LatinNews Daily - 05 March 2018

Development: Preliminary results released by El Salvador’s electoral authorities (TSE) show that the right-wing opposition Alianza Republicana Nacionalista (Arena) party scored significant victories in the 4 March election for the 84-member unicameral national legislature and the country’s 262 mayoralties.... Read More

Development: Campaigning for Colombia’s congressional elections concluded on 4 March, one week before the contest takes place.... Read More

Ecuador: Petroamazonas, a branch of Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, Petroecuador, has announced the opening of a new oil field in Orellana province called ‘Campo Tortuga’.... Read More

Development: On 3 March, Brazil’s government secretary, Carlos Marun, criticised a decision by a supreme court (STF) judge to open an investigation on President Michel Temer over illicit funds given by local engineering firm Odebrecht to his centre-right Movimento Democrático Brasil (MDB) party between 2013 and 2015.... Read More

*Aluminium refinery Alunorte, located in Brazil’s northern state of Pará, has issued a force majeure notice after Brazilian federal and state authorities ordered it to cut production by 50%.... Read More

Guatemala: Guatemala’s interior minister, Enrique Degenhart, has completed the line-up of new appointments to the national police (PNC) following his dismissal last week of PNC chief, Nery Ramos, and two others (with a third, Rony Espinoza transferred from his previous post of general deputy director of operations).... Read More

Development: On 4 March Ricardo Anaya, the presidential candidate of Mexico’s Por México al Frente opposition coalition, called on President Enrique Peña Nieto of the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) to stop interfering with the electoral process leading to the 1 July general election.... Read More

*Salvador Behar, Mexico’s deputy chief negotiator in the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) renegotiations, has said that Mexico must respond in an equivalent manner to proposed US tariff measures announced on 1 March by US President Donald Trump.... Read More

Development: On 2 March the Confederación de Trabajadores de la Educación de la República Argentina (Ctera) national federation of teachers’ unions called for a 48-hour national strike in Argentina starting today (5 March).... Read More

Paraguay: Local NGO Fundación Paraguaya has warned that following the recent budget cuts announced by the Paraguayan government led by President Horacio Cartes, there is now a risk that the government will not have sufficient resources to fund the Tekoporã social development programme.... Read More

Brazil: On 26 February Frederik Barbieri, considered one of the most influential arms traffickers in Brazil, was indicted in the US on charges of illegal exportation of firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition.... Read More