans, De Los Santos, Fuleihan, Dahleh, Chung, the People’s Forum and the Singham network have used since Oct. 7, 2023, to mobilize students at Columbia University, launch a campus encampment and storm Grand Central Terminal. Since then, the same constellation of communist, socialist and anti-war groups has repeatedly turned out for protests over Israel, ICE, the Trump administration, the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran, the arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and other political flashpoints — including protests against U.S. data centers, American AI, and U.S. technology companies like Palantir Technologies, Microsoft and Google.
This time, Dahleh and People’s Forum field marshals led the activists from the steps of the public library on Fifth Avenue to E. 42nd Street, where they headed eastbound toward the United Nations past Grand Central Station. Inside the crowd, the network’s social media operation made the march seem like a spontaneous display of mass public anger. At 5:20 p.m., with the march still in force, People’s Forum posted a tightly-cropped video on X, showing demonstrators streaming below flapping American flags with a caption celebrating a «massive crowd of protesters taking to the streets demanding war criminal Netanyahu be brought to justice! Free Palestine!»
However, outside the limited mile-long path of the march, New Yorkers went about their ordinary days. The repeated appearance of the same organizations, leaders, signs, sound systems, wagons and protest infrastructure rolling through the streets of New York City revealed the professional organizing system operating behind the scenes, not a «massive crowd.»
WATCH: Neville Roy Singham’s wife Jodie Evans appears at anti-Israel protest, denies he funds protest efforts
On E. 42nd Street, Evans — Singham’s wife and a central figure in the network surrounding the People’s Forum and other Singham-funded organizations — smiled widely as she kept step with the activists, marching behind the bright yellow-and-black signs marked «Party for Socialism and Liberation.»
Evans marched with CodePink activists behind a large «STOP ARMING ISRAEL» banner and carried a poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as «WANTED» for «GENOCIDE.»
Evans stood out in trademark CodePink colors, wearing an oversized fuchsia hat, pink peace-sign earrings, dark glasses, a pink-and-white keffiyeh and a shirt reading «I ♥ Palestinian Human Rights.»
Her appearance placed a member of the financier’s immediate family directly in the middle of the protest activity his money has helped sustain.
When Digital asked her about her husband’s funding for nonprofits leading anti-Israel protests, she didn’t answer the question directly and responded, «He’s not been in the United States for six-and-a-half years.»
When asked about his position on the protests, she answered: «He supports stopping a genocide, you bet.»
Evans laughed off questions about Singham backing the Chinese Communist Party. In a video that Digital unearthed, Singham stood at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Shanghai during a November 2025 conference and expressed support for «a new world order that is based on multilateralism that President Xi and the CPC [Communist Party of China] and China have proposed.»
LAWMAKERS THROW OUT ‘TROJAN HORSE’ ACTIVISTS THEY SAY ARE ENGAGED IN AMERICAN SUBVERSION
Evans denied allegations from lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Singham network acts as a «Trojan horse» for the Chinese Communist Party, calling them «a lot of lies.»
«We’re not doing anything wrong. So it’s a lot of ‘alleging,’ and we’re very honest about what we do: protesting every day,» she said. «That’s what we do. And that’s what I’ve done for 55 years.»
She got visibly agitated on the topic of China. «China is not our enemy!» she said. «That’s the message. You know what? I’ve been going to China for six and a half years. I can’t talk about China. It’s complex. I don’t understand it. I’m just trying to learn about it. So it’s not about China. It’s about the United States not using our tax dollars to go to war on China. There’s never an excuse to go to war on people.»
The protest was also packaged for online amplification. During the march, Zoe Alexandra, news editor of BreakThrough News, moved through the crowd conducting interviews, pulling Danaka Katovich, national co-director of CodePink, away from Evans’ CodePink contingent for a chat. BreakThrough later posted a branded one-minute, 21-second video on X under the headline: «Thousands protest…» Singham gave $1.098 million to Breakthrough BT Media Inc., which operates BreakThrough News, according to tax filings.
SINGHAM-LINKED NONPROFITS FIGHT HOUSE SUBPOENAS, ACCUSE LAWMAKERS OF MCCARTHY-ERA ‘WITCH HUNT’
The protest featured black-and-white keffiyehs, a torched effigy of Netanyahu, bloodied cardboard imagery of Netanyahu and Arabic chants declaring that «Israel will be Arab.» Critics say the slogans and imagery go beyond criticism of Israeli policy, invoking violent resistance and portraying the elimination of Israel as a political objective.
To close out the protest near the United Nations, a leader from the Singham network manned the pop-up stage with a black-and-white keffiyeh over his shoulders, his arms tightly crossed, as speakers blasted the U.S. and Israel. As their last speaker, organizers returned to another leader from the People’s Forum, Tajee Bounds, who serves as membership, events and volunteer coordinator.
A graduate of Columbia University, Bounds was in the middle of the campus’s first encampment in April 2024 with People’s Forum organizers when he stood, holding a banner and yelling along with a chant: «Up, up with liberation! Down, down with occupation!» The Columbia Spectator posted a video with his proclamation.
«Glory, glory to our martyrs,» an activist chanted, before Bounds took the microphone at 6:31 p.m. to lead the crowd in a chant: «Gaza! Gaza! You will rise!»
At 7:01 p.m., People’s Forum activists began rolling away their wagon full of yellow-and-black signs, set upside down, declaring, «ARREST WAR CRIMINAL BENJAMIN NETANYAHU!» Bounds and others began breaking down their stage and speaker system.
HOW CODEPINK CO-FOUNDER MEDEA BENJAMIN’S FAMILY FOUNDATION BECAME A MAJOR FUNDER OF LEFT-WING ACTIVIST GROUPS
For a dramatic backdrop, the protest moved west on 42nd Street to Times Square, like so many protests have ended before. There, CodePink’s Benjamin, Evans’ fellow co-founder and a guest at Singham and Evans’ wedding in 2017, created a video for Instagram with herself standing in front of the protesters wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh scarf and narrating to the camera the day’s events: «These protests against Netanyahu and the Israeli regime have been going on since 10 a.m. All day long! Now it’s nighttime!»
CodePink’s message throughout the video repeated the mantra of the day’s protest: «FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA PALESTINE WILL BE FREE.»
The videos presented the demonstration as a spontaneous eruption of grassroots anger. But the footage was the product of the same operation it portrayed: professional organizers supplied the signs, sound equipment, rolling carts, stage and coordinated messaging, while BreakThrough News, People’s Forum and CodePink activists recorded and distributed footage from the event. The sequence created a feedback loop in which organizers built the spectacle, captured it on video and circulated the images as evidence of the movement’s scale and momentum.
After the Times Square theater, foot soldiers for the People’s Forum rolled their wagon back onto W. 42nd Street, past the Port Authority and a McDonald’s on Eighth Avenue, with their trademark bright yellow-and-black signs. Others carried the bloodied cardboard imagery of Netanyahu and other protest paraphernalia.
They ended up at the hub of the anti-Israel activist, the headquarters of the People’s Forum on W. 34th Street, carrying signs past books by communist leader Karl Marx and other ideologues.
Inside the People’s Forum’s large meeting hall, Chung, organizing director of the People’s Forum, awaited the returning protesters.
De Los Santos greeted them at the door, stepping outside to tell Digital that he was proud of the group’s work leading the anti-Israel protests for the past three years.
«We organize protests. What is wrong or illegal about that?» De Los Santos said, as his workers drew the shades on the People’s Forum.
He also declared proudly, «Yeah, I am a communist.»
politics, benjamin netanyahu, us protests, israel, investigations, fox news investigates, new york city, united nations
INTERNACIONAL
Lula prohibió las apuestas online en Brasil: “Hacen creer a las personas más necesitadas que les va a resolver la vida”
El presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, anunció este viernes la prohibición de las apuestas deportivas y los casinos online, una medida que entrará en vigor de inmediato y que fue presentada por el Gobierno como una respuesta al impacto de las llamadas “bets” sobre el endeudamiento de las familias.
El anuncio se produjo a nueve días de las elecciones presidenciales del 4 de octubre, en las que Lula busca un nuevo mandato frente al senador Flávio Bolsonaro, hijo del expresidente Jair Bolsonaro. Los sondeos recientes muestran una competencia estrecha entre ambos candidatos.
“Desde hoy no se puede poner más dinero en los sitios de apuestas en el país”, afirmó el ministro de Hacienda, Dario Durigan, durante un acto encabezado por Lula en San Pablo.
La medida será implementada mediante un decreto provisional y comenzará a regir una vez que sea publicada en el Diario Oficial. Para mantener su vigencia, deberá ser convalidada por el Congreso dentro de un plazo máximo de 120 días. El Gobierno también anunció que enviará al Parlamento un proyecto de ley para incorporar la actividad al Código Penal y reforzar las sanciones contra el juego en línea.
Lula convirtió el combate contra las apuestas en uno de los ejes de su discurso en la recta final de la campaña. El Gobierno sostiene que el crecimiento de las “bets” contribuyó al endeudamiento de los hogares y que el fenómeno afecta especialmente a los sectores de menores ingresos.
Durante el acto en San Pablo, Lula aseguró que el problema de las apuestas ya era analizado desde hacía tiempo por su Gobierno porque, según afirmó, había algo más que el endeudamiento habitual de las familias. El mandatario vinculó la situación con la facilidad para acceder al crédito y señaló que muchas personas llegan a tener hasta seis tarjetas.
“El casino está en la cocina, en la sala, con niños, con jubilados. Es necesario tener un control”, afirmó Lula, quien relató que había hablado con una mujer que intentó suicidarse y cuyo hijo se había ahorcado a raíz de las deudas.
“No es una broma, es algo serio que está afectando la salud mental de las personas pobres que juegan para ver si consiguen comprar el pan al día siguiente. Hacen creer a las personas más necesitadas que el juego va a resolverles la vida. Esto es como un cáncer. O sacamos el tumor o el tumor nos va a matar”, sostuvo el presidente brasileño.
Según datos citados por el Ejecutivo, cerca de 25 millones de brasileños apostaron durante 2025 unos 220.600 millones de reales, equivalentes a alrededor de 42.500 millones de dólares. Un estudio de la Universidad de San Pablo divulgado este mes calculó, además, que las apuestas redujeron el consumo y restaron entre 120.000 y 141.000 millones de reales a la actividad económica brasileña durante 2025.
El mercado había crecido rápidamente después de su legalización en 2018 y fue regulado durante el actual Gobierno de Lula en 2023. Desde entonces, decenas de empresas obtuvieron autorización para operar en el país y comenzaron a pagar impuestos.
La prohibición también generó preocupación en el fútbol brasileño. Los clubes dependen en buena medida de los ingresos provenientes de las casas de apuestas, que se convirtieron en patrocinadores principales de numerosos equipos de la primera división. Entidades como Flamengo y Palmeiras cuestionaron públicamente el posible impacto económico de la medida.
Además, el sector advirtió sobre el riesgo de que una prohibición de las plataformas autorizadas impulse el crecimiento de sitios ilegales, que quedarían fuera del sistema de regulación y fiscalización estatal.
apuestas
INTERNACIONAL
Diputados guatemaltecos impulsan ley para regular derechos de conductores y repartidores de aplicaciones en Guatemala
Diputados ex oficialistas presentaron en el Congreso de Guatemala una iniciativa para reconocer derechos laborales de conductores y repartidores de aplicaciones, con acceso a salario mínimo, seguro médico y seguridad social.
La propuesta busca incorporar estas tareas al Código de Trabajo y otorgar una relación laboral formal a quienes transportan personas, alimentos o documentos mediante plataformas digitales.
El proyecto ya fue entregado a la Dirección Legislativa del Congreso y deberá ser conocido por el pleno antes de pasar a una comisión para su análisis. Pérez espera que la iniciativa reúna el respaldo de la mayoría de los legisladores para avanzar hacia una eventual aprobación.
La propuesta está acompañada por los diputados Samuel Pérez, Román Castellanos, Patricia Orantes, Andrea Reyes, Ronalth Ochaeta y Orlando Pérez.
Su alcance incluye a quienes trabajan para servicios de transporte y entrega gestionados desde aplicaciones móviles.
“Esta es una ley importante para cubrir los derechos laborales como seguro médico y salarios dignos para quienes prestan estos servicios para transporte de personas, alimentos o documentos”, afirmó Pérez.
La iniciativa plantea que estos trabajadores accedan al Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social, conocido como IGSS, y a las protecciones previstas para el resto de los empleados del país.
El Código de Trabajo como marco para repartidores y conductores
La incorporación al Código de Trabajo busca extender la protección legal a quienes dependen de estas actividades como fuente principal de ingresos.
El planteamiento persigue tres objetivos: ampliar la cobertura laboral, garantizar beneficios básicos durante la prestación del servicio y actualizar la legislación ante las nuevas modalidades vinculadas al comercio y al transporte digital.
La propuesta responde a una expansión de las plataformas en un mercado laboral sin una cifra oficial consolidada sobre el número de personas que trabajan como conductores o repartidores. Aplicaciones como Uber, InDrive, Urban, Picap y Yango se convirtieron en alternativas de ingresos para cientos de guatemaltecos.
El fenómeno se desarrolla en un país donde alrededor de 5,3 millones de personas trabajaban en el sector informal en 2025, equivalentes al 66% de la población económicamente activa, de acuerdo con el Observatorio Centroamericano de Violencia Laboral. Las plataformas han ganado presencia entre jóvenes y personas con obstáculos para acceder a empleos formales, aunque suelen ofrecer flexibilidad sin prestaciones asociadas.
El reparto a domicilio muestra la dimensión de esa actividad: Uber Eats superó los cuatro millones de pedidos en Guatemala desde su lanzamiento e integró a más de 1,400 comercios a su sistema, según datos de la empresa.
La ausencia de cobertura médica, aportes previsionales y otras garantías laborales constituye uno de los problemas que la iniciativa pretende atender.
La actualización normativa busca adaptar la legislación guatemalteca a la economía digital, según detalló Publinews. El debate también se vincula con otras propuestas legislativas recientes sobre las formas de trabajo creadas por la tecnología.
Más de 60 leyes en el mundo sobre trabajo en plataformas
La discusión en Guatemala ocurre mientras distintos países ensayan fórmulas para definir el vínculo entre las plataformas y quienes prestan servicios a través de ellas. Hasta 2024 existían al menos 60 legislaciones sobre trabajo en plataformas digitales y más de 120 fallos judiciales sobre la naturaleza de esa relación laboral.
En junio, la Organización Internacional del Trabajo aprobó en Ginebra un convenio destinado a equiparar los derechos de los trabajadores de plataformas con los del resto de los empleados. El instrumento contempla salario mínimo, seguridad social y protección frente al despido, y entrará en vigor 12 meses después de que al menos dos Estados miembros lo ratifiquen.
España aprobó en 2021 la Ley Rider, que presume una relación laboral directa para los repartidores de comida a domicilio. La norma obliga a las plataformas a contratarlos formalmente y les reconoce salario mínimo, vacaciones pagadas, cotizaciones a la seguridad social y negociación colectiva.
El Reino Unido adoptó otro criterio tras un fallo de su Tribunal Supremo en 2021, que clasificó a los conductores de Uber como workers, una categoría intermedia con derechos laborales mínimos, pero sin equipararlos plenamente a empleados.
Chile promulgó en 2022 la Ley 21.431, una de las primeras regulaciones de América Latina sobre esta actividad.
El modelo chileno permite elegir entre un régimen de dependencia y otro de independencia. Quienes optan por la segunda modalidad deben acceder obligatoriamente a seguridad social en salud, pensiones y seguros contra accidentes laborales, además de contratos formales y transparencia sobre el funcionamiento de los algoritmos.
México avanza en una reforma de su Ley Federal del Trabajo para reconocer prestaciones a los colaboradores que superen un umbral mínimo de ingresos. En Colombia, la reforma laboral de 2025 estableció un esquema dual por el que las plataformas cubren el 60% de los aportes de salud y pensión de los repartidores independientes.
Congreso de la República de Guatemala,legislatura,documento oficial,política
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