Economy & Business - March 2026

President Javier Milei scored one of his biggest victories yet when congress approved his sweeping labour reform in late February.... Read More

Colombia’s 8 March legislative election produced another divided congress that won’t make life easier for the next president, and primaries held the same day shook up the outlook on the presidential race itself.... Read More

In a high stakes bet, on 26 February Ecuador’s national assembly approved a sweeping mining and energy reform that aims to revitalise the economy, help combat criminal gangs, and shore up the public coffers.... Read More

On 29 January a Lima court partially upheld a complaint brought by Cosco Shipping Ports Chancay Perú (CSPCP), the Chinese state firm which operates the Chancay megaport that opened in November 2024 [EB-24-12].... Read More

Bolivia is facing yet another fuel crisis, after revelations in early February that contaminated fuel was distributed by state-owned hydrocarbons company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB).... Read More

COLOMBIA | Petro insists on minimum wage hike.... Read More

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva knows a thing or two about elections – this year will be his seventh presidential campaign and he has won three.  His approach is straightforward, to choose a few simple messages that will resonate widely.... Read More

Over the years there has been no shortage of economic populism in Latin America, from both left-wing and right-wing presidents.... Read More

In his election campaign, centre-left President Yamandú Orsi had promised not to rock the boat and to run a middle-of-the-road government.... Read More

BRAZIL | Petrobras posts rise in annual profit.... Read More

A recent crash in the value of cryptocurrency bitcoin has caused jitters among investors in Salvadorean bonds and has brought ongoing tensions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) into sharper focus.... Read More

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras received remittances worth a total US$47.73bn last year, a 20% increase compared to 2024, according to data compiled by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).... Read More

In mid-February, Panama sold global bonds worth US$3bn in the first such deal since President José Raúl Mulino came to power in July 2024.... Read More

Amid Cuba’s intensifying energy crisis an unglamorous piece of everyday transport equipment, the ISO tank, has jumped into the centre of attention.... Read More

At the end of January Guyana’s Finance Minister Ashni Singh presented the largest budget yet to parliament, totalling G$1.558tn (US$7.45bn).... Read More

PANAMA | Still on EU tax haven list.... Read More

The killing of Nemesio ‘El Mencho’ Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), during a security operation in February set off a wave of retaliatory cartel attacks that caused much short-term economic damage.... Read More

The Mexican economy grew by just 0.6% in 2025, representing the country’s fourth consecutive year of weaker growth and its longest slowdown since the 1980s, despite ending the year on a high note with a burst of fourth-quarter activity.... Read More

Concerns about higher inflation prompted the governing board of Mexico’s central bank, Banco de México (Banxico), to slam the brakes on a cycle of consecutive interest rate cuts that started one-and-a-half years ago, deciding unanimously to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 7% at its meeting on 5 February.... Read More

As US multinational bank and financial services corporation Citigroup Inc moves ahead with the sale of its Banamex unit, on 23 February it announced it had agreed to sell an additional 24% stake of the Mexican retail bank worth around US$2.5bn to several new investors.... Read More

MEXICO | Inflation edges up in February.... Read More