Latinnews Daily - 15 February 2018

Development: On 14 February the head of Guatemala’s health ministry (MSPAS), Carlos Soto, said that his ministry had ended an agreement signed with the United Nations (UN)-backed International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala (Cicig), the attorney general’s office (AG), and comptroller general’s office (CGC).... Read More

Development: On 14 February Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro announced that his government will re-open it consulate in Miami, Florida; and that he has asked the national electoral council (CNE) to extend the deadline for Venezuelans abroad to register to vote in the upcoming presidential election.... Read More

Peru: The mining & energy ministry (Minem) has reported that Peru's mining exports were worth US$27.7bn in 2017 – representing over 60% of the value of Peru’s total exports.... Read More

Development: On 14 February, Brazil’s prosecutor general’s office (PGR) defended the decision by a supreme court judge to deny former president Lula da Silva from the leftist Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) a writ of habeas corpus.... Read More

*Cleaners are the unsung heroes of carnival.... Read More

El Salvador: The public opinion institute at El Salvador’s Universidad Centroamericana (IUDOP) has released its latest survey on voting intentions ahead of the 4 March legislative and municipal elections which shows a preference for the right-wing opposition Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena).... Read More

Development: On 14 February, Veracruz’s former public security minister, Arturo Bermúdez Zurita, and 18 other police officers and officials were placed under preventative arrest for allegedly covering up enforced disappearances in 2013.... Read More

*Mexico’s national social development policy evaluation council (Coneval), the decentralised government body tasked with evaluating the impact of the country’s social policies, has reported that the purchasing power of Mexican workers fell by 2.5% in 2017.... Read More

Development: On 14 February Uruguay’s President Tabaré Vázquez ordered the dismissal of three directors from the national health service provision administration (ASSE), all of whom have been accused of corruption.... Read More

Uruguay: The national statistics institute (INE) has released new figures which show that Uruguay’s national unemployment rate was 6.9% in December 2017, lower than the 7.8% rate reported for November 2017.... Read More