LatinNews Daily - 23 October 2024

On 22 October Peru’s President Dina Boluarte gave a rare and ill-tempered press conference where she denied that she has protected Vladimir Cerrón, the fugitive leader of the far-left Perú Libre (PL), and dismissed escalating protests over extortion as a political ploy to remove her from office.... Read More

*Peru’s central bank (BCRP) has announced that the country’s GDP grew by 3.5% in August compared with the same month in 2023.... Read More

On 22 October Brazil’s supreme court (STF) held a public audience session inviting policy experts and government officials to discuss the constitutionality of a programme in São Paulo state to establish ‘civic-military’ schools.... Read More

*The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has updated its GDP growth forecast for Brazil, projecting annual growth of 3.0% this year, up from its previous forecast of 2.1% in July.... Read More

On 22 October Guatemala’s President Bernardo Arévalo welcomed the release of journalist José Rubén Zamora into house arrest after over 800 days in prison and called for an end to the “spurious persecution” of workers in the media.... Read More

*Honduras’ central bank (BCH) has released new figures which show the country’s exports in the first eight months of 2024 totalled US$7.66bn, down 5.3% on the same period in 2023.... Read More

On 22 October Mexico’s defence ministry (Sedena) announced the arrest of the alleged leader of a criminal cell allied to the faction of the Sinaloa drug trafficking organisation (DTO) loyal to Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada García, who was arrested in the US in July.... Read More

*Mexico’s lower chamber of congress has approved a constitutional reform initiative related to social welfare issues which, among other things, lowers the age at which people can receive State pensions from 68 to 65.... Read More

On 22 October Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo sealed a US$2bn multi-loan deal with the World Bank to fund social welfare programmes on a visit to Washington during which he is also meeting top officials at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).... Read More

*Chile’s President Gabriel Boric has pledged to reverse “the decline in the manufacturing industry” in the southern region of Biobío following the closure of Compañía Siderúrgica Huachipato (CSH), Chile’s largest steelmaker and a former symbol of the country’s industrial prowess, which was based in the region.... Read More