Latinnews Daily - 25 January 2018

Development: On 24 January, judges at appeals court TRF-4 voted unanimously voted to uphold a conviction against Brazil’s former president Lula da Silva (2003-2011), from the leftist Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT), for money laundering and corruption.... Read More

Development: On 24 January Luis Florido, a representative of the Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD) opposition coalition in the internationally-sponsored political dialogue that has been established between the MUD and the government led by President Nicolás Maduro to try to find a solution to Venezuela’s political crisis, said that the dialogue is “dying”.... Read More

Ecuador: Ecuador’s foreign trade minister, Pablo Campana, has attended the 48th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, held in Davos, Switzerland.... Read More

*Markets rallied on the decreased chances that Brazil’s former president Lula da Silva (2003-2011) could win election once again this year.... Read More

Development: On 24 January the head of the United Nations-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig), Iván Velásquez, and Attorney General Thelma Aldana released details of the investigation into the activities of Brazilian engineering company Odebrecht in Guatemala.... Read More

Honduras: The Organization of American States-sponsored Mission for Support against Corruption and Impunity in Honduras (Maccih) has slammed recent legislative changes, warning they will block its investigation of five national legislators charged with embezzling public funds.... Read More

Development: On 24 January the authorities in Mexico’s northern city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas state, reported that criminal groups were engaged in shootouts with the security forces and had blockaded roads around the city.... Read More

*Mexico’s energy ministry (Sener) has released an updated version of its 2015-2019 hydrocarbon sector development plan.... Read More

Development: On 24 January Chile’s national chamber of deputies approved new legislation on higher education.... Read More

Uruguay: Uruguay’s foreign minister, Rodolfo Nin Novoa, has said that his country will seek to negotiate a free trade agreement (FTA) between the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) regional trade bloc and China when Uruguay assumes the pro-tempore presidency of Mercosur in June.... Read More