Commentary from Greg Hunter:

Last month, legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong said the time to prepare is now for the chaos that is coming in 2023.  The destabilization of America has been kicked into high gear early with the FBI raid on President Trump’s Florida home this week.  Armstrong explains, “This really is unprecedented . . . . In the United States, we are supposed to have civilized transfer of power.  That’s all coming to an end.  I am not being dramatic here.  From a legal perspective, this is completely unprecedented.  The danger of this is once they have done this, if the Republicans are ever allowed to get back into power, they would only end up doing the same thing to the Democrats. . . . It’s striking a real deathblow to the very idea of a democracy.  We are not, at least we were not until today, someplace like Guatemala where you throw the opposition in jail, kill them or whatever you do.  This is what’s going on.  They are so afraid of Trump running in 2024 that this is just over the top.  Once they did this, there is no end.”

To read more or to watch the interview, click here to visit USAWatchdog.

ASIA:

India’s consumer inflation eased to 6.71% in July, easing for a third straight month, helped by slower increases in food and fuel prices and adding to expectations that the central bank may rein in the pace of interest rate hikes next month. The year-on-year figure, published by the Office for National Statistics on Friday, was slightly below the 6.78% forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. However, it remained above the central bank’s tolerance band of 2-6% for the seventh consecutive month. Economists said they expect the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to raise its key interest rate by at least 25 basis points next month as inflation is likely to remain above its tolerance band during this calendar year.

Singapore cut its economic growth forecast for this year yesterday after the economy contracted in the second quarter from the previous three months due to rising inflation and tighter monetary policy, the government said. Moves by central banks around the world to tighten borrowing costs to deal with skyrocketing prices have weighed on global demand for Singapore’s exports, with the government painting a bleak picture for the rest of the year. Singapore’s economy is expected to grow by 3.0 to 4.0 percent this year, up from an earlier forecast of 3 to 5 percent, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:

• NIKKEI 225 increased 727.65 points or 2.62% to 28,546.98

• Shanghai decreased 4.78 points or -0.15% to 3,276.89

• Hang Seng increased 93.19 points or 0.46% to 20,175.62

• ASX 200 decreased 38.50 points or -0.54% to 7,032.50

• Kospi increased 4.16 points or 0.16% to 2,527.94

• SENSEX increased 130.18 points or 0.22% to 59,462.78

• Nifty50 increased 39.15 points or 0.22% to 17,698.15

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:

• AUDUSD increased 0.00102 or 0.14% to 0.71126

• NZDUSD increased 0.00126 or 0.20% to 0.64476

• USDJPY increased 0.453 or 0.34% to 133.550

• USDCNY decreased 0.00651 or -0.10% to 6.73709

Precious Metals:

l Gold increased 8.16 USD/t oz. or 0.46% to 1,797.61

l Silver increased 0.293 USD/t. oz or 1.44% to 20.584

Some economic news from last night:

China:

China Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (Aug) decreased from 71.52 to 69.85

Japan:

Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (Aug) increased from 37.39 to 38.31

Foreign Bonds Buying increased from 37.8B to 827.0B

Foreign Investments in Japanese Stocks increased from -120.9B to 61.0B

India:

Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (MoM) (Aug) decreased from 63.73 to 63.65

South Korea:

Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (MoM) (Aug) decreased from 40.57 to 38.43

Export Price Index (YoY) (Jul) decreased from 23.7% to 16.3%

Import Price Index (YoY) (Jul) decreased from 33.6% to 27.9%

Australia:

HIA New Home Sales (MoM) decreased from 1.9% to -13.1%

Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (MoM) (Aug) decreased from 53.02 to 52.38

New Zealand:

Business NZ PMI (Jul) increased from 50.0 to 52.7

FPI (MoM) (Jul) increased from 1.2% to 2.1%

Some economic news from today:

China:

M2 Money Stock (YoY) (Jul) increased from 11.4% to 12.0%

New Loans (Jul) decreased from 2,810.0B to 679.0B

Outstanding Loan Growth (YoY) (Jul) decreased from 11.2% to 11.0%

Chinese Total Social Financing (Jul) decreased from 5,170.0B to 756.1B

Hong Kong:

GDP (QoQ) (Q2) increased from -2.9% to 1.0%

GDP (YoY) (Q2) increased from -1.4% to -1.3%

India:

Bank Loan Growth increased from 14.0% to 14.5%

Deposit Growth increased from 8.4% to 9.1%

Exports (USD) (Jul) increased from 35.24B to 36.27B

FX Reserves, USD decreased from 573.88B to 572.98B

Imports (USD) (Jul) increased from 66.26B to 66.27B

Trade Balance (Jul) increased from -31.02B to -30.00B

CPI (YoY) (Jul) decreased from 7.01% to 6.71%

Cumulative Industrial Production (Jun) decreased from 12.90% to 12.70%

Industrial Production (YoY) (Jun) decreased from 19.6% to 12.3%

Manufacturing Output (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 20.6% to 12.5%

EUROPE/EMEA:

The International Monetary Fund has warned European governments against interfering with the region’s worsening energy crisis with broad financial support, saying instead that consumers should bear the brunt of higher prices to encourage energy savings and help a wider transition to green energy. The IMF said on Wednesday that governments should seek to protect the most vulnerable households with targeted support, but noted that existing policies aimed at easing rising costs for all consumers would hurt European economies – many of which are already on the brink of recession – and deter the energy transition . Until now, European policymakers have imposed sweeping price controls, subsidies and tax cuts to soften the blow of rising energy prices that have hit the continent hard after Russia’s war in Ukraine and a wider supply glut. Fully offsetting the rise in living costs for the bottom 20% of households would cost governments a comparably lower 0.4% of GDP on average over the whole of 2022, the company said. Doing so for the bottom 40% would cost 0.9%, he added.

The major Europe stock markets had a green day:

l CAC 40 increased 9.19 points or 0.14% to 6,553.86

l FTSE 100 increased 34.98 points or 0.47% to 7,500.89

l DAX 30 increased 101.34 points or 0.74% to 13,795.85

The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:

• EURUSD decreased 0.00611 or -0.59% to 1.02574

• GBPUSD decreased 0.00618 or -0.51% to 1.21302

• USDCHF increased 0.00101 or 0.11% to 0.94171

Some economic news from Europe today:

UK:

NIESR Monthly GDP Tracker increased from -0.1% to 0.0%

Business Investment (QoQ) (Q2) increased from -0.6% to 3.8%

GDP (QoQ) (Q2) decreased from 0.8% to -0.1%

GDP (YoY) (Q2) decreased from 8.7% to 2.9%

GDP (MoM) decreased from 0.4% to -0.6%

Industrial Production (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 1.3% to -0.9%

Manufacturing Production (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 1.7% to -1.6%

Monthly GDP 3M/3M Change decreased from 0.4% to -0.1%

Trade Balance (Jun) decreased from -20.67B to -22.85B

Trade Balance Non-EU (Jun) decreased from -9.60B to -12.29B

France:

French CPI (YoY) increased from 5.8% to 6.1%

French CPI (MoM) (Jul) decreased from 0.7% to 0.3%

French HICP (MoM) (Jul) decreased from 0.9% to 0.3%

French HICP (YoY) (Jul) increased from 6.5% to 6.8%

Spain:

Spanish CPI (MoM) (Jul) decreased from 1.9% to -0.3%

Spanish CPI (YoY) (Jul) increased from 10.2% to 10.8%

Spanish HICP (MoM) (Jul) decreased from 1.9% to -0.6%

Spanish HICP (YoY) (Jul) increased from 10.0% to 10.7%

Italy:

Italian Trade Balance (Jun) decreased from -0.062B to -2.166B

Italian Trade Balance EU (Jun) increased from 0.20B to 0.84B

Euro Zone:

Industrial Production (YoY) (Jun) increased from 1.6% to 2.4%

Industrial Production (MoM) (Jun) decreased from 2.1% to 0.7%

US/AMERICAS:

The Federal Reserve will not end its hawkish policy anytime soon, despite a softer inflation reading for July. Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin told CNBC that the central bank that more evidence is needed to determine if inflation is indeed waning. “I’d like to see a period of sustained inflation under control, and until we do that I think we’re just going to have to continue to move rates into restrictive territory,” Barkin told CNBC. Furthermore, he said that they want to see inflation running at the 2% target “for a period of time.”

Mexico’s central bank voted to raise rates by three-quarters of a percentage point to 8.5%. This is the highest interest rate for the nation since 2008 when the current government aquired power. Inflation now sits at 8.15%; the highest level in over 20 years.

US Market Closings:

• Dow advanced 424.38 points or 1.27% to 33,761.05
• S&P 500 advanced 72.88 points or 1.73% to 4,280.15
• Nasdaq advanced 267.27 points or 2.09% to 13,047.19
• Russell 2000 advanced 41.36 points or 2.09% to 2,016.62

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite advanced 187.93 points or 0.94% to 20,179.81
• TSX 60 advanced 11.34 points or 0.94% to 1,217.99

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa advanced 3,046.32 points or 2.78% to 112,764.26

ENERGY:

The oil markets had a mixed day today:

l Crude Oil decreased 1.928 USD/BBL or -2.04% to 92.412

l Brent decreased 1.333 USD/BBL or -1.34% to 98.267

l Natural gas decreased 0.1241 USD/MMBtu or -1.40% to 8.7499

l Gasoline decreased 0.0192 USD/GAL or -0.63% to 3.0523

l Heating oil increased 0.0529 USD/GAL or 1.52% to 3.5369

The above data was collected around 13:05 EST on Friday

l Top commodity gainers: Heating Oil (1.52%), Palm Oil(3.35%), Coffee (1.56%) and Cotton (3.26%)

l Top commodity losers: Cocoa (-2.37%), Aluminum (-3.45%), Zinc (-2.55%) and Soybeans (-3.95%)

The above data was collected around 13:15 EST on Friday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.195%(-0.2bp), US 2’s 3.26% (+0.030%), US 10’s 2.8603% (-2.77bps); US 30’s 3.13% (-0.047%), Bunds 0.9810% (+1.4bp), France 1.5340% (+0.3bp), Italy 3.0620% (+3.9bp), Turkey 16.10% (+7bp), Greece 3.239% (+7bp), Portugal 2.018% (+4.8bp); Spain 2.117% (+4.5bp) and UK Gilts 2.1020% (+4.3bp).

The enhanced police state is turning tax accountants into the Gestapo. The IRS was forced to remove its job description after creating a buzz across the internet.

“As a Special Agent you will combine your accounting skills with law enforcement skills to investigate financial crimes,” the job advertisement stated. “No matter what the source, all income earned, both legal and illegal, has the potential of becoming involved in crimes which fall within the investigative jurisdiction of the IRS Criminal Investigation. Because of the expertise required to conduct these complex financial investigations, IRS Special Agents are considered the premier financial investigators for the Federal government.”

“Financial investigators for the Federal government” aka their muscle to collect as much money in taxes as they can. The description states that it does not matter whether the income was earned legally because it could still be used in crimes. Everyone is to be treated as a criminal until proven innocent now.

Above is a list of the major duties that agents will be responsible for completing. Why on Earth would an IRS agent face a “life-threatening” situation on the job? Worse yet, they are expecting agents to carry guns, and they must be willing to KILL “if necessary.” The United States is turning into a complete police state under the current administration. We were seen as vermin due to the virus, and they see us now as criminals for simply earning money and existing.

The Biden Administration declared a public health emergency over monkeypox. This is not an airborne virus, and it is fairly difficult to catch as skin-to-skin contact is the primary method of transmission. The woke media does not want this fact released, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that 99% of all cases were found in men, and 94% have had male sexual encounters.

Additionally, nearly 20% of gay men who fell ill admitted to having 10 or more partners in the three weeks before symptoms began. About 40% of those who fell ill reported having two to four partners, while 14% reported having five to nine partners. Around 38% admitted to participating in group sex.

This is more of a sexually transmitted disease and should be presented to the public as such. CDC guidance:

“Public health efforts should prioritize gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, who are currently disproportionately affected, for prevention and testing, address equity, and minimize stigma, while maintaining vigilance for transmission in other populations.”

There is no need to stigmatize people for their sexual preferences or repeat problematic misinformation that spread during the 80s during the AIDS epidemic. However, there is no need to scare the general public into thinking that monkeypox is easily transmissible. If they care about health (they don’t), then they should be honest about the virus and educate the demographic mainly at risk.

COMMENT: I was there on the staff of _____________ when you were on Capitol Hill. It was Dick Army who told you he could not support Bill Archer’s retail sales tax because when the Democrats gained power we would have a retail sales tax and an income tax. I found your piece on Europe sleepwalking into its own demise. I’m sure you remember me, but it was Dick Army who said you knew about cycles and the tax reform would fail. You have been saying longer than I can remember that the euro would fail and that the WEF’s dreams were unrealistic. Now with the raid on Trump, it seems that the conspiracy theories that the DOJ, FBI, CIA, and NSA all conspired to make sure he would lose in 2020 are perhaps once again surfacing. When do the cycles point to this madness erupting?

Been reading you for years.

Thank you so much for your views.

SH

REPLY: Nothing is ever permanent. There is a cycle to everything. These people who think that they can remove Xi in China and Putin in Russia and the people will rejoice and celebrate American troops marching down the streets of Moscow and Bejing in some ticker-tape parade are not just unrealistic, they are the instrument of our destruction. This was the same theory behind removing the dictators in the Middle East. They just talk to each other and convince themselves that their ideas are correct and then act on them.

I warned back then that it was a different culture and deeply divided in religion. They wanted to believe they were right and refused to listen to any opposing view. This is the very same thing. Anyone familiar with history knows that there will be no smooth transition and you cannot control the advancement of technology. Only CURIOSITY and FREEDOM provide that key element and Klaus Schwab is a control freak and he thinks he can direct his 4th Industrial Revolution. He will destroy the world economy just as the central planning did in Russia.

We have entered a very dangerous era. There is no better example from history than that of the fate of Julius Caesar. I explore you to read Anatomy of a Debt Crisis. This is the key to the background of even why Caesar crossed the Rubicon and why they assassinated him. He too was draining the swamp. This is also why they are attacking Trump everywhere they can. You have democratic AGs in states trying to put him in prison. This is all about desperately trying to prevent his return.

What they do not understand, was the fact that I had been asked to try to talk Trump out of running in 2024 and if I would advise DeSantis. I declined. But the point was that the Republicans did not want Trump to run for they thought he was too controversial. This raid on his house has now caused a rally to his side. Now the people KNOW he is not one of them in Washington. Even many Republicans have been silent about this raid.

It is true that Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon on January 10, 49 BC (49.02) to purge the corruption in the Republic, but corruption resurfaced. Because he forgave his enemies, they conspired and assassinated him on the Ides of March 44 BC (44.20), just 4.82 years later (250.6 weeks, 62 months). That resulted in another civil war. Even Brutus issued coins announcing proudly that he killed caesar on the Eid Mar (Ides of March 15th). This shows his delusion that he really thought the people would cheer him, but he was wrong. He and the other assassins fled Rome for the people did not support the Senate which was too corrupt as we now have in Washington.

Following the defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, because Cleopatra was trying to use sex to conquer Rome, the people even turned against Mark Antony. Octavian became emperor officially with the title Augustus on January 16, 27 BC (27.04) after the defeat of Egypt. The coins issued by Octovian proclaimed Egypt was Captured – not that they defeated Mark Antony since he was a Roman.

The Julian Claudian dynasty ended with the death of Nero on June 9, 68 AD (68.43), lasting 95.47 years in its entirety. Thus, there is never a permanent new era. There are cycles to everything, and forming the EU was also not something that would endure for 1,000 years any more than the Julio-Claudian Dynasty of Rome.

This is also true of the United States. We have run the course for a Republic and we will face tremendous upheavals in the years ahead into 2032. There is even a risk that there may not be a 2024 presidential election. That would mean a collapse of the Constitutional government. Yet there are also people suggesting that Pelosi flew to Taiwan because Biden will step down and Harris would step aside meaning that Pelosi would become president until the end of the term in 2024.

There are many fools who really think this New World Order will magically unfold and the dreams of Schwab will be realized at last. There is absolutely NO evidence one may find from history that would EVER suggest that there will be an orderly transition to some new economic system. It has NEVER happened even once in 6,000 years of history.

The sanctions imposed on Russia that justified confiscating private assets have not just violated international law, it has divided the world economy and put an end to globalization. By any way we slice this, the foundation of Western ethics and economy has come to an end. We must begin to prepare for a new form of government post-2032. We are indeed sleepwalking into our own destruction of everything that was built post-WWII.

PRIVATE BLOG – Russia Looking Ahead

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PRIVATE BLOG – Trump Raid Undermines the US Internationally

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ASIA:

According to Morgan Stanley analysts, India is likely to be the fastest growing Asian economy by 2022-23. They expect India’s gross domestic product growth to average 7 percent over the period — the strongest among major economies — and contribute 28 percent and 22 percent to growth in Asia and 22 percent, respectively. Much of this optimism stemmed from the decline in commodity prices, particularly oil. With oil/commodity prices down 23-37 percent since the March peak, Morgan Stanley expects macro stability indicators to move back into the comfort zone and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may not need to hike rates aggressively.

The major Asian stock markets had a mixed day today:

• NIKKEI 225 decreased 180.63 points or -0.65% to 27,819.33

• Shanghai increased 51.65 points or 1.60% to 3,281.67

• Hang Seng increased 471.59 points or 2.40% to 20,082.43

• ASX 200 increased 78.30 points or 1.12% to 7,071.00

• Kospi increased 42.90 points or 1.73% to 2,523.78

• SENSEX increased 515.31 points or 0.88% to 59,332.60

• Nifty50 increased 124.25 points or 0.71% to 17,659.00

The major Asian currency markets had a mixed day today:

• AUDUSD increased 0.00357 or 0.50% to 0.71199

• NZDUSD increased 0.00448 or 0.70% to 0.64448

• USDJPY decreased 0.008 or -0.01% to 132.856

• USDCNY increased 0.01696 or 0.25% to 6.73976

Precious Metals:

l Gold decreased 1.21 USD/t oz. or -0.07% to 1,790.92

l Silver decreased 0.177 USD/t. oz or -0.86% to 20.391

Some economic news from last night:

South Korea:

M2 Money supply (Jun) decreased from 8.60% to 7.50%

Australia:

MI Inflation Expectations decreased from 6.3% to 5.9%

New Zealand:

External Migration & Visitors (Jun) increased from 26.30% to 83.50%

Permanent/Long-Term Migration (Jun) decreased from -853 to -896

Singapore:

GDP (YoY) (Q2) increased from 3.8% to 4.4%

GDP (QoQ) (Q2) decreased from 0.8% to -1.0%

No economic news from today:

EUROPE/EMEA:

Hiring in the UK has slowed due to uncertainty about the economy, according to the report. KPMG reported that recruiters are more reserved when hiring new staff. The consultancy added that ongoing skills shortages, a decline in foreign workers and candidates’ reluctance to move jobs have all led to a narrower supply of suitable employees. A jobs report by KPMG and the Confederation of Recruitment and Employment suggests that rising operating costs and uncertainty about the UK’s economic outlook are leading some firms to hold back on recruitment, at least for permanent positions.

The major Europe stock markets had a mixed day:

l CAC 40 increased 21.23 points or 0.33% to 6,544.67

l FTSE 100 decreased 41.20 points or -0.55% to 7,465.91

l DAX 30 decreased 6.42 points or -0.05% to 13,694.51

The major Europe currency markets had a mixed day today:

• EURUSD increased 0.00265 or 0.26% to 1.03282

• GBPUSD increased 0.00063 or 0.05% to 1.22190

• USDCHF decreased 0.00223 or -0.24% to 0.94007

Some economic news from Europe today:

UK:

RICS House Price Balance (Jul) decreased from 65% to 63%

Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (Aug) increased from 43.3 to 44.7

Germany:

Germany Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (Aug) decreased from 47.48 to 46.45

Gemran Current Account Balance n.s.a (Jun) increased from -0.4B to 16.2B

Italy:

Italy Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (Aug) increased from 38.80 to 39.81

France:

France Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (Aug) increased from 42.53 to 47.14

Spain:

Thomson Reuters IPSOS PCSI (MoM) (Aug) increased from 40.61 to 41.91

US/AMERICAS:

The producer price index declined 0.5% in July, primarily due to a decrease in energy prices. This is the first-time wholesale prices have declined in two years, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Annually, PPI rose 9.8% and marks the lowest YoY increase since October of last year. Energy costs fell 9% and composed 80% of the total decline of goods prices. Core PPI advanced 0.2% in July and 5.8% YoY.

Weekly jobless claims in the US came in at 262,000 for the week ending on August 6. This marks a 14,000 increase from the week prior but is still below most estimates. Continuing claims rose as well after adding 8,000 to a total of 1.43 million.

US Market Closings:

• Dow advanced 27.88 points or 0.08% to 33,337.39
• S&P 500 declined 2.9 points or -0.07% to 4,207.34
• Nasdaq declined 74.89 points or -0.58% to 12,779.91
• Russell 2000 advanced 6.01 points or 0.31% to 1,975.26

Canada Market Closings:

• TSX Composite advanced 105.94 points or 0.53% to 1,206.65
• TSX 60 advanced 6.41 points or 0.53% to 1,206.65

Brazil Market Closing:

• Bovespa declined 517.82 points or -0.47% to 109,717.94

ENERGY:

The oil markets had a green day today:

l Crude Oil increased 2.581 USD/BBL or 2.81% to 94.511

l Brent increased 2.144 USD/BBL or 2.20% to 99.544

l Natural gas increased 0.6048 USD/MMBtu or 7.37% to 8.8068

l Gasoline increased 0.0141 USD/GAL or 0.46% to 3.0844

l Heating oil increased 0.0795 USD/GAL or 2.33% to 3.4898

The above data was collected around 13:29 EST on Thursday

l Top commodity gainers: Natural Gas (7.37%), Palm Oil(3.72%), Oat (4.44%) and Bitumen (6.06%)

l Top commodity losers: Cocoa (-0.08%), HRC Steel (-0.85%), Feeder Cattle (-0.33%) and Silver (-0.86%)

The above data was collected around 13:40 EST on Thursday.

BONDS:

Japan 0.189%(+2.4bp), US 2’s 3.22% (+0.003%), US 10’s 2.8603% (+7.43bps); US 30’s 3.14% (+0.097%), Bunds 0.9780% (+9.2bp), France 1.5440% (+8.8bp), Italy 3.0280% (+3.4bp), Turkey 16.03% (-4bp), Greece 3.229% (+3.2bp), Portugal 2.005% (+9.1bp); Spain 2.102% (+10bp) and UK Gilts 2.0650% (+11.3bp).

The drought across Europe has caused substantial problems. In Germany, the Rhine has all but evaporated. Freights have been forced to reduce their loads across the river, but some are foregoing the route altogether. German authorities have not closed the river but are permitting shippers to cross at their own risk — and it is a risk many are not willing to take. Shipping vessels have been sailing half to a quarter full, according to Reuters, adding to the supply chain bottleneck. Numerous companies are shifting to railway transportation but that will take time.

Around 80% of all goods transported to Germany via waterways come through the Rhine and this passageway is crucial for all of Europe. The last major drought occurred in 2018, prompting German authorities to close the passage for 132 days, which nearly triggered a financial crisis. The water was at a low of 27 cm in October 2018, and water levels are quickly rescinding.

Authorities will try to deter another shipping halt, but there won’t be much they can do if the water levels continue to drop. Some estimate that the Rhine will be closed to ships as soon as Friday. The implications will be far worse than in 2018, as there was not a global supply chain shortage exacerbating inflation.

Newly elected President Rodrigo Chaves has outlawed vaccine mandates. “Today vaccines are no longer mandatory and any action against someone who does not want to be vaccinated is a violation of the law,” the president stated. Although the president is vaccinated, he stated that was a health decision he personally made. It is now against the law in Costa Rica to force someone to be vaccinated against their will.

The president lifted numerous COVID restrictions when he came into power this May. He began by eliminating the mask mandate for everyone who does not work in healthcare. The Association of Physicians and Surgeons of Costa Rica, the Association of Pharmacists of Costa Rica, and the National Medical Union of Costa Rica spoke out against the president’s order to lift masks. He set out to lift the vaccine mandate in May too, but finally signed it into law this August.

This is another win for medical autonomy and a nation refusing to prolong the COVID fear-mongering propaganda that decimated the global economy.