Weekly Report - 16 May 2024 (WR-24-19)

It is a fair bet that Chile’s President Gabriel Boric would have blanched if he had been told upon taking office that just past the halfway point of his four-year term not only would he have failed in his intent to secure a new constitution to replace that drafted during the dictatorship led by General Augusto Pinochet (1973-1990) but his government would also have propped up a legacy of Pinochet in the form of the private health insurance system, Isapres.... Read More

It was confirmed this week that the reports of the death of Luciano Marín Arango (‘Iván Márquez’), the head of the Segunda Marquetalia group of dissident guerrillas in Colombia, were greatly exaggerated.... Read More

Peruvian prosecutors moved against President Dina Boluarte’s brother, Wigberto Nicanor Boluarte, on 10 May, arresting him at his home in Lima on influence peddling charges.... Read More

Venezuela’s government has wheeled from condemning the reimposition of US sanctions in April to criticising the lifting of some European Union (EU) sanctions this week.... Read More

Brazil’s federal government has ramped up its efforts to address the severe floods which have been devastating the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul in recent weeks.... Read More

Since early March, speculation has been building as to whether the CEO of Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras, Jean Paul Prates, would remain in his post, amid tensions with officials in the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.... Read More

BRAZIL | Credibility of rate cut guidance.... Read More

Mexico’s national electricity system (SEN) has been struggling to generate enough energy to meet demand.... Read More

Recent attempts to unite Mexico’s opposition appear to have backfired.... Read More

There has been a flurry of meetings between representatives from Mexico’s government led by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and Cuba’s government led by President Miguel Díaz-Canel in recent weeks.... Read More

Guatemala recently hosted diplomats and top officials from 21 countries, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as part of a ministerial meeting of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection, a shared implementation plan promoted by the US to advance a regional response to migration management across the Western Hemisphere.... Read More

The US Southern Command (Southcom) has revealed that civilian contractors have been working alongside Haitian airport officials to secure equipment and supplies that have been arriving in Haiti as part of efforts to set up the temporary living area for the eventual arrival of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.... Read More

President Luis Abinader is expected to win re-election handsomely when Dominican voters go to the polls on 19 May.... Read More

“The bill is imperative for the stability of the health system as a whole.”... Read More