{"id":325226,"date":"2026-03-23T07:55:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T07:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=325226"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T08:23:43","slug":"this-week-in-the-new-normal-115","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=325226","title":{"rendered":"This Week in the New Normal #115"},"content":{"rendered":"

Off-Guardian \u2013 March 22, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Our successor to This Week in the Guardian<\/em>, This Week in the New Normal<\/a><\/em> is our weekly chart of the progress of autocracy, authoritarianism and economic restructuring around the world.<\/p>\n

1. Mexico\u2019s War on Cash<\/strong><\/h2>\n

This week, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced restrictions on cash payments for drivers, planning that all toll and fuel payments be made digitally. As Mexico News Daily reports<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Looking to an all-digital future, Sheinbaum plans to eliminate cash at the pump and the toll booth<\/p>\n

Speaking at the 89th Banking Convention, Sheinbaum said:<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal this year is to make digital payment of gasoline and tolls mandatory [\u2026] This will allow us to move forward with the digitization of the country through other schemes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This, obviously, promotes both the anti-cash and the anti-driving agenda. Mexico goes first on this one, but expected other nations to roll out near identical schemes very soon.<\/p>\n

2. UK Abolishes Hereditary Peers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The British Government passed the \u201cHouse of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026\u201d<\/a> this week, which removes the hereditary peers from the UK\u2019s Upper House.<\/p>\n

This is being celebrated as a victory for democracy as it removes the remaining 92 hereditary peers from the legislature, but it should be noted that they are not being replaced by elected officials. Rather, this means that the UK\u2019s upper house is now entirely appointed<\/em>. Rather than old blood Lords protecting their own interests, we will now have newly created lords pushing the government\u2019s interests.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s counterintuitive, but over the years, the old-money hereditary Lords have been one of the few institutions to push back against government overreach.<\/p>\n

3. Colonial Comeuppance?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A Belgian court is bringing a prosecution for murder against 94-year old former diplomat Etienne Davignon over the assassination of Patrice Lumumba in 1961.<\/p>\n

At the same time, King Felipe IV of Spain ignited discussion of his nation\u2019s colonial past by bringing up the \u201cabuses\u201d of the Conquistadors during the conquest of the New World. A potential sign of the direction the Mexico-Spain reparations feud may go.<\/p>\n

These news items together make me think that we might soon witness a widespread colonialist apology and some kind of concomitant transfer of wealth.<\/p>\n

BONUS: Orwell Reference of the Week<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Having been accused of rape<\/a>, thirty-three years after his death, unionist, labor leader and civil rights pioneer Cesar Chavez <\/a>is suddenly and instantly a non-person, and the city of San Jose has set about removing his name from the Plaza del Cesar Chavez\u2026<\/p>\n

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Letter by letter, crews cover up \u201cPlaza De Cesar Chavez\u201d in San Jose. pic.twitter.com\/zbEzifBWbE<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 scott budman (@scottbudman) March 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n