The Sunday Subject – February 26, 2023

President Biden gave a speech in Warsaw just before the one year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Biden called on the West to continue supporting Ukraine and condemned Russia’s atrocities. The previous day he visited Kyiv and pledged more military aid. At the same time, Putin gave a speech condemning the West for causing the war, and suspended Russia’s participation in the last remaining nuclear treaty with the U.S.

Mexico’s Senate passed a bill that significantly weakens the country’s elections regulator.

The bill has yet to pass the lower chamber. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has long sought to undermine Mexico’s democracy, a status it achieved in 2000. If enacted, the law would severely restrict the commission’s ability to carry out free and fair elections.

The presidential election in Nigeria took place Saturday.

For two decades two major parties have had a monopoly on power, but this time a third-party candidate – Peter Obi – has gained significant momentum. As Africa’s most populous country, politics in Nigeria play an outsized role in the continent. The country stands at an inflection point, so this election may be among the most consequential since it became a democracy 23 years ago.

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