Weekly Report - 17 May 2018 (WR-18-19)

Argentina’s President Mauricio Macri did his level best this week to assuage the concerns of businessmen and opposition politicians about the decision to return to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for financial assistance, and to drum up support for his government at its most challenging time.... Read More

Revelations about the chronic mismanagement and misuse of taxpayers’ money days before presidential elections would suffice to see the incumbent government turfed out of power in most democracies.... Read More

The recently renewed peace negotiations between the Colombian government and Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) in Cuba produced their first success this week: a unilateral ceasefire declared by the guerrilla group’s central command (Coce) for a period two days either side of the first round of the presidential election on 27 May.... Read More

COLOMBIA | Growth picking up pace.... Read More

President Sebastián Piñera announced a pro-investment plan this week to “transform Chile”, creating some 250,000 jobs.... Read More

Two months after the assassination of Rio de Janeiro city councillor Marielle Franco from the leftist Partido Socialismo e Liberdade (PSOL), Brazilians are demanding to know “who killed Marielle?” At least two suspects have been named.... Read More

Best-known for its starring role in the corruption saga ‘Operation Car Wash,’ the name of Petrobras is never far from the headlines.... Read More

BRAZIL | Airport bankruptcy.... Read More

With the dust yet to settle in the public spat between Mexico’s business sector and Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the presidential candidate of the leftist opposition Movimiento Regeneración Nacional (Morena), over his plans to scrap the new Mexico City international airport project [WR-18-18], the clear frontrunner in the polls has made another pledge that has earned him widespread criticism.... Read More

José Antonio Meade, the presidential candidate of Mexico’s ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), continues to trail in a distant third in voting intention polls ahead of elections on 1 July and knows that he must take the initiative in the remaining weeks of campaigning if he is to have a chance of overtaking his rivals.... Read More

MEXICO | Banking system under attack.... Read More

A national dialogue process, brokered by the Catholic Episcopal Conference (CEN), is underway in response to the crisis stemming from the crackdown on anti-government protesters which began last month [WR-18-16].... Read More

Less than one month after the inauguration of Cuba’s new president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, the country reached a landmark in its diplomatic relations with the European Union (EU) on 15 May.... Read More

“An unarmed revolution has started.... Read More