LatinNews Daily - 02 March 2018

Development: On 1 March, the head of Venezuela’s national electoral council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, announced that presidential elections would be put back to 20 May.... Read More

Colombia: The constitutional court (CC) gave the green light on 1 March to the amnesty law, a key component of the peace accord signed between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrillas.... Read More

Development: On 1 March, Brazil’s ministry for industry and foreign commerce (MDIC) said the government was “extremely concerned” about a decision by the US to impose heavy tariffs on foreign steel and aluminium imports next week.... Read More

* Brazil’s ministry for industry and foreign commerce (MDIC) reported that Brazil registered a trade surplus of US$4.91bn in February.... Read More

Development: On 1 March, the influential private sector lobby Asociación Nacional de la Empresa Privada (ANEP) and think tank Fundación Salvadoreña para el Desarrollo Económico y Social (FUSADES) separately urged voters to cast their ballots in the 4 March legislative and municipal elections.... Read More

Central America... Read More

Development: On 1 March, the authorities in Mexico’s central Puebla state reported that Aarón Varela Martínez, a mayoral candidate for the left-wing national opposition Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena) party, had been murdered near the town of Santa Clara Ocoyucan.... Read More

* Mexico’s iron and steel chamber (Canacero) has asked the Mexican government to adopt immediate and reciprocal measures if Mexican steel is affected by the import tariffs recently announced by the US.... Read More

Development: On 1 March, President Mauricio Macri reopened congress by promising a return to economic growth and saying the “worst was over”.... Read More

Paraguay: The finance ministry has announced that a Paraguayan government delegation will be travelling to the US next week to drum up interest there for the planned issue of US$500m of bonds in international financial markets.... Read More